Hello,

I was thinking that it would be very nice if this forum had a "Dark Mode" UI.
The reason it that it is very elegant looking and is being adopted around the web in other forums for example Twitter. It is also easier to read on many types of devices, and on certain IPhones it actually uses much less battery power because of the type of display used in the upper end devices.
Would be so nice to get away from black on white text and move to white on black if desired as an option.

 

Hello,

I was thinking that it would be very nice if this forum had a "Dark Mode" UI.
The reason it that it is very elegant looking and is being adopted around the web in other forums for example Twitter. It is also easier to read on many types of devices, and on certain IPhones it actually uses much less battery power because of the type of display used in the upper end devices.
Would be so nice to get away from black on white text and move to white on black if desired as an option.

Personally, I can’t stand white on black and can’t read it.

 

Personally, I can’t stand white on black and can’t read it.

Wow that's amazing i didnt think anyone would not like it.
It should always be an option anyway.

 

The option would be handy.
I'm sure many folk like dark themes, but I'm not one of them. I too prefer dark text on a light background. I can always turn down the display brightness when appropriate.
White text on a black background is not printer-friendly for screen captures (unless one goes through the hassle of image processing).

 

I must be in the minority that simply can't read dark mode. In fact, I usually skip anything in that mode. If it's important to me, then I copy and print inverted.

My second objection is simply that added complication when you want to print. Frequently, I will print out a post before I write a reply to it.

Third, I have read nothing in this thread that supports the "should" part of being an option. "Elegance" doesn't offset the functional disadvantages. You want something that is "elegant" and being used widely around the web? Switch to the orange mode.

 

Well John, to read in nightime for long periods, it is a bless. The best reason I know for any page, not only AAC.

Saving battery is a good close second best.

 

I suspect that some people find dark mode difficult to read because of eye-sight rather than aesthetics. With a bright screen the iris stops down to a small aperture and this can result in a sharper image than would be the case for a dark screen.

 

To me, dark mode is completely unreadable.

 

Is Dark mode a negative image?
Whenever I see a negative image on a forum I always invert the brightness so that the image is normal, black on a white background.
Have you ever seen a datasheet as a negative? Never.

 

There are apps for that. To each his own device.

 

During my recent months of blindness modern low contrast text was invisible to me and to read black on white I have to invert the polarity of the image. Not everybody has excellent eyesight all the time.

 

So this would be going back to the way text was displayed on computer monitors before the first MAC reversed it.

 

I know you described this as an “option”, but to further emphasize my point, I refuse to look at any page in “Dark Mode”. I just cannot read it, so don’t even bother to try.

 

Apparently this matter has been well investigated (of several):
https://psychology.stackexchange.co...asier-to-see-black-text-on-a-white-background
https://www.hpl.hp.com/techreports/2009/HPL-2009-182.pdf

Maybe AAC can stick to just 2 styles:
1) Classic for those who can't read or stand inverted colors; and
2) Inverted orange/black, which should satisfy both those who like orange and those who like inverted colors.

Check out the color mazes in either link (Fig. 3 in the HP link).

 

I must be in the minority that simply can't read dark mode. In fact, I usually skip anything in that mode. If it's important to me, then I copy and print inverted.

My second objection is simply that added complication when you want to print. Frequently, I will print out a post before I write a reply to it.

Third, I have read nothing in this thread that supports the "should" part of being an option. "Elegance" doesn't offset the functional disadvantages. You want something that is "elegant" and being used widely around the web? Switch to the orange mode.

The "should" part is a conditional.
If there is a dark mode, then there should be a way to go back to the non dark mode, that's all.

 

I suspect that some people find dark mode difficult to read because of eye-sight rather than aesthetics. With a bright screen the iris stops down to a small aperture and this can result in a sharper image than would be the case for a dark screen.

What i find is that monitors try to go for high brightness and what that really means is that white ends up being too bright compared to other colors. So making the text white means it comes out with higher contrast.

 

Is Dark mode a negative image?
Whenever I see a negative image on a forum I always invert the brightness so that the image is normal, black on a white background.
Have you ever seen a datasheet as a negative? Never.

Dark mode is not a negative image unless the image starts out as pure black and pure white to begin with. So for full black text on full white background turns into full white text on full black background.
But really there are other things about it not just text. It changes the look of the page.. Note that tablets have this mode and i think a lot of them dont have the non dark mode.

I could show some pics to illustrate.

 

During my recent months of blindness modern low contrast text was invisible to me and to read black on white I have to invert the polarity of the image. Not everybody has excellent eyesight all the time.

Yes and there seems to be an annoying trend to use gray text on white background, which is just plain nuts because it makes every page harder to read and that's been proven.

 

The "should" part is a conditional.
If there is a dark mode, then there should be a way to go back to the non dark mode, that's all.

Definition:

Might: is often used to talk about the chance (or possibility) that something will happen or is happening. "You might not understand everything that I write in English but I hope so". Should: is dealing with obligation and deduction. When it is right to do something we say, you should do it.

"Might" would clearly be appropriate. You have not stated any case for "should" except your own preferences. It's like black on white.

 

So this would be going back to the way text was displayed on computer monitors before the first MAC reversed it.
View attachment 198234

Actually that's not really true. Tablets have been doing it for a long time and it is starting to trend for other devices too. I have a high end graphics card and the software for adjusting colors and whatnot went to dark mode only. It's elegant and very readable for me. I am not saying that the software working got better though (far from that) but the appearance got much more elegant.

It might take a complete rewrite of the graphics UI though because it is not just an inversion of colors. Inversion of colors bites.