
Upvote for HN Darkmode? - ycombonator
Reading HN in the dark and burning up my eyes. Can we have darkmode ?
======
thih9
I think we should try to avoid "upvote if you agree" type of posts (especially
feature requests).

This call to action is too direct and it's too difficult to argue against it
or retract the vote. In my opinion a better submission would be something that
encourages discussion, like: "Do you think HN should add support for dark
mode?"

------
thih9
This is a confusing username in this case. I read it as "ycombinator" and
thought that this is an official request for feedback from the community.

~~~
joeblau
Haha... I didn't even notice that but I just did a double take.

"Upvote for official ycombintaor up/down vote bot"

------
no_gravity
Customizability of the web is a pet peeve of mine. And I wonder if selecting
the color of text and background should really be a function of the website
that the text is on.

There is no technical reason why not everybody should be able to set the color
for any website any way they want.

I would expect it to be trivial to make a bookmarklet that changes the color
of HN. Here is a quick hack that makes HN display green text on black:

javascript:(function(){s=document.createElement('style');s.textContent='*{color:
#0a0 !important; background: #000;}';document.head.appendChild(s)})()

Just edit any of your existing bookmarks and put that line into the url field.
Now whenever you click that bookmark, the current page turns into green text
on black background.

~~~
krapp
>And I wonder if selecting the color of text and background should really be a
function of the website that the text is on.

Websites, are intended to be an expression of their authors, and part of that
intent is creative, including layout, color scheme and typography. Why
_shouldn 't_ an author have control over the colors of their site?

>There is no technical reason why not everybody should be able to set the
color for any website any way they want.

No technical reason, and plenty of plugins exist to enable that, and browsers
have supported it to some degree for a while.

But modern websites are incredibly complex, and css can be dynamic. It would
be an incredible burden to have everyone design a custom stylesheet for every
site they visit from the ground up. The vast majority haven't got the time,
talent or desire to do so, which is why it exists as an option, not the
default.

------
mikro2nd
Stop reading in the dark. It's not good for your eyes. The human eye has
evolved over millions of years to work optimally in an environment where it is
flooded with light (leaning blue).

Honestly, the mania for dark mode baffles me.

~~~
kdmedev
Its for reading in the dark. Less stressful for the eyes

~~~
ndnxhs
As OP pointed out. Reading in the dark is the problem to begin with. Dark mode
themes are a poor workaround for the real problem.

~~~
fwn
While a parachute is helpful in certain situations it's better not to fall out
of the sky to begin with. It is, so to say, a poor workaround for the real
problem.

~~~
skrebbel
Shit, i tripped, fell, and started reading HN in the dark. Oops! Good thing it
has dark mode.

~~~
fwn
But aren't there numerous situations in which it is rather dark and one might
want to spend some time reading?

Like at a bus stop in the evening, long distance buses, during flights, while
one has difficulties to sleep next to a partner.

I struggle to see how stopping to read in dark environments altogether is a
serious proposal to the problem.

------
anotheryou
My recommendations for a global dark-mode:

\- lightweight, not perfect, never crashes:
[https://userstyles.org/styles/112107/global-black-for-
amoled...](https://userstyles.org/styles/112107/global-black-for-amoled-
displays) (but don't install "stylish" use something maleware free like
"stylus"

\- heavy, as good as it gets, sometimes hangs on certain sites:
[https://github.com/darkreader/darkreader](https://github.com/darkreader/darkreader)

~~~
mimimi31
I tried Darkreader (along with a basically all the other dark theme addons
available on AMO) and found those "hangs" really annoying. The one I've been
using is this one: [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-
backgrou...](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-background-
light-text). It doesn't hang, works on pretty much any site and has
customizable colors.

~~~
anotheryou
looks promising (as it actually analyses the css), but doesn't seem just a
perfect as dark reader (when it doesn't hang)

------
rotub
[http://hn.premii.com/](http://hn.premii.com/) has a dark mode. Also available
as an App. Best HN experience I've found.

~~~
johnnycab
The desktop experience is great. I gave up on the app due to freezes/crashes
on iOS 12. In a hunt for alternatives, found this app, which is more than
comparable.

[https://itunes.apple.com/app/hacker-
buzz/id1292825792?mt=8](https://itunes.apple.com/app/hacker-
buzz/id1292825792?mt=8)

------
huhtenberg
The username is "ycomb_O_nator". That's pretty sneaky, especially for a
feature request post :)

------
reustle
Crossing my fingers for a [http://hckrnews.com](http://hckrnews.com) dark mode

~~~
Ultramanoid
There's an 'about' page with a contact mail address at the bottom.

[https://hckrnews.com/about.html](https://hckrnews.com/about.html)

------
undecisive
Funnily enough, ever since I found dark reader
[https://darkreader.org/](https://darkreader.org/) I've only really used it on
two sites - HN and Github.

I'd support a dark mode, but don't really need one...

~~~
fold_left
Thanks for this, I was using Stylus before and putting up with various bits of
broken display but this has been perfect on every site I regularly use.

------
elvecinodeabajo
Bright white scratches my eyes while reading at night. A dark theme is greatly
appreciated.

~~~
sureaboutthis
Pro tip: Turn down the brightness.

~~~
mario0b1
Even better pro tip: Turn on your lights.

~~~
elvecinodeabajo
Brightness set to 1. Lights must be out while my wife sleeps. I'm not pro,
I've a girlfriend.

------
Gigamo
[https://userstyles.org/styles/113994/hacker-news-
dark](https://userstyles.org/styles/113994/hacker-news-dark) with Stylus works
very well.

~~~
zenexer
I'm strongly against the use of Stylish after this fiasco:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816)

~~~
Gigamo
I agree; hence why I recommended Stylus (an open source alternative).

~~~
zenexer
Oops! I googled Stylus to see if it was a Stylish alternative, and the first
result was Stylish, so I assumed it was a typo. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t
look into it further.

------
fredley
I use a custom stylesheet anyway, but a native one would be nice, and less
prone to breakage.

------
alboy
There're plenty of browser extensions for this which also prevent the problem
you get when eventually you have to switch to a different site that doesn't
have a dark mode (like 99% of the sites on the web). I use Midnight Lizard.

~~~
aristophenes
But then you have to trust that extension to not do anything malicious,
because it must be able to read and modify every website you visit.

See
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816)

~~~
Pavel-Agarkov
Midnight Lizard is an open source project: [https://github.com/Midnight-
Lizard/Midnight-Lizard](https://github.com/Midnight-Lizard/Midnight-Lizard)

You can read it's privacy policy: [https://midnight-lizard.org/extension-
privacy](https://midnight-lizard.org/extension-privacy)

Also starting from Chrome 70 you don't have to allow access to all websites:
[https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/runtime_host_permiss...](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/runtime_host_permissions)

As a Midnight Lizard developer I'm doing my best to make sure it is as secure
as it can be, but it is harder to prove that you are not doing anything bad...

------
Chive
I've been using the chrome extension [https://gabrielecirulli.github.io/hn-
special/](https://gabrielecirulli.github.io/hn-special/) which includes a dark
mode.

~~~
nebulous1
Been using this for years, it's great. Occasionally HN makes a change that
breaks it but he fixes in a day or two.

------
birksherty
Although I like dark mode, I don't use it. Because the web is by default
white.

Suppose I am using dark text editor and the websites I often visit are dark.
Still every few minutes I will have to visit a site with white background. My
eyes will have to constantly adjust between dark and light backgrounds. It
can't be escaped.

I don't understand why developers use dark text editors when the sites they
are building are white. They visit that every few seconds.

------
mercer
I've found this bookmarklet to work pretty well on most website:

[https://lnikki.la/articles/night-mode-css-
filter/](https://lnikki.la/articles/night-mode-css-filter/)

I added it as a toggle-able script for TamperMonkey so I don't have to click
on the bookmarklet on every page, and changed the 'invert(1)' bit to
invert(.9) so it's not full black.

------
aristophenes
This should would be very easy to implement using the existing settings
paradigm. For everyone recommending browser extensions, compromising the
security of my browser so I can read HN (or any other site) better is not an
option. See the discussion at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17447816)

------
Simulacra
I would very much appreciate a dark mode for the page.

------
fold_left
Materialistic is a brilliant HN Reader and has a dark mode, maybe some of you
will like it too (I have no connection with the creator, just a user that
recommends it)
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.hidr...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.hidroh.materialistic)

------
laythea
I can never understand why a simple colour scheme is presented as a "big
thing". Consistent dark mode themes seems so unattainable in modern software
(in fact any theme customisation).

It is as necessary as cars with different colours. People's preference.

So let stop making a big deal about it, and just have it in all software. Its
just a colour scheme! Stop being lazy software devs!

------
hs86
After using custom userstyles and the DarkReader extension in Chrome I tried
leaving everything at its default bright theme and instead use a bluelight-
filter at a very low color temperature (1900k). The result is still very
ergonomic and I don't have to worry about slight theming errors like dark text
on dark backgrounds anymore.

------
Breitsamer
[https://darkreader.org/](https://darkreader.org/)

You are welcome.

------
ycombonator
I don’t understand why this was flagged ? It was a simple request for dark
mode.

------
amarvashishth
I use this extension and the dark mode is already there for me:
[https://mybrowseraddon.com/dark-mode.html](https://mybrowseraddon.com/dark-
mode.html)

------
aboutruby
HN readers are probably tech savy enough to either have their own client or
load their custom CSS (like for every other website).

If there was dark mode support, I think it should be based on `prefers-color-
scheme: dark`.

------
4ad
If you add dark mode, please make it optional. I can't stand it.

~~~
fwn
How would a mandatory dark mode even look like? Would it be time zone / time
based?

That would assume everyone only reads HN outside though.

------
dejaime
I use a [http://userstyles.org](http://userstyles.org) theme for it. Been
using that site more and more these days.

------
crehn
I just added an Invert Colors shortcut to ⌘`. Gets me reasonably good "dark
mode" for any website, instantly.

~~~
Eli_P
You can invert any page with this trick:

document.querySelector('html').style.filter = "invert(0.8)"

~~~
Pavel-Agarkov
Midnight Lizard extension uses similar trick: `brightness(0.9) hue-
rotate(180deg) invert(1) brightness(0.9)` This way resulting colors will be at
least similar to the original ones and contrast ratio is also better

------
pknerd
Well no dark mode option for mobile chrome.

------
pcmaffey
Permanent b&w+dark mode:

iOS > settings > general > Display Accommodations

Turn on smart invert and color filter: grayscale

------
Ultramanoid
Yes, please and thank you.

------
S4M
I suppose one could make a Firefox/Chrome addon for that.

~~~
fredley
Dozens of those exist already.

~~~
nikeee
The problem I'm having with these is that the need some time to load and
apply. In the meantime, the default theme is used, which results in an
unpleasant "flash".

~~~
ChrisGranger
That flash can be removed with custom CSS rules as well. r/Firefox and
r/FirefoxCSS have multiple posts about this.

------
purplevapor
already got it
[https://imgur.com/gallery/5pYR3Es](https://imgur.com/gallery/5pYR3Es)

------
uvu
No.... There are tools already there. Or build your own?

------
dkobryn
An unequivocal Yes.

------
tom4000
Another good usage for Stylus.

------
black-tea
Why are dark themes only just becoming popular? I've been using dark, low
contrast themes for more than a decade now. It used to be a sign of a true
geek. Why is it becoming mainstream now all of a sudden?

~~~
austinjp
My guess: increasing evidence that blue light disrupts sleep, and that sleep
is very important.

~~~
sureaboutthis
Why is your monitor on, in your bedroom, while you're trying to sleep, and how
will dark mode on HN help with that?

~~~
detaro
That's not what parent is talking about. It's not just about blue light when
you're trying to sleep, but also before that.

------
fxfan
userContent.css is your friend if you're not using a data-hoarding browser ;)

