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by gib444 105 days ago
Imagine you go into a shop to buy a newspaper every day. And every day, the shop owner explains to you what a newspaper is, what it usually contains, how much it costs, and how to read it

Is that excellent interaction design and good customer service? (edit: not a rhetorical question fwiw)
2 comments
__jonas 105 days ago
Government services need to be as easily accessible and clear to understand as possible, they may be used by the elderly, people with learning disabilities or people who don’t speak the language of the country that well (like those who would want to enter it for tourism as in TFA) - designing them with the assumption that the user is a 5 year old who needs everything explained to them in simple terms is a good approach.

The fact that it’s slightly more tiring for users like you who already know all the details and just want to get to the point is at most a minor drawback that’s easily justifiable by the accessibility gains.

To answer your question specifically: No, for a newspaper vendor that’s not great interaction design, but if you replace newspaper with any government service and shop owner with the government, it sounds perfect to me. I also struggle to imagine a scenario in which you’d need to access those services every single day, but I may be missing something there.

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esskay 105 days ago
Do you not get how awful of an analogy that is? You're implying you cant move forward until that explanation process is done. Last I checked you've got a finger and scroll wheel at your disposal.
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gib444 105 days ago
Analogies aren't perfect by definition (it doesn't imply that, btw, you're reaching). Anyway, it's a weak reply to attack the analogy rather than the thought behind it.

I notice you're not the person I asked btw. No need to start a vendetta just because I have a different opinion about one aspect of gov.uk. That's a bad look, for you.

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esskay 105 days ago
Ah apologies, I didn't realise there was an unwritten rule that replying to posts on a discussion forum wasn't allowed...
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gib444 105 days ago
lol, sad - just trying to derail the conversation and attack me rather than engage in decent conversation.
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esskay 103 days ago
if you say so.
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