The Writer’s DB Blog

For what it’s worth, an opinion on good web development.

If a user encounters a problem while using your site—for example, they can’t find the control or the content they’re looking for—assume it’s the designer’s fault. Especially if you’re the designer.

See the comments on my previous post: “nevermind. I found the widget key. I can’t believe it, it was right in front of my face.”

It is the designer’s job to say, “That was my fault.” In this case, there was nothing but text to call attention to the widget key. Now there’s an icon:

It’s better for the designer’s ego to blame the user. But the designer’s ego is rarely the point.

Sometimes, even the best of us get distracted. And sometimes, so do I.

This wasn’t the highest-priority item on the WritersDB to-do list, but they made the Twitter API so gosh-darned easy to use, this just sort of slipped to the front of the line. It didn’t take very long at all.

Now whenever you’re sending out a new submission, you can click a checkbox to post an announcement of that fact to your Twitter account.* Then click on the pencil if you want to edit the default message.

—
* What’s that? You don’t have a Twitter account? Well, you probably didn’t have e-mail in 1992, or a cell phone in 1986. When this change comes, we’ll be ready.