I prefer hearing about _the reasons_ why something new is not appreciated rather than the usual "the older was better".
The poster of the complaint didn't really want to go back to the old My Yahoo. What they want is a new My Yahoo that
* use smaller fonts ("Font way too big and no way to adjust.")
* preserve the user-configured layouts ("Apps are rearranged all over the place, and some old ones are no longer available.")
* provide the useful quick previews for new items ("Hovering over news items no longer gives brief synopses.")
* etc.
Any discussion about "new vs old" is not going to be constructive. Users should learn to report "what" they want, not just filing generic complains. But treating users as intelligent people that can be taught things may go against the current trend of treating users (especially when customers) as spoiled kids.
If I were to deploy such an interface change I would provide a complaints box with these instructions: "0) complain only about one things, you can file as many complaint as you want. 1) Please summarize what you do not like. 2) Please suggest a better alternative. NOTE: generic complains like 'it sucks' will be ignored."
You can read the generic complaints as "I don't want things to change at all. They were ok the way they were. I don't want to be forced to adapt to changes that I never asked for and that do not seem beneficial to me. I don't want to deal with this at all. I don't even want to think about it. I just want to use the app like I used to and carry on with my life."
Resistance to change is a major factor in the adoption of new technology and without some kind of change management, reactance will occur.
Comments
I prefer hearing about _the reasons_ why something new is not appreciated rather than the usual "the older was better".
The poster of the complaint didn't really want to go back to the old My Yahoo. What they want is a new My Yahoo that
* use smaller fonts ("Font way too big and no way to adjust.")
* preserve the user-configured layouts ("Apps are rearranged all over the place, and some old ones are no longer available.")
* provide the useful quick previews for new items ("Hovering over news items no longer gives brief synopses.")
* etc.
Any discussion about "new vs old" is not going to be constructive. Users should learn to report "what" they want, not just filing generic complains. But treating users as intelligent people that can be taught things may go against the current trend of treating users (especially when customers) as spoiled kids.
If I were to deploy such an interface change I would provide a complaints box with these instructions: "0) complain only about one things, you can file as many complaint as you want. 1) Please summarize what you do not like. 2) Please suggest a better alternative. NOTE: generic complains like 'it sucks' will be ignored."
You can read the generic complaints as "I don't want things to change at all. They were ok the way they were. I don't want to be forced to adapt to changes that I never asked for and that do not seem beneficial to me. I don't want to deal with this at all. I don't even want to think about it. I just want to use the app like I used to and carry on with my life."
Resistance to change is a major factor in the adoption of new technology and without some kind of change management, reactance will occur.