General Discussions

**stoot98** · 10:56 AM

Hey guys

I came across this website through an HCI class at uni last year and it came up again recently - I thought it was a particularly interesting experiment and concept as to whether you could navigate without the use of clicks in an easy way.

The website is www.dontclick.it and has an entirely "no click" interface.

I thought it would be interesting to see some opinions from the members and get a wee discussion going - after all the majority of us are dealing with web design and HCI all the time!

What did you think of the clickless navigation? Did you miss the click? Hard to use? Possible to implement in everyday design? etc etc

-Stoot

Edit: Just thought I'd point out an particularly interesting area of the site which i reckon you should check out if it's the only bit you do. Explore -> The Button Lab

**Christopher** · 10-28-2006, 02:03 PM

I hate it

Before an action is taken I prefer to initiate it, and a mouse hover is too fickle IMO to be considered a viable indicator.

**vangogh** · 10-28-2006, 03:09 PM

I'm with Chris on this. I hated it too. It came across to me as highly unusable. I don't think it's about getting used to not clicking at all, but it's taking the choice away from me. It's too easy to accidentally bump your mouse and land on a new page.

I'm not really sure why anyone would think it's a benefit to remove the click in the first place. It's not exactly an obstacle to getting anywhere on the web.

If I was to come across a site like this it would only take one time for a link to activate without a click before I left never to return. Having control over that click is an important usability issue to me.

**stoot98** · 10-28-2006, 04:56 PM

I agree with the issue of feeling 'the choice' is taken away from you with a hover as opposed to a click but personally i didnt have any problem with it from a useability point of view, i rarily opened sections i didnt intend to but even then it wasnt too hard to correct it. I don't believe there will be a rush to implement such technology but as much as being useful it is pretty cool....

Again, i'd like to point you guys to the section (Explore -> The Button Lab) which explores alternative methods such as Timed Hover, Slide and Circle. These methods remove almost all ambiguity when it comes to your intention.

I'm gonna play a bit of Devil's advocat here just to fuel the debate (assuming one gets started.....

)...

Quote:

I'm not really sure why anyone would think it's a benefit to remove the click in the first place. It's not exactly an obstacle to getting anywhere on the web.

Consider you had no fingers? or no hands? Could removing the click be beneficial then? I think someone in such a position would beg to differ with you.
There seems to be alot of issues regarding accessibility on the net of late and the bigger companies are being 'forced' to comply with new rules etc. Could this be the new standard of web accessibility? Probably not. But it's interesting to think about...

Also, ever get repetitive strain injury? If clicking could be removed, at least in some activities, it would maybe ease some pain.

-Stoot

**Christopher** · 10-29-2006, 12:54 AM

I can see it from a point where a click cannot work, but even then I'd prefer a different method of activation then simply hovering. Even the button examples still make it more cumbersome then accessible to me. Waiting or performing special maneuvers is too difficult when I can simply click

While perhaps a good idea in theory, I still don't think it is practical.

**vangogh** · 10-29-2006, 11:07 AM

I certainly hadn't considered the issue if having no fingers or hands, and since I have both it's hard for me to understand how well this would work. I wonder though in that situation how much contril over a mouse a person would have and would they always be able to roll over the link they want. I imagine they would, but it's a question.

In the case of no fingers or hands I would think there's a better option entirely for navigating than a mouse. Maybe voice commands, though I realize that's a more complex solution.

Here's an issue that occurs for me. When I land on a page I want to read I'll often move my cursor toward the edge of the page so it doesn't block any text. The move is usually a sweeping one and it's very easy to roll over navigation links doing this.

For me the control issue is a big part how I navigate. I don't like when an application does something until I tell it to. I suppose in some respects it would just be learning to navigate this way and I would be controlling things by not mousing over them.

Like Chris I can see there's an issue, but I don't think this will prove to be the best solution. I think it will make things harder for all, but those who might have an issue with clicking and it loses the functionality of everything we currently use for a mouse over. And I just think there is a better solution.

It's interesting I'll grant you, but I wouldn't want to navigate a site this way. The discussion is interesting though and I'm happy to have you convince me otherwise.

**forumGuru** · 10-29-2006, 12:19 PM

Interesting concept but I don't like it either. Made me feel a bit sea sick actually