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Some documentation applications, particularly wikis (including, of course, Wikipedia) have a Random Page function.
My question is - how important and useful is that? Is there any objective data available on how that affects the success of an application?
The following items make a random button more useful:
Typical items are:
I don't have any data, but surely it depends on the application.
Wikipedia, being an encyclopaedia, has a "user mode" of "browsing" (if you like) where a user will be using the site in an effectively random mode just following links that take their fancy. In this mode then a "show me a random page" function has real utility.
If however, I was using the site to find some specific piece of information then such a function would be useless and were I to actually click it counter productive.
So if your application has this "browsing" mode then a random function might be useful. I think you'd need to get some usage data to see if that's a valid model.
As an aside Stack Exchange might benefit from such a "Random Question" function to show a random unanswered question. In fact it has already been suggested here
It depends on how much data you have to present. With tv-tropes, it's a beautiful option because there is way too much data to navigate through in a meaningful way, while random browsing usually brings up something interesting.
As usual, it all depends on context. If appropriate, a "Random" button adds a nice element of playfulness to the website. If inappropriate, it will distract and confuse.
Perhaps the most famous one is Google's I'm Feeling Lucky button. FWIW, I have never used it, but I have used "random" button on other websites before (can't recall which, sorry) where discovery or learning is involved.
