Banner blindness

Ad avoidance, “slop,” and attention as the product

• Several commenters say they no longer have banner blindness but “banner hypersensitivity”: anything ad-like or animated is instantly noticed and rejected.
• Strong criticism of ad-funded models: content is framed as mere bait; the real product is users’ attention, behavior, and data.
• This is described as “industrial-scale mind violation,” with A/B testing characterized as unethical experimentation that tunes annoyance up to the maximum tolerable level.
• Others note that this model long predates the internet (newspapers), but argue that degree and contempt for users have worsened.
• Some distinguish “ads” from genuine, sought-out information about a creator’s own products; the former is defined as paid, interruptive, and unwanted.

Real-world banner blindness and ignored signs

• Many anecdotes of people missing obvious signs: shelter visitors ignoring “do not exit” doors, customers missing fee notices, emergency exits labeled “Fire door, alarm will sound,” and COVID-era “no entry” signage.
• Explanations include cognitive autopilot, overload from ubiquitous low-value signs, and habitually ignoring anything that looks like generic notice or ad.

UX, signage design, and emergency doors

• Consensus that sign UX often fails: text-only warnings are weak; symbols, color, and physical affordances work better.
• Suggestions: distinctive door or bar design, pre-door signage, floor signs, or physical friction (break glass, tape at eye level, anti-climb paint—though safety concerns are raised).
• Debate whether it’s fair to blame users vs. poor design when many ignore the same door/sign.

Scolding, norms, and responsibility

• Heated debate on whether employees should “scold” people who set off alarms or break rules.
• One side: scolding is reasonable social feedback for antisocial or disruptive behavior.
• Other side: scolding strangers is disrespectful; problems should be handled calmly and without implied hierarchy.

Wikipedia banners and ad-saturated web

• Several note the irony of reading about banner blindness on Wikipedia, which frequently runs large fundraising banners.
• One commenter criticizes Wikipedia’s repeated financial appeals, claiming infrastructure is a small share of its budget and alleging politicized spending.

Animated ads, accessibility, and metrics

• Moving content in peripheral vision is reported as highly distracting; users want ways to pause/stop animations.
• Some speculate high engagement stats may be inflated by misclicks on tiny close buttons or autoplay metrics.

UI mistaken for ads

• Examples where important UI (inboxes, documentation callouts) was styled like attention-grabbing banners and thus ignored.
• Lesson: “ad-like” visual treatment can cause users to filter out even critical information.