Format Change
I've restored a very old all-black format as a test to see if it is easier to read. The white-on-red text, though I find the design attractive, may be harder on the eyes than is necessary. Feedback is welcome, of course. But the design isn't an innovation, for what that's worth; we blacked out the blog for a long time way back when. It was done to protest the anti-Free Speech initiatives of the late Senator McCain.
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18 comments:
This is OK for text. I thought the white on red made it easier to separate one post from another, but that's probably just a matter of what I'm used to. For lots of white, though, the Conan tweet excerpt for example, the high black-white contrast seems uncomfortable more than just from habit.
Eric Hines
Another option is a standard white/ivory background with blank text. The code changes are similar.
Ow. But then I'm an old guy, too much contrast for my taste. No doubt I'll grow into though.
Dark Green! Why not rotate the colors around every once so often just to change things up?
Heh. There was a dark green phase too.
Huh, I hadn't felt the red background was difficult at all. Red is a dark color, so the contrast was good, but not stark. Black/white is, as Mr. Hines points out, pretty harsh to view for extended periods.
I honestly think font selection is probably the most significant factor in readability, barring any really bad mistakes in other factors.
You know, it's been so long ago I'd forgotten, but I actually fixed this all up years ago so that you as a reader could change the color to suit yourself. That's what the red and white crosses on the sidebar used to do; you clicked the one and you could restore the red color, or have a white/ivory background if you'd rather.
Unfortunately, that generation of HTML and Javascript no longer works, and I'm not as conversant with the current generation of code. But at one time, it was easy for readers to choose what they wanted to see here.
As I think about it, it seems to me that dark colors dominate light colors, so you'd want the font and the trim in dark colors, and the background in light colors. Microsoft started out with its DOS color scheme being a white font on a blue background, and it was a hard display to read; although the coarse 32-bit display didn't help.
The just past red background for the Hall was a comfortable exception to the "rule" above.
Eric Hines
I had the occasional issue with the white on red. Might be related to wearing glasses where the stark red bends through the lenses differently. A light grey text on the black would be less jarring. A lot of the web browser also have a reading mode or the ability to render pages differently than coded in the HTML/css. This is a minor quibble.
-stc Michael
As for myself, both the red and black background are equally easier to read. Much less eye strain than the glare of a white background.
nmewn
Part of me misses the early days of computing and the green text on a black screen. Not advocating for that mind you, just a touch of nostalgia.
White on black is a bit too high a contrast for my preference- the old red background seemed easier on the eyes.
one other note- The new goolag rules seem to prevent editing or deleting a comment unless one uses a g account to post- another nudge to join the borg?
Probably. I can't fix Google, sadly.
I've altered the text to light grey, per suggestion, to see if it's easier on the eyes than the stark white/black.
If I can figure out how to make the javascript work again, I'll try to give the reader options like before. But I can't promise I'll manage that. It's been a long time, and a lot has changed.
The light grey text is a lot easier on my eyes.
Eric Hines
One last minor adjustment, to address Mr. Hines' concern about the posts not being as easy to separate. The post footer is now slightly non-black to give an easy visual break.
Works like a champ.
Eric Hines
I liked the red but this works fine. I'd suggest that the header title text needs to be punched up or made bolder to compensate for the suffocating black around it. It currently appears a bit diminished.
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