I was speaking to a reader of this blog in person, and was struck by something they said – that being such an ‘online’ person I had simply taken for granted.

They had wanted to leave a comment on this blog, but hadn’t simply because the form asked for ‘Username’, The reader assumed that you had to be a member or register to leave a comment, and thus didn’t.

[The comment form has been changed to say “Your Name” now, if anyone else was previously hesitant.]

This struck me as being a very simple example of how usability can effect interactions, how a simple misunderstanding or ambiguous word or phrase can stop online debate in its tracks.

Further it shows just how much ones own perspective, experience and familiarity with our own industry can effect how we see things, what we don’t see, and the disproportionate level of ‘ease’ we attribute to certain tasks and the jargon that surrounds them.

I am sure I am not alone, in having had the odd chuckle or wry smile when someone discusses their difficulties with certain online activities that we take akin to breathing.

I know one person, names shall not be named to protect the innocent, that has re-registered on Facebook a numerous times because they kept forgetting their password and found the password reset process too involved or too difficult.

The simple lesson I think is that not everyone is as familiar as you are with your area of focus, that is ideally why you are being paid for your expertise.

This kind of simplicity and ease of use should be attempted:

Of course one should try and get this to happen with an 70 or 80 year old as well.