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Why color should be disabled ...
| View Poll Results: Is the ability to add color to posts important to you? | |||
| No, I can do without color in my posts. |     | 8 | 32.00% |
| Yes, I want to be able to choose any color from a color palette. |    | 9 | 36.00% |
| I wouldn't mind choosing among 3 usability-safe colors which didn't conflict with the site design. |    | 8 | 32.00% |
| Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll | |||
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 12,036
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I truly believe that color should be disabled in forum posts because it really hinders the usability of the site. For example, links throughout the site are blue, text is dark grey, headings are purple, ... all standard throughout the site. So much effort was put into the font color, for example. (Remember the font size thread where one shade of grey made such a difference?) It really does bother me when members have the freedom to just screw up all of the effort I put in, not to mention money paid to designers who specialize in color theory. I think that my point can be proven in the fact that there are links to three different search engines in this post.
And don't go trying to tell me that the moderators should make sure things like this don't happen and that color is only used when it aids comprehension. Dave Sinkula uses blue font all the time, which is just about the one color I am the most against because it can so easily be confused with a link, especially because links on this site don't have underlines.
And don't go trying to tell me that the moderators should make sure things like this don't happen and that color is only used when it aids comprehension. Dave Sinkula uses blue font all the time, which is just about the one color I am the most against because it can so easily be confused with a link, especially because links on this site don't have underlines.
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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Originally Posted by cscgal 
I truly believe that color should be disabled in forum posts because it really hinders the usability of the site. For example, links throughout the site are blue, text is dark grey, headings are purple, ... all standard throughout the site. So much effort was put into the font color, for example. (Remember the font size thread where one shade of grey made such a difference?) It really does bother me when members have the freedom to just screw up all of the effort I put in, not to mention money paid to designers who specialize in color theory. I think that my point can be proven in the fact that there are links to three different search engines in this post.
And don't go trying to tell me that the moderators should make sure things like this don't happen and that color is only used when it aids comprehension. Dave Sinkula uses blue font all the time, which is just about the one color I am the most against because it can so easily be confused with a link, especially because links on this site don't have underlines.
I once tried to follow the old line of blue=add, red=delete, green=change. This predates forums by a long shot. Red was links, green was hard to read, blue was left.
Magenta became my DON'T for lack of others.
Screw with prior art all you want; what the hell, the next generation knows nothing of this.
Color is the single most useful way that one can actually highlight things in text. BIU rather suck.
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." --Ayn Rand
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Join Date: Feb 2002
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> Red used to be synonymous with links, which is why I avoid it.
On CProgramming, maybe. Never here, or any other site I know of other than CProgramming. Blue is standard for links.
> I once tried to follow the old line of blue=add, red=delete, green=change. This predates forums by a long shot.
My point exactly: that color scheme was never designed with forums in mind, and clearly isn't optimal for forums when links are blue.
> Color is the single most useful way that one can actually highlight things in text.
I disagree. I can use bold or the [highlight] bbcode just fine, as I did here. And doing so will ensure that it will always be design-safe and usability-safe while still standing out just as much.
I also just want to throw in that I'm just opening this idea up to discussion and have no plans of going any further until everyone has voiced an opinion. As you know, one of the toughest parts of trying to run a forum is trying to please everyone. It was just last week when ~sos~ commented that DaniWeb "should strive to become like Google Groups where simplicity is of paramount". It's been my experience that there are just as many people who want color as who don't, so I want to really get a raise of hands without rehashing old arguments. My first post of this thread pretty much summed up my reasons for being against color, so now I just want to get a count of who agrees and who disagrees. Hmm ... guess I should add a poll to this thread, eh?
On CProgramming, maybe. Never here, or any other site I know of other than CProgramming. Blue is standard for links.
> I once tried to follow the old line of blue=add, red=delete, green=change. This predates forums by a long shot.
My point exactly: that color scheme was never designed with forums in mind, and clearly isn't optimal for forums when links are blue.
> Color is the single most useful way that one can actually highlight things in text.
I disagree. I can use bold or the [highlight] bbcode just fine, as I did here. And doing so will ensure that it will always be design-safe and usability-safe while still standing out just as much.
I also just want to throw in that I'm just opening this idea up to discussion and have no plans of going any further until everyone has voiced an opinion. As you know, one of the toughest parts of trying to run a forum is trying to please everyone. It was just last week when ~sos~ commented that DaniWeb "should strive to become like Google Groups where simplicity is of paramount". It's been my experience that there are just as many people who want color as who don't, so I want to really get a raise of hands without rehashing old arguments. My first post of this thread pretty much summed up my reasons for being against color, so now I just want to get a count of who agrees and who disagrees. Hmm ... guess I should add a poll to this thread, eh?
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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Originally Posted by cscgal
> Red used to be synonymous with links, which is why I avoid it.
On CProgramming, maybe. Never here, or any other site I know of other than CProgramming. Blue is standard for links.
> I once tried to follow the old line of blue=add, red=delete, green=change. This predates forums by a long shot.
My point exactly: that color scheme was never designed with forums in mind, and clearly isn't optimal for forums when links are blue.
> Color is the single most useful way that one can actually highlight things in text.
I disagree. I can use bold or the [highlight] bbcode just fine, as I did here. And doing so will ensure that it will always be design-safe and usability-safe while still standing out just as much.
I also just want to throw in that I'm just opening this idea up to discussion and have no plans of going any further until everyone has voiced an opinion. As you know, one of the toughest parts of trying to run a forum is trying to please everyone. It was just last week when ~sos~ commented that DaniWeb "should strive to become like Google Groups where simplicity is of paramount". It's been my experience that there are just as many people who want color as who don't, so I want to really get a raise of hands without rehashing old arguments. My first post of this thread pretty much summed up my reasons for being against color, so now I just want to get a count of who agrees and who disagrees. Hmm ... guess I should add a poll to this thread, eh?
Last edited by Dave Sinkula; May 13th, 2007 at 3:08 am.
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." --Ayn Rand
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Join Date: Feb 2002
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And I used the [highlight] bbcode to generate it. I have nothing against using the [highlight] bbcode.
My main problem with color is that you can pick from any color you want so, not only is there no consistancy, but people use blue (or worse, underlined blue) which is very easily confused with links, and other colors which conflict with my site design.
I would be estatic if everyone used green to represent something good and red to represent something bad or to highlight something, for example.
My main problem with color is that you can pick from any color you want so, not only is there no consistancy, but people use blue (or worse, underlined blue) which is very easily confused with links, and other colors which conflict with my site design.
I would be estatic if everyone used green to represent something good and red to represent something bad or to highlight something, for example.
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Originally Posted by cscgal
And I used the [highlight] bbcode to generate it. I have nothing against using the [highlight] bbcode.
Tell me, if you search for a term, how is it rendered?
What distinguishes the search term from a highlight?
Or ought we not search?
Last edited by Dave Sinkula; May 13th, 2007 at 3:16 am.
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." --Ayn Rand
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Join Date: Feb 2002
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Preferably, a searched-for keyword would be black bold with a yellow background, like the Microsoft Word highlighter function. In other words, it would have a background-color around the word that couldn't be accomplished with bbcode, once again to add to the usability. Right now it IS confusing when people use bold red text in their posts. I want to fix that.
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Join Date: May 2006
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I'm assuming that Dani isn't trying to remove all color from the site, just to standardize the colors. That is, people will not be able to color their post text, but search results or tagged code segments would still be colored as they currently are. I never use colors in my posts, and I find it moderately distracting when other people do. I'm used to CAPITAL LETTERS for emphasis or even italics, and most people on the 'net usually understand their importance. Of course, there are a few who tend to post with their caps-lock on, but it's somewhat less annoying than posting in bold, red text.
My $.02
My $.02
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Originally Posted by Dave Sinkula
I am well aware of that.
Tell me, if you search for a term, how is it rendered?
What distinguishes the search term from a highlight?
Or ought we not search?
On that note though, what do you think of what I changed the highlight text to look like? •
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Originally Posted by Infarction
My $.02
[edit]Besides, I've read RFCs. They suck to read.
Last edited by Dave Sinkula; May 13th, 2007 at 3:37 am.
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." --Ayn Rand
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