Issue links now open in a popup

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

New GitHub Issue Popup Behavior

  • Change: clicking some issue links now opens a right-side overlay panel instead of navigating to a full page, especially for cross‑repo links and certain views (Projects, dashboards).
  • Behavior is inconsistent across repos/pages, adding to confusion.
  • Some users initially mistook it for a bug due to nonstandard behavior.

User Reactions to the Change

  • Strong negative majority:
    • Breaks basic browser expectations (click = navigate, back button semantics).
    • Overlay is cramped, distracting, and interferes with reading and navigation.
    • Compared unfavorably to Jira, GitLab, and Azure DevOps patterns users already dislike.
  • A minority liked the feature:
    • Helpful for quick inspection without losing context.
    • Seen as similar to “glance”/split-view patterns and more modern list/detail UX.

GitHub Response and Performance Rationale

  • A GitHub insider explains it was driven by performance:
    • Cross‑repo issue loads are significantly slower due to a heavy, Rails-rendered header and hybrid React/Rails architecture.
    • Overlay avoided reloading that header and matched behavior used in other GitHub UI surfaces.
  • After backlash, GitHub rolled the change back and acknowledged it “missed the mark.”
  • Some call this an embarrassing workaround for backend performance issues instead of fixing the root cause.

Broader Critique of UX & Product Management

  • Many see this as part of a long trend of UX regressions, bugs, and “enshitification”:
    • GitHub allegedly ignores long‑standing bugs and community feedback.
    • Design changes are perceived as change-for-its-own-sake or to justify roles.
  • Heavy criticism of modern UX:
    • Seen as driven by fads, marketing, and metrics (especially “time on site”) rather than actual task efficiency.
    • A/B testing is criticized for measuring interaction, not preference or satisfaction.
  • Some defend UX as inherently hard and under‑respected; others argue generalist developers should own UX to avoid unnecessary churn.

Big-Tech Incentives, Complexity, and Workarounds

  • Large companies’ UIs (GitHub, LinkedIn, Intercom, online shops) are described as fragmented, siloed, and over‑featured, with weak governance.
  • Internal KPIs and revenue focus deprioritize basic usability once dominance is achieved.
  • Technical side: complaints about SPA heaviness, stale UI state, and degraded performance over time.
  • Users point to browser split‑view features and extensions/userscripts (e.g., Refined GitHub) as ways to reclaim control and undo unwanted UX changes.