It is so hard to read the screen with black background

[Ray984954]

Is there a way to change the black background, or the foreground to white? NASA also has a black background and I do not get it? Why a black background without a bright white foreground to go with it? It is so damn hard to read the screen and I am not blind. I have to scrinch my eyes and it gives me a headache after a while. Can't you change this? Why not just go with the microsoft default of black text and white background? I mean why not? I can read that screen fine.Please help! I sent an email to NASA about the screen, but they were less than helpful. I don't understand surely I am not the only one with this problem am I?

 

[nasher168]

You could turn the brightness up on your monitor as a quick fix. The fact that you call the background "black" implies you must have the brightness quite low anyway.
I think most people end up getting used to the colour scheme though. I remember being thrown a little when we first moved to this site.

 

[sgrunterundt]

Are you talking about this page??

It is a medium blue color with white text to me.

Nasa.gov has pretty bright colors too.

 

[Prolescum]

Hmm. I find it slightly baffling when a first post is a criticism of some insignificant aspect of the site.

Anyway... Ray, I believe Firefox (and probably other extensible browsers) has extensions to deal with website designs you don't like or are affecting your eyes.

 

[Ray984954]

Prolescum Sorry you think it is trivial if there was another way to get in touch with the IT guy I would do it. If you can't make out the text on the screen it is hardly insignificant. I am not blind. I have no other problems with other websites just the ones who choose dark backgrounds which baffles me, why change the default black text, white background. Microsoft chose it due to universal acceptance.Do you know how to change the website background so I can see it? Do You understand the idea of universal as in having all browsers conform to basic standards, so that you do not have to select one browser for one site another for another site and so on? My browser is not the problem. The problem is with folks who design websites with useless dark backgrounds. I don't get it that I am the only one with the problem, so why do people put up with whatever they get?

sgrunterundt yes this page, the home and the whole site is dark. Blue black whatever it is a dark backgreound that I have trouble contrasting the text with.therefore making it almost unreadable. NASA.gov doas NOT have a bright colors yet you say "too" which means you think a dark background is bright???!!! NASA.gov is as dark as this one.

nasher168 No my monitor background is not the problem, dark colored backgrounds is I have no problem with other websites. or with the deafault windows colors. My brightness is at max anyway.


Thanks to you three for responding, I would have rather discussed it with the one who controls it like the IT guy. Do you know how I can do that? I am new to the site and I know there are other topics more important, but I thought if I was going to spend time here then I should be able to read the damn screen at least. Thanks for all the suggestions, they were less than uselsss sorry, but they were. the screen is still hard to read.I would offer the suggestion to the website controller that they give the option of choosing the background and text colors as some websites I have been to do.

 

[Prolescum]

Prolescum Sorry you think it is trivial if there was another way to get in touch with the IT guy I would do it.

He'll be along eventually, I'm sure. You're in the right place, though.

If you can't make out the text on the screen it is hardly insignificant. I am not blind. I have no other problems with other websites just the ones who choose dark backgrounds which baffles me, why change the default black text, white background.

Because this isn't 1996.

You might have better joy with a text-only browser like Elinks. This is only another helpful suggestion, not an insult.

Microsoft chose it due to universal acceptance.

Microsoft had practically nothing to do with the development of the web, the internet, or drafting of HTML standards. For all other use cases, black text on white is as old as paper. I doubt they put much thought into it at all.

Do you know how to change the website background so I can see it?

In theory, yes, but I don't think you're asking if I can write a web page... I told you that you could do it yourself by using an extension on your browser; did you check out that option?

Do You understand the idea of universal as in having all browsers conform to basic standards, so that you do not have to select one browser for one site another for another site and so on?

Yes, I am intimately familiar with web design.

My browser is not the problem. The problem is with folks who design websites with useless dark backgrounds.

I accept that the colour scheme doesn't get your seal of approval, but it is not "useless", nor do I see it as a "problem". Very few people have mentioned it since I joined. I actually think the design is rather appealing, unique and of a standard higher than many other forum themes. Like I said, it might benefit you to extend your browser's functionality to allow you to change it as you see fit here or elsewhere.

I don't get it that I am the only one with the problem, so why do people put up with whatever they get?

Whether you "get it" or not is quite by the by, time and effort were put into the design. It's a shame you can't appreciate it, but que sera sera. It isn't a case of putting up with it either, very few (two or three of thousands) of members have spoken of it negatively.

Thanks to you three for responding, I would have rather discussed it with the one who controls it like the IT guy. Do you know how I can do that? I am new to the site and I know there are other topics more important, but I thought if I was going to spend time here then I should be able to read the damn screen at least. Thanks for all the suggestions, they were less than uselsss sorry, but they were. the screen is still hard to read.I would offer the suggestion to the website controller that they give the option of choosing the background and text colors as some websites I have been to do.

Less than useless? Come on... I've given you two effective solutions!

I suspect that unless there is a large volume of requests, it's unlikely that CosmicSpork can afford the time to re-theme the whole board. I do sympathise with you, but as with most things in life, it's quicker (and usually more gratifying) to do it yourself.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Ray984954, your avatar photo looks crazy washed-out and overexposed on my monitor. That seems to indicate to me that the brightness issue is on your end.

 

[CosmicSpork]

This has been discussed before and not enough people having made a complaint to give me cause to spend several hours of my life making an alternative template. The reason this site uses different colour scheme than the 'default' is that for once, it'd be nice to have a site with a bit of style and professional design thrown in.

To be fair, it's likely I'll be looking for someone to take over my role here. I just don't have enough time, patience or motivation to do what's needed to keep this place running or to improve it. I could also do with cutting my costs a bit.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

The level of contrast between black to white and white to black is exactly the same unless you have something wrong with your vision.
However given that you already had the unfortunate taste of uploading an exessively bright avatar as your profile pictures (that had been intentionaly tampered with to be bright) I would sugest that perhaps the problem is exclusivly on your side and it has extended for quite a while now.

Just because the brightness level on your monitor is set to max, it doesn't mean that it is providing the apropriate contrast/brightness balance, I would even go one step forward and say that you do not have one of those modern flat screens (TFT or LCD or more recent technology) but that you are using an old Catodic Ray screens and I will eat my shorts if I am mistaken. This monitores being old the phosphorous strips that give colour have by now been degraded to a point that it is hopeless, I know I had a couple for testing. The solution to that is simple, buy a new monitor.

That thing about the white background with black foreground being a Microsoft stadard that one must aspire is just wrong. The usage of white background with black foreground is typicaly only used in Documents because the intention here is to emulate printed paper (because printed paper has to be white and stained by ink). The initial graphic interfaces for computers have allways been black background with white foreground, and they should remain that way forever for 2 simple reasons:
1. It wastes less energy because black=off and white=on
2. It doesn't glare as much your eyes abeling you to work in much darker environments as well as bright
Peple who make bright websites should be shot.

 

[sgrunterundt]

sgrunterundt yes this page, the home and the whole site is dark. Blue black whatever it is a dark backgreound that I have trouble contrasting the text with.therefore making it almost unreadable. NASA.gov doas NOT have a bright colors yet you say "too" which means you think a dark background is bright???!!! NASA.gov is as dark as this one.

Nasa have a rich blue scheme with white text, just like this one. Yes the background is darker than the text, but neither is dark on an absolute scale. The blue is bright and clear, yet dark enough to contrast the white text. Certainly nowhere near black. Maybe start to consider the problem might be at your end.

Ray984954, your avatar photo looks crazy washed-out and overexposed on my monitor. That seems to indicate to me that the brightness issue is on your end.

The same here. The room in the background is clearly visible, but your face is white with almost no contrast.

 

[Ray984954]

CosmicSpork, Thank you for your reply. I understand. I'm not really being hypercritical, I don't have any trouble at any site other than the ones with the dark background. And I'm not sure how some can say that it is a better design, why cuz' it's a dark backgeound? Or due to the off being black and on being white. Who cares?I only want to view the screen with as little effort as possible. Thanks again.

ImprobableJoe My avatar is simply a pic that has been edited to be the smallest size I can muster and I use it as a standard cuz' some sites limit tremendously how big the resolution pic can be with the smallest in size being the ones with the lowset quality graphics setting.I could have made it at the highest resolution, but why it just makes it bigger in file size and resolution. Who looks at avatars anyway? I could have put donald duck there, but thought my own pic would have me be more forthcoming as a user of the site. Didn't realize I'd be criticized over the resolution of a picture. Remember I go to other sites and have no problem, just the dark background ones I have a problem with. Thank you for responding.

sgrunterundt, Yes NASA does have the similar dark background, not sure why you call it rich, it's dark, not sure about rich. Again, as I told Joe I have no problem at other sites, and some have other than completely dark backgrounds. As far as my washed out avatar, I explained it to Joe. I have many pictures on my hardrive of different resolutions, but the finer resoultions also require higher file sizes. I also use 1600X1200 resolution on my monitor, and the pic looks fine, even washed out, Christ, it's just an avatar, Maybe I should have used my cat/s photo. Would that have been criticixed too?The avatar is no indication of my monitor and how I see this website. My complaint is with all websites that try to be cool and choose dark backgrounds with white text, and often they don't even bother for the text to be close to bright white, just barely visible in contrast.

Master_Ghost_Knight There's nothing wrong wiith my vision but astigmatism in the right eye, and it is slight. The avatar is not the view on my monitor, as I told Joe, it is just a small sized file with low resolution, some site limit the size of the pic, and this is a standard pic acceptied by most sites, whehter it's washed out or not. As far as it being a CRT, give the man a cigar, but it is not an old one, I just replaced a ten year old monitor with this one it is brand new for all intents and purposes, used maybe for a year. 6 years ago, and assuming there is no reason that the electronic components have deteriorated over the years, it is brand new. My other 19" monitor which I used for 10 years and the reason I exchanged it was because the on/off swicth broke off, not because there was problem with the viewing of the monitor, all that was fine. When I built my last 4 computers, I bought several HDDs, a couple extra monitors(this is one of them)and several optical drives(most were DVD/RW), and even a few power supplies, so I can't accept that it is on my end that it is the problem necessarily(as in I'm not computer technology illterate), I suppose I would just prefer a lighter background,and darker text ( note what I said at the beginning, basically it is hard to read, not impossible) I mean I am replying to all of you, so I must be able to make out a little of what is on the screen. I guess standard was the wrong usage when I said Microsoft decided on a white background and black text, I only meant that most PCs are using the standard colors, as many may not even know they can change the colors. Oh, and I get the fact that DOS started with black background and white text, but back then they didn't have graphics capability even(remember the replacements of text lines with EGA, CGA,and finally VGA?), who knows if they were given a choice back then, that users might choose white background on black text? I like the idea of white background and black text, but I will say that My default colors are more of a light blue text and light gray background, with variations all around for the different parts of the screen as in highlights are yellow with black text when selecting typed in words or URLs, and even Firefox uses light backgrounds and dark text as the default.And so does most browsers use the URLline as a white text box background, with dark text. But as I have said I have no problems with other sites, just the ones who insist on the default being a DOS screen of dark background and white text. We use graphics now on the screen, not text based line by line white on black areas.

And finally,

Prolescum, He did show up, thank you. Read what I said to the others. Since I have no problems with any other websites, I see no reason to do any workarounds with browsers. It is hardly a great "standard" in screen design, for if it was all websites would have it, some standard, As I told Master, my screen colors are anything but standard white background black text, I use more of a light blue text and a light gray background on most windows.
I am not necessarily being negative, look at what I said it is hard to read, that is all I said., not completely impossible to read. I'm aware of designing screens and I have some experience with Visual Basic programming, but I am not a professional programmer. At any rate for you to say that somehow I can't appreciate what you and thousands can and do well, go suck an egg.people are different, and I have no problems at other sites, just the ones with dark backgrounds. I agree but chances are I may not come back to the site,to the glee of all of you here I'm sure, and your so called solutions, reek of condescension and again are less than useless. I was criticised for even asking the question, told it was insignificant, but it was a question I had and that is legit by itself, I wasn't doing it to waste anyone's time, And then the whole thing is put back on me as if it is all me, as if I'm some sort of amateur, and kook, a debutante, well, tell that to my computer repair customers. Yet as I have said I have no other sites with the problem except NASA.NASA and this site are my only problem sites, and what they have in common is the dark background and lighter text. I had hoped to enjoy this League of Reason site, but it seems I'm not really welcome. I don't know, I may return, but not to this topic, but again if I can see the screen enough to read the screen, and the screens are the same throughout.

Thanks to all of you for at least responding to me, however snarky, I appreciate it.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Ray984954, No one is criticizing you for the size of the picture you used or because you chosen to put a picture of yourself. we have just pointed out to you that the picture on our end looks excessively bright, meaning that you had to intentionaly edit to picture to make it that bright to compensate for the fact that your monitor is to dark.
Nobody is saying that you are a computer technology iliterate, but neither does that mean that you are right when you say that the problem is not on your end. When I said that you were using a CRT I didn't just guessed, I don't have a supernatural ability that allowed me to magically know this, I got it right because I used to work with a CRT with similar problems and everything you described plus the symthoms that you have unknowiling given to me (like the avatar picture) indicated that such was the case.

CRT are old obsolete technology and your monitor is no different, altough dorment the deterioration of the phosphorous strips is inevitable either you use the monitor or not, the technology has been discontinued for the general public for a couple of years now it is just not possible that you could have in your possession a "brand new CRT".

Just trust me buy a new monitor, I will guarantee you that it will solve your brightness problem plus you get a more elegant and clear monitor that consumes far less electricity than the one you have now, you will not regreat it.

 

[Prolescum]

Ray,

Woah! No one's being snarky or intentionally rude, we were trying to help and/or inform. If my sense of humour has whizzed by like an important deadline, I shall try to make it clearer. No one was insulting your avatar (as you say, no one gives a damn), they were stating that it is washed out. It is on each of my monitors too.

Here's a shot from my lilliputer:

[centre]

[/centre]

To me, the text is legible and your avatar is washed out.

Here's a recursive shot from my PC:

[centre]

[/centre]

Take a step back and realise nothing here is a criticism of you, it is just a reading of the situation given the information available. I won't go over all of the points in your post because I only posted in this thread to offer assistance.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Here's a shot from my lilliputer:
(...)

You do realise that he will still not see any difference in those screenshots on his monitor?

 

[Prolescum]

Here's a shot from my lilliputer:
(...)

You do realise that he will still not see any difference in those screenshots on his monitor?

Yes of course, but it shows we're not fibbing.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

ImprobableJoe My avatar is simply a pic that has been edited to be the smallest size I can muster and I use it as a standard cuz' some sites limit tremendously how big the resolution pic can be with the smallest in size being the ones with the lowset quality graphics setting.I could have made it at the highest resolution, but why it just makes it bigger in file size and resolution. Who looks at avatars anyway? I could have put donald duck there, but thought my own pic would have me be more forthcoming as a user of the site. Didn't realize I'd be criticized over the resolution of a picture. Remember I go to other sites and have no problem, just the dark background ones I have a problem with. Thank you for responding.

You should try reading for comprehension, instead of looking for trouble.

Here's what I see on my screen:

If I adjust the first picture to look as overexposed as your picture appears, it looks like this:

Which makes you look like this:

Do you see the problem yet?

 

[sgrunterundt]

not sure why you call it rich, it's dark, not sure about rich.

Too you obviously. What I am saying is it does not look like that to anyone else.

My complaint is with all websites that try to be cool and choose dark backgrounds with white text, and often they don't even bother for the text to be close to bright white, just barely visible in contrast.

I just took the time to check what our actual text color is. I see it as white on my monitor, but I figured it might be a light gray which could show to you as dark gray. But it is actually #ffffff in other words PURE WHITE, as white as you can ask your monitor to make. The contrast could not be higher.

Do you see the problem yet?

I wouldn't count on it.