The below screenshot is what you see when you try to go to Google.com with Flock:
When I go to a web site, and software tries to hijack my session to go to a different web site, that’s bad software. It doesn’t matter how well-intentioned the offer is – if the software has the gumption to change my destination, that’s bad software. Bad software, bad. Go to the corner.
I first noticed this in the recent Flock builds, and I thought whoa, this can’t be right. This has to be somebody’s idea of a funny experiment. I mentioned it in the Flock mailing lists when they asked for the community’s top ten concerns, and I didn’t get an official response. I figured okay, maybe they’ll get rid of that in some coming builds. So I just downloaded a tinderbox build, gave it a shot, and it’s still there.
That means they know, and they’re okay with it.
I’m not.
So, here’s the next page I went to:
And just like that, my Flock experience is over. I’ll miss it. I had a personal tie to it – heck, my name was even in the credits for a while – but I just will not stand for software that tries, even just once, to subvert my browsing habits from one provider to another. Not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent.
Now, to find the best del.icio.us plugin…
3 Comments. Leave new
Hey Brent, don’t run away so fast. The user interface of the tinderbox builds is not finalized, so you’re bound to see stuff come and go over the development cycle. I’ll bring up your concerns with the development team this week.
I can say for sure that Flock doesn’t plan on hijacking the user’s experience. I think the reasoning here was to “let you know” and not “twist your arm”, but I’ll know more when I talk to the eng team in the morning.
Sorry I haven’t replied to the top issues and concerns yet, I’m focusing right now on collecting all the info and building a master top 10 out of it. Do know that the issues raised not being ignored.
Thanks for bringing this up, if you ever have any concerns in the future feel free to ping me directly.
Cheers,
Will Pate
Community Ambassador, Flock
Hi Brent,
Thanks for the heads up. Like Will was saying we’re still working out some of the bugs and final user interactions for the next release. We just hadn’t gotten to thinking through this one yet. I’ve opened a bug and cc’d you on it: http://bugzilla.flock.com/show_bug.cgi?id=5594
Thanks for taking the time to take the latest Flock out for a spin. The feedback is much appreciated!
Mike
Holy moly. Well, Will and I had a conversation, and I totally see his side of it. I’m going to go download Flock again, and give it another shot.