People Don't Read Instructions
softuts.com
softuts.com
At the same time the same people will tell you "why didn't you tell me that, there should be a warning". They really do believe they would have read it. Sometimes, I feel like we code around the worst / most vocal users who regardless would have complained anyway.
My first bit of software that I ever wrote for commercial use, the first demo bombed, they hated it. They had dozens of demands. Everything was was not what they wanted according to their feedback. It was very deflating as I was sure it was what they wanted.
The next week I was scheduled to present all the changes they wanted. Before I could speak they interrupted me saying "wow this is great, we love the update".
There were no updates. Not a single line of code changed, it was identical to what they hated.
That is to say I don't think there's any replacement for time using software and to some extent all verbalized complaint / recommendations are ... sub optimal. In my current role I ask our clients to build a list of their impressions for the first month (or even more) and then revisit that list after a month. A lot of requests magically vanish off that list.
With my game-dev job, we had a game that only had 4 buttons (the arrow keys!!). We tried tutorials in so many ways (pop-ups, show videos, teach keys one by one, it doesn't work).
What kind of works, is to put them into the game, and if they don't do anything, show a flashing icon of the button to press, right next to their character/goal. That being said, most of the players still didn't notice the icons.
Putting them into the game works because people are already where they want to be. They want to be playing the game, not to be stuck in the tutorial. So the tutorial, should look/feel like the game, not like a separate thing.
That's a really great and simple idea. Change is hard and it takes time for people to adjust, even if they requested change in the first place. Things like muscle memory and habit can cause a lot of up front discomfort, but basically requesting that they take the time to allow those things to catch up can really shift their perspective of the new normal.
If it is hidden under a 20-page lawyer speak TOS document they will likely miss it.
If they can't dismiss it, yes. If they already entered the app with the goal of doing something, most people will skip it. (e.g. you open your email client to check on a very important email, if a big warning appears, doesn't matter how short, you're most likely to dismiss it to continue with reading/responding to the important email).