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Sneaky user interfaces, such as unwanted bundleware default checkboxes are now expanding into digital newspaper subscriptions. The Boston Globe's site uses lightly-colored close buttons and increases the price as the user goes through the sales process, as well as includes some newsletter-signup defaults. These dishonest-by-design interface elements that are intended to trick or obfuscate users are called dark patterns.
What are some of the most egregious examples you have seen? Have you even been asked to implement a design you found morally distasteful?
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Sneaky Sales and Pricing Practices Online
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Do not use if foil seal is broken.
(Score: 2) by patella.whack on Tuesday April 26 2016, @06:32AM
While I appreciate your submission, GungnirSniper, this kind of thing has been the forseeable endgame for 20yrs.
What I'd like to hear are not examples of WOTD: "dark patterns" but rather the combat.
Perhaps you're right. Let's hear about what programmers are asked to do so we can get an insight re:tactics.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday April 26 2016, @02:12PM
Pretty much. I think the only real way of combating the most egregious examples is to use prepaid cards or those virtual cards that some credit card issuers offer. Just input an expiration date prior to the date of renewal or put a limit on it's that so low that the renewal fails.
It's going to be hard for the merchant to argue that you intended to have a subscription if the card expires and you don't go to their site and update the information.
Most of the other stuff isn't quite as bad as you can just not buy. There's usually another option that isn't as slimy. It's mostly things like cellphones, ISPs and Cable companies that don't have a good alternative other than doing without. And those problems are primarily regulatory and probably won't be fixed as long as you've got politicians taking money from corporations that make all of their money through slimy business tactics.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Wednesday April 27 2016, @03:37AM
but rather the combat
How about this [popehat.com]? It's about a blogger's investigation (Ken White of the "Popehat" blog) of a blatant group of scammers who originally caught the eye of the author due to a bogus invoice. What's useful about it is that it provides an in-depth story of the author's investigative approach that accumulates online data, legal data, "tipsters", and even enemies of the targets, a series of shifty businesses which quickly started scamming across the US. While it's not clear if the author's efforts contributed (the official federal-level indictment took four and a half years after the author started collecting data), it does provide a blueprint for acting against anyone with illegal and fraudulent business practices.
He also quotes excerpts from legal testimony that document some genuine sociopathic behavior, particularly, something he called the "con-man lull" where the scammers would put off payment of checks (a key part of one branch of their scamming which involved a variety of payroll-based scams), sometimes successfully for months, coming up with one excuse after another. One of the scammers when confronted by an employee looking for a well overdue paycheck, wrote said check, and then put a stop on it the next day. He then made a check out for a sports car payment (which didn't bounce).