VGS Dark Mode Feedback Thread

[Gloves | 11,776]

Hey all, I don't use Dark Mode personally so I don't really see any of the pain points some of you out there might with using it. The theme has been pretty minimally adjusted by me thus far, and this week since I am on vacation I've started poking around trying to make things more enjoyable around here.

If you have any feedback specific to the Dark Mode theme please let me know. Literally anything at all; I can't guarantee I'll get to it right away or that I'll be updating EVERYTHING you ask for, but I'd like to make the experience better for everyone on the site, regardless of which theme you use. 

So if you're already using Dark Mode please look forward to some changes coming, I've already made a few today. Otherwise, like I say, please let me know if there's anything about the theme that you'd like updated! Colors changed, things made more clear/obvious, etc..

Thanks!

[TrekMD | 1,395]

Cool.  I'll have to try it out to see the changes.  I had tried it once but I didn't like it as much for some reason.  I can't even remember now as it was a while back. 

[Gloves | 11,776]

6 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

Cool.  I'll have to try it out to see the changes.  I had tried it once but I didn't like it as much for some reason.  I can't even remember now as it was a while back. 

Yeah I don't really like dark mode on forums, personally. When I am reading I like black text on white background.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

I didn't even realize dark mode had been implemented until just now, so thank you for informing me

Well right off the bat, while I don't know if there's any way to fix this, that white bar at the top that appears when you make a post is a bit grating on the eyes.

Would be nice if that was darkened to match the rest of the theme, maybe to either a dark grey or just an outright black color, if possible.

Also, I feel like the white text is a bit too... sharp? I dunno how else to describe it, but it's kind of hard to look at. I use Dark Reader, which is an extension that automatically darkens web pages (So essentially you can use dark mode even on websites that don't actually have a dark mode) and whenever I use that, it changes the text to more of a light grey, which I feel is much more pleasant to look at than the really sharp white.

Here's a comparison of the native Dark Mode and the Dark Reader text so you can see what I'm talking about:

Personally, like I said, I much prefer the softer grey text of Dark Reader. So you could perhaps see if you could change it to look more like that, so it's a bit more pleasant to look at. That could just be me though, I'm just a single person with a single opinion, I could be in the minority on this. The background is also a different color, but that's not really an issue, it's mostly just the text I'm not a big fan of.

In addition, I do feel like the details below a person's profile are a bit bright. (Once again, VGS Dark Mode vs Dark Reader for comparison so you can see what I'm talking about)

VGS Dark Mode:

Dark Reader:

I also only just now noticed whilst doing these comparisons that it seems like the actual color on certain parts of the page disappear while using dark mode (The green on your reputation just turns to a bright white, the clickable blue links also just turn into a super bright white) which I really don't like at all, I think the color of stuff like that should definitely be preserved. Especially on the links, since you may not even realize certain things are clickable if they're just white, the blue color usually tips off to the user that what they're looking at is a link they can click on.

VGS Dark Mode:

Dark Reader:

Other than that... yeah, I can't really see any other major complaints I have, that's about it. It's mostly just the super bright white text I don't like, and also the links not being that blue color in dark mode, which is actually probably a more major concern since that could actually present a potential usability issue for someone who's new to the site if they immediately switch to dark mode. But then again, these are just my first impressions, so I may find some more stuff to whine about later on. I'll continue to use the VGS Dark Mode so I can point out issues if and when I see them

I'd be interested to see if everyone else agrees with my issues with the VGS dark mode thus far, or if this is all just me being picky.

[Gloves | 11,776]

Picky is good man, that's great. I'll look at adjusting these things for sure. I agree - the white on dark is quite bright, could do with some toning down. Also yeah - need to add some color back in, it was lost in translation by the look of things.

[guillavoie | 1,208]

So if I'm following you correctly @ZeldaFreak, one way to improve the dark mode is to make it darker.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 minutes ago, guillavoie said:

So if I'm following you correctly @ZeldaFreak, one way to improve the dark mode is to make it darker.

Funnily enough, yes, you are correct

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

[Gloves | 11,776]

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

Test test.

Yeeaaahhhh copy-pasting for whatever reason keeps the dark background. You'd have to right-click and paste as plain text, like so:

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

Test test.

Yeeaaahhhh copy-pasting for whatever reason keeps the dark background. You'd have to right-click and paste as plain text, like so:

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

 

Easy fix: Force everyone to use dark mode!

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Easy fix: Force everyone to use dark mode!

You really want me to force people to use a single version? Cuz I can... and it ain't gonna be the dark one...

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

1 minute ago, Gloves said:

You really want me to force people to use a single version? Cuz I can... and it ain't gonna be the dark one...

Uh... maybe we can have a poll to determine which version people like better...?

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Uh... maybe we can have a poll to determine which version people like better...?

I can riiiig thoooooose.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

3 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I can riiiig thoooooose.

Yeah, that's why I'll be the one to create the poll. So I can rig it in my favor

[Jeevan | 8,910]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

Test test.

Yeeaaahhhh copy-pasting for whatever reason keeps the dark background. You'd have to right-click and paste as plain text, like so:

I'll try using it again and see if I notice anything. The reason I stopped is there was enough times when someone copies something and it keeps some of the formatting so you'll get black text on a white background (or sometimes even black text on the normal black background). Not sure if there's anything you can really do to fix that though.

 

paste as plain text is my goto

1 hour ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Yeah, that's why I'll be the one to create the poll. So I can rig it in my favor

he is admin lol

In regards to the white bar above your post, what about a purple???? like sage purple????????????   eh, eh, eh?????  @Gloves

Edited June 10, 2020 by Jeevan

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Hey there, sorry to bring this old thread back to life, but any updates on this? Not super desperate for changes to be implemented or anything, I know it's not of the utmost importance, just wanted to ask how things are going in regards to improving the dark mode

Speaking of improving the dark mode, I noticed that the entire rules section looks very dark when viewing it with dark mode on, so you guys might want to change that when you get the chance:

Although I noticed that the links are actually blue here instead of being the usual extremely bright white, which is slightly odd. Not that I'm complaining, I've said before I want the blue links to carry over from the normal light mode, so this is actually closer to how I'd want dark mode to actually look (Although with the text being quite a bit lighter, obviously.)

And obviously there's still the issue of some copy-pasted text being all wonky in various ways when dark mode is on, but like people have said, I'm not sure if anything could be done to fix that. If only people would just learn to paste as plain text for the sake of us poor dark mode users

[Gloves | 11,776]

No real updates at the moment, we've been focusing on some other stuff. The rules page is a good shoutout though. I'll see what I can do about that at the least.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

No real updates at the moment, we've been focusing on some other stuff. The rules page is a good shoutout though. I'll see what I can do about that at the least.

Alright, good to know. No rush, just figured I'd ask. For what it's worth, I've gotten a bit more used to how eye-piercingly bright the dark mode text is

[Jeevan | 8,910]

53 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Alright, good to know. No rush, just figured I'd ask. For what it's worth, I've gotten a bit more used to how eye-piercingly bright the dark mode text is

ok, I'm gonna catch some flak for this maybe, but Atari age has it spot on lol....

anyways, he did improve somethings so cut him some slack .  watch anymore survivor yet?

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

53 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

ok, I'm gonna catch some flak for this maybe, but Atari age has it spot on lol....

anyways, he did improve somethings so cut him some slack .  watch anymore survivor yet?

I'm not personally on Atari Age, so I can't comment on how their dark mode is.

And hey, I'm cutting him as much slack as I possibly can while still asking about it, I literally told him in both of my posts that there's no rush, I was just curious! Plus, to be fair, I haven't actually noticed any of the improvements if there really have been some already. Maybe I'm just not paying enough attention.

And no, I've been feeling a bit down these last few days, so I haven't felt like continuing yet. I'll probably watch some more pretty soon, though.

[Gloves | 11,776]

I've found some time and made some updates. Will keep working on it, so if you see the site suddenly covered in a hideous red, that's me testing stuff out. I "do it live" cuz fuck it.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I've found some time and made some updates. Will keep working on it, so if you see the site suddenly covered in a hideous red, that's me testing stuff out. I "do it live" cuz fuck it.

Ooooo... I really like it so far! I'm liking the more grey text (It's definitely much easier on the eyes, which is sort of the point of dark mode, after all) And I like that light blue Start New Topic button. I think despite how bright it is, it's good to still have a few splashes of color in a dark mode.

Definitely a huge improvement on how it was before! Excited to see the rest of changes whenever they're implemented!

[Gloves | 11,776]

1 minute ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Ooooo... I really like it so far! I'm liking the more grey text (It's definitely much easier on the eyes, which is sort of the point of dark mode, after all) And I like that light blue Start New Topic button. I think despite how bright it is, it's good to still have a few splashes of color in a dark mode.

Definitely a huge improvement on how it was before! Excited to see the rest of changes whenever they're implemented!

Yeah it's feeling a lot better so far. I've set myself to Dark Mode and I'll live with it as I peruse the site and any time I think "this could be better" I'll just update it straight away. I'm updating the Site Rules page right now to be more legible based on your feedback from before.

[Gloves | 11,776]

Just dicking around at this point, what do you think of this?

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

18 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Yeah it's feeling a lot better so far. I've set myself to Dark Mode and I'll live with it as I peruse the site and any time I think "this could be better" I'll just update it straight away. I'm updating the Site Rules page right now to be more legible based on your feedback from before.

Yeah, now that most of the links have that dark blue appearance to them rather than the really bright white, and now that the site rules is being worked on, that pretty much covers all of the improvements I could think of for it. There were times using dark mode before where I was thinking "Man, I really want to go back to Dark Reader..." but now with all of these improvements, I'm totally comfortable just using the site's dark mode, which is exactly what I was hoping for

Pretty much the only other thing I can think of that could be improved is the white bar I mentioned awhile back in this thread that appears when you comment on a post

It would be kinda nice if that was darkened, but I obviously understand that that might not be possible to fix. Still not at all a big deal if it isn't something that can be fixed, that's literally just the only other thing I can think of improving by this point. I'm really satisfied with the new dark mode otherwise.

I guess there's also that weird copy-paste text issue that can sometimes happen on dark mode, wherein sometimes copy-pasted text will still have a white background, but we've already established that isn't really something that can be fixed easily, and it happens rarely enough that I'm not incredibly concerned about it.