The Libby Peak of Web Usability

Apr 13, 2010 in Uncategorized

An XKCD comic was the source of the Ballmer Peak, the idea that the coding ability of programmers reaches a maximum when they have a blood alcohol content between 0.129% and 0.138%, with their ability being less for concentrations above or below that amount.

Well, by analogy, I’ll propose the ‘Libby Peak of Web Usability‘, the idea that your website should be easiest for me to use when my blood alcohol content is between 0.129% and 0.138%. If I can’t use your site when my BAC is in that range, then your site stinks. If I have to read a book to decide which button to click, your site stinks.

If I can’t figure out how to use your site when my BAC is above 0.138%, that’s my problem. If I can’t figure out how to use your site when I’m stone-cold sober, that’s my problem, too. But if I’m perfectly willing to use your site, but can’t figure out how after I’ve got a couple beers in me, then your site doesn’t hit the Libby Peak of Web Usability. And if it doesn’t hit the Libby Peak of Web Usability, then I don’t want to use it, regardless of my BAC.