3 ms·

Dark mode is good in the sense that I love it. Using light mode apps, especially in the evening, is like a laser into my eyes, subjectively.

okasaki 2y ago
Turn the monitor brightness down. I have it set to 5/100 and there's no problem using light mode all day and night.
- jasfi 2y ago
  I've found contrast suffers when using that approach. That's why dark mode seems to work best for some of us.
  - okasaki 2y ago
    You don't need eye-blazing contrast in low light. If you try it your eyes will adjust.
- Citizen_Lame 2y ago
  Is there anything visible at that point. There always seems to be someone advocating impractical solutions simply because they believe these solutions work for them personally.
  - immibis 2y ago
    My monitor's absolute lowest brightness is ideal for me in diffuse daylight (normal working conditions) and tolerable (still not too bright) in the evening. It is annoying that they don't go even lower, but it works for me. My phone's brightness slider goes all the way down to a comfortable level for night, at the very lowest setting.
  - Tomte 2y ago
    Depends on your specific display. Mine is at brightness 16 at home, and 0 or 2 at work. Of course, everything is visible. Perfectly visible, not as some sort of compromise.
- unsupp0rted 2y ago
  I do design work, in addition to building stuff. I need to see colors "as-is" (to the degree that's ever a thing) fairly often. 5/100 brightness wouldn't be great, and even syntax-highlighting gets murky at low brightness, I'm guessing?
ramraj07 2y ago
The point is you want your screen to annoy you so you don’t use it in that time.
- taneq 2y ago
  The point is I'm gonna use my devices at night so I'd like them not to attack me when I do so.
  - TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
    We have invented light bulb at the beginning of 20th century. You will definitely find its descendant in your room. Try to use it.
    - taneq 2y ago
      I don't want my room to be bright, I want my devices to be at a comfortable brightness level for my dimly lit room! :)
TacticalCoder 2y ago
> Dark mode is good in the sense that I love it. I love it so much that I've been using it since my Atari 600 XL and Commodore 64 days. At times it's been complicated: I remember the early IntelliJ IDEs had no dark-mode but you could configure one yourself (and it was lots of work). Or Windows: the rare time when I worked on Windows I couldn't get a dark mode to work but I remember I could "dim" the laser white background into a light grey and Word would show a slightly grey background. Linux / Emacs: zero issue configuring these with dark modes of course. As an anecdote at 51 y/o I need, at long last, to go see an ophthalmologist to measure my now failing eyes. But spending most of my life from 11 y/o to 51 y/o in front of computer screen, I'd say all these decades without glasses was a good run.
resonious 2y ago
Yeah I'm not using dark mode for any "health" reasons in the first place. It's to avoid pain.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
coldtea 2y ago
The point though is that while one might "love it" and dark mode might feel like "laser into the eyes" to them, it can also mean reduced eyesight and increased vision problems mid/long term - not "subjectively", but objectively. To make an analogy, excercize also feels like an exhausting experience for many people, and they "love" and prefer lounging on a couch, but long term they'd live more and be healthier if they did it more of the former and less of the latter.
- Zak 2y ago
  > it can also mean reduced eyesight and increased vision problems mid/long term [Citation needed] The article mentions several studies, including short-term discomfort from digital eye strain associated with excessive screen use (regardless of color theme) and improved reading accuracy with light themes, but I don't see anything associating dark themes with long-term vision issues.
TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
Then switch on the lights in your room? Why doing complex retheming and suffering pain if you don't when you can just flip the switch?
- xigoi 2y ago
  Ah yes, let me turn on the lights when my roommate is already sleeping just to be able to use light mode.
  - TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
    Or you could just use a table lamp, or any other background lighting. Instead of that you will be complaining about pain in your eyes, band aiding it with dark mode and go blind before 40 years old.
    - xigoi 2y ago
      Using dark mode makes you blind? That’s a new one.
      - TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
        No, looking into only source of light during night makes your eye to strain which can make you blind.

okasaki 2y ago

Turn the monitor brightness down. I have it set to 5/100 and there's no problem using light mode all day and night.

jasfi 2y ago
I've found contrast suffers when using that approach. That's why dark mode seems to work best for some of us.
- okasaki 2y ago
  You don't need eye-blazing contrast in low light. If you try it your eyes will adjust.
Citizen_Lame 2y ago
Is there anything visible at that point. There always seems to be someone advocating impractical solutions simply because they believe these solutions work for them personally.
- immibis 2y ago
  My monitor's absolute lowest brightness is ideal for me in diffuse daylight (normal working conditions) and tolerable (still not too bright) in the evening. It is annoying that they don't go even lower, but it works for me. My phone's brightness slider goes all the way down to a comfortable level for night, at the very lowest setting.
- Tomte 2y ago
  Depends on your specific display. Mine is at brightness 16 at home, and 0 or 2 at work. Of course, everything is visible. Perfectly visible, not as some sort of compromise.
unsupp0rted 2y ago
I do design work, in addition to building stuff. I need to see colors "as-is" (to the degree that's ever a thing) fairly often. 5/100 brightness wouldn't be great, and even syntax-highlighting gets murky at low brightness, I'm guessing?

ramraj07 2y ago

The point is you want your screen to annoy you so you don’t use it in that time.

taneq 2y ago
The point is I'm gonna use my devices at night so I'd like them not to attack me when I do so.
- TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
  We have invented light bulb at the beginning of 20th century. You will definitely find its descendant in your room. Try to use it.
  - taneq 2y ago
    I don't want my room to be bright, I want my devices to be at a comfortable brightness level for my dimly lit room! :)

TacticalCoder 2y ago

> Dark mode is good in the sense that I love it. I love it so much that I've been using it since my Atari 600 XL and Commodore 64 days. At times it's been complicated: I remember the early IntelliJ IDEs had no dark-mode but you could configure one yourself (and it was lots of work). Or Windows: the rare time when I worked on Windows I couldn't get a dark mode to work but I remember I could "dim" the laser white background into a light grey and Word would show a slightly grey background. Linux / Emacs: zero issue configuring these with dark modes of course. As an anecdote at 51 y/o I need, at long last, to go see an ophthalmologist to measure my now failing eyes. But spending most of my life from 11 y/o to 51 y/o in front of computer screen, I'd say all these decades without glasses was a good run.

resonious 2y ago

Yeah I'm not using dark mode for any "health" reasons in the first place. It's to avoid pain.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

coldtea 2y ago

The point though is that while one might "love it" and dark mode might feel like "laser into the eyes" to them, it can also mean reduced eyesight and increased vision problems mid/long term - not "subjectively", but objectively. To make an analogy, excercize also feels like an exhausting experience for many people, and they "love" and prefer lounging on a couch, but long term they'd live more and be healthier if they did it more of the former and less of the latter.

Zak 2y ago
> it can also mean reduced eyesight and increased vision problems mid/long term [Citation needed] The article mentions several studies, including short-term discomfort from digital eye strain associated with excessive screen use (regardless of color theme) and improved reading accuracy with light themes, but I don't see anything associating dark themes with long-term vision issues.

TheLoafOfBread 2y ago

Then switch on the lights in your room? Why doing complex retheming and suffering pain if you don't when you can just flip the switch?

xigoi 2y ago
Ah yes, let me turn on the lights when my roommate is already sleeping just to be able to use light mode.
- TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
  Or you could just use a table lamp, or any other background lighting. Instead of that you will be complaining about pain in your eyes, band aiding it with dark mode and go blind before 40 years old.
  - xigoi 2y ago
    Using dark mode makes you blind? That’s a new one.
    - TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
      No, looking into only source of light during night makes your eye to strain which can make you blind.