Beginning with the small eye icon, we find an ambiguous tool with very little mapping.  Once you click on the icon, you understand that the eye implies how you see the layout.  This is a poor mapping tool, as one wouldn't automatically assume what the eye means.  The function of the tool itself, however, can be quite useful.  It gives you three options, as seen below, of ways to view the layout of the website.  The second option, "two panes," is particularly interesting.  This allows for the story panel (left on the homepage, as seen above) and the "Latest stories" panel (right on the homepage, as seen above) to be controlled separately.  This is an unusual tool, but one that has merit.  This allows you to scroll through the chronological list of most recent stories while not losing your place within the current article displayed.  Or the opposite if you wish - you can scroll through the story without losing your place of which article you want to read next.  This feature is optional, a good decision by the designers because not everyone will want to try this innovative system.  The tool to change the layout is not very visible, or its meaning clear, which hampers a user's ability to experience it. However, once discovered, it is a helpful way to interact with the site.  

The next function in the top right corner of the homepage is the "Latest stories" button.  Un-clicked, its implication that the list of stories below it is chronological is weak because its proximity is low.  An ad space (or in this case, the motto of the site) is between the function title and the list.  Once could easily infer the connection, but there are ways to improve its function.  The designers could move the "Latest stories" button directly under and in the middle of the ad space, connecting it almost directly with list of headlines that follow.   The tradeoff here is that it would be farther from the other site directory tools in the top right corner of the page. 

Next, there is the search function.  The icon for this tool is a magnifying glass.  In American culture, this is a common mapping for a search function.  Since this site is almost exclusively catered to an American audience, it would not make sense to change this icon.  It's visibility, however, leaves something to be desired.  It is a small, faded icon that is not immediately noticeable.  The rationale behind this is understandable - the tradeoff to making it more visible is that it could become more distracting.  When you click on the search function, it leads you to the page seen below.  There are ways to make this tool more user friendly.  Instead of leading the viewer to a new page, a space to type your search term in should appear below the icon.  In addition, there should be an "Advanced Search" link that sends you to the page currently active (below).  The tradeoff here is that it is more complicated for the designer.  The user would benefit, though, by not taking them away from content, even for a few moments.  

The final user interaction function to examine on this site is the "sign in" link in the far right corner (as highlighted in the first picture).  Only from visiting other similar sites would a user know that the main function of creating an account or signing in is to be able to post comments.  When you click on this link, the menu shown below pops up.  Because the only function of signing in is to comment, not to manage a profile, Deadspin allows you to sign in with a variety of social media services, instead of having to create a full account.  This also allows user to connect their comments to their social media accounts if they wish.  There is an addition option to create a "burner" which allows a user to comment anonymously.  There is a huge tradeoff here - the benefit is that the user can feel free to comment without exposing personal information about themselves to strangers.  The cost is that under the protection of anonymity, users can post offensive or incendiary comments that may distract from the content of the site.