4 ms·

I feel like a nag. This is the second time that I've criticized a blog post for poor readability. Light gray text against a white (or off-white) background is a

by inetsee 16y ago

I feel like a nag. This is the second time that I've criticized a blog post for poor readability. Light gray text against a white (or off-white) background is a fundamental usability flaw. It makes the text very hard to read, and detracts from the content.

ghurlman 16y ago
Use Readability[1], and stop nagging. [1] http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/
- burgerbrain 16y ago
  Alternatively, use Readability, and continue to nag. If at any point Readability becomes necessary, it's a pretty good indication that the author should be made aware that their site is crap.
- inetsee 16y ago
  Thank you for reminding me. But Readability is not perfect. Less than an hour after posting this comment I came across a site that could be improved by Readability, except for the fact that Readability did not render the page correctly (it did not show some information in lists). I still believe that pointing out ways that authors can improve the usability of their web pages is useful feedback.
jws 16y ago
That gray is #737373 which is in the darker half, though not by much and the background is full white. People's vision varies, but it might be worth a check at a black and white gradient with your display to see if it is wonky. I keep one from the bad old days of CRTs at http://jim.studt.net/bw.gif http://jim.studt.net/bw.gif if you want to take a peek. If you see wide, uniform areas then your display needs work. (As does my gradient, now that browsers have a white background by default. You can't tell if there is a flat spot on your righthand edge.) It helps to make a little circle say 1/10th the width of the image with your hand, and look through that. See if each section looks like a gradient in isolation. Your brain lies to you a lot.

4 ms·

I feel like a nag. This is the second time that I've criticized a blog post for poor readability. Light gray text against a white (or off-white) background is a

by inetsee 16y ago

ghurlman 16y ago
Use Readability[1], and stop nagging. [1] http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/
- burgerbrain 16y ago
  Alternatively, use Readability, and continue to nag. If at any point Readability becomes necessary, it's a pretty good indication that the author should be made aware that their site is crap.
- inetsee 16y ago
  Thank you for reminding me. But Readability is not perfect. Less than an hour after posting this comment I came across a site that could be improved by Readability, except for the fact that Readability did not render the page correctly (it did not show some information in lists). I still believe that pointing out ways that authors can improve the usability of their web pages is useful feedback.
jws 16y ago
That gray is #737373 which is in the darker half, though not by much and the background is full white. People's vision varies, but it might be worth a check at a black and white gradient with your display to see if it is wonky. I keep one from the bad old days of CRTs at http://jim.studt.net/bw.gif http://jim.studt.net/bw.gif if you want to take a peek. If you see wide, uniform areas then your display needs work. (As does my gradient, now that browsers have a white background by default. You can't tell if there is a flat spot on your righthand edge.) It helps to make a little circle say 1/10th the width of the image with your hand, and look through that. See if each section looks like a gradient in isolation. Your brain lies to you a lot.