prowla

Right... I've asked this multiple times, but it looks like it's falling on deaf ears. The default font is grey, which makes it hard to read the text. A black font is much easier to read against the white background. There seems to be work being put into trying out different themes, but no imperative to fix the default one. The purpose of the site for me is to come and communicate with other members, to read what they say and respond, to gain some insight & advice and enjoyment, and to occasionally acquire items via the classifieds. All of those rely on the adequate presentation of the text in the respective posts; the site is the vehicle by which that information is presented. For me the site is visually hard work and uncomfortable to use and I really can't get past that. I've tried, but all I've done since the update is have an occasional look, respond to a message from another member, and check this thread for progress. I've looked at the dark theme, but that would be inconsistent as I typically have several windows open and all of the others have a light background. I've embedded picture(s) of other sites which demonstrate the difference and I've included links to web design style guides/rules to reinforce the fundamental principles. I've tried posting a light-hearted meme to make the point. I've tried changing my PC and browser settings, but nothing appears to fix it (and anyway, I don't want to disrupt the other sites I use). Now, I appreciate the amount of work which goes into running and maintaining the site (I really do!) and I know I may be just one user here, so I am under no illusions on that front. But this thread asked for bugs and to me this design/style issue is more basic and fundamental than some of the programming/logic items and is impacting the usability of the site for me. I like this site and it's one of several which I have open automatically when I login to my PC to reflect my chosen areas of interest, but right now I've removed it from that list. So please, if you're not going to fix it then let me know and I'll stop checking back, only to be frustrated again, and I'll step away and leave you alone.

Haha. It's bad enough on the white background.

Any chance of a theme with dark text?

And that post earned me a couple of site accolades!

I'm going to take a short break from the site, as all I'm really doing at the moment is checking this thread to see if the text is readable.

Isn't it the exact purpose of this thread to report the bugs?

Maybe their kerning or whatever is different.

My DC7’s USB will power my 12-Step.

It seems ok on my IPhone.

Ah - "predictability" is another web design tenet; I went looking in my Settings! Unfortunately, the text is still grey in the 2.1 theme; maybe a "Prowlathinksitsreadable" theme! (Though actually, I think the font could do with better kerning too...)

Theme - wherezat?

Thanks - the font colour is the killer.

Maybe the customising is a "nice to have", but being able to read it is pretty essential. After-all, it is the content which is the reason for having the site in the first place!

I'm all for improvements, but not all changes are improvements. Since the thread is asking for bugs, there are (unsurprisingly) instances of them being reported.

Yes, black is much better than shades of grey. My perception was that the BBC site font was slightly larger too. A quick google on usability guidelines for websites gave this as a design basic (https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-interface-design.html): I've seen elsewhere a guideline that users should be able to choose their font settings.

Anyway, this is the critical issue for me. I can't be using the site if it's making my eyes hurt. Pleeeeeeeeez fix it!

OK the text box (or area) (width thereof) then... But in the pictures I posted, the window width didn't change, so the right-hand (ads) bar was growing and the posts text area was getting narrower.

OK, so the ads are expanding at a different rate to the text.

Just in case you think I'm overstating the font readability issue; here's BC and BBC sites. BC: BBC: -----

Zooming has some strange behaviour - the text area seems to shrink as you zoom in. 0 1 2 (Also, I'm pasting three images into the post here, but it seems to add an extra copy of one at the end.

I'm afraid that the font here is giving me eyestrain. I've tried zooming, but that affects other sites which are fine. I've tried changing my browser and system fonts, but they have no effect. I really can't use the site as it is.

Oh - maybe it just seems smaller then (it reminds me of "The Pound in your pocket..."). 🙂 Maybe the avatars could be a bit smaller, to take up less space? If I zoom on my browser, then the buttons get rather large, so that's not the answer. Is it fainter too? (Don't tell me it's actually darker! 🙂 ) Maybe it's that, as I am genuinely finding it a bit hard-going as it is.

Aha - I've found how to make my posts more readable... ...would everbody else please enter their text in bold too...

A design/UI bug... There is just too much whitespace & padding, so I am having to scroll much more on every page, which is very cumbersome. eg. all of that space for 3 lines of text. The font used to display the posts text is also too small. It's almost like the content is an afterthought rather than the actual reason for people coming here. Hopefully it's fixable... (Browser is Firefox on Linux.)