Dark Patterns and Microaggressions in Content Management Systems by limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns Things that frustrate us, slow us down, or make users or audience members feel excluded or marginalized en-us 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC 2026-02-12 00:25:19 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4ab.png e.g., a site's primary audience and users are assumed to be male, with stereotypical wording meant to appeal to them limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413145 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413145 e.g., "I've never seen anyone use it that way"—the site was insufficiently tested with users and audiences from diverse backgrounds limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413151 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413151 e.g., instructions assume everyone who uses a tool or the entire CMS is familiar with an older version of it limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413167 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413167 e.g., you need to know an oral history of which parts of the CMS don't work as expected and so should be are avoided limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413182 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413182 e.g., the editing interface is inaccessible to folks using screen readers limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413210 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413210 e.g., trainers or other team members assume older team members won't be comfortable with the technology and excuse them from training limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413223 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413223 e.g., bylines appear in red on a site with a Chinese audience, when in that culture, using red for names can be considered offensive, with that color previously reserved for names of the dead limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413228 2021-10-14 00:13:17 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1815413228 To troubleshoot certain newsletter problems, there's a need for comfort in text mode / seeing the code (and many reporters and editors who aren't digital first don't feel comfortable with that!) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817820409 2021-10-14 17:48:55 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817820409 The CMS cannot render certain accents and diacriticals correctly in user names (i.e., bylines) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822518 2021-10-14 17:49:50 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822518 training isn't done in the primary language used by folks who use the CMS limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822672 2021-10-14 17:49:54 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822672 restrictive user roles reinforce the idea that the CMS is too complicated for reporters/editors to use w/o 'digital team' help https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822889 2021-10-14 17:49:59 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817822889 https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817825332 All sexualities are not considered when presented informative content]]> 2021-10-14 17:51:03 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817825332 Videos are posted without captions or a transcription option. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817825974 2021-10-14 17:51:19 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817825974 Data and visual journalism teams are often invisible to CMS dev priorities. Those journalists spend a ridiculous amount of time finding workarounds so their work can be published. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826185 2021-10-14 17:51:25 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826185 Photos without alt text. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826310 2021-10-14 17:51:28 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826310 Assumption that radio first reporters can't handle learning new digital platforms https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826739 2021-10-14 17:51:40 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826739 WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors that strip out semantic HTML elements and replace them with divs and/or deprecated elements https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826767 2021-10-14 17:51:41 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817826767 Users use a CMS in idiosyncratic ways that are passed down orally/informally and become the assumed way of doing things https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827085 2021-10-14 17:51:48 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827085 Updating documentation is no one's specific responsibility, so it never gets done and key feature updates are never explained https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827181 2021-10-14 17:51:51 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827181 The system allows anonymous commenting on posts and does not enable reporters to control their safety https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827242 2021-10-14 17:51:53 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827242 some voice features don't recognize certain 'foreign' accents and it can be a pain to mimic a more "American" accent to ensure you get the help you need https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827253 2021-10-14 17:51:53 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827253 trainers assume younger team members already have technical knowledge https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827363 2021-10-14 17:51:57 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817827363 Some reporters think that using the CMS to update stories/podcasts etc. is beneath them -- somebody else's work. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817828957 2021-10-14 17:52:42 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817828957 Inability to adjust font size in UX based on vision (also overlaps with accessibility) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829170 2021-10-14 17:52:48 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829170 Assumption that everyone is comfortable with the same functions (eg. keyboard shortcuts, right clicking) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829288 2021-10-14 17:52:52 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829288 Surveys on the site to gather feedback on the CMS experience don't use gender-inclusive language and options limeonaire https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829389 2021-10-14 17:52:54 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829389 "that's web team work, I just write/edit" -- CMS hasn't been designed with writer/editor needs in mind https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829595 2021-10-14 17:53:00 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817829595 https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830175 Photo captions are not identified as photos to a screen reader making it confusing for listeners.]]> 2021-10-14 17:53:15 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830175 link colors and font size for articles automated into newsletters vs. manually added isn't friendly to those with vision issues https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830642 2021-10-14 17:53:27 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830642 The advanced tweet scheduling part of a CMS does not allow producers to add alt text https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830789 2021-10-14 17:53:32 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830789 For making changes on our CMS, we assume that the "Floppy Disk" is understood as a save button. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830827 2021-10-14 17:53:33 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817830827 CMS doesn't allow for transparency in corrections/updates https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831056 2021-10-14 17:53:39 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831056 No RTL support https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831076 2021-10-14 17:53:40 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831076 Automated publishing on multiple platforms allows small errors to become widely posted with no process for a human to check behind them. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831195 2021-10-14 17:53:43 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831195 the CMS breaks in older browsers https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831809 2021-10-14 17:53:59 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817831809 Keeping product plans out of view of reporters, editors and others until it's time to release something https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817832184 2021-10-14 17:54:08 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817832184 Reporters who don't often/have to web produce their own content not being instructed on how to optimize reporting for that CMS's bells & whistles. (What links to add, how sidebars or call outs might be used, etc) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817832833 2021-10-14 17:54:26 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817832833 slower internet connection inhibits tasks like uploading media, publishing, etc. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817833067 2021-10-14 17:54:31 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817833067 Developers don't actually spend time with the newsroom, or at least have a liaison that closely informs the work https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817833903 2021-10-14 17:54:52 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817833903 https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817834094 Not all stories available in Spanish or other languages.]]> 2021-10-14 17:54:56 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817834094 Headings are not always properly treated as headings — <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc. — and are instead just bolded text elements at a larger font size. This works for sighted users but is not good for users of screen readers https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817834214 2021-10-14 17:54:59 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817834214 documentation does not use gender neutral language https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817836105 2021-10-14 17:55:45 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817836105 Templates don't always make it easy to add the lang attribute, so the text won't necessarily be read in the accent/dialect/language in which it was written (an accessibility issue as well as well as cultural one) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817842267 2021-10-14 17:58:36 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817842267 Templates don't always make it easy to add the lang attribute, so the text won't necessarily be read in the accent/dialect/language in which it was written (an accessibility issue as well as well as cultural one) https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817842603 2021-10-14 17:58:45 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817842603 Automated "further reading" links perpetuate under-representation of marginalized communities insofar as older stories are worse than newer stories in this respect https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817843787 2021-10-14 17:59:16 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817843787 CMS windows break when zooming in or out on the browser. https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817865720 2021-10-14 18:09:29 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817865720 Large companies that want to centralize all orgs' CMSs under one umbrella to rule them all. Can that work if orgs are v. different and have different needs? https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817877915 2021-10-14 18:15:08 UTC https://padlet.com/limeonaire/cmsdarkpatterns/wish/1817877915