Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Rich text editors
Raised as a usability problem by 9 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2011–2026), in 10 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
Bold formatting switches off when cursor moves blocksUnreviewed
20112026- Can't tell whether typed text will inherit nearby italic or bold formatting2025-06-04
- Bold formatting carries over unexpectedly to the next word while editing2020-09-09
- Bold formatting switches off unexpectedly when the cursor moves to another block of text2019-12-04
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 10 complaints
- Editor-generated HTML breaks elsewhere, like PDF reports and API filters, causing endless layout and stripping problems2026-04-12
- Can't tell whether typed text will inherit nearby italic or bold formatting2025-06-04
- Deleting a newline deletes an inline image instead; formatting carries over when adding plain text2021-12-27
- Visible editing and internal formatting state break; links format inconsistently2020-11-12
- Bold formatting carries over unexpectedly to the next word while editing2020-09-09
- Bold formatting switches off unexpectedly when the cursor moves to another block of text2019-12-04
- Editor shortcuts clash with browser shortcuts, producing unexpected behavior, and editors are slow2017-07-13
- Heavier formatting makes the editor slower and less responsive while typing2015-10-19
- Making text bold or styled requires memorizing hotkeys or clicking buttons2012-05-21
- Pasted Word formatting is lost, so users must reapply styles manually2011-08-02