New colors petition (1 Viewer)

[ProStockJunkie]

Ain't no such adjustment on laptop screens, sorry.

The big problem is twofold - first of all, light colored text on a black background is hard to read under a wide variety of lighting conditions. Second, grey and black are, by nature, dim colors and tend to blend together into a dim, unreadable image on low-contrast monitors such as laptop screens.

Desktop LCD monitors have higher contrast and more adjustments than laptop screens, which are optimized for battery operation.

In other words, if you are not trying to read this stuff on a laptop screen, you have no idea how illegible it is using the default colors.

This paragraph is default - and very hard to see on a laptop screen.

This paragraph is a contrasting color, though there is nothing wrong with good old black on white for message text - that's why it's the default on the message editing screens - I am just asking for the text display colors to be as readable as the text colors on the message composition and edit screens.

I have a big old 21 inch monitor, and the only time the gray on black is somewhat readable and a little easier on the eyes, is when the lights are out.

Even in the 'additonal Options' that are below the reply area, are very had to read... show your signature, automatically parse links in text, etc. The main menu screen, the 'attach files' ..... everything on this board that is gray on black is getting harder & harder to read, as my eyes struggle to read what is there.

If the majority of folks have no problem with this new look, that's ok too. But if I have to make a choice between using my eyes to do work, or trying to read a message board, the choice has already been made for me because of my need to work until I drop dead.

 

[None]

Larry,
I use a Toshiba laptop and have no trouble seeing any of the colors. I have not used a desktop so I can't make a comparison. I tried alot of colors when the new Mater started. White and Red were the only two that I didn't get PM's saying they were having a hard time seeing. Now I try to only use those two.

 

[ReactionTimes]

Let's be less dramatic about this. There's been a simple fix suggested and surely you could use that for now.

It isn't permanent and you have to do it each time you want to read something. But, until it's the way you want it, you guys could use the suggestion of Ctrl + A. It highlights all text on the screen and makes it black text with a white background.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Let's be less dramatic about this. There's been a simple fix suggested and surely you could use that for now.

It isn't permanent and you have to do it each time you want to read something. But, until it's the way you want it, you guys could use the suggestion of Ctrl + A. It highlights all text on the screen and makes it black text with a white background.

Dramatic? It is what it is....difficult for a lot of people to read. And that does take a bit of the enjoyment out of visiting a message board even with suggestions of temporary solutions.

 

[ReactionTimes]

Dramatic? It is what it is....difficult for a lot of people to read. And that does take a bit of the enjoyment out of visiting a message board even with suggestions of temporary solutions.

the choice has already been made for me because of my need to work until I drop dead.

Yeah, I'd say that's a bit dramatic. You were given a temporary solution. Can't you use it until Shannon can fix it? I realize it's only a temporary solution, but come on. It's a message board about racing. It's not life or death.

 

[Sully]

And how long is "temporary?" Seems like eons since the changeover and nothing's changed with the default message text colors, but extra rooms get added almost every week.

 

[.]

Ain't no such adjustment on laptop screens, sorry.

Ummm...I disagree. If it's Mac or Windows you can do into the display properties and adjust the brightness, contrast, gamma, etc. to get it very close to where it should be.

If it's a Windows computer go into the control panel and click on display properties. Then go to the settings tab and click 'advanced'. There you'll find what you need to adjust the display properties.

 

[Sully]

Nope. None of those things are offered. I can adjust the brightness from the keyboatd, it's all the way up. No contrast control anywhere on the computer or in the Control Panel. Sorry, it's just a high-end HP, guess it's not good enogh for this website and its screwed-up color scheme.

 

[.]

Nope. None of those things are offered. I can adjust the brightness from the keyboatd, it's all the way up. No contrast control anywhere on the computer or in the Control Panel. Sorry, it's just a high-end HP, guess it's not good enogh for this website and its screwed-up color scheme.

I don't think you're looking in the right spot. It's not a HP feature, it's a Windows feature. Windows doesn't know if it's a laptop or a desktop and it doesn't care. What version of Windows? XP? 2000? Try right clicking on your desktop and then clicking properties. Then go to settings, then advanced.

 

[Sully]

Found it, it's hiding on the Nvidia G-Force tab - most everything else in there is on/off, driver stuff, no adjustments. Turned up the contrast a bit, that helped some, but the current color combination is still going to be tough to read in most media centers because of the strong backlighting with a window behind the screen.

 

[Sully]

Had to revert to original settings - the changes that made this stuff readable screwed up everything else, such as picture editing and web browsing other than here.

This isn't Dungeons & Dragons, why the gloomy color scheme? Is it a form of mourning for the recently departed 'Mater?

 

[d'kid]

ok ya got me there....I usually pull the shades during the day and turn off the lights at night when I'm at the computer.... (insert joke here)

To quote my wife... "I'm not gonna touch THAT"

 

[d'kid]

This isn't Dungeons & Dragons, why the gloomy color scheme? Is it a form of mourning for the recently departed 'Mater?

This isn't the D&D website? Who are you people? Who stole my 20 side Die... I thought it was strange no one would let Whit throw a saving roll...

But, seriously, I'm gonna have to try the site on a laptop....

But I always use 'puters in a dark room... here at home or at work... watch TV the same way

 

[Sully]

Unfortuantely (or fortunately) that's not an option when you are working in the media center at a drag race. If you are lucky, there will be window shades or blinds that may or may not work to cut the glare down a bit.

In order to make the grey-on-black stuff readable, I had to increase the birightness and contrast. That, in turn, made photo editing impossible because it made every picture I looked at, including those on other websites, so contrasty that they looked like cartoons instead of photos.

I generally try to keep an eye on the 'mater on race weekends in case we miss something or there's a question we can answer. I have had to give that up since the new color scheme was adopted because my eyes just were not up to the strain of trying to quickly scan the new messages and I don't usually have a lot of time to screw around with little tricks to make them readable. The CTRL-A trick makes the text readable (ugly, but visible), but there's no command to go back to the default and some of the navigation commands are not visible after using CTRL-A (the underline on the page numbers, for example).

This was not a problem before the color change and is not a problem on any other website that I visit regularly, so I can't justify jacking the settings around on my computer just to be able to read messages here. Since I also have to edit and post 30-40 images during IHRA weekends, I also can't afford to screw up my monitor settings to the point that I cannot adjust color balance and contrast on the images I process for the website.

Right now I am at home and can read the messages using my laptop computer - not easily, but well enough to spot those I might be interested in. That is not the case most weekends.

 

[Jenn]

I thought I saw somewhere that the webmaster was going to fix it...but that was some time ago.

 

[DragFan2]

I thought I saw somewhere that the webmaster was going to fix it...but that was some time ago.

That post was right before the post stating that the Webmaster's computer was down! I really feel for Larry, and several others who have voiced their opinions about the look & feel of the new Nitromater, primarily the Dungeons & Dragons default color scheme. It is hard on the eyes, and seems to me could easily be fixed. Maybe enough people have not complained that should, but if Larry is having this much trouble, and he is a week-in, week-out Drag Racing stats contributor who happens to like to keep us up to date during races, but now cannot, then that should carry alot more weight.

Jerrod...Shannon....are you LISTENING ???

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Yeah, I'd say that's a bit dramatic. You were given a temporary solution. Can't you use it until Shannon can fix it? I realize it's only a temporary solution, but come on. It's a message board about racing. It's not life or death.

Now who's being dramatic?

 

[ReactionTimes]

Now who's being dramatic?

Certainly not me.

 

[DragFan2]

Jerrod/Shannon:

Just give us a YES/NO/MAYBE answer to this complaint or suggestion to change the colors. Again, the black background is fine in my book, but the grey (default) text is a pain. YES, many of us (me included) know how to change the TEXT of a message we are posting, but that doesn't help for all those messages that others have already posted and we find hard to read! Right Jackee? And Larry Sullivan?

 

[ReactionTimes]

I will look at the new colors when I get my computer back up and running.

Thanks,
Webmaster

Yes I don't have my computer back up and running. Sorry. I hope to find a place to live here soon. Living arrangements have been in limbo here lately.

Thanks for understanding

Not sure if he's still without a computer, but this was the last thing he said in this thread.