A recurrent mantra of the technology industry is that all forms of ‘friction’ should be eliminated from online interactions (especially commercial transactions). In this context, ‘friction’ refers to any unnecessary retardation of a process or activity that delays the user accomplishing a desired action. This broad category can therefore include online adverts that link to the wrong webpages, pop-up windows that block access to content or delays in the physical delivery of an ordered item. Although visions of a frictionless future have been common since at least 1995 (the year Bill Gates popularised the phrase ‘friction-free capitalism’), the basic notion has remained unhelpfully vague. Accordingly, this article focuses specifically on the phenomenon of online friction (i.e. ‘e-friction’) and elaborates a typology of the main subtypes. An analytical framework of this kind makes it much easier to compare and contrast distinct kinds of e-friction, recognising that important differences distinguish those that are ‘elective’, ‘non-elective’, ‘impeding’, ‘distracting’ and so on. Having sketched a preliminary typology, the article reflects upon the ethical implications of the distinct varieties, and concludes by suggesting that there are several reasons why an entirely (e-)frictionless future is a profoundly disturbing one.

技术行业反复出现的口头禅是，应从在线互动（尤其是商业交易）中消除所有形式的“摩擦”。在这种情况下，“摩擦”是指任何不必要的延迟用户完成所需动作的过程或活动的延迟。因此，这一广泛的类别可能包括链接到错误网页的在线广告、阻止访问内容的弹出窗口或订购商品的实物交付延迟。尽管至少从 1995 年（比尔·盖茨推广“无摩擦资本主义”一词的那一年）开始，对无摩擦未来的愿景就很普遍，但基本概念仍然模糊不清，无济于事。因此，本文特别关注在线摩擦现象（即“电子摩擦”），并详细阐述了主要子类型的类型学。这种分析框架使得比较和对比不同类型的电子摩擦变得更加容易，认识到重要的差异区分了“选择性”、“非选择性”、“阻碍”、“分散注意力”等。在勾勒出一个初步的类型学之后，这篇文章反思了不同品种的伦理含义，最后提出了一个完全（电子）无摩擦的未来是一个令人深感不安的未来有几个原因。