*please note the rambling nature of this post is designed to reflect my path through the frustration and confusion I felt as I navigated this task.
As a digital-immigrant and highly distractible (possibly ADHD?) individual it is quite difficult. As noted in ETEC 540 Module 1.5, “children who grow up with screen media will prove more adept at negotiating the image-based, multi-sequential learning environments of the present game website format.” This language is one that I am learning and as I delve farther into the game, the “language” changes, no longer matching my understanding.
Did I win? Eventually. After much frustration. Now, let me take you on my adventure in frustration.
User Inyerface Game –Round 1:
Initially, I thought that this User Inyerface “game” was a ploy to enslave my attention and waste my time. Tristan Harris and Zeynep Tufekci’s TEDx videos have set me up to be on guard against unscrupulous web practices. I wonder what data is being collected and what will I be directed to later. (I feel a little bad about the nasty user name “Bagaarsucksx2). The game, for me started definitely as a “Baagar frustration.”
First, I immediately looked for the “form” to quickly fill out but which I could not see despite the prompts. I wondered, if the purpose to have people realize that they should not be carelessly giving out information. Maybe.
Confession: I actually clicked on the big green NO button first. Was I really ready to quickly, and with little thought, give my information and data to a random site? Not really. So I clicked on “NO.” Then, I could not proceed. Clicking on “next” did not work. I was stuck.Was it because of the “NO” response, was there no going back to try again? End of round 1.
Round 2:
Distracted I check emails, notifications . . .Mattermost. . . .Why is Ernesto checking in on us regarding this task? I should be suspicious? Hmmmmmm . . . 
Still stuck on the first page of the game, I changed my security settings to allow popups thinking that was the problem. No. Try again. Avoid the “NO” button. It still did not work. Very frustrated, I request help on Mattermost and am prompted to carefully read directions (thanks Earnesto).
I carefully read the directions: “Click here” means literally on the word “here” not on what appears to be a link!
We don’t read pages. We scan them — Steve Krug
Ahhhh! Yes, this is precisely what I had done, quickly seeing there was some sort of form, along with the click to proceed. But I still wasn’t actually reading the page.
Next, getting to the first information screen, which along with each subsequent screen has a timer. By adding a time constraint the reader is encouraged to rush through without properly reading which has the potential of being considered a deceptive practice. The password required is very specific in wanting at least one letter of my email which did not seem like a good idea but I proceed. I am told in bright red colour text that the password I create is “not unsafe.” Seems rather odd wording. Then, I wonder what sort of spam mail, I will get after this or what YouTube suggestions and Facebook ads.
Even the terms of agreement check box is not worded in what I have been accustomed to as it is a “negative box” to tick to not accept terms of agreement. This seems deceptive. I clicked to read the terms of agreement which lead to a contract with no company name inserted. It is a long agreement. According to Brignull, “people tend to start reading at the of a piece of text and as they advance, an increasing percentage of people give up and do not read to the end.” I keep reading. These terms seem sketchy.. . before clicking “not accept” rather than the usual “accept” is a really misleading tactic especially if this site, with no name is given, use of my comments and may edit them:
5.You hereby grant to [Insert company or website name] a non-exclusive royalty-free license to use, reproduce, edit and authorize others to use, reproduce and edit any of your Comments in any and all forms, formats or media.”
Seriously? They are going to edit my comments . . .I do not think so.
I have difficulty getting beyond this screen. A further request for help, on the game site, gave me a “Please wait, there are 408 people in line” Really? This annoying little screen keeps getting in the way. Popping up “In yerface.” I hit help several times just to watch the number of people in line go up. I can be such a jerk. But is it real? Maybe it is time to log out, block the site, check security and dump cookies and take a screen break?
One of my many comments on Mattermost:
I think that it is an attempt to take my time and attention, sending me down a dark rabbit hole of nothingness. . . I will now read about the “Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design.” Grrrr . . . so glad you are apologizing Ernesto
The userinyerfac,com title reads “User Inyerface – A worst-practice UI experiment.” So, not so much a game but an experiment to see just how we will “sell our souls” for grades, perhaps? Am I that desperate? What is the catch? According to Brignull (2011), “deception is deeply entwined with life on this planet.” I begin to think that this game is a massive deception in that it is not a game but an experiment. My trust has been broken.
I noticed “Baagar frustration” in text. Yes, I was frustrated. I was so done with this game. Stuck on the first screen, I was not playing anymore, . . . or so I thought. But WAIT! Distracted, I noticed a logo or icon at the bottom left-hand side of the screen. I need to click it to explore . . . distractions abound online as we are encouraged to explore and some people explore more than others. I wanted to know more about this “Bagaar.” Was it truly evil? What was its point with all of this torture? I spent quite a bit of time exploring.
I wonder if this side trip was intended by the game maker. Advertising for Baggar. Clicking on the icon takes me to Bagaar’s site . .. there is even an option to be their “friend”in the top right corner as well as option to “Keep up-to-date with key industry trends and receive first-hand invitations to our events” . . . just enter your email and . . . “By submitting this form you agree that we may store and process some of your data. We won’t flood your mailbox, we promise” (Bagaar https://www.bagaar.be/) .
Well, that is nice of them, but the game as well as course readings have already set me up to be not only annoyed but also suspicious. They are collecting data. So, what exactly is the purpose of the”game”? Is it to take me to this website so that I might become their friend to be “processed”? I am torn. Do I like them for their honestly or does my distrust rise. At least they are upfront about their usage of data.
Round 3: Back to the “game” . . .because
a) I am curious ( Can you tell why it took me so long? This is not a good game for the highly distractible) and
b) I am determined. I refuse to give up.
Adjusting my privacy settings, I am able to progress further. And I am eventually rewarded. 😀 I was so excited I had to share this in Mattermost:
I got further into the game and is it ever upside down .. . sort of like Alice in Wonderland. Yikes!
This game is like an escape room. Some of the directions are really literal. And much is unexpected.
The digital clock continued to tick up, adding the pressure to hurry. Nothing like a timer to make someone make hasty and sometimes bad decisions. I expected clicking on “lock” would temporarily stop the clock but it appeared to do nothing. At this point, it just seems to be an annoyance. Then, I am stuck. What fresh hell is this????????
Finally I discovered that if I lock the page, the clock keeps running but then clicking on unlock takes me to the next page!!! I felt a celebration was in order. (This is so sad and pathetic.)
A refresh (refresh becomes my “friend”) of the screen and I see this an unusual twist on “cookies are collected prompt:
In bright, “can’t miss it,” red the top of the screen reads “This site uses cookies, is that a problem?” With the choices “Not, really no” or “Yes” Yes, seems the obvious choice due to the web design. I am really feeling disoriented at this point. The wording again, and the positioning, is odd. How many cookies have already been collected? It seems sort of late to have this. But at least they are up-front about it.
As I proceed through the screens I am thrilled to find a screen to give away my information. It is a good thing at this point they didn’t ask for my Visa card number because I would probably just fill it in in my haste to move the pages on. Yet another tactic.
Throughout this game, the world as I know it has ceased to exist. Nothing is familiar: format, colours, wording. location. I am so conditioned to expect what I already know which makes everything so much more difficult. Filling in forms I am hit will a weird intermittent auto-correct. Sometimes the text “inserts” and overwrites existing text. and other times it must be deleted first. The order of boxes is different than usual. Strangely, the gender that I select does not match my title, um last time I checked Rebecca is a female and a Ms (no option) for that. The form is also really oddly ordered to what I am accustomed to. Numbers scroll in the opposite directions, but I manage to “relearn how to enter info.” and am taken to the dreaded “I am not a robot” page. Select the word bow. The selection boxes are in a different place (above rather than below the image) and the word “Bow” has 3 different meanings. So close to the end and yet so far.
After about 3 attempts of approximately 20 minutes each and 3 final rounds of “I am not a Robot, success! Finally!
Oh, and I was redirected to apply for a job at Bagaar. This was definitely an adventure in the unexpected.
So, I now wonder, what purpose did this text serve?
What was communicated in this task? What did I learn?
One of the main premises of this course, as Postman observes, is that language is a technology in the sense that it is a practical art—an invention to facilitate communication” (Mod 1.5 Thinking about Text and Language).
Fear and suspicion drove my impulses. My attention was very much hijacked in this task, but despite taking a great deal of my attention, in a weird way it is worth it. This task helped me to understand the concept of Attention Economy and the subtle ways websites are designed to capture the viewers attention. In this case, it was to draw attention to the “language” of website design. It as draws attention to the ways companies extract information and direct information and compliance to their requests. Seeming “friendlier,” using double negatives, placement of buttons and use of “time limited” frames are just some of the tactics revealed in this “game.”
We learn this language of websites and then become complacent, perhaps skipping “terms and conditions” or clicking without reading all information, or being aware of our actions. We need to exercise caution, by very carefully reading all information and not assume anything. Just because one website works one way, another may be totally different. We are conditioned by our past experiences to expect text to appear in a certain way and when it doesn’t, we struggle.
Finally, the In yerface game has the potential to create many different emotions: frustration, amusement, suspicion, anger, appreciation, even despair and resignation as at one point I was reluctant to try any further, not really sure if there really was an end to the game. A cautionary note for Web designers: avoid risk of alienating viewers with the tactics employed, whether subversive or blatant.
Finally, this underscores that a sense of humour necessary for my survival.References:
Bagaar https://www.bagaar.be/.
Baggar. https://userinyerface.com/
Brignull, H. (2011). Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design. Interaction Design, Usability, 338.