5 ms·

I stopped reading because the font size and color choice made it difficult to read. Is that irony?

MichaelAza 13y ago
Haha, noted. I'll switch to a more readable theme.
anigbrowl 13y ago
I made it to the end, but with difficulty and for the same reason. As for the ideas, that's great but I remember writing in a similar flush of enthusiasm 20 years ago. Much as I like YouTube, it's not the same as going to the opera. And part of what makes a good library valuable is what it excludes as well what it includes. Right now the WWW is too much like a shopping mall. I'm more interested in the internet of things.
zackkitzmiller 13y ago
Same. I instantly closed the tab.
- MichaelAza 13y ago
  There, fixed. Hope the new theme is easier to read.
  - derleth 13y ago
    There is still zero contrast. Light on dark works. Dark on light works. Pale gray on light does not work. You know how dark your emphasized words are? The whole piece needs to be at least that dark just to be readable.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - ronaldx 13y ago
      With astigmatism, I can't comfortably read the current light-on-dark text. http://blog.tatham.oddie.com.au/2008/10/13/why-light-text-on-dark-background-is-a-bad-idea/ http://blog.tatham.oddie.com.au/2008/10/13/why-light-text-on... Light-on-dark can be more comfortable for long-term screen reading, but a bold or heavier weighted font is really needed. I felt the original piece was effective because it really was expertly designed.
      - inthewind 13y ago
        I have issues with my sight too. And as such, I've just fixed the font, font-size, foreground and background colours in my browser, and I'm much happier for it. Backlit screens can still play havoc on my eyes, so for longer content, I just send it over to my eReader, to read later. I prefer light on dark text - when I'm in a dark environment, and dark on light when I'm in a bright room. It also depends on the monitor. But each to their own. The nice thing about taking the design into your own hands - is that you can bypass most of the author's styles - and then you can quit moaning. An author can't cater for all tastes. Each browser has different ways to customise them, and it can be a bit of a fiddle, and sometimes you might end up breaking out into another browser to read something - but it _can_ be done. Hacker news looks horrible to me without my styles applied. I strongly recommend taking control of your browser.
  - dmpatierno 13y ago
    #777 on a white background is still not enough contrast.
  - erso 13y ago
    You consider Helvetica Neue body text in font-weight: 300 and color: #777 to be easy to read? Jesus. I must be getting old or something. I feel like this trend is a new kind of sickness plaguing web design everywhere. Even The Verge does it in articles: http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/4436332/macbook-air-review-13-inch-2013 http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/4436332/macbook-air-review...
    - rdouble 13y ago
      You consider Helvetica Neue body text in font-weight: 300 and color: #777 to be easy to read? If you are an iOS user, prepare to be bummed in a few months...
    - MichaelAza 13y ago
      I've switched to the highest contrast theme I could find. Third time's the charm... (I hope)
      - nulagrithom 13y ago
        Ah, much nicer!
pimpl 13y ago
Cmd+++, invert colors and it’s okay.
wisty 13y ago
And the floating "CLICK ME" button which "CLICK ME" kept following "CLICK ME" down the page. The more you add to a web page, the more it obscures the fundamental interaction you want people to use. It's harder to make an interactive page than a static one, so I'm not really blaming the OP. The real lesson is, "focus on the interactions which count". Google has a lot of cruft on their front page, but the only thing really distracting you from the search form is their logo.

Haha, noted. I'll switch to a more readable theme.

I made it to the end, but with difficulty and for the same reason. As for the ideas, that's great but I remember writing in a similar flush of enthusiasm 20 years ago. Much as I like YouTube, it's not the same as going to the opera. And part of what makes a good library valuable is what it excludes as well what it includes. Right now the WWW is too much like a shopping mall. I'm more interested in the internet of things.

zackkitzmiller 13y ago

Same. I instantly closed the tab.

MichaelAza 13y ago
There, fixed. Hope the new theme is easier to read.
- derleth 13y ago
  There is still zero contrast. Light on dark works. Dark on light works. Pale gray on light does not work. You know how dark your emphasized words are? The whole piece needs to be at least that dark just to be readable.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - ronaldx 13y ago
    With astigmatism, I can't comfortably read the current light-on-dark text. http://blog.tatham.oddie.com.au/2008/10/13/why-light-text-on-dark-background-is-a-bad-idea/ http://blog.tatham.oddie.com.au/2008/10/13/why-light-text-on... Light-on-dark can be more comfortable for long-term screen reading, but a bold or heavier weighted font is really needed. I felt the original piece was effective because it really was expertly designed.
    - inthewind 13y ago
      I have issues with my sight too. And as such, I've just fixed the font, font-size, foreground and background colours in my browser, and I'm much happier for it. Backlit screens can still play havoc on my eyes, so for longer content, I just send it over to my eReader, to read later. I prefer light on dark text - when I'm in a dark environment, and dark on light when I'm in a bright room. It also depends on the monitor. But each to their own. The nice thing about taking the design into your own hands - is that you can bypass most of the author's styles - and then you can quit moaning. An author can't cater for all tastes. Each browser has different ways to customise them, and it can be a bit of a fiddle, and sometimes you might end up breaking out into another browser to read something - but it _can_ be done. Hacker news looks horrible to me without my styles applied. I strongly recommend taking control of your browser.
- dmpatierno 13y ago
  #777 on a white background is still not enough contrast.
- erso 13y ago
  You consider Helvetica Neue body text in font-weight: 300 and color: #777 to be easy to read? Jesus. I must be getting old or something. I feel like this trend is a new kind of sickness plaguing web design everywhere. Even The Verge does it in articles: http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/4436332/macbook-air-review-13-inch-2013 http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/4436332/macbook-air-review...
  - rdouble 13y ago
    You consider Helvetica Neue body text in font-weight: 300 and color: #777 to be easy to read? If you are an iOS user, prepare to be bummed in a few months...
  - MichaelAza 13y ago
    I've switched to the highest contrast theme I could find. Third time's the charm... (I hope)
    - nulagrithom 13y ago
      Ah, much nicer!

pimpl 13y ago

Cmd+++, invert colors and it’s okay.

wisty 13y ago

And the floating "CLICK ME" button which "CLICK ME" kept following "CLICK ME" down the page. The more you add to a web page, the more it obscures the fundamental interaction you want people to use. It's harder to make an interactive page than a static one, so I'm not really blaming the OP. The real lesson is, "focus on the interactions which count". Google has a lot of cruft on their front page, but the only thing really distracting you from the search form is their logo.