Your opinions on Flash page flip thingies 3

[Foamcow]

I'm looking to gauge people's opinions on those Flash book things that let you drag and flip the pages as if it were a real book.

I've made a couple of them for clients but personally can't really see the point or benefit of them. Well I can, but to me the cons outweigh the pros. They seem gimmicky and I really don't see the logic in shoehorning a physical action like turning a page into a digital media where pages aren't physical.

The only argument in their favour I've heard that carries any weight is that people are used to turning pages. But I could easily argue against that and say that they are also at home clicking links on a website. People can watch a natural history programme on TV and understand that they are not really in the Amazon rain forest.

Am I alone in this thinking? I can't really find any opinions online. Everyone likes them or at least nobody bothers to say they don't.

So what do you think? Do you know of any alternatives? I'm really interested in what people think.

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[ca8msm]

It's just a gimmick to me.

I can see people thinking it's fun but I can't see any actual advantages functionality wise (how many people do you know who are used to to turning pages of a book with a mouse?!).


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[ChrisHunt]

I'm against.

It's the sort of feature that looks cool when you first see it, but fast becomes a nuisance when you actually try to use the site.

The problem is - if it's your site, you're not really interested in the content because you already know it. These sort of gew-gaws make it interesting to you. The problem is, end-users are trying to get at your content and they'll likely be more frustrated than entertained.

Real-world analogy can be very useful in dialogue design - look at the success of "tabs" for example - but there's always a danger of taking it too far and including the disadvantages of whatever metaphor you're implementing as well as the advantages. Think of those "online shopping mall" sites they used to build where you had to wander around some crummy 3D space instead of just clicking what you wanted.

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[Stretchwickster]

I'm also against. It is a gimmick and offers no significant benefits. It's nice to look at, but the novelty wears off very quickly. I agree with Chris that users are more likely to be frustrated rather than enamoured (in the long-term) by it.

Clive

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[audiopro]

Just a gimmick in the same league as 'Skip Intro' and annoying background music.

Keith

http://www.studiosoft.co.uk

 

[Remou]

There are used on the British library site for ancient and beautiful books. I think that in that particular case they are appropriate.