Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

kevq.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 552 posts

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#151

Post by nix23 »

biddlesby wrote: post #146
jamil7 wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. Everything else around this dicussion is pointless. If some people like light or dark mode thats up to them to choose. At least we're getting some choice back in our UIs.

I wouldn't agree with that. People may have made their choice based on incorrect research or incorrect assumptions: there is value in discussing the latest research. It's like saying discussions about whether cigarettes are good or bad for you are pointless, the important thing is that people are able to buy them if they want.

No sorry, that has nothing to-do with research, but taste.

In fact, research like that i call bullshit, its like 'research' food, 'scientists' found out that that people prefer yellow carrots because red is a warning color.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#152

Post by ozim »

Great we are having some one off hunter/gatherer anecdotes. When I work with computer I am not looking at the hills to find some moving spot.

Here is one from me:

I am focusing my sight like I would be trying to pick berries in the forest. While between trees it is dark and berries are dark, as gatherers we were collecting berries, we should read black text on dark background.

Large white screens are overwhelming for me. For me it is better to have dark screen and bright spots to focus on. It helps with development to focus on specific lines instead of trying to get whole screen at once.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#153

Post by [deleted] »

aasasd wrote: post #76

Apparently light-on-dark is terrible if the person has astigmatism: the edges get very blurry and doubled. There was an article on HN about this, specifically about keynote slides. Also apparently “in Europe and Asia, astigmatism affects between 30 and 60% of adults” (says Wikipedia). I have it too, and couldn't figure out in the past why text sometimes looks horribly blurry and sometimes doesn't. With this knowledge…

[deleted]

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#155

Post by namelosw »

Theoretically white on black is harder to recognize than black on white.

When you have the same font weight, the white on black approach tend to make people feel the stroke looks thinner and more blurry.

If you are curious you can switch to black on white, then adjust the font weight to the thinnest until you feel it starts to be blurry. When switch back to white on black it would be more blurry to you.

But anyway it boils down to preference since people can adjust the font to compensate if it is blurry to them.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#157

Post by joelby37 »

fibonachos wrote: post #94
redisman wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insane how monitor software hasn't developed an inch from the 90s. How hard can it be to have an open API for the basic controls at least so the OS can adjust them? Everything about my monitor is great - 144hz refresh rate, great viewing angle and colors - except if I want to change any of the physical properties (brightness, contrast) I'm clicking around on a variety of buttons that I can't see like I'm trying…

This actually exists, and it’s called DDC/CI: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_Data_Channel I only recently learned about it myself while setting up a new monitor and asking myself wtf is this DDC/CI setting in the menu.

Thanks for the hot tip! I've been struggling with my monitor's menu buttons, but after reading your comment I found the macOS tool MonitorControl, which works perfectly.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#158

Post by rdiddly »

Kind of the epitome of bike-sheddding. Way too much importance attached to this on both sides. Want to do something good for your eyes and battery? Turn off the computer and go get an outdoor job like forestry. Yeah I didn't think so. So in that case, my expert advice is for you to use whatever mode you like, and don't worry about what's best. Not everything can, needs to be, or even should be, optimized.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#159

Post by tdsamardzhiev »

blunte wrote: post #113
tdsamardzhiev wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If science says I'd be more productive with a light theme, then we need better science. "On a biological level, our eyes prefer the contrast between a light background and dark foreground." On a biological level, our eyes prefer not to stare at a light source all day every day. Yet here we are.

That's a bit like saying stereo speakers are too loud. That's why we adjust the volume very frequently. For monitors, you should be adjusting the brightness frequently and in accordance with the ambient light level. If you do that, you should perceive the background of your light mode content as neutral and so inoffensive that you don't even notice it.

I've tried different options, and know what works for me and what doesn't. Not saying it's the same for everybody, but I'm pretty confident that (1) dark mode works wonders for me, and (2) I'm not the only one.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#160

Post by javisantana »

Dark mode is very useful for people with "eye problems", for example, eye floaters are small black points you see all the time, they usually appear with the age, dark mode make them "disapear" making you brain happier.

Thanks whoever started dark mode trend

Post reply on HN