Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Copy and paste
Raised as a usability problem by 24 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 18 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Pasted text carries unwanted source formattingUnreviewed
20102026- Copying article text injects unwanted attribution and URL into clipboard2026-06-16
- Pasted text carries unwanted styling, so users must paste into plain text to clean it2022-05-12
- Pasting brings along unwanted styling, so users must work around it by pasting through a plain-text editor2022-05-12
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 24 complaints
- Copying article text injects unwanted attribution and URL into clipboard2026-06-16
- Forgets what was copied last, so has to go back and redo copy and paste repeatedly2026-02-12
- Cannot replace a selected region by pasting; paste goes to pointer location requiring precise aim2024-08-14
- Copy menu item sometimes disabled when it should be usable2024-07-06
- Pasted text carries unwanted styling, so users must paste into plain text to clean it2022-05-12
- Pasting brings along unwanted styling, so users must work around it by pasting through a plain-text editor2022-05-12
- Copy-paste carries over styling, forcing extra steps to get plain text2022-05-12
- Pasted text brings unwanted styling and formatting along with it2022-05-12
- Pasted text carries unwanted source formatting, causing hassle for users2022-05-12
- Pasting carries over unwanted formatting, forcing users to paste twice to clean it2022-05-12
- Pasting copies unwanted styling and formatting from the source into the destination2022-05-12
- Pasting rich text or HTML drops inline images, so copying is a gamble2021-07-13
- Copy and paste shortcuts are inconsistent across apps, with multiple clipboards and different key combinations2021-03-12
- Cut sits next to copy and shares a neighbouring shortcut, so files get moved by mistake2021-01-11
- Copy and paste is unreliable across apps and remote VMs, needing different buffers and commands2019-11-25
- Inexperienced users reach for mouse menus for copy-paste because UIs don't teach shortcuts2019-02-28
- Copy-pasting between programs carries unwanted formatting, so users must clean text through Notepad2018-06-27
- Dragging selections and copy-pasting repeatedly is time consuming; cursor placement accidentally clicks links2017-01-16
- Copy-pasting installation commands from web instructions is error-prone and hard to manage2015-04-12
- Video button is tiny and hidden, and clicking it navigates away to YouTube2013-08-05
- Big button in install popup downloads a tarball instead of installing the app2013-02-20
- Copy/paste is a hidden mode with no visual feedback, unpredictable paste results, and only one clipboard slot2012-05-09
- Users can't reliably copy and paste, and know only one method that may fail2010-08-24
- Copied text gets extra links appended, so user must remove them each time2010-01-29