Black Theme for Site?

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Alexa9
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Black Theme for Site?

Post by Alexa9 »

Just curious if there's any interest in a black theme for the site? Youtube and a few other sites do this and it seems to be easier on the eyes especially browsing in the evening.

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SmileyFace
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by SmileyFace »

My Youtube page isn't black at all. Did you customize it? Or perhaps you are paying them for services? Or perhaps its your browser.

I'm not a fan of the white on black. I find black on white easier to read. There was another site I was going to that was white on black for years and then changed - feedback was mostly positive.
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Alexa9
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Alexa9 »

DaftInvestor wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:33 am My Youtube page isn't black at all. Did you customize it? Or perhaps you are paying them for services? Or perhaps its your browser.

I'm not a fan of the white on black. I find black on white easier to read. There was another site I was going to that was white on black for years and then changed - feedback was mostly positive.
If you go to Youtube settings it's called Dark Theme. I find it's easier on the eyes after sunset. I also have a program to make my screen warmer in the evening and some phones have this too. The Google Chrome Browser also has this feature.
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sunnywindy
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by sunnywindy »

I use the Dark Mode on YouTube and like it, too, but this is a reading site and studies have shown that black letters on a lite background are best for a majority of people and devices.
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Pajamas
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Pajamas »

Something you might consider is using a browser add-on to adjust the appearance of any website. For example:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... ieeh?hl=en
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SmileyFace
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by SmileyFace »

Alexa9 wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:38 am
DaftInvestor wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:33 am My Youtube page isn't black at all. Did you customize it? Or perhaps you are paying them for services? Or perhaps its your browser.

I'm not a fan of the white on black. I find black on white easier to read. There was another site I was going to that was white on black for years and then changed - feedback was mostly positive.
If you go to Youtube settings it's called Dark Theme. I find it's easier on the eyes after sunset. I also have a program to make my screen warmer in the evening and some phones have this too. The Google Chrome Browser also has this feature.
The black background might be good for watching videos but would be terrible (at least on my old tired eyes) for a site like this where there is mostly reading.
If the Admins decide to make a change in this direction that isn't customizable I likely would stop coming.
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Alexa9
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Alexa9 »

DaftInvestor wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:56 am
Alexa9 wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:38 am
DaftInvestor wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:33 am My Youtube page isn't black at all. Did you customize it? Or perhaps you are paying them for services? Or perhaps its your browser.

I'm not a fan of the white on black. I find black on white easier to read. There was another site I was going to that was white on black for years and then changed - feedback was mostly positive.
If you go to Youtube settings it's called Dark Theme. I find it's easier on the eyes after sunset. I also have a program to make my screen warmer in the evening and some phones have this too. The Google Chrome Browser also has this feature.
The black background might be good for watching videos but would be terrible (at least on my old tired eyes) for a site like this where there is mostly reading.
If the Admins decide to make a change in this direction that isn't customizable I likely would stop coming.
I've used it on another forum and prefer it. It is an option to use it there, not a requirement. It is actually very high contrast for older eyes. I was hesitant at first.

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Last edited by Alexa9 on Fri Feb 09, 2018 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
runner3081
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by runner3081 »

White text on black hurts my eyes :)
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by bottlecap »

My eyes are getting old. I don't think the dark theme displayed is "easy" on them.

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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by bondsr4me »

black print on white background for me period.

my safari screen is blue print on white background....easy on my eyes.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by VictoriaF »

I avoid sites with white text on black background and would oppose this proposed change.

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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by JoMoney »

http://uxmovement.com/content/when-to-u ... ackground/
...a better choice for displaying paragraph text is black text on a light background with a tint of gray. With a gray tint background, less light reflects behind the words, making it easier on the eyes. The black text works better because black is also a color that doesn’t reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum. Therefore, fixating on black text while reading won’t put as much stress on the user’s eyes because it absorbs the light that hits each word...

...There are times when white text on a dark background works well. This is when users are scanning text. Users typically scan headings, titles and labels. Using white text on a dark background for these types of text is an effective way to highlight them to grab user attention...
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by TravelGeek »

DaftInvestor wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:33 am
I'm not a fan of the white on black. I find black on white easier to read.
Currently it is mostly grey on various shades of blue for me :)
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ray.james
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by ray.james »

I love the light blue background on bogleheads. Very easy on eyes. I wish the homepage uses that as well(the left panel uses that or some type of grey if I am not wrong).
When in doubt, http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79939
afatcat
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by afatcat »

If using a Chromebook (Chrome browser might have it too) you could try "high contrast mode" under accessibility.
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Pajamas
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Pajamas »

afatcat wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 3:03 pm If using a Chromebook (Chrome browser might have it too) you could try "high contrast mode" under accessibility.
Chromebooks have settings for accessibility:

Settings > Show Advanced Settings > Accessibilty

The Chrome browser has extensions available for accessibility:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/cate ... essibility

Mac computers have settings for accessibility:

System Preferences > Accessibility > Display

Windows 10 has high contrast settings:

Start button > Settings > Ease of Access > High contrast
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by LadyGeek »

For many reasons, we're staying with the "stock" theme.

As noted earlier, try adjusting the "accessibility" settings in your OS.

Additionally, web browsers can adjust the text size via a "Zoom" setting (or equivalent).
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Mudpuppy »

VictoriaF wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 12:38 pm I avoid sites with white text on black background and would oppose this proposed change.
I don't think the OP was ever advocating for a dark theme to be the ONLY theme, rather that it be a theme option. phpBB does have support for other themes, but it only provides prosilver with the base system.

Since the admins stick with the base system, it is what it is and we'll only have prosilver for now. But I wouldn't be opposed to having more options if phpBB were to expand the set of automatically provided styles.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by whodidntante »

Everybody knows that text readability achieved perfection in 1989.

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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by rosylenm »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:36 pm Everybody knows that text readability achieved perfection in 1989.

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At my work, one of the databases (?) I use is similar except the screen is a brighter blue and text is all yellow. It’s pretty easy on my eyes.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by telemark »

I sometimes have migraine symptoms (no pain, but visual effects) and light backgrounds on computer screens seem to exacerbate the problem. I avoid the problem on bogleheads.org by using a text-based browser.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by angelescrest »

Yup, I just use the handy invert colors option in iOS. Read BG at night all the time. Quick triple tap of the home button on my iPad and we are set.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Bwlonge »

Dark grey background is superior and all forums should have the option . Black with white text, not so much.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by oldzey »

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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by spin_echo »

prefer black text on white, thanks
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Nestegg_User »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:36 pm Everybody knows that text readability achieved perfection in 1989.

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ahhh, the old days

I remember changing someones screen to purple on light green.... hideous combination (and now I can’t remember how in DOS to get there or the command for that.... )


as for white on black...NO... already shown to be poorer readability for text
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Alexa9
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Alexa9 »

Pajamas wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:54 am Something you might consider is using a browser add-on to adjust the appearance of any website. For example:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... ieeh?hl=en
That is a good idea. I found a few Chrome extensions that work pretty well although the site is white first everytime you load a new page and then it converts it which is a little annoying.

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Ricola
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Ricola »

I try to use dark backgrounds on cell phones as it saves energy. I heard in the past that green was the easiest color on the eye.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Mudpuppy »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:36 pm Everybody knows that text readability achieved perfection in 1989.

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Let us not forget amber/yellow on black, green on black, and white on black displays for the late 1970s / 1980s / early 1990s terminals. The DEC VT series pretty much sealed the ANSI standard as the primary standard for monochrome and color terminal displays.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by Call_Me_Op »

No - I like it just the way it is.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by patrick013 »

Alexa9 wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:57 am
Pajamas wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:54 am Something you might consider is using a browser add-on to adjust the appearance of any website. For example:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... ieeh?hl=en
That is a good idea. I found a few Chrome extensions that work pretty well although the site is white first everytime you load a new page and then it converts it which is a little annoying.

Image
Image

The "Owl" add-on for Firefox seems to be working OK.
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FeesR-BullNotBullish
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by FeesR-BullNotBullish »

Here are a couple additional ideas for easing eye strain. I use a pair of Gunnar glasses. They are tinted to take out light spectrums harmful to your eyes. These glasses help my eyes immensely and I can still differentiate simiilar colors on my monitor.

There is also a free application called f.lux that adjusts the colors on your monitor to be easier on your eyes. I think its defaults adjust the colors after sunset but you can customize the settings. The drawback for me is that the adjustment with f.lux is so extreme that I can't differentiate similar colors in certain programs. It might be a matter of me needing to play around a bit more with the settings.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by cfs »

Good conversation! Plenty of good ideas, but I like my current settings. I do remember this one from The Outer Limits. " . . . Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical . . ." Good luck, and thanks for reading ~cfs~
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by LadyGeek »

To those with browser add-ons: Be sure to check with a mobile, or a device with a small screen size.

I'm assuming those add-ons modify style sheets (.css). However, there can be subtle differences between desktop and mobile view which can cause the theme to display incorrectly.

(That's why we stick with "stock" themes tested by the phpBB developers.)
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by oldzey »

In Firefox, you can also go to Tools>Add-ons>Themes and enable the "Dark" theme.

Here's what it looks like when it's enabled, along with the Dark Background and Light Text add-on.

Image

Much easier on the eyes. 8-)
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by folkher0 »

angelescrest wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:48 am Yup, I just use the handy invert colors option in iOS. Read BG at night all the time. Quick triple tap of the home button on my iPad and we are set.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by angelescrest »

folkher0 wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:40 pm
angelescrest wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:48 am Yup, I just use the handy invert colors option in iOS. Read BG at night all the time. Quick triple tap of the home button on my iPad and we are set.
OMG you just changed my life.
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Re: Black Theme for Site?

Post by MindBogler »

VictoriaF wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2018 12:38 pm I avoid sites with white text on black background and would oppose this proposed change.

Victoria
If it were just another theme that could be chosen in your personal user profile I wouldn't care. Black backgrounds with white text give me a visual disturbance that persists for several minutes. For this reason I also avoid them like the plague.
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