Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Dialog boxes
Raised as a usability problem by 33 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 28 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Poorly written dialog boxes get clicked past without being understoodUnreviewed
20082026- People dismiss dialog boxes without reading them and miss important warnings2024-06-03
- Dialog element still needs accessibility and interaction improvements to be first-class2022-08-05
- Dialogs grab focus mid-typing, so keystrokes may press a button and agree to something unintended2022-03-25
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 33 complaints
- Ok/Cancel buttons are mismatched, so users can't tell what pressing Ok will do2026-04-06
- Confirm/Cancel button labels make it unclear what action will actually happen2026-01-25
- Unclear whether Cancel means yes or no in save prompt2026-01-25
- Random modals and alerts interrupt focus, requiring constant dismissal during work sessions2025-08-04
- Users habitually click Apply then OK, unsure which buttons do what now2024-06-03
- People dismiss dialog boxes without reading them and miss important warnings2024-06-03
- Dialog boxes open off-screen on multi-monitor setups, so users must use keyboard tricks to find them2023-10-16
- Dialog element still needs accessibility and interaction improvements to be first-class2022-08-05
- Dialogs grab focus mid-typing, so keystrokes may press a button and agree to something unintended2022-03-25
- Users click Cancel when they meant to confirm, with unclear button labels2022-03-07
- Ambiguous OK and Cancel buttons make it unclear which option cancels2022-03-07
- Save and close buttons scroll out of view, so users must scroll all the way down2021-06-04
- Enter key action depends on which button is default, so users must check before pressing2020-04-18
- Users misread a yes/no dialog and pick the wrong option2019-09-12
- Inconsistent button meanings make people unsure what dismissing a prompt will do2018-10-23
- Button order is deliberately reversed to trick users into clicking the wrong button2018-06-09
- Users click through warning dialogs without reading them2017-05-17
- Confirmation popup prompts users to close the tab instead of staying2017-01-10
- Dialog boxes are poorly designed for users2015-08-11
- Pop-up dialogs steal focus so typed Enter confirms something unintended2014-09-16
- Randomly swapped button placement leads users to make mistakes2014-03-27
- Users habitually click OK on dialogs, so a destructive confirmation gets clicked through unread2013-10-22
- Negated dialog questions like "Don't delete x?" make it hard to tell which answer does what2013-01-07
- OK/Cancel labels feel less clear than Yes/No for confirming choices2012-06-17
- Inconsistent OK button placement makes users slower to find the right button2012-06-17
- Users must hunt for the OK or Cancel button, adding steps and scanning time2012-06-17
- Users dismiss error dialogs unread and repeat the failing action2012-06-17
- Modal dialogs interrupt the user's flow of work2011-12-07
- Preference dialogs force extra confirmation clicks after every change, which the user finds unnecessary2010-10-09
- Dialog boxes ask questions the computer doesn't understand, frustrating like automated phone menus2010-04-17
- Dialog boxes with poor writing get clicked past without being understood2009-09-20
- Users reflexively click OK on dialog boxes without reading them, causing the problem they called about2008-12-17
- Users must read the full sentence to understand unexpected dialog choices instead of scanning labels2008-09-01