5 hours ago
- The term 'dickover' describes a modal panel or popover that deliberately obscures website content to force unwanted interactions, such as cookie consent or newsletter sign-ups.
- Dickovers are ubiquitous on the web and mobile apps, often appearing on page load or while scrolling, frustrating users by interrupting their attention.
- Related 'dickbars' are less severe, non-modal overlays that obstruct only part of the content, but still cause distraction and hinder user experience.
- Not all modal blockers are dickovers; paywalls are considered necessary, whereas cookie permissions and newsletter prompts are examples of unnecessary dickovers.
- The coinage 'dickover' was chosen for its sting, despite a close poll result, emphasizing that usage drives neologism adoption.