how to delete delicious (del.icio.us) tags quickly.

Really impressed with the new del.icio.us makeover, the site is a real benchmark (for me) on how you can create a really slick website without any images. The new site is a real joy to behold. But what happened to the usability.

Deleting tags in delicious is almost as bad as getting pleurisy, and I can assure you my friends, having had first hand experience of both of these things. It is pretty bad.

Step 1: Picking the tag you want to delete – OMG

Oh My God (OMG) they used a drop down list, are they for real? I have over 300 tags (that’s why I’m trying to delete some!!). A drop down list which shows me around 12 tags at a time is NOT the answer here.

Finally I found the tag I want to remove. Excellent. My pulse quickens as I get ready to swing the axe on this useless and unwanted tag.

Click count

+1 expand dropdown list

+1 scroll list to find tag

+1 select tag to delete

+1 click delete button

At this point I’m thinking, okay the drop down list was annoying, but 4 clicks ain’t so bad. Once I click the delete button bye bye tag.

Step 2: Confirmation – WTF

What the fuck (WTF) is this? Are you kidding me, I have to confirm it? I just TOLD you I wanted to delete it. Jesus. Who do do I have to fuck around here to get a stinking measly tag deleted.

Now I’m thinking, “At last, hasta la vista unwanted tag” and feeling quite relieved to have removed that unwanted tag from my life.

Click count

+ 1 click yes button to confirm

Step 3: Success??????? – FFS

For fuck’s sake (FFS), are you kidding me? Is this for real? Am I fucking dreaming?

Click count

+1 to Delete another tag

Summary

Ok, here is what just happened. I asked delicious.com to delete a tag (using a clunky drop down list), delicious.com asked me to confirm that I wanted to delete the tag, now delicious.com is telling me that it did what I asked it to do.

Wouldn’t it be fun if everytime you moved your mouse it went like this:

“Do you really want to move your mouse cursor to location x,y?”

———–uhm yes, ok, sure

“Are you sure you want to move your mouse cursor to x,y?”

———–yeah, that’s what i said

“Your mouse cursor has just been moved to coordinates x,y?”

———–yeah, i thought that’s what would happen.

(clearly you would use your keyboard to answer these questions!)

That took 6 clicks.  I can think of many ways that this could be improved, and top Web 2.0 designers like the guys that developed the new delicious site could do a whole lot better. Now I’ve just wasted an hour of my life doing this. Grrrrr.

I’m not alone it would seem:

Could you make it easier to delete a tag?

Ability to quickly delete tags