Chiquita

Autoplay sucks because its just plain rude. Its like the people who aggressively sell cell phones and credit cards from kiosks in the shopping mall. They walk up to you, interrupt what you’re doing and just start trying to engage you. Its a violation of your personal space. We don’t expect that from strangers.

The same logic applies to video/audio that autoplays without user input. Interacting with software is an example of shared agency between the user and the system. The user makes requests, and the user responds. When the system responds without a request from the user its very off putting. From a design standpoint, its tantamount to breaking faith with the user.