Bad UX example

Recenty a patron at the library was having trouble sending an e-mail inquiry to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History. She couldn’t copy and paste the address into her e-mail because the address links are written without using the “@” symbol, so as to curb spam. (Clicking on the links opens up Microsoft Outlook.)

Seriously, who does this anymore?

What struck me as odd about their contact page is that it’s a slush pile of email addresses. A better idea would be to create a contact form with a drop down menu so messages can be routed accordingly. This is a glaring flaw in an otherwise impressive site.

And it’s interesting to note that “if you have no idea where to send your inquiry,” just send it to the webmaster. Having a contact form would sure make his/her job easier.

This incident has inspired me to begin rounding up examples of “Bad UX”, online as well as in real life. Watch for more to come!