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Please don't. Strong contrast helps readability; grey-on-color is lower contrast than white-on-color. Most HN threads linking to a site that has light-grey-on-

Please don't. Strong contrast helps readability; grey-on-color is lower contrast than white-on-color. Most HN threads linking to a site that has light-grey-on-dark-grey or dark-grey-on-light-grey text have at least one (off-topic) complaint about site style. Let's not make HN one of those sites.

albedoa 7y ago
> grey-on-color is lower contrast than white-on-color. > Let's not make HN one of those sites. The OP of the thread you are replying to is #828282 on top of #f6f6ef. That is lower contrast than black on white.
- JoshTriplett 7y ago
  I was responding to the comment I directly replied to, not commenting on the specific color scheme of the style.
  - albedoa 7y ago
    You said: "Let's not make HN one of those sites." Either it is already one of those sites or there is room between the most extreme contrasts. Pick one.
    - JoshTriplett 7y ago
      HN is currently "black on very light background". The equivalent dark mode would be "white on very dark background". I hope we end up with either that, or even better, white on a black background (because that would be great for devices with OLED screens, including many phones).
      - albedoa 7y ago
        The top post is #828282 on top of #f6f6ef, a pretty low contrast of 3.541 compared to 21.000 for black on white.
teh_klev 7y ago
For me strong contrasts, especially on dark backgrounds, give me retina burns and eyestrain. I find pastel shades more comfortable. That said the grey text on white fad that happened a few years ago was a very silly idea. I guess everyone's mileages vary depending on their eyesight, my eye's are 53 years old now and aren't as spritely as they used to be.
- im3w1l 7y ago
  It's all about your monitor settings. High contrast monitor - you prefer low contrast style. Low contrast monitor - you prefer high contrast style. This is something I don't like about VS Code. by being low contrast it means I have to turn up monitor contrast meaning everything else burns.
  - stev0lution 7y ago
    Sorry for asking but is there any reason why you don't just use a different color theme for VS Code?
    - im3w1l 7y ago
      Fair enough. It's because it's not my main editor, and I didn't look into theming.
  - tallgiraffe 7y ago
    Great point. Our environmental factors are so easy to forget. I do use a very high contrast monitor and definitely prefer pastel colors at night, so my eyes dont hurt, but now I can clearly see how someone with low contrast wont' see a damn thing. There is a solution, but it's a bit more complicated and requires introducing additional user preferences. Supply two color options in the css, and allow user to choose high/low brightness. HN already has some profile filters, so adding one more might not be a problem, but I can also see how it becomes a slipper-slope of new features.
    - ksaj 7y ago
Symbiote 7y ago
There's plenty of space between #000 on #fff to provide an on style with high contrast. https://contrastrebellion.com/ https://contrastrebellion.com/

albedoa 7y ago

> grey-on-color is lower contrast than white-on-color. > Let's not make HN one of those sites. The OP of the thread you are replying to is #828282 on top of #f6f6ef. That is lower contrast than black on white.

JoshTriplett 7y ago
I was responding to the comment I directly replied to, not commenting on the specific color scheme of the style.
- albedoa 7y ago
  You said: "Let's not make HN one of those sites." Either it is already one of those sites or there is room between the most extreme contrasts. Pick one.
  - JoshTriplett 7y ago
    HN is currently "black on very light background". The equivalent dark mode would be "white on very dark background". I hope we end up with either that, or even better, white on a black background (because that would be great for devices with OLED screens, including many phones).
    - albedoa 7y ago
      The top post is #828282 on top of #f6f6ef, a pretty low contrast of 3.541 compared to 21.000 for black on white.

teh_klev 7y ago

For me strong contrasts, especially on dark backgrounds, give me retina burns and eyestrain. I find pastel shades more comfortable. That said the grey text on white fad that happened a few years ago was a very silly idea. I guess everyone's mileages vary depending on their eyesight, my eye's are 53 years old now and aren't as spritely as they used to be.

im3w1l 7y ago
It's all about your monitor settings. High contrast monitor - you prefer low contrast style. Low contrast monitor - you prefer high contrast style. This is something I don't like about VS Code. by being low contrast it means I have to turn up monitor contrast meaning everything else burns.
- stev0lution 7y ago
  Sorry for asking but is there any reason why you don't just use a different color theme for VS Code?
  - im3w1l 7y ago
    Fair enough. It's because it's not my main editor, and I didn't look into theming.
- tallgiraffe 7y ago
  Great point. Our environmental factors are so easy to forget. I do use a very high contrast monitor and definitely prefer pastel colors at night, so my eyes dont hurt, but now I can clearly see how someone with low contrast wont' see a damn thing. There is a solution, but it's a bit more complicated and requires introducing additional user preferences. Supply two color options in the css, and allow user to choose high/low brightness. HN already has some profile filters, so adding one more might not be a problem, but I can also see how it becomes a slipper-slope of new features.
  - ksaj 7y ago

Symbiote 7y ago

There's plenty of space between #000 on #fff to provide an on style with high contrast. https://contrastrebellion.com/ https://contrastrebellion.com/