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> Black text on a white background can be harsh on the eyes. Opting for a softer shade of black for body text makes the page more comfortable to read.

No, it doesn't. The low contrast text is definitely harder to read in direct comparison with black. This is the point where I suspected that the page might be a parody of modern web design. Unfortunately it seems to be serious.

The syntax highlighting is similarly awful and the grey background makes it even worse.




Yeah I found this assertion pretty troubling too. The "black" on most displays is already "soft" since even black pixels are leaking light. I've never read a page in a book and thought "you know, this ink is too black, it's straining my eyes".


I've never thought the ink in a book was too black, but once in a while, I do think the paper is too white. Usually actual paper is a lot more friendly than #FFFFFF, though.


You should be able to turn down the brightness of a display to comfortable viewing levels.


It's not as simple as that. For one thing, there is a wide range of different screens used to display text, and each screen may exaggerate or reduce contrast to a different degree. It's also important to remember that very high contrast such as pure black on pure white can cause serious problems for dyslexic readers.




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