Forced Action

We define forced action as any situation in which users are required to perform a specific action to access (or continue to access) specific functionality. This action may manifest as a required step to complete a process, or may appear disguised as an option that the user will greatly benefit from.

Subtypes of Forced Action

• Social Pyramid

  Requires users to recruit other users to use the service. This is a method commonly used in social media applications and online games. Users can invite their friends to use the service and are incentivized with benefits from the platform. This pattern subsumes Brignull’s "FriendSpam" and expands the definition to include any social recruiting.

• Brignull’s "Privacy Zuckering"

  Tricks users into sharing more information about themselves than they intend to or would agree to. This includes the selling of user’s information to third parties that is included in the Term and Conditions or Privacy Policies of websites.

• Gamification

  Situations in which certain aspects of a service can only be "earned" through repeated (and perhaps undesired) use of aspects of the service. One common instance of gamification is "grinding", a term used in many video gamesto describe the repeated process of killing monsters to gain experience points in order to level up the user’s character.