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> Grey text on a white background is generally accepted as easier on the eye/mind when reading sentences That may the single most propagated unfounded myth in

> Grey text on a white background is generally accepted as easier on the eye/mind when reading sentences That may the single most propagated unfounded myth in UI design this decade. [1] While it's true that pure black on pure white causes problems for some dyslexic users, there is also a _minimum_ required contrast [2], which is routileny ignored by many "stylish" web sites. The plague of contrast-less "light grey on white" have been adopted by plenty of "web 3.0" sites out of following fashionable trends, to the point of making them unreadable. I've been forced to place a "Contrast" bookmarklet on the toolbar of all my browsers to fix all those terrible contrast-less pages I found everywhere, and I'm forced to use it dozens of times a day to alleviate my aching eyes. (Hexadecimal #333 is my personal upper level of comfort on white backgrounds, anything above that begins physically hurting my eyes when reading any kind of long text). [1] http://contrastrebellion.com/ http://contrastrebellion.com/ [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/AERT#color-contrast http://www.w3.org/TR/AERT#color-contrast

coldpie 11y ago
> I've been forced to place a "Contrast" bookmarklet on the toolbar of all my browsers Could you please share these? I'm not web-programming-savvy enough to make anything that'd be generally useful.
- TuringTest 11y ago
  I didn't make it myself, I found it here: http://megpickard.com/2011/06/nifty-bookmarklet-to-make-web-pages-easier-on-the-eye/ http://megpickard.com/2011/06/nifty-bookmarklet-to-make-web-... This reminds me that I didn't thank the author enough, I'll have to drop her a line.
  - coldpie 11y ago
    That is wonderful, thanks for the link!
kagamine 11y ago
Notice I said grey, not light grey. Good designers will understand that there has to be a contrast between the background and the foreground. There will always be some who misinterpret the rules. The first site you linked could exist for any design principle found on the web, just change the pattern to fit. The example they give also has negative text-shadow (engraved effect). That is not evidence of anything. Anyone could make a website with focus on a single design error like that. The W3 link doesn't support your argument either, as all they are saying is to make sure there is enough contrast, not that grey text is wrong. They also include "provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits" in the title, which I took to mean people with impaired sight. IF you want to go down the rabbit hole that's is more than 1% of the www friendly toward people with accessibility problems you will be lost in there until rabbits evolve to live in houses. Think of the kindle, is that black text on a white page? Now search for why people like e-readers over tablets, you will see that black on white is not good for the eyes.
- TuringTest 11y ago
  > There will always be some who misinterpret the rules. Right, though the problem is when the misinterpretation takes on a life of its own and it's propagated as a good practice, as it happened with light grey and its purported benefits to dyslexic readers. This practice is too widespread to be left unadressed without correction. As for e-readers, the newer models of the Kindle and other competitors have darker text over whiter background as a selling point, and the early grey-on-grey was touted as a huge limitation of the format. I've tried both and I clearly prefer the high-contrast versions. Also, people prefer e-readers because they are based on reflective light instead of emiting LEDs - it has nothing to do with them having grey text.
  - kagamine 11y ago
    > I've tried both and I clearly prefer I think we can end this debate here.
    - TuringTest 11y ago

coldpie 11y ago

> I've been forced to place a "Contrast" bookmarklet on the toolbar of all my browsers Could you please share these? I'm not web-programming-savvy enough to make anything that'd be generally useful.

TuringTest 11y ago
I didn't make it myself, I found it here: http://megpickard.com/2011/06/nifty-bookmarklet-to-make-web-pages-easier-on-the-eye/ http://megpickard.com/2011/06/nifty-bookmarklet-to-make-web-... This reminds me that I didn't thank the author enough, I'll have to drop her a line.
- coldpie 11y ago
  That is wonderful, thanks for the link!

kagamine 11y ago

Notice I said grey, not light grey. Good designers will understand that there has to be a contrast between the background and the foreground. There will always be some who misinterpret the rules. The first site you linked could exist for any design principle found on the web, just change the pattern to fit. The example they give also has negative text-shadow (engraved effect). That is not evidence of anything. Anyone could make a website with focus on a single design error like that. The W3 link doesn't support your argument either, as all they are saying is to make sure there is enough contrast, not that grey text is wrong. They also include "provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits" in the title, which I took to mean people with impaired sight. IF you want to go down the rabbit hole that's is more than 1% of the www friendly toward people with accessibility problems you will be lost in there until rabbits evolve to live in houses. Think of the kindle, is that black text on a white page? Now search for why people like e-readers over tablets, you will see that black on white is not good for the eyes.

TuringTest 11y ago
> There will always be some who misinterpret the rules. Right, though the problem is when the misinterpretation takes on a life of its own and it's propagated as a good practice, as it happened with light grey and its purported benefits to dyslexic readers. This practice is too widespread to be left unadressed without correction. As for e-readers, the newer models of the Kindle and other competitors have darker text over whiter background as a selling point, and the early grey-on-grey was touted as a huge limitation of the format. I've tried both and I clearly prefer the high-contrast versions. Also, people prefer e-readers because they are based on reflective light instead of emiting LEDs - it has nothing to do with them having grey text.
- kagamine 11y ago
  > I've tried both and I clearly prefer I think we can end this debate here.
  - TuringTest 11y ago