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No, dark mode is not traditional normal. Paper was, which is black on white. And you shouldn't have your device or monitor set to glowing white -- turn the br

No, dark mode is not traditional normal. Paper was, which is black on white. And you shouldn't have your device or monitor set to glowing white -- turn the brightness down so it's the same as a sheet of paper next to it. And Windows didn't change the paradigm, the Mac was the first widely available consumer device which did. And its built-in CRT wasn't especially glowing either -- it was less bright than paper in traditional office lighting. Early computers had "dark" color schemes because the resolution was so low and pixels "bled" brightness, that it was easier to read. As technology improved, that problem thankfully went away, and it's easier on the eyes to read dark text on a light background, regardless of print or screen.

in-pursuit 2y ago
Given that screens are always adding their own light, it’s impossible for a screen to ever be equally bright as a piece of paper next to it. The screen will always be brighter.
- hollerith 2y ago
  No because some surfaces reflect more of the light than other sufaces.
- scarab92 2y ago
  That depends entirely on ambient light levels. All screens are brighter than white paper under moon light, almost none are brighter than white paper under midday sun.
  - Ferret7446 2y ago
    And reading under the midday sun is painful, much more so than a bright screen. If you haven't experienced before, I recommend it. It helps you appreciate just how bright direct sunlight is relative to other light sources.
- tshaddox 2y ago
  Do what now? An entirely black OLED screen is certainly going to reflect less of the room’s light than a sheet of white paper. An OLED screen displaying white at 10% of its maximum brightness is also likely going to be less bright than a sheet of white paper in most rooms.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
scarab92 2y ago
I don’t particularly care what is traditional. There’s a significant base of users that prefer light mode and dark mode so provide both, it’s generally not difficult to do so. I disagree that apps should tone down light mode. It’s better that all apps use the same brightness and contrast and then users can adjust their monitor to suit their individual preference.
- hulitu 2y ago
  > There’s a significant base of users that prefer light mode and dark mode so provide both, it’s generally not difficult to do so. There’s a significant base of users that hate with a passion all low contrast dark gray on light gray (aka llight mode) or light gray on dark gray (aka dark mode). When has the brain of people promoting this been damaged ?
Sunspark 2y ago
It's also really not necessary to use #FFFFFF as white. Paper itself is not that shade.
- recursive 2y ago
  It's not really meaningful without defining lighting and color space. Have you ever seen ink on white paper that was lighter than the paper?
- scarab92 2y ago
  Disagree, white should be standardised as #FFFFFF so that it’s consistent between applications. Then users can adjust how they want “white” to appear by adjusting their screen settings.
  - mbwgh 2y ago
    Thus forcing a subpar default on everybody intentionally.
    - scarab92 2y ago
      No, #FFF is white, and it's up to the client to decide what white should look like. Arguing that we should use, say, #CCC for white, is like saying that instead of rating things out of a 100, you should rate them out of 70 instead. All you've done is narrow the scale.
      - birksherty 2y ago
        Nope. Nobody is talking about what colour is white, but contrast that is forced upon user that hurts eyes.
        rmgk 2y ago
        Which direction of contrast is your problem? For me, the small contrast on pages like HN (in particular with any of the gray text) strains my eyes because it’s more effort for me to see the letters. But I also read a reasonable amount of PDFs (black on white) which is relatively comfortable on most of my monitors (LCDs with generally low brightness setting to have less light shine into my eyes). I think what I am saying is, I agree that what is comfortable depends on the user, so websites not moving off the defaults is better, because then users can configure what works for them. Addendum: The low contrast example on the article is very uncomfortable to read for me.
Ferret7446 2y ago
Paper, particularly bleached paper, is not "traditional normal" either. I'm no paleontologist, but originally humans would use substances like ash and fruit to draw/write on rock/leaves/bark, so white/red/colors on grey/green/brown.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- crazygringo 2y ago
  I'm something's been normal for a few centuries, I'm comfortable calling it traditional. Otherwise I'd use a word like "prehistorical".
2-3-7-43-1807 2y ago
> Paper was, which is black on white. check > Early computers had "dark" color schemes because the resolution was so low and pixels "bled" brightness this

in-pursuit 2y ago

Given that screens are always adding their own light, it’s impossible for a screen to ever be equally bright as a piece of paper next to it. The screen will always be brighter.

hollerith 2y ago
No because some surfaces reflect more of the light than other sufaces.
scarab92 2y ago
That depends entirely on ambient light levels. All screens are brighter than white paper under moon light, almost none are brighter than white paper under midday sun.
- Ferret7446 2y ago
  And reading under the midday sun is painful, much more so than a bright screen. If you haven't experienced before, I recommend it. It helps you appreciate just how bright direct sunlight is relative to other light sources.
tshaddox 2y ago
Do what now? An entirely black OLED screen is certainly going to reflect less of the room’s light than a sheet of white paper. An OLED screen displaying white at 10% of its maximum brightness is also likely going to be less bright than a sheet of white paper in most rooms.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

scarab92 2y ago

I don’t particularly care what is traditional. There’s a significant base of users that prefer light mode and dark mode so provide both, it’s generally not difficult to do so. I disagree that apps should tone down light mode. It’s better that all apps use the same brightness and contrast and then users can adjust their monitor to suit their individual preference.

hulitu 2y ago
> There’s a significant base of users that prefer light mode and dark mode so provide both, it’s generally not difficult to do so. There’s a significant base of users that hate with a passion all low contrast dark gray on light gray (aka llight mode) or light gray on dark gray (aka dark mode). When has the brain of people promoting this been damaged ?

Sunspark 2y ago

It's also really not necessary to use #FFFFFF as white. Paper itself is not that shade.

recursive 2y ago
It's not really meaningful without defining lighting and color space. Have you ever seen ink on white paper that was lighter than the paper?
scarab92 2y ago
Disagree, white should be standardised as #FFFFFF so that it’s consistent between applications. Then users can adjust how they want “white” to appear by adjusting their screen settings.
- mbwgh 2y ago
  Thus forcing a subpar default on everybody intentionally.
  - scarab92 2y ago
    No, #FFF is white, and it's up to the client to decide what white should look like. Arguing that we should use, say, #CCC for white, is like saying that instead of rating things out of a 100, you should rate them out of 70 instead. All you've done is narrow the scale.
    - birksherty 2y ago
      Nope. Nobody is talking about what colour is white, but contrast that is forced upon user that hurts eyes.
      - rmgk 2y ago
        Which direction of contrast is your problem? For me, the small contrast on pages like HN (in particular with any of the gray text) strains my eyes because it’s more effort for me to see the letters. But I also read a reasonable amount of PDFs (black on white) which is relatively comfortable on most of my monitors (LCDs with generally low brightness setting to have less light shine into my eyes). I think what I am saying is, I agree that what is comfortable depends on the user, so websites not moving off the defaults is better, because then users can configure what works for them. Addendum: The low contrast example on the article is very uncomfortable to read for me.

Ferret7446 2y ago

Paper, particularly bleached paper, is not "traditional normal" either. I'm no paleontologist, but originally humans would use substances like ash and fruit to draw/write on rock/leaves/bark, so white/red/colors on grey/green/brown.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
crazygringo 2y ago
I'm something's been normal for a few centuries, I'm comfortable calling it traditional. Otherwise I'd use a word like "prehistorical".

2-3-7-43-1807 2y ago

> Paper was, which is black on white. check > Early computers had "dark" color schemes because the resolution was so low and pixels "bled" brightness this