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I guess people have opinions that differ from mine, lol: HN's current design is near perfection for legibility, density, and responsiveness/load times. The up

I guess people have opinions that differ from mine, lol: HN's current design is near perfection for legibility, density, and responsiveness/load times. The up/down vote may be the most problematic aspect, but I hardly ever misclick, even on mobile.

cantSpellSober 3y ago
We can use an objective measure of legibility — WCAG 2 AA — which HN fails miserably. Downvoted comments (very light grey over very light beige) are illegible. Unfortunate, because sometimes they contribute to discussion, they just aren't popular. I meant "responsive" as in "responding to different viewports widths" which HN barely does at all.
- gkbrk 3y ago
  You know you can override the font size, or just press Ctrl-+ and your browser will make text larger. The same thing for colors, why do you want every single website everywhere to have optimal display settings for your preference or arbitrary targets, instead of configuring your browser to display everything with the contrast you prefer and the font size you prefer. Also I don't know why "responsive" is in quotes, HN works fine on desktop and mobile. While I generally prefer a mobile app for convenience like staying logged in, the website itself works perfectly on mobile too.
  - cantSpellSober 3y ago
    Thanks for talking down to me. I know zooming exists (there's no Ctrl button on phones FYI). I use more than one browser and device, some I don't own. > instead of configuring your browser That's exactly what I did. Text scaling on mobile in Chrome doesn't work on HN. I went beyond your suggestions and wrote a custom skin for HN. It requires a plugin not supported by all browsers. > why do you want every single website everywhere to have optimal display I don't, what an awful straw man. At least try. > HN works fine Yes, the site isn't broken, so I never claimed that. I said it barely responds to viewport width. The author asked for feedback, I
    - SubiculumCode 3y ago
      Maybe you see something I do not. I don't see how the comment was talking down to you, at least not with any tone that didn't precede it. Let's just keep the whole conversation civil. I'll respond here to your comment from earlier. While I'd agree that 1) HN standard could be illegible to some people, that 2) WCAG 2 AA compliance would increase legibility for those people. I'd actually argue that WCAG 2 AA would be disabling for the visually unimpaired and for those with poorer memory. While letters words and sentences would be legible for the visually unimpaired under WCAG 2 AA, it does impact legibility of the CONTEXT. I doubt that WCAG 2 AA considers this aspect. When I see less on the screen, the more I need to spend on memory because I cannot just scan for the details. This is impairing. Context change is impairing. When menus on some UIs do a fullscreen context switch, I respond slower, I am more disoriented. Context switching is hard. HN's format is less disabling to me, and possibly to a lot of people for whom context changes (caused by scrolling seeing less at a time) cause impairment. I am familiar with a lot of the issues of disability and able-ism, and work with individuals with intellectual disabilities and sensory sensitivities regularly. Society definitely can make the world less disabling for the impaired by taking steps to improve accessibility. However real world constraints can be so demanding that overcoming them could actually cause greater harm in certain cases, or when taken to a logical extreme.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]

cantSpellSober 3y ago

We can use an objective measure of legibility — WCAG 2 AA — which HN fails miserably. Downvoted comments (very light grey over very light beige) are illegible. Unfortunate, because sometimes they contribute to discussion, they just aren't popular. I meant "responsive" as in "responding to different viewports widths" which HN barely does at all.

gkbrk 3y ago
You know you can override the font size, or just press Ctrl-+ and your browser will make text larger. The same thing for colors, why do you want every single website everywhere to have optimal display settings for your preference or arbitrary targets, instead of configuring your browser to display everything with the contrast you prefer and the font size you prefer. Also I don't know why "responsive" is in quotes, HN works fine on desktop and mobile. While I generally prefer a mobile app for convenience like staying logged in, the website itself works perfectly on mobile too.
- cantSpellSober 3y ago
  Thanks for talking down to me. I know zooming exists (there's no Ctrl button on phones FYI). I use more than one browser and device, some I don't own. > instead of configuring your browser That's exactly what I did. Text scaling on mobile in Chrome doesn't work on HN. I went beyond your suggestions and wrote a custom skin for HN. It requires a plugin not supported by all browsers. > why do you want every single website everywhere to have optimal display I don't, what an awful straw man. At least try. > HN works fine Yes, the site isn't broken, so I never claimed that. I said it barely responds to viewport width. The author asked for feedback, I
  - SubiculumCode 3y ago
    Maybe you see something I do not. I don't see how the comment was talking down to you, at least not with any tone that didn't precede it. Let's just keep the whole conversation civil. I'll respond here to your comment from earlier. While I'd agree that 1) HN standard could be illegible to some people, that 2) WCAG 2 AA compliance would increase legibility for those people. I'd actually argue that WCAG 2 AA would be disabling for the visually unimpaired and for those with poorer memory. While letters words and sentences would be legible for the visually unimpaired under WCAG 2 AA, it does impact legibility of the CONTEXT. I doubt that WCAG 2 AA considers this aspect. When I see less on the screen, the more I need to spend on memory because I cannot just scan for the details. This is impairing. Context change is impairing. When menus on some UIs do a fullscreen context switch, I respond slower, I am more disoriented. Context switching is hard. HN's format is less disabling to me, and possibly to a lot of people for whom context changes (caused by scrolling seeing less at a time) cause impairment. I am familiar with a lot of the issues of disability and able-ism, and work with individuals with intellectual disabilities and sensory sensitivities regularly. Society definitely can make the world less disabling for the impaired by taking steps to improve accessibility. However real world constraints can be so demanding that overcoming them could actually cause greater harm in certain cases, or when taken to a logical extreme.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]