I'm curious as to how it's useful if you didn't hear about it. If you attempt to go to the site, you will see it's down. You will waste negligibly more time than reading the words "Site is down" but you will only waste this time if you actually try to go to the site. It's not particularly useful if you aren't trying to use the site but it still takes up a slot on the front page.
Understood, but still if XYZ is down at 9AM and you don't need to go there untill 11AM, you're not likely going to check. So then, you go about doing PQR task all morning, to then find out its still F@cked at 11AM. So, the cost is not the 30 seconds to figure it out, but the whole AM you wasted.
Or alternatively, all the time you pre-emtively are checking all over the place at T-1 for using it at T. Depending upon the resolution of this, that can be a PITA and a waste of time. Far more than you skipping over 1/30 of a page on the internet.
Alternatively, there may be some better way to do it. There could be a list/screen for relevance to the community or a seperate page or whatever. But one needs to address or dimensionalize the tension between information flow and efficiency a bit more than your first formulation.
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I'm curious as to how it's useful if you didn't hear about it. If you attempt to go to the site, you will see it's down. You will waste negligibly more time than reading the words "Site is down" but you will only waste this time if you actually try to go to the site. It's not particularly useful if you aren't trying to use the site but it still takes up a slot on the front page.
Like a traffic jam. Its obvious once you're in it. Sometimes, nice to know not to bother. Etc.
Unlike with a traffic jam, bothering has a very small cost, especially as compared to the cost of reading "X is down" on the HN front page.
Understood, but still if XYZ is down at 9AM and you don't need to go there untill 11AM, you're not likely going to check. So then, you go about doing PQR task all morning, to then find out its still F@cked at 11AM. So, the cost is not the 30 seconds to figure it out, but the whole AM you wasted.
Or alternatively, all the time you pre-emtively are checking all over the place at T-1 for using it at T. Depending upon the resolution of this, that can be a PITA and a waste of time. Far more than you skipping over 1/30 of a page on the internet.
Alternatively, there may be some better way to do it. There could be a list/screen for relevance to the community or a seperate page or whatever. But one needs to address or dimensionalize the tension between information flow and efficiency a bit more than your first formulation.