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The Case for Using Mad Lib Sign Up Forms

26 points by shanellem 13y ago

ChikkaChiChi 13y ago
I didn't see this article the first time it was on HN, so thank you for posting the follow-up. This is an interesting concept. We'll have to try using it for some of our forms.
fizzfur 13y ago
Can't read the article as the big popup is in the way and the X is microscopic on my phone.
- web007 13y ago
  At least you can see the X - for some reason I only see the middle-third of the overlay, and can't close it. If I were interested in signing up for their list, I couldn't do that either. Definitely a UX fail.
  - RobMCarpenter 13y ago
    Thanks for the comments everyone... By the way, sorry for the popup issues! We have actually been testing different timing/copy for popups for a blog post titled, "How to Create Popups That Don't Suck". In fact, could we use a screenshot of your responses within the post.. in response to the what not to do section? On site messaging is a big part of what we provide, so we are always trying to learn, improve, and share those learnings on our blog.
- Hopka 13y ago
  Won't read the article because I got the big popup slammed into my face while I was in the middle of reading the first paragraph.
  - macleodan 13y ago
    Looked at previously opened tab. Saw advert popup. Closed tab.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- RobMCarpenter 13y ago
  The X to exit out of the pop up is usually much bigger.. we are looking into this now. I apologize for the bad experience! We also have the ability to target by platform.. so we are turning off the popup now for mobile. Definitely a misstep.
EGreg 13y ago
I love it ... but I would also say that, in general, mad libs are good for creating shareable content :) People feel ownership of something after they've customized it, and crowdsourcing the answers make it easier for them to just pick some of the ones already there, for each field. A few people would add new ones and you would have to manually review them and add them to the pool for everyone else to choose from.
tbrownaw 13y ago
Depending on what you're asking for, this can also be more clear than the traditional boring way (especially if there's no inline help text, say for spreadsheet column headers). It's not just for signing up new users for things.
Evbn 13y ago
That's not what a mad lib is. That is how every real estate / rental,contract works in the real world.
- ssharp 13y ago
  Was going to say the same thing. I hate to be pedantic, but a better term is "fill in the blank". Traditional forms would actually be closer to a MadLibs interface than this. Still, I knew exactly what the form was from calling it a MadLibs form, so it didn't confuse me.
davedx 13y ago
I read this and was interested enough to do a bit more research into the topic, and found this writeup here: http://formulate.com.au/research/mad-libs-madness/ http://formulate.com.au/research/mad-libs-madness/ Unsurprisingly, context is everything, and for some things standard forms are clearer and win in UX. Some sites saw conversions decrease from using mad lib forms, some saw them increase. A/B test it if you do this.
kens 13y ago
This seems potentially psychologically manipulative to me since the form is putting words in the user's mouth. E.g. the example in the article: "My name is -blank- and I'm looking for the cheapest auto insurance." Maybe price is not the user's only concern, but this sign up form says it is. It would be interesting to see if these forms can actually change the user's views. (Sort of like NLP tries to do.) I.e. does the user's prioritization of price vs customer service vs coverage quality get changed by this style of signup vs a regular sign up.

26 points by shanellem 13y ago

I didn't see this article the first time it was on HN, so thank you for posting the follow-up. This is an interesting concept. We'll have to try using it for some of our forms.

fizzfur 13y ago

Can't read the article as the big popup is in the way and the X is microscopic on my phone.

web007 13y ago
At least you can see the X - for some reason I only see the middle-third of the overlay, and can't close it. If I were interested in signing up for their list, I couldn't do that either. Definitely a UX fail.
- RobMCarpenter 13y ago
  Thanks for the comments everyone... By the way, sorry for the popup issues! We have actually been testing different timing/copy for popups for a blog post titled, "How to Create Popups That Don't Suck". In fact, could we use a screenshot of your responses within the post.. in response to the what not to do section? On site messaging is a big part of what we provide, so we are always trying to learn, improve, and share those learnings on our blog.
Hopka 13y ago
Won't read the article because I got the big popup slammed into my face while I was in the middle of reading the first paragraph.
- macleodan 13y ago
  Looked at previously opened tab. Saw advert popup. Closed tab.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
RobMCarpenter 13y ago
The X to exit out of the pop up is usually much bigger.. we are looking into this now. I apologize for the bad experience! We also have the ability to target by platform.. so we are turning off the popup now for mobile. Definitely a misstep.

EGreg 13y ago

I love it ... but I would also say that, in general, mad libs are good for creating shareable content :) People feel ownership of something after they've customized it, and crowdsourcing the answers make it easier for them to just pick some of the ones already there, for each field. A few people would add new ones and you would have to manually review them and add them to the pool for everyone else to choose from.

tbrownaw 13y ago

Depending on what you're asking for, this can also be more clear than the traditional boring way (especially if there's no inline help text, say for spreadsheet column headers). It's not just for signing up new users for things.

Evbn 13y ago

That's not what a mad lib is. That is how every real estate / rental,contract works in the real world.

ssharp 13y ago
Was going to say the same thing. I hate to be pedantic, but a better term is "fill in the blank". Traditional forms would actually be closer to a MadLibs interface than this. Still, I knew exactly what the form was from calling it a MadLibs form, so it didn't confuse me.

davedx 13y ago

I read this and was interested enough to do a bit more research into the topic, and found this writeup here: http://formulate.com.au/research/mad-libs-madness/ http://formulate.com.au/research/mad-libs-madness/ Unsurprisingly, context is everything, and for some things standard forms are clearer and win in UX. Some sites saw conversions decrease from using mad lib forms, some saw them increase. A/B test it if you do this.

kens 13y ago

This seems potentially psychologically manipulative to me since the form is putting words in the user's mouth. E.g. the example in the article: "My name is -blank- and I'm looking for the cheapest auto insurance." Maybe price is not the user's only concern, but this sign up form says it is. It would be interesting to see if these forms can actually change the user's views. (Sort of like NLP tries to do.) I.e. does the user's prioritization of price vs customer service vs coverage quality get changed by this style of signup vs a regular sign up.