Bad Poetry Inspired by Bad Design Patterns
Tags: design, darkpatterns, ux, writing
Published: 2022-08-19 07:46:00

> Hi folks! This is [#5](https://devdictionary.substack.com/p/deceptive-adj) of my Substack newsletter, **Dev Dictionary**. Feel free to [subscribe](https://devdictionary.substack.com/) to receive new posts and support my work. (Cover photo by [Rachel](https://unsplash.com/@noguidebook) from [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/))

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There’s a term for the way you’re blasted with tons of marketing emails after overlooking that checked-by-default checkbox — you just fell for a **deceptive design pattern**. It was coined in 2010 by user experience designer Harry Brignull, but they’ve been bugging humankind for possibly longer.


> **deceptive** (adjective)
>
> • tending or having power to cause someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid : tending or having power to deceive ([Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deceptive), 2022)
>
> • **deceptive design patterns** (also called **dark patterns**): tricks used in websites and apps that make you do things that you didn’t mean to, like buying or signing up for something ([deceptive.design](deceptive.design), 2022)


Nowadays, dark patterns are even more rampant. How do we call everyone’s attention, especially those of regulators, to companies unashamedly benefiting from deceiving their users? Some ideas:

1. [Call them out on social media](https://twitter.com/darkpatterns) for awareness.
2. Put them up in a [Hall of Shame](https://www.deceptive.design/hall-of-shame/all).
3. Write poems about them. (Wait, what?)

I’m resorting to the third option in honor of [National Bad Poetry Day](https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/bad-poetry-day/). Sit down, relax, and enjoy some dark patterns-inspired limericks. (Whether they’re passably bad is up to you, but the fact that they’re inspired by evil makes them… _bad_ poems by default.)

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#### I. Warning My Hobbyist Grandfather About [Privacy Zuckering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern#Privacy_Zuckering)
There was a pale man from White Plains,
Who mined everyone’s data for his gains.
If you do not opt out
Of personalization, no doubt —
You’ll be targeted by ads of model trains.

***

#### II. One-Two Punch: [Misdirection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern#Misdirection) and [The Roach Motel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern#Roach_motel)
There was once a young man from Rizal,
Who wanted to cancel Adobe’s free trial.
He opened his account,
Only to find out,
He’ll owe thousands if he does — tragical.
{% embed https://twitter.com/darkpatterns/status/1489901640777973768 %}
{% embed https://twitter.com/Matt__Tee/status/1490066820464021504 %}

***

#### III. Duo, [Save Your Tears](https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/13/18137843/duolingo-owl-redesign-language-learning-app) — It’s Just Italian
There once was a green owl in a screen,
Who was invested in my language-learning.
When I checked my mail,
After being gone for a day,
_Dio mio_, the bird won’t stop crying!
{% embed https://twitter.com/henrybirdseye/status/719658102887305216 %}

***

### More from Dev Dictionary
[array (n.)](https://devdictionary.substack.com/p/array-n) • [async (adj.)](https://devdictionary.substack.com/p/async-adj) • **deceptive (adj.)** • [hamburger (n.)](https://devdictionary.substack.com/p/hamburger-n) • [terminal (n.)](https://devdictionary.substack.com/p/terminal-n)

***

### Tweets
{% embed https://twitter.com/oxhcai/status/1558425993412476933 %}
{% embed https://twitter.com/nurodev/status/1559819998507540482 %}
{% embed https://twitter.com/darkpatterns/status/1558748315642220545 %}
{% embed https://twitter.com/fasterandworse/status/1528748399528398851 %}
{% embed https://twitter.com/dburka/status/1556648152148606977 %}

***

### Recommendations

- 📺 [Dark Patterns: How design seeks to control us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJUW0iZzAaQ) by Sally Woellner (TEDxSydney, 2022)
- 📺 [The Social Dilemma](https://www.netflix.com/title/81254224) (Netflix, 2020)
- 📖 [7 Famous Limerick Examples That Will Inspire You to Write Your Own](https://www.rd.com/article/limerick-examples/) by Chloë Nannestad (_[Reader’s Digest](https://www.rd.com/)_, 2021)

***

If shenanigans like this are your cup of tea, feel free to [subscribe to Dev Dictionary](https://devdictionary.substack.com/) 💌 (Them bars!)

And if this inspired you to make your own limericks, feel free to comment them below!