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Web Modal Dialogs

Cluster focuses on criticisms of modal dialogs and popups in web interfaces, highlighting user frustration, accessibility issues, and calls to ban or avoid them in favor of non-modal alternatives.

📉 Falling 0.4x Web Development
2,197
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#9132
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
3
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2009
16
2010
46
2011
62
2012
121
2013
116
2014
103
2015
52
2016
113
2017
146
2018
118
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2022
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2023
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2026
14

Top Contributors

allan_golds (13) robertoandred (11) hombre_fatal (11) rado (8) dmitriid (8)

Keywords

JS JavaScript WTF HTML picnicss.com API E.g UI GUI modal dialogs dialog esc pop windows dismiss popups html jquery

Sample Comments

die_sekte • Oct 16, 2009 • View on HN

Oh why do browsers still make alerts modal … (#26, I'm looking at you).

sklogic • May 21, 2016 • View on HN

Why only web? Modal dialogs should be forbidden everywhere.

black_puppydog • Mar 18, 2022 • View on HN

As a perfectly-sighted user: please don't use modals, they're basically always very frustrating.

emodendroket • May 29, 2015 • View on HN

I, too, wish there were a feature that would break Web applications that use modals for marginal benefit.

vaylian • May 24, 2023 • View on HN

Modals disempower the user. That's why they are so popular with mandatory Cookie selection dialogs.

modo_mario • Oct 27, 2023 • View on HN

Why would modal windows be better than pop-up ones?

micromacrofoot • Aug 5, 2022 • View on HN

Users don't care if it's a modal or not, they just want it to work.

2bird3 • Jan 12, 2026 • View on HN

Nice concept! A lot of modal spam could probably reduced, very distracting.

hollowturtle • Oct 11, 2025 • View on HN

Please tell me then what I've been missing. Modals/Dialogs?

gcp • May 11, 2012 • View on HN

It's no longer a modal dialog. Seems like a simple GUI improvement.