Avoid Putting Readers Through Layers of Bureaucracy
13. Aug, 2007 
7 Comments - Leave your comment
I am pro-choice. What that means in this context is that I am for giving the reader the choice to do something. If a reader wants to subscribe to a feed, let it be their choice. If a reader wants to click on an ad, let it be their choice. And if a reader wants to leave a comment, let it be their choice.
With all the freedoms readers should have, it might come as a shock to you that some bloggers “force” features on readers. And to unsubscribe from such features or get around to the content, the readers have to jump through a bunch of hoops (also known as red tape) to get to what they are after.
Within this post I will give three examples of forcing readers into behavior that should be “opt-in” rather than opt-out.
Subscribe to Comments
There’s a nifty and incredibly useful WordPress plugin out there called Subscribe to Comments. It’s a good way for commenters such as myself to keep track of what blogs I have commented on.
One thing I don’t like about certain implementations of this plugin is when bloggers decide to automatically check the checkbox for subscribing to comments. An unobservant reader (such as myself) might not notice the box is checked and submit the comment anyway. Unfortunately, now I’m subscribed to a conversation that perhaps I didn’t want to follow-up on. I might soon start receiving these unwanted e-mails and have to figure out how to unsubscribe. And in order to unsubscribe, I have to visit the blogger’s blog again, manage my subscriptions, and opt-out of receiving all future e-mails.
In the case of Subscribe to Comments implementations, the reader should have the choice. If a reader wants to receive those e-mails, then the reader will opt-in and check the checkbox. A reader should not be forced into anything, and in the case of auto-subscribing the readers, I feel that a reader is being tricked.
Obtrusive Advertisements
Obtrusive advertisements are advertisements that get in the way of the content. In fact, one of the annoying design decisions the readers of this blog came up with dealt with obtrusive advertisements.
An obtrusive advertisement could be an ad that temporary covers the content and requires the reader to click a “close” button. These advertisements can also take the form of splash pages where a reader has to click a button to continue to the content. Another debatable example of obtrusive advertisements is in-text advertisements, or advertisements made to look like the regular content.
The problem with obtrusive advertisements from a reader perspective is that they are an opt-out affair. A reader doesn’t have the choice whether or not to view this full page ad. However, the reader must now take an extra action to get to the content.
In the case of in-text ads, a reader might click a link thinking the blogger is linking to relevant content. Once the reader discovers that he has been duped, an extra action must be taken to get back to the real content.
Requiring Registrations to Comment
One of the things I really dislike about the Blogger service is that you have to register in order to comment. Granted, you only have to register once, but it’s still an extra password that you have to remember.
Some blogs out there require a reader to register to comment. I can understand why some bloggers require registrations because they are trying to build an exclusive community, but other bloggers have registrations required just because they saw the option in the admin panel.
Readers should not have to go through the trouble of going to a post, trying to comment, and then having to register. After registration, the password must be stored somewhere. Throw in enough blogs that require registrations, and you quickly have password hell. It should be much easier than that. And it is. Don’t require readers to register to leave a comment.
Conclusion
As with a lot of design and blog decisions, a reader should be given a choice in the matter. Is there any other bureaucratic non-sense that the readers should not have to be put through? Thank you for reading.
Other RA Project Articles
Author Info
I agree with you on every single point here. Blogger in particular! And it gets ten times worse when you want to comment with an account other than your main Google account.
I have a Google address that lets me use all of their great services, but I never read the email etc. (I have enough other addresses with a Google one…). I never comment with that address, so Blogger would have me sign out of it, or fill in my details for every single comment…
Nightmare. I rarely comment on Blogger because of it.
Thanks Michael. I’d also like to add, avoid putting typos in your blog title. I had “Avoid the putting” instead of “Avoid putting”. And it sat up here all day.
That same Blogger problem is present on a number of wordpress blogs, although a lot less common. I agree with Michael, it’s very annoying.
I personally don’t require registration on my sites, but I know a lot of people that do.
The #1 reason for this is to help cut down spam. I run wordpress installs and use akismet which does a fairl good job. I catch about 1500 spam comments a week that way. I’d say between 3 and 5 get through which I have to catch manually and mark as spam or delete.
My colleagues that go the registration route have less spam issues. I see the draw.
hi nice post, i enjoyed it