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Comment by timjahn | Hacker News Reader

Everybody I've talked to feels that faded overlays (#5 on this list) are super annoying from a user experience perspective. And I agree.

Everybody I've talked to says their data shows faded overlays are VERY effective at increasing email subscriber signups. And I agree based on my data.

Weird, isn't it? Heh.

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If the average user was sparked to initiative by their annoyance, we wouldn't have the DMV.

So, so true.

Sort of, but it's a selection bias at both ends.

Almost everyone I talk to on a regular basis uses OS X or Linux and isn't a fan of Microsoft. Yet Windows 7 is still the most popular operating system out there.

I suspect the people you like to talk to are mostly informed, intelligent people who find UI gimmicks a pain in the butt. Yet the majority of people are not like that, so the real world statistics play out differently. If I had to guess :-)

Same. It seems possible explanations are that 1) It is the vocal minority that are annoyed by these or 2) While perhaps effective once for capturing an email address, if you did a longitudinal study you'd find it results in less engagement over time (I remember reading somewhere that slow webpage speeds don't effect engagement during a given session, but rather cause people to not come back over time).

#2 not substantiated by evidence. Sorry, specifics NDAed.

I bet there is a significant portion of inexperienced users who are annoyed by those and then fill in their emails just to get it out of the way.

I'm curious to know if faded overlays increase bounce rate. I suppose if overall conversion rates are higher it can't affect things too much.

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