it's not just grumpy old fartness, i swear

[sophiaserpentia]

So i'm seeing more and more links on LJ which include Snap Shots. These serve no discernible purpose other than bling. It's not like the preview you get of the page in question is readable, or is going to make any difference in whether or not you click the link. In fact, i find they slow me down, because they make me pause before clicking a link i was going to use.

[Poll #1081038]

Comments

[guttaperk.livejournal.com]

Where the popup is able to convey useful, wanted information, sure; where the popup is clearly not useful (as in this case), or where the information is quite unwanted (e.g. most advertisements), no fair shake is required.

[legolastn.livejournal.com]

It's not yet clear to me that these pop-ups are mostly un-useful for me, since in some of the few instances I have seen them they have conveyed information such as "you really don't want to waste your time clicking on this link" or "this link is more interesting than it looks." The question for me is what downsides I experience and whether they outweigh any possible benefits. Some potential downsides to be on the lookout for being already outlined by Sabrina.