Robert_Charlton - 7:52 pm on Nov 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

autorun

FWIW, I think that autorun is generally a usability mistake.

You can't predict what the user's sound levels are going to be, and the laxness of web audio standards for "normal" or zero sound level compounds this problem.

Furthermore, you don't know where the user is going to be... eg, perhaps in a shared office situation where a blast of audio might be inappropriate.

Also, if user has chosen to open the page in another tab, how might this work in terms of autoplay?

I myself don't like autoplay, enough so that when a "regular" (non-video) site does this to me, unless I otherwise need the content, I quickly hit the exit button.

On YouTube or other video sites, of course, the context is different. There, I semi expect autoplay, though I still prefer to hit the play button myself.