Rethinking online friction in the information society
本文针对信息社会中在线交互中的‘摩擦’现象，提出一个包含多种子类型的分类框架，并探讨其伦理含义，指出完全无摩擦的未来令人担忧。
A recurrent mantra of the technology industry is that all forms of ‘friction’ should be eliminated from online interactions (especially commercial transactions). In this context, ‘friction’ refers to any unnecessary retardation of a process or activity that delays the user accomplishing a desired action. This broad category can therefore include online adverts that link to the wrong webpages, pop-up windows that block access to content or delays in the physical delivery of an ordered item. Although visions of a frictionless future have been common since at least 1995 (the year Bill Gates popularised the phrase ‘friction-free capitalism’), the basic notion has remained unhelpfully vague. Accordingly, this article focuses specifically on the phenomenon of online friction (i.e. ‘e-friction’) and elaborates a typology of the main subtypes. An analytical framework of this kind makes it much easier to compare and contrast distinct kinds of e-friction, recognising that important differences distinguish those that are ‘elective’, ‘non-elective’, ‘impeding’, ‘distracting’ and so on. Having sketched a preliminary typology, the article reflects upon the ethical implications of the distinct varieties, and concludes by suggesting that there are several reasons why an entirely (e-)frictionless future is a profoundly disturbing one.