Today's curmudgeonly rant is brought to you courtesy of cnn.com. During my bogarting of Jen's computer (before she leaves tomorrow for Irvine, CA) I happened across a couple of articles on their front page that looked interesting.
Clicking on them, however, led to video clips. Which led to immediate use of the back button.
Look, I'm not against video on the internet. I don't agree with Mark Cuban that there's no future for TV over the internet, especially since I've stayed up all night before catching up on 30 Rock on hulu.com.
The problem is that I like to read, and I expect the links that I click on to lead to text with the occasional picture. I find it jarring when I'm met with video and noise - to the point that I've considered removing the media players from my computer so it won't automatically happen. NOTE: espn.com is especially egregious since they start a clip from one of their shows automatically.
It's bad enough on the fluff sites, but the disturbing trend has also infiltrated sites that are supposed to help with work. When I'm looking for technical help I want something that I can print out, carry with me, make notes on, etc. I am not interested in seeing someone else configure a router or switch on YouTube. If they want to set themselves on fire while unicycling down a mountain then I'll show up with bells on. Shoot, if they're using their BlackBerry to configure a router during the stunt I'll be even more impressed. I won't use it to figure out how I can do the same, though.
Are we becoming a subliterate society? Is it really that difficult to read the ~ 500 words that comprise an article? Does this stick in anyone else's craw? Do I need to find a clip on YouTube explaining what it means to stick in a craw?
*sigh*
4 comments:
any type of sound upon entry to a website is a huge pet peeve of mine
I totally agree!! I want to read my news, not have it played as a video. You are right on target. I guess that makes me a curmudgeon too!
Me, three. I hate being lured into something I think is an article only to find it's actually a video clip. I rarely watch video clips online unless I've deliberately searched for them; stumbling across one when I'm trying to READ is so annoying.
From the oldest curmudgeon, I agree. I hate noise when clicking on a web site or article and too use the back button immediately. That is unless I have specifically searched it out. Looks like you hit a nerve with several people.
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