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Are most people working with these themes in fairly low lit environments with a backlight? Because I assumed that current research indicated that in normal lig
by cbzbc 5y ago
Are most people working with these themes in fairly low lit environments with a backlight? Because I assumed that current research indicated that in normal light darker text on a light background was actually less tiring for the eyes.
- ivanhoe 5y agoNo, they're just in their 20 somethings, so looking cool outweighs "will an old dude be able to read it" argument. When younger I also loved nothing more than sitting in the dark room and staring at green letters on the black console screen. However now, being an old dude myself, not driving myself blind has become an actual concern...
- function_seven 5y agoI'm 42. I still hate staring at a lightbulb, and have dark mode on all the time. And my vision ain't what it used to be. Pure white on a pure black background is horrible, but off-whites on a darker background looks nice and doesn't strain my eyes like a canvas of white does.
- cbzbc 5y agoYes, I don’t use pure white, but the lighter solarized themese seem to work reasonably well.
- function_seven 5y agoSorry, didn't mean to strawman your setup :) Yeah, when I do use light themes, I mute them similarly. And I have the brightness on my screens turned down a bit, and the blue channel trimmed down a smidge. All the lights in my house are at 2200K, so I definitely have a preference towards warmer light. My theory is that it's like cilantro (some people think it tastes like soap) or like pineapple on pizza (which is objectively wrong, about this there can be no debate). I just can't stand bright light. I'm sure a sizeable chunk of dark theme users do just like to pretend they're administering The Matrix or something. But not all of us :)
- Luc 5y agoIt’s your eyes. Not the screen and not the young people. Get glasses.
- cbzbc 5y agoFor some of the reasons mentioned by other people in this thread, I don’t think glasses actually fix the problem. I have astigmatism and generally light text on a dark background is difficult to focus on.
- Luc 5y agoIt sounds like glasses (or lenses) would help you. Glasses can fix astigmatism! I can understand though that someone might not want to bother with glasses if the problem is easily fixed by using a light theme.
- cbzbc 5y agoI have glasses but possibly due halation as mentioned here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 still find light writing on dark backgrounds to be an issue. Contacts aren’t an option because my astigmatism is strong enough that a rotation of 2 degrees throws them off. But separately from eyesight issues I thought there was some evidence to suggest that aesthetic preferences aside, dark lettering on lighter backgrounds was still easier to read.
- Luc 5y agoHave you found that a combination of the right theme and glasses makes reading from the screen for hours comfortable? I have read about that research but I don't think we can conclude from it that dark backgrounds are a fad. They have other advantages (e.g. matching the dark room I work in) and besides, most dark themes are not pure white on black, but something less contrasting.
- cbzbc 5y ago
- aniforprez 5y agoWhy does this comment thread need a "get off my lawn" type response? Some people like dark themes cause white strains the eyes. I like off-white themes but none of those I've used are all that great for coding so I stick to dark themes
- matsemann 5y ago> No, they're just in their 20 somethings, so looking cool outweighs "will an old dude be able to read it" Hmm, sounds like you need glasses, why don't wear them? Too hung up on looking cool?
- npteljes 5y agoDark themes don't work for me either. What did work though is reducing blue light, and lowering monitor brightness. My eyes were much happier after I discovered this.