
The data behind the search for MH370 - sohkamyung
https://geoscience-au.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=038a72439bfa4d28b3dde81cc6ff3214
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Murdodc089
I'm going to have to disagree with many of the other comments and say that
this is a very well designed website. In my opinion, it's the optimal way to
present this data in an interactive format short of a presentation from
someone in the same room. Large amounts of geographic data that covers as
large an area as the search for MH370 did, is not easy to present.

Very cool.

~~~
tangue
I’ve I said earlier I’m primarily a webdesigner and not against animations etc
But this is poorly executed.

Here’s (almost) the same concept, with a far better UX :

[https://tympanus.net/codrops/2015/12/16/animated-map-path-
fo...](https://tympanus.net/codrops/2015/12/16/animated-map-path-for-
interactive-storytelling/)

As a user here’s my main gripes when comparing the two UIs :

\- The map in tympanus is in svg. Lighter, see how the interaction is always
in sync with the user interaction ? Why using tilze at maps if you can’t zoom
? You’re lazy loading but I’m not lazy reading.

\- The text flows naturally : you need to choose either you build a powerpoint
with bullets either you write more elaborate content. This UI is more
appropriate to bullets but is displayed with a powerpoint type UI because of …

\- Scroll hijacking : everyone not working in a webagency hates it. Even your
boss who tells you that (s)he finds it cool hates it when they need to use it.

…And the stock video of water isn’t bringing much (but that’s another debate)

The only good piece of news is that the UI seems to be open-source (though
bound to external services) so if you want to punish your users or improve the
whole thing : [https://github.com/Esri/story-map-
cascade](https://github.com/Esri/story-map-cascade)

But as I’ve also said earlier people died in this crash and families are still
looking for explanations and I don’t find this way to narrate the events
appropriate. Maybe I’m old school and should just say to my relatives : _If I
die in a tragic fashion please don’t let any webagency and government agency
do parrallaxes on the circumstances of my death and its side effects_

~~~
Murdodc089
I don't have a background in webdesign so I cannot speak to the inefficiencies
of how this is put together. I do, however, have a background in GIS/Geography
and from that perspective I still maintain that this is a great way to present
the timeline of events and information gathered. It's an especially great way
to present the data for a layperson who

A) has a passing interest in geographic/oceanic/general data topics and

B) doesn't really care how efficient the UI is because they don't live in that
world on a daily basis

That said, I also have the opinion that not all websites HAVE to be optimized
for mobile viewing. There are instances, such as this one, where the
data/information being communicated does not lend itself to mobile and
therefore should not be compromised.

To your last point, I think I understand the direction you're coming from, but
I have to disagree with the final argument you make. Just because a lot of
people died in a tragic accident doesn't mean that we cannot celebrate and
utilize information that is a direct result of that tragedy.

The designers of the linked site are not celebrating the deaths of these
people, they're sharing and marveling in the data that was produced as an
unexpected secondary and tertiary result of those deaths. One does not
preclude the other and, I would argue, it would be a disservice those who died
to NOT share and learn from the data produced.

------
menotyou
For some software the term "bloatware" was coined, which had to many features
which do not add any useful functionalites, but made working with the software
overly complicated.

Do we have a similiar term for overdesigned websites which makes reading them
feel like doing hard work?

~~~
nilkn
I'm generally not against this particular sort of design, mainly because it
doesn't pretend to be a "normal" webpage. It's a very specific sort of guided
presentation.

------
ysleepy
This is the most annoying page design/behaviour I have encountered in the last
30 days. I am very curious, but I just can't.

~~~
24gttghh
I don't understand this at all. You scroll, and new text appears and the map
in the background simply shifts to different points and shows some different
data. This seems exceedingly simple to display all the data they wanted.

~~~
adrianratnapala
I think the point is that the page designers want to show me a movie, while I
want to read an article.

It's annoying, because the fate of this plane is far more important to me than
tedious details of web design. But I find the page incomrpehensible and will
have to learn the facts somewhere else.

~~~
pmarreck
literally the only mode of interaction to consume the content is "scrolling
down with your mouse" and this is apparently beyond your capabilities of
comprehension?

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blakesterz
That's really neat. Jump down to the "Phase Two Data", they found some really
cool stuff down there. Whale bones and ships and cable.

~~~
JackFr
I would love to, but the site is basically un-navigable.

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woliveirajr
For those wondering why the plane wasn't found if we know about the 7th arc,
take a look at the Air France 447[1].

There were much more information about it, the route was consistent with what
was planned, even floating wreckage and bodies were recovered from the sea,
and yet it took 2 years to find things on the ocean floor.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447#Accident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447#Accident)

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Shivetya
I am not in this industry so I am curious, what has been implemented if
anything to prevent losing another plane is such a manner? have there been any
general changes to requirements for airliners or crews?

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dswalter
I'm of two minds on the use of scrolling as a method of interaction with the
page. The term "scrolljacking" has been coined as the negative way to describe
this particular style where the page itself is designed to render based on the
scroll position. At the same time, I'm completely behind trying to find new
and more effective ways of interacting with content.

To me, this page is mostly effective, but I'm on a Macbook Pro, which is
probably the best-case viewing experience, but I can't imagine this working
well on older mobile devices.

~~~
pmarreck
There's a lot of comments claiming the site is "un-navigable" which I find to
be curious given that the only thing one has to do is _scroll down_

And this is coming from a person who is not into the whole "scrolljack" thing
to bring things into and out of view. Its implementation here is a bit hokey,
but that's the state of web UI these days. I was able to see all the
information, I can say that at least.

~~~
ximeng
Doesn't work for me on mobile - content is clipped on the screen edge

~~~
pmarreck
That is a valid criticism, then.

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curiousgal
This was amazing! It's a bit sad that scientists had to piggyback on search
missions to get high quality data but I am glad they made the best of the
situation; a silver lining of sorts.

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kgwgk
I thought that was going to be about Bayesian methods:

[http://www.springer.com/de/book/9789811003783](http://www.springer.com/de/book/9789811003783)

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retrogradeorbit
"The available data indicates the aircraft entered the sea close to a long,
narrow arc in the southern Indian Ocean, the 7th Arc."

"indicates". If it did enter the sea along this arc, wouldn't they have found
it? Perhaps the assumption is wrong? Where is the working showing the
calculation of this arc? Where is the peer review and discussion of this work
calculating this arc? As far as I know it has never been released (correct me
if I'm wrong) and the arc has all the hallmarks of a wild goose chase.

~~~
adekok
> If it did enter the sea along this arc, wouldn't they have found it?

Perhaps you're unclear on how large the ocean is, how deep the sea floor is,
how rugged the sea floor is, and how little we know about it... even with all
of the scanning done.

It's entirely within the realm of possibility that MH370 fell and was covered
by a landslide, or fell into a crevasse, or one of many other things.

It's not like the sea floor is a large flat plain with a shiny metal object
sitting on top.

~~~
retrogradeorbit
You should always question assumptions. Especially when millions of dollars
are being spent searching. Do you have the data, the calculation of this arc,
and the review of this method or not?

Do you think its strange that all the debris has washed up on the opposite
side of the Indian ocean to this arc?

~~~
adekok
> Do you have the data, the calculation of this arc, and the review of this
> method or not

I don't, and neither do you. But appeals to ignorance are a well-known logical
fallacy.

My point (which you missed), is that it is entirely reasonable to think that
the search is difficult, with a small chance of success. You don't argue with
my points, because you can't. They're all 100% true, and you know it.

Instead, you play the conspiracy thinking game of pushing false doubts into
the narrative.

> Do you think its strange that all the debris has washed up on the opposite
> side of the Indian ocean to this arc?

i.e. you're entirely unaware as to how oceans work.

This is _normal_ for oceans.

So you deny reality, and instead pretend to be skeptical by raising irrelevant
details.

No, you're not smarter than everyone else. No, there is no conspiracy to hide
the evidence.

