Some of these are "power" vs "everyday" user optimizations. The one that jumps out to me is Skype. I had read some case studies of their redesign where they stated that 90%+ of Skype users only have two or three Skype contacts, and they use it to talk to their family members.
The redesign optimized for that and as a result you, I and everyone else with hundreds of contacts lost our collective minds.
I 100% get that it's worse for you (and me too) but I think it's important to look at what they were actually trying to do and it makes sense.
Calls not connecting despite both users being online
Calls dropping suddenly
Calls seeming to connect but neither user can see or hear the other
Video freezing for one user while fine for the other
User showing up as online when not
User showing up as not online when actually online
I wonder if their case studies showed these would cause users to flock to this "walking dead" app. But hey, a UX lead got to put "re-designed Skype" on their resume, and their logo animates differently while connecting, so they have that going for them.
Ok, that could be the reason but I'd had appreciated if they were honest to tell us, the people that (used to) use Skype for work "thank you, we don't want you anymore, go find some other tool."
Note that Skype has now split into "Skype for Business" (whic is it's own form of weirdness in Office 365) and then normal Skype which is for the family/individuals.
> In the first half of 2015, the next version of Lync will become Skype for Business with a new client experience, new server release and updates to the service in Office 365
The redesign optimized for that and as a result you, I and everyone else with hundreds of contacts lost our collective minds.
I 100% get that it's worse for you (and me too) but I think it's important to look at what they were actually trying to do and it makes sense.