Modes are intended to grab the user's full attention and to cause them to acknowledge the content present in them, in particular when critical confirmation from the user is required.<ref name="context">{{cite web|url=http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Context|title=Modal Panel - Context|authorwebsite=[http://infragistics.com Infragistics.com]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506101851/http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Context|archive-date=2013-05-06}}</ref> This latter use is criticised as ineffective for its intended use (protection against errors in destructive actions) due to [[habituation]]. Actually making the action reversible (providing an "undo" option) is recommended instead.<ref>[[Aza Raskin]], A List Apart: [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/neveruseawarning Never Use a Warning When you Mean Undo]</ref> Though modes can be successful in particular usages to restrict dangerous or undesired operations, especially when the mode is actively maintained by a user as a ''quasimode''.
Modes are sometimes used to represent information pertinent to the task that doesn’t fit well into the main visual flow.<ref name="context"/> Modes can also work as well-understood conventions, such as painting tools.<ref name="glossary"/>
