Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Mouse
Raised as a usability problem by 49 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 47 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Every issue, all time, most people first
Switching hands between keyboard and mouse wastes time finding cursorUnreviewed
20102026- Mouse input is imprecise, takes hands off keyboard, and needs conscious effort2024-10-27
- Using a mouse takes hands off keyboard and is slow compared to keyboard jumps2022-10-09
- Hand has to move between mouse and keyboard, disrupting typing flow2021-09-17
Heavy mouse use causes repetitive strain injuryUnreviewed
20102026- Precise mouse work causes eyestrain headaches and the GUI is ergonomically unsafe2026-04-25
- Hard to spot the cursor on a large screen, so the user must jiggle the mouse2023-04-18
- Reaching for the mouse breaks concentration and forces eyes and hand to re-orient2021-07-28
Mouse clicks need precise aiming and add delay versus shortcutsUnreviewed
20102026- Cursor lands a character off, forcing repeated clicks and slow precise aiming2021-06-01
- Mouse clicking needs precise aiming and adds noticeable delay versus keyboard shortcuts2021-06-01
- Switching to the mouse interrupts flow and makes clicking the right target error-prone2019-12-17
Mouse selection causes slight mistakes that need cleaning upUnreviewed
20102026- Mouse input gets hijacked, so selecting text to copy does something else instead2026-05-04
- Mouse selection overshoots or undershoots, especially for text wider than the screen2021-06-01
- Selecting exact text with a mouse is fiddly, forcing undo and redo of mistakes2016-10-17
Small trackballs are awkward for fine cursor controlUnreviewed
20102026- Small trackballs are awkward and terrible for fine cursor control2023-03-11
- Thumb trackballs are painful after seconds and hard to control precisely2018-01-18
- Trackball-style movement is awfully unintuitive for most people2013-11-09
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 50 complaints
- Side back button is too easy to press accidentally while gripping or repositioning the mouse2026-08-31
- Replaced pointer hides the target, making precise positioning over small items guesswork2026-05-12
- Mouse input gets hijacked, so selecting text to copy does something else instead2026-05-04
- Precise mouse work causes eyestrain headaches and the GUI is ergonomically unsafe2026-04-25
- Mouse can't be configured for low latency, accurate, linear movement on Mac2026-01-10
- Mouse wheels are too imprecise for fine-grained audio control adjustments2025-12-29
- Three-button mice brought confusion even to the people designing the UI2025-03-18
- Mouse input is imprecise, takes hands off keyboard, and needs conscious effort2024-10-27
- Researchers couldn't remember button combinations, and the buttons confused users across apps2024-08-17
- Mouse switches to a powered-off computer and gets stranded, requiring manual Bluetooth button cycling2023-12-28
- Hard to spot the cursor on a large screen, so the user must jiggle the mouse2023-04-18
- Signing documents with a mouse is miserable and hard for ordinary people2023-03-17
- Small trackballs are awkward and terrible for fine cursor control2023-03-11
- Accidentally pressing side buttons mid-game triggers unrelated popups and mistakes2023-02-13
- Using a mouse takes hands off keyboard and is slow compared to keyboard jumps2022-10-09
- Mouse-based text selection is cumbersome compared to keyboard methods in vim2022-06-16
- Must search for and copy-paste device-specific commands each fresh install to disable mouse acceleration2021-11-11
- Users refuse to install mouse drivers, fearing hidden functions and not knowing what they do2021-11-09
- Hand has to move between mouse and keyboard, disrupting typing flow2021-09-17
- Must sign in and download a 200 MB file to use the mouse2021-08-23
- Extra mouse buttons don't work unless the user logs in to the driver2021-08-23
- Mouse use on Mac feels far less efficient than on Linux2021-08-23
- Reaching for the mouse breaks concentration and forces eyes and hand to re-orient2021-07-28
- Cursor lands a character off, forcing repeated clicks and slow precise aiming2021-06-01
- Mouse selection overshoots or undershoots, especially for text wider than the screen2021-06-01
- Mouse clicking needs precise aiming and adds noticeable delay versus keyboard shortcuts2021-06-01
- Hard to point precisely, even after long use2021-02-03
- Basic shortcuts like next tab fail to work often, especially on new tab page or while pages load2020-08-21
- Cursor needs whole arm movement to cross the screen2020-05-23
- Back gesture unexpectedly exits the app, losing the user's place2020-05-21
- Switching hands from keyboard to mouse and finding the cursor wastes time when done often2019-12-20
- Mouse is unusable for blind users because it gives no non-visual way to locate position2019-12-19
- Switching to the mouse interrupts flow and makes clicking the right target error-prone2019-12-17
- Switching from typing to the mouse to reposition the cursor breaks focus and takes time2019-02-12
- Mouse-based interaction is slow and cumbersome for this user, who prefers keyboard-only terminal workflows2018-05-31
- Repeatedly switching from keyboard to mouse hurts hand and shoulder2018-05-05
- Thumb trackballs are painful after seconds and hard to control precisely2018-01-18
- Clicking a precise point requires moving to it and not missing, which is frustrating2017-11-04
- Cursor is in a different place each time, forcing attention to shift to find it2017-06-13
- Looking for and aiming at buttons or nested menus steals focus from the task2017-03-12
- Selecting exact text with a mouse is fiddly, forcing undo and redo of mistakes2016-10-17
- Slow final positioning makes precise clicking on small targets hard2014-12-15
- Switching between mouse and keyboard to select and replace text is disruptive and slows editing2014-12-10
- Heavy mouse use causes repetitive strain injury, forcing a fall-back to other input.2014-12-01
- Gestures are easy to misinterpret and hide the target action, so they feel inefficient2014-10-10
- Trackball-style movement is awfully unintuitive for most people2013-11-09
- Clicks small sensitive thumb buttons accidentally by mistake2012-10-07
- Mouse selection leads to slight mistakes that need cleaning up2011-06-15
- Dragging to select text requires care to avoid selecting too much or too little2010-12-24
- Pressing the scroll wheel too hard pastes random text into code2010-02-12