[Sigia-l] Pop-ups query

[Benjamin Kahn]

Ah ha!  Thanks Amanda -- An actual usability discussion out of all this.
(I apologize for starting a little browser flame war.  That wasn't my
intent -- honestly.)  

Interestingly, both IE and firefox appear to offer the same user
interface regarding popups.

The first time a web site requests a popup, both browsers show a
message:

http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/firefox/dialog-popup.png
http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/ie/dialog-popup.png

Notice that firefox's dialog only shows once, while IE's dialog needs a
checkbox to make it not appear again.  

        (In my opinion this is backwards.  Firefox, as a third party
        application, needs to be installed.  Since most users wont
        install software themselves, it's likely someone else is
        installing the application.  The person installing the
        application is likely to be the recipient of this dialog, not
        the clueless user.  IE, on the other hand, comes already
        installed and the first display of the dialog will probably be
        seen by the intended user.)

Another difference is that the IE dialog points to the information bar
while Firefox references the toolbar.  Oddly, both browsers give popup
information in both places:

http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/firefox/toolbar-popup.png
http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/firefox/infobar-popup-menu.png

http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/ie/toolbar-popup.png
http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/ie/infobar-popup-menu.png

Both these dialogs are WAY too chatty.  I'm tempted not to read them at
all.  However, I think the information bar is more visible since it's at
the top of the screen and it makes the page jump down when it appears.
Thus, IE probably is pointing out more relevant information.  (As a side
note, it's interesting that, in eliminating popups, users have to see a
popup.)

Both browsers display different menus when you click on the toolbar and
on the infobar.  

http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/firefox/infobar-popup-menu.png
http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/firefox/toolbar-popup-menu.png

http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/ie/infobar-popup-menu.png
http://zoned.net/~xkahn/popup/ie/toolbar-popup-menu.png

IE's temporarily allow popups menu item is very similar to Firefox's
Show (some URL) menu item.  The main difference is that IE's menu item
not only shows the current popup, but allows this site ANY other popup.
I'm not sure how long this lasts.  Another difference is that Firefox's
habit of showing the URL is both a blessing and curse.  The menuitem is
a little scary looking, and the URL often gets truncated.   On the other
hand, it's helpful to see what server is trying to display the popup.

I tend to like Firefox's behavior better, but I'm a very savvy web
surfer.  Of course, both interfaces might be okay since in general, most
popups sites try to open aren't things I want to see.  

I'm pleased that both browsers have similar interfaces -- it allows web
sites that do have a legitimate reason to open a popup to describe how
to fix the problem.

Other comments?

On Thu, 2004-10-28 at 21:22 +1300, AF Cossham wrote:
> Benjamin Kahn wrote:
> 
> > Now, in regards to your comments about firefox.  I happen to use firefox
> > because I work for a Linux company.  Firefox is probably the best Linux
> > browser there is.  I use it for that reason.  (I also recommend firefox
> > to people not on Windows because of popup blocking, the extension
> > system, the XUL development environment, cookie managment, tabs, etc.)
> 
> I'm curious - I have heard that blocking popups can cause problems if you
> are shopping/booking travel etc online, as many of these sites use popups as
> part of the legitimate purchasing process. Any comment? is blocking a good
> habit, or bad?
> 
> This is no reflection on Firefox (or Linux), merely a general query. I think
> the issue of popups is relevant to website design - especially if blocking
> is used more and more.
> 
> Regards,
> Amanda Cossham
> 
> ------------
> When replying, please *trim your post* as much as possible.
> *Plain text, please; NO Attachments
> 
> Searchable list archive:   http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/
> ________________________________________
> Sigia-l mailing list -- post to: Sigia-l at asis.org
> Changes to subscription: http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/sigia-l
>