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Dark themes for Visual Studio and other dev environments become more and more popular. There must be some good reasons for it. I thought that was hard to read. I still prefer the traditional light theme with a white background.
TOMZ_KV
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Tomz_KV wrote: There must be some good reasons for it
23" of pure white light shot straight into my eyes will fatigue my eyesight in less than an hour, causing extreme migraines and a progressive loss of eyesight. Turning down the brightness makes the screen fuzzier and causes focusing issues due to background lighting.
No amount of blue light reduction helps shielding from a lamp pointed straight at my face KGB interrogation style. Black/gray background eliminates most of the eye melting effect and allows for very bright characters, increasing contrast and thus visibility.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
modified 21-Sep-21 8:51am.
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A good reason, very scientific!
TOMZ_KV
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Reducing the brightness on my monitors to 50% at the very most (some to 25%) have caused me zero problems and I've been set up like this for decades. I can spend 16 hours a day in front of a monitor and I can't say eye strain is any issue. I'll be hurting after a 16-hour marathon, but from everywhere else.
I'm not seeing the "fuzzier screen" and "focusing issues" you're talking about.
All dark mode does for me is make the dust more visible when it's bright and sunny.
Of course YMMV and that's fine.
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dandy72 wrote: All dark mode does for me is make the dust more visible when it's bright and sunny.
That makes me swear a lot.
dandy72 wrote: I'm not seeing the "fuzzier screen" and "focusing issues" you're talking about.
If I lower the brightness too much I start seeing as when reading in low light, so the strain from the light is reduced but I have to strain to focus, If I don't lower it enough it's useless - I spent 7 years stuck with VisualStudio 6 and tried every possible combination. The relief I feel when moving to a bright white tanning lamp like CP to my dark themed VS feels like entering an air conditioned room in a hot summer day.
I love my e-reader because it has a grayish backgorund that doesn't reflect light, with the bare minumum of backlight (about 2-3%) it's perfect. I also moved Acrobat Reader to a grayish background and it helps a lot.
I also have a lazy eye so all the strain is concentrated to the good eye, which makes me fairly sensitive. When I transitioned to photocromic lenses my everyday life improved dramatically.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Maybe I've lucked out with the monitors I've been buying over the decades. Or maybe if you saw, in person, what I'm looking at, you'd immediately see the same problem, and I'm just not seeing it because I don't know any better, so to speak.
And because I keep the brightness so low, I have a hard time with apps that are in dark mode...so maybe the solution for me is to increase the brightness back to "normal" levels so dark mode is readable again, and leave it at that. But, until I decide my current setup is no longer working for me, I'm happy not spending the time fiddling with settings until I find some alternative.
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Comfort is king. Once you find your sweet spot, effing around with settings can only worsen the experience.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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And inertia. 
I don't have the time or energy to fiddle with settings until I find something "better".
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Yup! Brightness at 25% on my ultrawide monitor and zero eye fatigue. I much prefer dark characters on a white page.
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I solve the eye strain issue by engaging the OS's night mode. What I have noticed with dark mode though is that newer monitors do a much better job with it. I run my new Motorola G Stylus phone runs almost exclusively in dark mode, but the three year old Motorola G5 phone that it replaced was almost unusable in dark mode.
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When I will update my e-reader I'll be taking one with the night light, which is more orange than white. Sadly on PC many applications don't play nice with OS settings, either with DPI or color corrections. Especially IDEs for embedded development, which often make VisualStudio 6 look like the pinnacle of technology.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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den2k88 wrote: 23" of pure white light shot straight into my eyes will fatigue my eyesight in less than an hour
That's how I react to black text on white paper. Therefore I prefer books printed with gray ink on medium gray paper, preferably in typefaces essentially composed of hairlines (as of the current web fashions).
It is next to impossible to read the text, but at least it doesn't strain my eyes!
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Well, there is a difference between book paper and glossy magazine paper  especially the yellowish book paper, it's easier to read. But I need my ink thick and black (phrasing, ugh).
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Are you sitting in a dark environment?
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I am sitting in a way too bright environment. Light on background + light means that everything is washed out and I can't see anything, but with the light of a million Suns carving its path into my brain.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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I wish CP had a dark theme
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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I have good outcomes with the nightlight feature which knows when the sun will rise and automatically turns it off. It does both reduce brightness and applies a blue light shield. Still, I use dark mode as often as it's offered because it's still better than the night light.
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From the other direction, unless I'm in a room with closed blackout curtains and no other sources of light what would kill my eyes is the brightness difference between a darkmode screen and the wall behind it.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
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It's easier on old eyes like mine.
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
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Interesting enough, majority of web sites does not use a dark theme.
TOMZ_KV
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I hate them for that - CP included. There are third party browser add-ons that can create dark themes but:
1) They suck if the original fonts are not black and the background is not white;
2) I don't trust a third party free add on that accesses the HTML I'm viewing and modifies it on the fly.
Dark themes should be an accessibility feature on par with screen readers compatibility.
GCS d--(d-) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Maybe it's something that would help my 76 year old eyes.
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It really saves me eye strain, but the contrast has to be stark. These sites with dark theme and gray lettering are really hard to read. I'm 72 and I spend a lot of time in front 9of the monitor so I favor the darker themes.
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
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I use the IntelliJ IDE. It has a high contrast dark theme, where dark areas (background) are totally black and fonts can be configured to bright colors of your liking. I love it!
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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