Web Users Judge Sites in the Blink of an Eye

dogbolter writes "Nature.com is reporting on a study by Canadian researcher Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University that visitors to a webpage can make up their minds about the quality of the page within just 50 milliseconds." From the article: "We all know that first impressions count, but this study shows that the brain can make flash judgments almost as fast as the eye can take in the information. The discovery came as a surprise to some experts. "My colleagues believed it would be impossible to really see anything in less than 500 milliseconds," says Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa, who has published the research in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology. Instead they found that impressions were made in the first 50 milliseconds of viewing."

Comments

dupe

[Anonymous Coward]

I knew within 50 nanoseconds that this was a dupe.

I was going to RTFA

[Iron Fusion]

But after 50 milliseconds I decided I didn't like the page.

Coming up next:

[Per Wigren]

Dark Energy May Be Changing

Oh, deja-vu !

[javaDragon]

It happens when they change somthing in the Matrix, so beware, agents are coming!

Posted Yesterday by Zonk

[Tim C]

Grab your +5 comments here for some instant karma. Well, the editors dupe the articles, we might as well dupe the comments...

Question

[Fiachra06]

I may be asking for it here but I always wondered this. I've been reading /. for years but only recently started posting and my question is, why do some people get so angry about dupes? They can be a bit annoying, yes but I've read some really horrible and insulting remaks to the editors in the past because of dupes. I mean people seem furious. It's like the editors kicked their children and stole the ice-cream while delivering the household bills. Have I missed something that makes this crime so heinous.

Re:Question

[Antony.S]

Have I missed something that makes this crime so heinous.

Yes but don't worry, it'll be posted again soon

Re:Question

[Tim C]

There are a number of reasons; here are some, in no particular order:

1) There are people whose job it is to edit and approve submissions; these people are paid to do this. Some people find it annoying when people are apparently not doing a very good job of something.

2) Every dupe posted is a potential new and interesting article rejected.

3) Some people pay a subscription to the site; some of these people feel (rightly or wrongly) that as they're paying money, they have a right to expect a certain level of quality and profesionalism, and feel that the number and frequency of dupes does not meet this level.

4) It's primarily a technical problem, and the audience is tech-heavy; thus many of us can think of (and sometimes suggest) potential solutions, and it's frustrating that nothing seems to be being done about it

5) Many of us think (rightly or wrongly) that the major strength of the site is in the discussions that the articles generate - that is, in the comments that we post. Some people think (rightly or wrongly) that as they therefore provide most of the value of the site, they should have some kind of say in how it works, or at least have their concerns and complaints acknowledged.

6) As you note, there are many, many complaints about dupe articles, yet I have not seen any official reply to any of these. While it's entirely possible that I've just missed it, it does seem that our comments are falling on deaf ears. People don't like to feel ignored.

Now, there's no excuse for all the vitriol, but some people are really getting frustrated about things. Between the lack of any apparent action or even response about dupes (and **Beatles-Beatles posts, apparent moderation abuse, Roland P, etc), some people are over-reacting and lashing out. The rest of us, well, we just wish that something would be done about it, or at least that there would be a public announcement (or a even FAQ entry) stating the official position of the editors, and what (if anything) they intend to do about it.

Re:Question

[jdavidb]

4) It's primarily a technical problem, and the audience is tech-heavy; thus many of us can think of (and sometimes suggest) potential solutions, and it's frustrating that nothing seems to be being done about it

We can at least check what Taco has said when this has been brought up recently

6) As you note, there are many, many complaints about dupe articles, yet I have not seen any official reply to any of these. While it's entirely possible that I've just missed it, it does seem that our comments are falling on deaf ears. People don't like to feel ignored.

Feel better about #6 now? At least a little? I mean, I realize Rob may be completely off base, or even lying or something. But that is his official reply to your #4. And it's been the official reply for quite some time now, actually, although I think the recent comment is more informative.

Am I the only one who read Taco's entire posting history the day of that "meta-story" about slashdot, where he actually got down and answered our questions for once?