slopped.siteBad UI

Controls that work, eventually.

44 deliberately terrible controls, each one real. You can set the volume. It just takes a while.

Every exhibit has a plain way out, labelled Skip / give me a normal one. Nothing you type leaves the page. All of it is AI-made, on purpose.

Bad UI of the day

No. 032 · Misleading affordance

Yes or no, off by one

For answering a question with radio buttons whose labels are a row out.

Try it

The registry 044

Random exhibit
Kind of bad

All 44 exhibits.

  1. No. 001 Volume, thrown For setting the volume by bowling it up a ramp. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  2. No. 002 Brightness, on the level For setting the brightness with a marble and a spirit level. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  3. No. 003 Year, by pendulum For picking a year by stopping a pendulum on it. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  4. No. 004 Quantity, by plunger For ordering between one and nine of something, pinball style. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  5. No. 005 Amount, poured For entering a number of millilitres the way a kettle would. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  6. No. 006 Opacity, set in jelly For setting opacity with a handle that keeps going. Physics-basedDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  7. No. 007 Every day since 1900 For entering a date by scrolling past all the others first. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  8. No. 008 Phone number, by slot machine For entering a phone number with a lever. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  9. No. 009 Email, one character at a time For entering an email address from a drop-down of every character. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  10. No. 010 A password it will accept For choosing a password the field likes, once it has seen a few. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  11. No. 011 Name, in Morse For typing a name with one button. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 5 of 5
  12. No. 012 Year, alphabetised For picking a year from a drop-down sorted by how the year is spelled. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 2 of 5
  13. No. 013 Volume, in binary For setting the volume with seven switches and some arithmetic. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  14. No. 014 Colour, by the drop For choosing a colour the way a decorator does: one drop at a time, no undo. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  15. No. 015 Commission the Slopwright For ordering a small impossible thing in a found container. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  16. No. 016 Search, autocorrected For searching for a word the field thinks it knows better than. Input tortureDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  17. No. 017 Unsubscribe, if you must For leaving a mailing list that would prefer you didn’t. Dark patternsDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  18. No. 018 Cookies, declined For saying no to cookies on a site that doesn’t use any. Dark patternsDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  19. No. 019 Cancel the free trial For cancelling a membership of a club that doesn’t exist. Dark patternsDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  20. No. 020 Checkout, after closing For ordering office chairs from a showroom where nothing is in stock. Dark patternsDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  21. No. 021 Just one For buying one of something from a basket that recommends three. Dark patternsDifficulty to use: 2 of 5
  22. No. 022 Month, by prize wheel For picking a month at the fair. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  23. No. 023 Feedback, levelled up For leaving a comment once you’ve earned the Submit button. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  24. No. 024 Name, by snake For spelling a name by eating the letters in order. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 5 of 5
  25. No. 025 Quantity, from the claw For choosing a number from a claw machine with a weak grip. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  26. No. 026 Rating, by dice For leaving a star rating, if the dice agree. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 2 of 5
  27. No. 027 Terms, with achievements For ticking “I agree” once you’ve unlocked it. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  28. No. 028 Volume, the idle game For turning the volume up by clicking, and down by starting over. Needless gamificationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  29. No. 029 Pages, stapled For setting a number of pages with a slider that staples itself in place. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  30. No. 030 Volume, by the screw For turning it up with the one part that turns. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  31. No. 031 Save, labelled Cancel For saving a note with two buttons that swap jobs. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  32. No. 032 Yes or no, off by one For answering a question with radio buttons whose labels are a row out. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  33. No. 033 Size, from the hover menu For choosing a size from a menu that closes when you go to it. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  34. No. 034 Page, somewhere on the page For picking a page where the links look like text and the text looks like links. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  35. No. 035 Time, with swapped hands For setting the time on a clock whose hands do each other’s jobs. Misleading affordanceDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  36. No. 036 Name, paper on paper For typing your name into a field you can’t see. Accessibility nightmareDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  37. No. 037 A hundred and one buttons For setting the volume with radio buttons three pixels wide. Accessibility nightmareDifficulty to use: 5 of 5
  38. No. 038 Agree, while it moves For ticking a box that won’t hold still. Accessibility nightmareDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  39. No. 039 Status, by colour alone For choosing On, Standby or Off from three nearly identical greens. Accessibility nightmareDifficulty to use: 5 of 5
  40. No. 040 Select every square with slop For proving you’re human by agreeing about the pictures. Accessibility nightmareDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  41. No. 041 Are you sure? For deleting one file through nine dialogs. Infinite confirmationDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  42. No. 042 Email, confirmed twice For entering an email address three times, the last one backwards. Infinite confirmationDifficulty to use: 4 of 5
  43. No. 043 A switch with paperwork For turning notifications off, pending approval. Infinite confirmationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5
  44. No. 044 Sign out, eventually For signing out of an account you don’t have. Infinite confirmationDifficulty to use: 3 of 5