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Comment by dmix | Hacker News Reader

Usability and web standards are practiced for good reasons. This form ignores all of them.

It's very successful on the "get social media sites to link to us" standard.

Definitely a novelty. It cool because it is different, but it is also less usable because it is different.

It is an interesting strategy to somehow make the registration page news worthy. Unfortunately, assuming visitors sign up, they don't know what they are signing up for.

The content or features need to be the main draw to your site.

this is so hard to use, so hard, so hard... type in username. So hard to use: ignores "usability standards"... type in password. How can anyone use this?! Completely unconventional... type in email.

I hate to see a novel approach like this poo-pooed because it's not a rubber stamp copy of big-web design principles, and without justification, no less.

The fonts changes are a little funky, and that's about the only criticism I have. It's easy to follow and usable. I really like it.

I don't think it ignores usability at all; it seems very focused on it.

Breaking expected flows makes things harder to understand. I needed to think to use that form.

Some changes over time can improve clarity, but the initial friction is costly.

That fact that you had to think makes it memorable. If a website does the same thing like everyone else, then it will be forgotten like everyone else.

Forgetting the signup form is just fine. Remembering the content or the activity on a site is more important.

Not true. I've forgotten what the site was already, and it's been less than 15 seconds since I last saw it.

I think its a great idea for complex forms gathering in-depth data.

Also you have to read 2 or 3 times as many words just to figure out what goes where. And I can't see what is broken about the way most places organize signup forms now.

I think that, for the sake of memorability, I'd pick an approach like Vimeo's to something like this.

http://vimeo.com/log_in

Although I like the way the original site is straightforward (usability for those new to the web), vimeo does a killer job at integrating their login form into the site design...it actually looks like it's supposed to be there, as opposed to most log-in forms that just look slapped on.

I really don't want to rain on anybodies parade, and I'd really like to like the design just because it's different and original. But unfortunately, I don't think it's a step up in terms of usability.

Ignoring stuff that others have already pointed out, there's no way to know which fields are required before you submit. Not a big thing in the grand scheme. But it's kind of a no-brainer, always recommended usability thing.

It might not be conventional but if you stuck this form in front of someone that had never used a web based form before I think they'd find it quite usable.

As for ignoring web standards have you looked at the markup? It's compliant HTML5: http://adactio.com/journal/1524/

It might not be conventional but if you stuck this form in front of someone that had never used a web based form before I think they'd find it quite usable.

I like the whimsicality of this form, but...

Do you think there's a chance that anyone, ever, will see this form before having successfully registered at more traditional forms dozens (if not hundreds) of times?

'Usable to someone who's never used another website' is not the most practical standard of usability. "Users spend most of their time on other sites," after all.

Huffduff may still for reasons of personality prefer this form, but I don't think it can be said to win on usability considerations.

Oddly, most regular "web based forms" look just like paper based forms. You don't fill your taxes out on a form that looks like:

Hi, my name is _____ and I'm a _______ who made $___,_____ last year. I already paid $___,____ through my employer and I have ___ children and will be taking _____, ______, _____, _____, and _____ as deductions. I had capital gains of $__,____. Also, I would like to donate ___ dollars to farmers and ____ dollars to political campaigns, and I am aware that any donations do not affect my tax obligations at all. This was filled out on the ___ day of the ___ month in the year of our _____, 20__.

I agree. This is total FAIL.

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