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I can't look at that site for too long. It's not the ewoks or the questions - it is the color scheme.

Please make it possible to browse that site for more than a minute or two

To elaborate - the color scheme is cool, for a logo or some graphic - but IMO it is not a good color scheme to be used for prolonged reading.

How many of the people who like it actually would set those as their colors for their desktop or browser or favorite IDE?

I know I wouldn't.

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  • 9
    I don't know how you can handle MSO over SU.
    – Ian Elliott
    Commented Jul 16, 2009 at 20:02
  • 1
    Disable styles :) Go retro...really, really retro.
    – Jonathan Sampson
    Commented Jul 16, 2009 at 20:10
  • 3
    @Jonathan: Retro, huh? Could you whip up a Greasemonkey script to make MSO look like an old C64 or Atari game, all nice and pixelated!
    – gnovice
    Commented Jul 16, 2009 at 20:47
  • 1
    @gnovice I was thinking about writing a script to add some nice '95 gifs and flaming hr's. .gifs FTW!
    – Jonathan Sampson
    Commented Jul 16, 2009 at 21:18
  • i am addicted to that colors, i can surf the site for hours without having any problems
    – marco.ragogna
    Commented Jul 17, 2009 at 22:46
  • 1
    The blue is really bad!!!
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 3, 2009 at 23:27
  • 1
    I've added a feature request asking to have a user preference so that you can choose to override the default color scheme with one from one of the other trilogy sites, if you prefer on over the others. meta.stackexchange.com/questions/40337/…
    – Nick
    Commented Feb 25, 2010 at 17:17
  • Logically, one of the Trilogy sites must have the most readable scheme (unless you believe that all three schemes are equally readable), in which case all sites should use that most readable scheme.
    – Neil Butterworth
    Commented Mar 26, 2010 at 21:59

11 Answers 11

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24

Really? I thought SuperUser had the nicest color scheme of the four.

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    +1 I also like it best.
    – Ludwig Weinzierl
    Commented Jul 16, 2009 at 22:38
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    Yeah, SU is my fav, too.
    – Jarrod Dixon
    Commented Jul 17, 2009 at 1:53
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    Yeah it is "nice" but it is hard to look at for too long. very "noisy"
    – tim
    Commented Jul 17, 2009 at 22:11
  • well, it is the "funkiest" or "girliest" of the sites. but that's how its supposed to be.
    – bobobobo
    Commented Jul 17, 2009 at 22:18
  • Hurts ma glazzballs
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 4, 2009 at 18:15
  • Reminds me of a saying, half of you are monkeys, OK I'll take it back - half of you are not monkeys.
    – mm2010
    Commented Sep 30, 2009 at 13:07
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I don't completely agree that the site is hard to read. I don't have an issue.

However, blue is the hardest color for the human eye to focus on because there are less blue cones compared to red/green. This is why blue is often a background color, like in the old school WordPerfect.

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  • ...and PC-Write! White text on blue background is the easiest reading. Not sure why everything is this horrid black text on white background nowadays. Apple seems to have made it mainstream with the Mac OS and was copied by Windows. Can we sue Apple for years of eyestrain from that poor design decision? :-)
    – Brian Knoblauch
    Commented Sep 30, 2009 at 13:07
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The worst offender is the pea-green Accepted Answer background color. The gray arrows and score is really hard to see, the user name has really bad contrast too.

Here is a link to an accepted answer so you don't have to hunt around to find one.

EDIT: Looks like the color has been toned down. Nice work!

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  • apparently not accepted anymore...
    – Andrew
    Commented Jul 21, 2009 at 23:14
  • 1
    Wow - unaccepting a Jon Skeet answer is unacceptable!
    – richq
    Commented Jul 25, 2009 at 13:53
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    there are no accepted answer background colors any more
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Sep 26, 2009 at 10:25
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Superuser burns my eyes. After 10 seconds, my eyes hurt.

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  • Keep staring, the burning will subside
    – random
    Commented Aug 3, 2009 at 23:41
  • 2
    the burning sensation means it's working!!
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Aug 4, 2009 at 19:47
  • I have to admit....the burning did subside.
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 12, 2009 at 18:01
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I also do not find the SU color scheme pleasant to the eyes, although I grant you, it's gotten much better.

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    yes, it got marginally better. Still difficult for me to spend any time on it.
    – tim
    Commented Jul 17, 2009 at 22:13
2

I like SU color scheme.

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  • sure, you can like it, but can you use it as often and as much as the other sites without going blind?
    – tim
    Commented Aug 4, 2009 at 21:16
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    Yes i can, and in fact im finding myself browsing there much more... I must be one of the 5 people that can stomach it as-is.
    – RCIX
    Commented Aug 4, 2009 at 23:29
1

I think that color is called "radioactive teal"

But I think part of it is that the tags are outlined instead of solid colored, it makes them kindof indistinct from the rest of the text.

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Meh. I like it. The questions are kinda boring so far, but the colors are nice.

1

don't listen to them! the site looks great!

1

Superuser should allow the option to choose the Windows 3.1 "Hot dog vendor" color scheme

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  • that brings back memories...
    – tim
    Commented Feb 25, 2010 at 21:07
0

SuperUser colors are a-okay EXCEPT

  • In comments, it is hard to make out codified text because both the comment and codified background colors are white.

Would this be an acceptable and more-user friendly change?

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