Every time I watch a full screen video, Chrome feels the need to tell me that YouTube is now full screen. Oh really? I already knew that. How did I know that? Because I just clicked the fucking full screen button.

Why is Chrome compelled to tell me something I already know? Oh, right, new users. Maybe somebody clicked the button by accident. So that justifies, what? One, two warnings? Three? Surely not three hundred. This isn’t accommodating; this is aggravating.

Let’s say I decide to relax and spend an hour watching music videos (it’s cold outside!). In that span, I will be faced with 20 reminders that yes, once again, YouTube is full screen. (There’s no search in full screen mode, and while I may enjoy one Cars video, I don’t need to watch the entire set.) By now even a lobotomized lab rat will have figured out that, just like the previous 19 times this happened, I can press Esc to exit. But not me. Chrome isn’t quite sure I’m smart enough to remember which key to press. Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.

Now assuming I do have the memory of a gold fish, how does the reminder at the beginning of the video help? By the time I’ve watched the video, I’ve surely forgotten the annoying popup that was blocking my view and which I didn’t read. Once I do find the Esc key, however, be sure to remind me about it again seven seconds later when I play the next video.

It’s the Return of Clippy. I noticed you’re watching a video full screen. Does that mean you want to see the whole thing? Is this dialog interfering with your viewing? Would you like this dialog to go away and never come back? Don’t worry, I’ll be right over here in case you need me.

Ironically, Internet Explorer does get this right. Asks me once, the first time, if I want to switch to full screen. Yes. Never a peep after that.