Month: December 2021

Bad design: The Facebook Like button (iPad app version)

This could be a “maybe it’s just me” issue, but I’m reasonably certain it isn’t.

Facebook (how I loathe thee and wish the few people I communicate with on it used something else, even Fidonet) famously features a Like button. How it works depends a bit on the platform you’re using, but it’s roughly the same:

  • Tap on Like to add the generic “thumbs up” to that adorable post showing a cat trying to walk on ice*
  • Do a long press (mobile) or hover over the button (desktop) to get a choice of several emojis, ranging from sad to angry to sympathetic, to add the needed nuance to your wordless reaction

Here’s my problem, and it only happens in the iPad version of the Facebook app: When I tap on the Like button, which is actually a small thumbs-up icon and the word Like, it will sometimes turn the icon a bold blue, adding a Like to the post–as intended.

But way more often when I tap on the Like button, it instead takes me to the separate page for that post–while also not actually adding the Like (the Like button is also on the separate page for the post, so you can tap it there, too, where it always works as intended).

The maddening part for me is the inconsistency. Sometimes I tap and a Like gets added, as I want. Sometimes it takes me to the post’s page–which is *never* the desired response. It doesn’t even make sense that tapping the Like button even does that. It’s either a bug or bad design.

The inconsistency makes it that much worse, because doing the same thing can yield different results. I can get a Like added, or be taken to the post’s page (with no Like added) by:

  • Tapping on the thumb icon
  • Tapping the word Like next to the thumb icon
  • Tapping somewhere over both (it’s not a big target)

I may experiment with running the desktop version on the iPad, which has the bonus of actually having a working dark mode. I’ll also see if I can replicate this behavior on another iPad and if not, will be willing to amend this post to “Facebook continues to undermine democracy and poison our world but the iPad app is working as intended.”

* Aw yes, another chance to post this:

Run 671: Cold comfort

I headed out a bit earlier today, though the weather did not threaten showers or anything. Mostly I am warming up (ho ho) to the idea of morning runs. As it turned out, the run itself began exactly at noon.

It was cloudy and cool on the walk to the lake and warmed up one degree, to 4C, by the time I got there. My hands were a bit cold, as were my arms (despite two layers), but it wasn’t horrible or anything, and I knew I would warm up quickly once I started running–which I did.

I made sure to avoid sprinting like a madman because I knew the low temperature would put a strain on my system beyond the normal “oh hey I’m running five km” strain. As it was, my BPM was four higher than the last run, which doesn’t seem bad, except last run’s BPM was weirdly high and today’s is right at the edge of my upper safe limit if you go by the formula of “subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum exercise heart rate.” This is a little concerning, but I actually felt fine during the run. I even felt good on the last km, finding a comfortable pace, so we’ll see how it goes over the next few runs, especially if it remains chilly.

Other than the higher BPM, the run went fine. The trail was not very busy and the few other runners I saw were pretty bundled up and most of them looked vaguely uncomfortable.

This was also the first time since I resumed running in August that I completed all three of my weekly runs–woo! It may actually become a (healthy) habit again.

After the run and as I was walking out from the lake, I saw a Stellar’s Jay hanging out by the stump where Fred the demon squirrel resides, so that was neat, as I’ve never seen one at the lake before.

Stats:

Run 671
Average pace: 6:06/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop back)
Start: 12:00 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 30:42
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 4ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: light
BPM: 163
Weight: 179.5
Total distance to date: 4961 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (81 km)

Run 670: Slow and dry

I once again checked the weather forecast and the news was grim: Another major deluge on the way today, with the chance of rain increasing as the day progressed. I decided to head out even earlier than my last few runs, just shortly after 9:30 a.m.

I further cut down on the time outdoors by starting the run as soon as I got to the river.

To my surprise, it remained dry for the entire run and the rest of the afternoon (it finally started to rain in the evening). With the temperature again being unseasonably balmy, conditions were downright mild.

And yet I performed worse than the previous river run, not only by being slower, but also having a higher BPM. Boo.

I can only surmise that I was still feeling Monday’s run, my body was not quite ready to start running so early (relatively speaking) and I only did about a 15-minute warm-up walk. Another factor may have been the pace of the first km took a lot of wind out of my proverbial sails (5:50/km), reflected by the fact that it wasn’t until the final km that I began to pick up the pace again.

Oh well. At least I had no issues.

It turns out a lot of people walk their dogs in the morning on the trail and, perhaps strangely, there were a number of people walking pairs of dogs, with the dogs being gigantic. Like taking a couple of ponies out for a morning stretch. They were all leashed, though, so yay for that.

Stats:

Run 670
Average pace: 6:04/km
Location: Brunette River
Start: 9:56 a.m.
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 30:30
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 178.6
Total distance to date: 4956 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (220 km)