Web 2.0 modern?

Many web sites use "web 2.0" elements: nice, glossy badges and buttons, gradients, large texts. Everything looks user-centered and modern, but somehow I'm not comfortable with it.

I think the term "web 2.0" isn't appropriate and we need to discard it from our dictionary. It sounds like a new version that should fix bugs or add new functionality, but this isn't the case. There is nothing new in terms of how websites operate. Ajax has made sites more responsive, but its part from JavaScript, which was there before too. The average user still continues to use the web in the same old way—clicking on links and filling input fields. The web won't evolve much, unless we change fundamentally how the HTTP protocol operates.

"Web 2.0" is no more the term it used to be. It's elements are heavily overused now and have no more the same impact. Just because something is available, doesn't mean we should use it. For example, I came to a page, where people discussed that a font-size of at least 16pt should be used, because that represents the size of a font on a typical book. That just makes no sense, though type will certainly be more easier on the eye. As we know one book is printed in a nice quality on at least 240/300dpi, our monitors have only 72/96dpi. Screen and print are two completely different media, which can't be compared this way. Type of 16pt on a monitor looks huge, jagged and hard to view on a small resolution monitor. This means that designers assume that their readers have huge screens. That isn't always the case, especially when innovative mobile devices with limited capabilities enter the market. We are simply ignoring this target group, which isn't a good design.

Another example: On one web site I saw an application, which relied on Silverlight. Because my browser had no support for it, he kindly offered me a pop-up window, asking me to install it. I declined and received an alternative content, which was ok. But then after a couple of days I visited the same site again, and the same window showed. There was simply no option available "Don't ask again/Don't ask again for this site". While this application may have been impressive, the way it worked was disturbing.