Mystery meat navigation

Mare ImbriumMare TranquillitatisMare SerenitatisMare CrisiumMare FecunditatisMare NectarisMare FrigorisMare FrigorisMare FrigorisOceanus ProcellarumOceanus ProcellarumMare HumorumMare NubiumMare CognitumMare VaporumSinus AestuumCopernicusKeplerTychoKaukasusApeninnenAlpenPlatoMoon
This image map is an example of mystery meat navigation. For example, finding where to click on Mare Humorum is difficult without hovering over every place (which is not possible on devices that have no cursor, such as tablets). Also, it may not be readily apparent that the image is a clickable map instead of only a simple picture of Earth's Moon.

Mystery meat navigation (also known as MMN) is a form of web navigation user interface whereby the target of each link is not visible until the user points their cursor at it. Such interfaces lack a user-centered design, emphasizing aesthetic appearance, white space, and the concealment of information over practicality and functionality.[1][2] The term was coined in 1998 by Vincent Flanders, author of the book and accompanying website Web Pages That Suck.[3]

  1. ^ Ward, Mark (2002-11-04). "Why websites are getting easier to use". BBC News. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  2. ^ Kingsley-Hughes, Adrian (2010-05-11). "iPad apps bring back mid-1990s "mystery meat" user interface problems". ZDNet. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  3. ^ Flanders, Vincent (1998). Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design. San Francisco: Sybex Inc. ISBN 978-0-7821-2187-2.