All Features (9)

While internet platforms might look like they're incredibly complex, in reality there are a small number of fundamental features that are common across platforms. This commonality exists because we as users struggle to adopt different tools on different platforms. Instead, we become accustomed to a few standard ways of interacting with platform services, and carry this understanding with us as we traverse the internet. Platforms design for this preference, building features based on patterns already in use elsewhere, which has the effect of homogenizing functionality across platforms. This reuse and standardization of features benefits users, making sites easier to navigate. It also reveals common vulnerabilities and patterns of abusive behavior across platforms.

The name of this site (Focus on Features) stems from this observation. While platforms are more numerous than we could possibly grapple with individually, the features that platforms create are both small in number and vehicles along which abuse can be consistently identified, analyzed and stymied.