Modalz Modalz Modalz (2018)
8 comments
·December 16, 2025xg15
I think there might be a difference here for using modals in a website and in an application.
Modals in a website rarely have a place. Modals in an application can be very useful if you have an isolated task that needs input or if you want to clearly communicate whether or not a particular state has been updated.
I don't really understand the problem with "stacked" modals though.
dang
Related:
We use too many damn modals (2018) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23645447 - June 2020 (120 comments)
xg15
That would explain a lot of the design in VS code, which seems to take all those suggestions by heart.
It's of course horrible.
twoodfin
Indeed. “No modals” has been a rallying cry since Larry Tesler and the Macintosh, but I haven’t seen a useful dissection of the problems with the other extreme.
As you point out, VSCode in particular is loaded with ever-changing user feedback and prompting, spread throughout the interface with no rhyme or reason as to how attention should be distributed.
xg15
The irony is that VS Code also frequently replaces traditional modal dialogs with "pseudo modal" command palette flows, where you can click outside the palette alright - it will just kick you out of the flow so you will have to do everything again.
I honestly don't understand what's the problem with modals is in the first place. Most "issues" listed on that page are either subjective or could be argued against.
frogcommander
very ironic that this website made to lecture webdevs is hideous, inaccessible, and borderline unusable
BugsJustFindMe
> hideous
That's just, like, your opinion, man. I disagree. Don't imagine yourself as the universal subject.
> inaccessible
I have no trouble whatsoever navigating and understanding the page with VoiceOver, and it obviously passes contrast and color rules for readability.
> and borderline unusable
Completely disagree. It's literally arranged text on a page. There's nothing to "use".
I find that page incredibly hard to read. I cannot fathom why someone would lecture others about UI/UX and do it using that as the UI/UX.
Are modals/dialogs perfect? Absolutely not but completely eschewing them is also a mistake. In all things, moderation.