I thought that the grey /* comment */ block was a demonstration of what not to do. Then I realized it's just a part of the page
Stop using grey text (2025)
61–70 of 75 posts
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#62Screen brightness is a pretty important contributing factor. If you have this problem a lot, verify your screen is bright enough. ( Regardless of his point )
Or the other way round—if you feel the contrast is too high, your screen may well be too bright and you should reduce its brightness.
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#63Funny how he says not to use that grey text, yet uses a similar shade for the word “LIKE?” at the bottom.
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is contrast , really. Some color combos are terrible, and you also have issues with color-blindness (which is why gray is used a lot). Gray text, against a gray background, can suck. I’m getting on in years, and low-contrast text affects me a lot more, these days, than it used to.
Yeah, nothing like neon green on magenta. So much contrast, my eyes each read their own line... ZX Spectrum had some excellent color combinations
> ZX Spectrum had some excellent color combinations
Yes, compared with the abominations that are Windows 10, 11 and Android, ZX Spectrum was luxury.
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#65Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#66This ship has sailed a long time ago. The idea of "low contrast is good for the eyes" was popularized among designers well over a decade ago, together with another one that tiny fonts are elegant (I read HN at 120% and I don't wear glasses).
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did anyone calculate the contrast on this page?
I guess it depends on your monitor, on ambient lighting...
Of course it does.
In the absence of reflected ambient light, the contrast ratio of black to the dimmest non-black color on an OLED display is infinite, but that doesn't mean black-on-darkest-grey text is necessarily readable, even in a perfectly dark room.
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#68Black text on a gray background is how the web was intended to be experienced.
Blue hyperlinks. Purple hyperlinks after you had clicked them. Images with the blue hyperlink border. Tables with Extra Chonky borders. Row and Col span. Guestbooks.
Don't forget page view counters, web rings, "Under Construction", and "Best Viewed with Internet Explorer".
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#69I created a ycombinator account after years of resisting, just to respond to this post. Stop creating web pages with huge-ass gutters/margins. If you are concerned about design you would realize your page looks ridiculous and borderline illegible on modern screens (that are not phones). Text color is an issue, but layout is worse.
Depends on the width of the browser window. Wide margins that are welcome in a full-page browser on a large or ultrawide display are cancer when I'm tiling windows 2 or 3 up on a smaller or narrower display.
Re: Stop using grey text (2025)
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
What? No it wasn't. First browser https://www.w3.org/MarkUp/tims_editor
Oh, no. It had a visible scrollbar. And clearly delimited UI elements. And everything square. And readable text. How primitive. /s
I'd be so down for a black and white modern interface like this. I know the attempts ... they aren't like this. (I've got a next)