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Submit buttons are bad UI to start with. All content should be directly editable. You don't see a submit button on word processors.

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People who use the web are used to have some sort of confirmation that their data has been safely squirrelled away somewhere. When I use sites that behave like this, I often find myself going back to the settings page to make sure my new settings have actually been changed, even though I understand the technology behind it.

I expect to see this change to match desktop expectations eventually, but I agree. Connectivity, and web apps themselves, can be unreliable, so it feels safer to see a new page load to confirm that our settings have been saved.

Additionally, many Windows apps still use OK, Cancel, Apply buttons in settings dialogs. The instant saving of settings is more of a Mac thing. Users are going to expect similar things from UI on the web, and the majority are probably new to the idea of no save/cancel choice.

The fact that people are "used to it" doesn't make it the best UI choice.

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