Flickr should know bettr!

Posted on | October 21, 2005 | 10 Comments

So, I’ve just switched from Safari to Firefox, so I have to sign in to all my web services. Including Flickr. Arriving at the sign in page, I see:

Flickr Shame

And then I keep staring. Because I can’t figure out where to sign in. The page before had a link that said “Sign in”. So, naturally I’m looking for form fields. Barring that, I’m looking for a link to those form fields. But the only links I see are to FAQs and a place where I can sign up. I’m already signed up.

Uncertain what to do, I mouse back up to hit the Back button, and I realize something. When my cursor crosses either of the top boxes, there’s a rollover effect, like you see with Flickr below (the cursor disappeared when I did the screen grab — it was hovering over the Flickr box.)

Flickr Rollover

There was nothing to suggest that those things across the top were buttons. No bevels. No links. Just bold text and a gradient fade that made it look like the header of a column.

This is web interface design 101! For shame!

Comments

10 Responses to “Flickr should know bettr!”

BJMe
October 22nd, 2005 @ 9:32 am

If you remember, I had even worse problems with Flickr when they first combined with Yahoo. It took me weeks of emails with Flickr techs and executives to get my account access back on track.
Jackson West
October 22nd, 2005 @ 5:17 pm

It’s funny, I’ve seen this two or three times (computer died, logged in at a different machine, switched to Flock) and it confuses me every time.

How about just putting the login forms at the bottom of each column?
Travis Wilson
October 23rd, 2005 @ 12:05 pm

Better yet, how about a single sign-on form that authenticates against both user databases? I never understand why websites want me to explain things about me that they already know. One login, the site tries it against both the Yahoo and Flickr user databases, one less thing for the user to think about.

Clients are usually pretty happy about this idea once I explain it to them.

For another incomprehensible UI, what’s the deal with the typekey form, used on this site, that says:

Do you want to share your email address with this site?
( ) Yes
( ) No

To submit that form, you need to press a button that says “Share email address”.
Travis Wilson
October 23rd, 2005 @ 12:05 pm

Better yet, how about a single sign-on form that authenticates against both user databases? I never understand why websites want me to explain things about me that they already know. One login, the site tries it against both the Yahoo and Flickr user databases, one less thing for the user to think about.

Clients are usually pretty happy about this idea once I explain it to them.

For another incomprehensible UI, what’s the deal with the typekey form, used on this site, that says:

Do you want to share your email address with this site?
( ) Yes
( ) No

To submit that form, you need to press a button that says “Share email address”.
Travis Wilson
October 23rd, 2005 @ 12:06 pm

Better yet, how about a single sign-on form that authenticates against both user databases? I never understand why websites want me to explain things about me that they already know. One login, the site tries it against both the Yahoo and Flickr user databases, one less thing for the user to think about.

Clients are usually pretty happy about this idea once I explain it to them.

For another incomprehensible UI, what’s the deal with the typekey form, used on this site, that says:

Do you want to share your email address with this site?
( ) Yes
( ) No

To submit that form, you need to press a button that says “Share email address”.
Travis Wilson
October 23rd, 2005 @ 12:09 pm

Hey, look, I seem to have stumbled across another interface difficulty in typekey. perhaps Peter would be kind enough to delete a couple of those duplicate posts.
Paul Morriss
October 24th, 2005 @ 3:43 am

When I hover my mouse over the pictures above, my cursor doesn’t change at all
nirvana poster girl
October 24th, 2005 @ 7:48 am

If only all websites and webdesigners had the Steve Jobs obsession with perfection. Most of us are just hackers that are happy when the script works and then move on.
Emily
October 27th, 2005 @ 7:44 am

You’re right-this is a dumb design. I hate websites where the first page loads, and you sit there…and then finally figure out that you can’t enter the site until you roll over a certain spot on the screen…which doesn’t appear until you have rolled over it.
Nimrod_NZ
November 8th, 2005 @ 2:30 pm

Saying “Or use….” would be immediately clueful too