[dao-]

> spam

I don't think this fits the definition of spam. Many average Joe users happen to find those curated suggestions useful. Yes, user testing has been done.

> Defaults matter.

Yep. More advanced users also tend to be better positioned to opt out compared to average Joe opting in.

[drankula3]

Spam: unsolicited usually commercial messages (such as e-mails, text messages, or Internet postings) sent to a large number of recipients or posted in a large number of places[1]. By that definition, it is spam.

> user testing has been done

User testing isn't flawless, and is what got us the ribbon in Microsoft Office for example, an incredibly unintuitive interface.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spam

[madhadron]

> got us the ribbon in Microsoft Office for example, an incredibly unintuitive interface.

On the contrary. The ribbon is a really excellent piece of UX work, much more discoverable and usable than the masses of menus that preceded it. It just isn't what people were used to. My favorite story is a friend of mine ranting about how he couldn't find anything with the ribbon in Word, and adding, "but at least they added styles to Word." I had to point out that styles had been in Word for a long, long time and the ribbon had just done its job very nicely.

[dao-]

So... I'm not sure what exactly we're talking about. Since the comment said "spam and self-promotion", I'm assuming spam doesn't mean the self-promotion but the recommended media articles. They're not commercial messages. Arguably the self-promotion could be called spam but it also occupies much less space on the page.