Websites That Break Things

I saw on Hacker News that Google is cracking down on websites that hijack the back button in spammy ways. First, yeah, right! Google will not crack down on the worst of the bunch that are also loaded down with ads. If you have used Google recently, you’d know they don’t give a shit about spam. The top results are usually spammy sites loaded with Google’s ads.

I cannot remember offhand where it was, but not too long ago I ran into this exact issue a couple of times recently. I clicked on a search result, and when it turned out to not be what I was searching for. That was on my tablet. That is all I remember about it, but it was pretty annoying.

It is like they want everything to be like an app. I have complained about it before, but apps tend to be loaded with inconsistencies and new ways to reinvent the wheel, so you wind up having to guess how to get something to work.

Another annoyance is when a website hijacks scrolling. This is something I will often see on news-type sites. You see the article and read the first paragraph or so, and when you go to scroll, a popup blocks it. I have no problem with them wanting to make money. They have bills to pay and people to pay, and they aim to earn an income. Just don’t be user-unfriendly about it. Ideally Google would not index paywalled stuff or give you a way to ignore these sites.

Shopping websites are the worst with these pop-ups. I believe it must be a Shopify thing, but that is just my guess. I don’t know whether those pop-ups are triggered by scrolling or time or just that shop sites are as slow as old dial-up internet. The pop-ups are usually begging for email and spin the wheel for a coupon. They take up the whole screen on my browser with enlarged text. Then I have to play the guessing game to guess how to close it.