4 ms·

> Let's not trivialize disabilities we don't even know exist. Ok, fair. But I don’t think it’s an accident that all the people I hear complain about contrast b

by Aeolun 2y ago

> Let's not trivialize disabilities we don't even know exist. Ok, fair. But I don’t think it’s an accident that all the people I hear complain about contrast being too high are 20-something engineers. There’s nothing about good contrast that says it needs to blaze your eyes off. You can have perfectly good contrast with a completely black background and minimal amounts of light. Like I said, there’s no reason that “contrast” needs to mean black on white.

wkat4242 2y ago
I'm almost 50. And I have a big problem with my display, even during the day I run it at 0% brightness. During the night it's really way too bright. This is why I use dark mode. I also sometimes reduce the contrast but this messes up colour accuracy in a bad way. I agree it's not really a content issue as much as a hardware issue. LCD screens have a limited backlight range and seem to be optimised for peak brightness not lowest brightness. Probably because big numbers sell better on paper. Even reviews only talk about top brightness these days. My screen only tops around 200 nits and the lowest setting is way too high.
- emberfiend 2y ago
  Yeah, I'm at the point where I'm looking at manually positioning/removing one of those full-screen dimming filters so I can use my monitor past 7pm. And 90% of the time if a screen goes really dim it does so with savage PWM.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    Yes, PWM is another big issue. I'm very sensitive to it. Even though I grew up with CRT's (or perhaps because of that). Luckily my display doesn't do that. It's also very hard to figure out through reviews so I'm glad it doesn't. I was thinking about such a filter. But I haven't seen them for sale, I just know they exist (I was thinking about ND filters used in photography). But I wasn't sure if they exist at this size.
    - emberfiend 2y ago
      The brand I found when I did the research was LightDims. They seem to come in pretty large sheets. Haven't actually ordered any though. Yeah, I'm also PWM sensitive. You can buy devices which measure it fortunately but I've been making do with a phone camera on a high/brief shutter speed.
wickedsight 2y ago
> I don’t think it’s an accident that all the people I hear complain about contrast being too high are 20-something engineers Well, maybe that's because it isn't an accident at all! Maybe it isn't just them being a bunch of hipsters! - Light sensitivity reduces with age, so those 20-year olds are actually more sensitive to light than people who are older than them. - They're engineers, so there's a good chance they are looking at a screen 8+ hours a day. This means that they're greatly affected by anything that makes looking at a screen less comfortable. - They're engineers, so they know how software works and that the color scheme isn't set in stone. My parents just accept that some things don't work how they want them to work. I try to find a tool to make it work how I want it to work, because I can.
dqv 2y ago
> You can have perfectly good contrast with a completely black background and minimal amounts of light. Therein lies the problem: this assumption is incorrect. I encourage you to read what I quoted from that article again. Accessibility can not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Your suggested "medium contrast" to accommodate the different spectrums of visual impairment inevitably detriments both sides. All you're arguing for here is exactly what you're purporting to argue against, which is to assume one party's request for accomodations is less legitimate than another's. It's a superficial form of advocacy, that, while I understand comes from a place of good intentions, does not actually accommodate disabilities in the true spirit of accessibility. I can assure you that the low-contrast accomodation in the linked article would make it difficult for the person who needs a high-contrast accomodation, and vice versa. The comment that started this conversation is correct: all approaches to accessibility must have levers to pull to accommodate everyone. That includes allowing for accomodations in whatever form is reasonable. Extensions that change the way a website is displayed are one such accomodation. By being so rigid, this company has not implemented accessibility, they have implemented changes that shift disadvantage to another party. It's not defensible.

by Aeolun 2y ago

wkat4242 2y ago

I'm almost 50. And I have a big problem with my display, even during the day I run it at 0% brightness. During the night it's really way too bright. This is why I use dark mode. I also sometimes reduce the contrast but this messes up colour accuracy in a bad way. I agree it's not really a content issue as much as a hardware issue. LCD screens have a limited backlight range and seem to be optimised for peak brightness not lowest brightness. Probably because big numbers sell better on paper. Even reviews only talk about top brightness these days. My screen only tops around 200 nits and the lowest setting is way too high.

emberfiend 2y ago
Yeah, I'm at the point where I'm looking at manually positioning/removing one of those full-screen dimming filters so I can use my monitor past 7pm. And 90% of the time if a screen goes really dim it does so with savage PWM.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yes, PWM is another big issue. I'm very sensitive to it. Even though I grew up with CRT's (or perhaps because of that). Luckily my display doesn't do that. It's also very hard to figure out through reviews so I'm glad it doesn't. I was thinking about such a filter. But I haven't seen them for sale, I just know they exist (I was thinking about ND filters used in photography). But I wasn't sure if they exist at this size.
  - emberfiend 2y ago
    The brand I found when I did the research was LightDims. They seem to come in pretty large sheets. Haven't actually ordered any though. Yeah, I'm also PWM sensitive. You can buy devices which measure it fortunately but I've been making do with a phone camera on a high/brief shutter speed.

wickedsight 2y ago

> I don’t think it’s an accident that all the people I hear complain about contrast being too high are 20-something engineers Well, maybe that's because it isn't an accident at all! Maybe it isn't just them being a bunch of hipsters! - Light sensitivity reduces with age, so those 20-year olds are actually more sensitive to light than people who are older than them. - They're engineers, so there's a good chance they are looking at a screen 8+ hours a day. This means that they're greatly affected by anything that makes looking at a screen less comfortable. - They're engineers, so they know how software works and that the color scheme isn't set in stone. My parents just accept that some things don't work how they want them to work. I try to find a tool to make it work how I want it to work, because I can.

dqv 2y ago

> You can have perfectly good contrast with a completely black background and minimal amounts of light. Therein lies the problem: this assumption is incorrect. I encourage you to read what I quoted from that article again. Accessibility can not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Your suggested "medium contrast" to accommodate the different spectrums of visual impairment inevitably detriments both sides. All you're arguing for here is exactly what you're purporting to argue against, which is to assume one party's request for accomodations is less legitimate than another's. It's a superficial form of advocacy, that, while I understand comes from a place of good intentions, does not actually accommodate disabilities in the true spirit of accessibility. I can assure you that the low-contrast accomodation in the linked article would make it difficult for the person who needs a high-contrast accomodation, and vice versa. The comment that started this conversation is correct: all approaches to accessibility must have levers to pull to accommodate everyone. That includes allowing for accomodations in whatever form is reasonable. Extensions that change the way a website is displayed are one such accomodation. By being so rigid, this company has not implemented accessibility, they have implemented changes that shift disadvantage to another party. It's not defensible.