Scott Alexander criticizes websites using flashing or changing elements, arguing they significantly worsen user experience despite being widely disliked. Longer summary

Scott Alexander criticizes websites that use flashing or changing elements in their user interfaces, arguing that these elements are annoying and detrimental to user experience. He provides examples from various websites, including a Jewish law site, Substack, AdBlock, Bing, and Gmail. Scott cites survey results showing that 88% of users find such elements at least a little annoying, with 16% saying they wouldn't use a website that has them. He expresses frustration that companies continue to implement these features despite user complaints and suggests that it negatively impacts his use of these services. The post concludes with a plea to interface designers to reconsider the use of such elements. Shorter summary

Scott recommends the FB Purity browser add-on to filter unwanted content on Facebook, but notes that Facebook is trying to ban it. Longer summary

Scott recommends the FB Purity browser add-on as a solution to reduce stress from unwanted political content on Facebook. The add-on allows users to fine-tune their Facebook settings, including options to hide links and image macros, which helps Scott enjoy social media more. However, Facebook is attempting to ban the add-on and sue its creator, leading Scott to criticize Facebook's consistently poor behavior, contrasting it with Google's 'don't be evil' approach. Shorter summary