A Very Bad Web Form

Below is a form on the Houston Chronicle web site. It's used for subscribers (like me) to report a missing paper.

Do you see what's wrong with it?



By default, the check box to opt into advertising email is checked. Now, you can uncheck it, but it's likely that a fair number of people don't notice it and wind up "opting in" (in the strictest sense) to this list.

Tells you something about the quality of the resulting list - something anyone who might pay the Chronicle to use it should know. And it tells you something about the paper's low level of respect for its subscribers' preferences.

Don't trick people into opting in. You'll just give yourself angry customers and filtered emails.