[xenocyon]

IMHO, the bad nature of much of the UX we see around us is in the gray area between incompetence and malice. It's hard to sincerely concern oneself with usability when the main objective is to manufacture consent, manipulate the user into doing something you want, and use novelty or gamification to engage or convert. The poor design, flashy animations and other such cruft are a byproduct of this mentality - they may not always be inherently malicious in themselves but they are the result of a mindset which doesn't truly prioritize the user's interests.

[reaperducer]

In my company, it's not malice, it's stupidity and a lack of leadership.

Some of the middle managers I deal with regularly lament that our web sites don't look like "real" web sites, because they aren't flashy enough. When I ask them what web sites they consider "real," they say things like "YouTube," or "MTV." Sometimes name their favorite video game, or streaming show.

Fortunately, I'm able to push back on these requests successfully (so far). But sometimes I have to play the "We're a healthcare company, not a toy company" card. Sometimes that doesn't work, and I have to go over people's heads.

More and more, the people in charge don't know the difference between a web site, an app, a video game, or one of those TV police dramas where someone shouts "Enhance!" and a crime is solved.

[thrashh]

I don’t think it’s malice at all.

I use many products where I think “wow, this doesn’t make sense. do the people who make this use their own product?”

Then I people watch at work (in every department of course) and I see them do routine things that they seem to hate doing everyday and I think “wow, I would try to do it this other way but ok”

Then on meetings on my team, someone will suggest something that checks all the requirements, but I would have to speak up and roleplay as our support personnel after this feature is released

I have come to the conclusion that people are much harder workers than me.

[dkarl]

> gray area between incompetence and malice

Meaning there's enough incompetence going around to provide plausible deniability for routine malice.

[pessimizer]

If your intent is malice and those are the skills you're hiring for, you won't have to fake incompetence when it comes to usability.