Tim Bray
OK, take two. I launched this with only two options and got (justifiably) yelled at. I thought that Dark was going to win going away, but apparently it's close enough to be interesting. So, please boost and let’s take a wider sample.
Light Mode
19.1%
Dark Mode
41.7%
Both, it depends
39.2%
Poll ended at .
Jun 14, 2023 at 2:36amWeb
Show threadCody BromleyJun 14, 2023
@timbray I’m one of those crazy people who leave it on auto so it changes at sunset.
Show threadAlex BallJun 14, 2023
@codybrom @timbray Same! Higher contrast during the day, less retina burning at night
Show threadPhilipKingJun 15, 2023
@polarweasel @codybrom @timbray same
Show threadIan TindaleJun 14, 2023
@codybrom @timbray that’s the only way of doing it, it’s as it was intended – what other way is there (apart from the sad control-freak incorrect other ways)
Show threadCtzKaneJun 15, 2023
@codybrom @timbray This is the way
Show threadBrian SwetlandJun 14, 2023
@timbray I remember a time before "light mode" or "dark mode", when it was just amber on black and we were grateful that it was less fuzzy than composite NTSC. ^^
Show threadSean HardingJun 14, 2023
@timbray I despise dark mode (and voted light) but will use dark on the _very_ rare occasion that I'm in a dark room with other people and want to absolutely minimize any annoyance/disruption to them.
Show threadEric A. MeyerJun 14, 2023
@sharding @timbray This is exactly me.
Show threadRoland TanglaoJun 14, 2023
@sharding @timbray What Sean said, I can't stand dark mode. Give me all the lights and light modes please :-) #ymmv I'll use dark mode if I'm working with people in a dark room which rarely happened before the pandemic and 100% doesn't happen now!
Show threadAdam KentJun 14, 2023
@timbray Dark for terminal and code editor, light for everything else.
Show threadJohn KordybackJun 14, 2023
@timbray Solarized my son.
Show threadPabloJun 14, 2023
@timbray Auto according to the time. Unless it’s Discord, for some reason I can’t stand their light mode
Show threadJanne MorenJun 14, 2023

@timbray
Light is easier to read when your eyesight isn't good. This goes double for current design trends that do thin grey low-contrast fonts (the answer there isn't "light mode" nor "dark mode"; it's "reader mode").

But I do use dark mode, especially on mobile, when I'm in a dark environment.

Show threadIBBoardJun 15, 2023
@jannem @timbray My eyesight is fine and I prefer light mode. It's SO much easier to read in a properly lit room with a well configured monitor. I find some of the dark modes MORE painful to look at because they go for bright colours on near-black. And then there's the low-contrast dark modes.
Show threadgemelenJun 16, 2023
@jannem @timbray
Double on light mode for visually impaired.
I use it almost everywhere on all OSes. The only exception is the terminal window, but I still try to use a very soft palette.
Show threadLinh PhamJun 14, 2023
@timbray Usually dark mode, but New Relic's dark mode is atrocious. Also, there are a lot of dark mode themes that have really poor contrast that makes me eyes hurt so bad.
Show threadiantompkinsJun 14, 2023
@timbray I like dark mode as a concept (on paper) and as an option, but usually the light text on dark backgrounds hurts my eyes worse than the alternative. I kinda feel like dark mode has been pushed onto everyone for every application, and I get frustrated when an app forces it.
Show threadPeter LudemannJun 15, 2023
@iantompkins @timbray
And skinny dark text on white background is unreadable with my 70-year-old eyes.
Show threadMark Nichols (LGBTQIA+ Ally)Jun 14, 2023
@timbray Dark mode for terminals, light pretty much everywhere else.
Show threadRobert A. HillJun 14, 2023
@timbray Dark modes are really, really hard on me in brighter rooms. I literally cannot use white on black text interfaces during a work day, it has given me a migraine in the past.
Show threadSam MinnéeJun 14, 2023
@robert @timbray dark mode for a dark room, end of story.
Show threadrob pikeJun 14, 2023
@timbray For old eyes, dark mode is significantly harder to read due to blooming. In light mode, or as we call it, paper, the bleeding is much less noticeable.
Show threadMichael GurskiJun 14, 2023

@robpike @timbray funny, I was going to go the other way, only because the bright backgrounds tend to be more annoying to me, so I often opt for darker themes. Of course, being the fickle person I am, sometimes I'll let an app or OS switch based on time of day or ambient illumination levels.

That's all on an emissive screen, though. A *mumble*Kindle*mumble* I like light when there's light and don't need rear illumination, but definitely prefer inverse in the dark.

Show threadMr. Matt  Jun 14, 2023

@emag @robpike @timbray you can't just say "white text on black background" and expect instant readability. You need to consider overall brightness, contrast, sharpness, light bloom and bleed, specific color palette, and even font and letter size.

A lot of so-called dark themes don't do this, and instead just pick the path of least resistance. As a result they look horrible and cause eye strain on any bright 23" LCD, especially in a dimly lit room.

Show threadMr. Matt  Jun 14, 2023
@emag @robpike @timbray been my experience that desktop LCD screens are also much, much harder to quickly adjust brightness on, unlike laptop and cell phone/tablet screens. That doesn't help much either.
Show threadMichal MěchuraJun 14, 2023
@robpike @timbray Ah so maybe that's why I prefer light backgrounds and all the hip youngsters go for dark: it's an age thing!
Show threadrob pikeJun 14, 2023
@lexiconista @timbray I truly believe it's an optics thing. Old eyes scatter more light, which smears white letters on black more than the other way around, because in light mode the scattering is on areas already white.
Show threadFunnyLookinHatJun 14, 2023

@robpike @lexiconista @timbray

Beyond old eyes, scattering light, tired eyes also do it... As my eyes get older, I find that I can't read dark mode nearly as well at the end of the day as I can the beginning of the day.

This is all making me reconsider using dark mode for an editor at all!

Show threadDruid 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Jun 14, 2023
@robpike @timbray Opposite for my old, degrading eyes. I find it really hard to see thin text (especially when it's grey) on a white background. Dark mode makes my life so much easier. I'd really struggle without it.
Show threadrob pikeJun 14, 2023
@druid @timbray Well, the whole grey thing is another subject entirely. In this disctootion I've been assuming equal contrast presentations. Light grey on slightly lighter grey is inexplicable as a design choice, and yet ubiquitous.
Show threadJohn GruberJun 14, 2023

@robpike @timbray That depends. I developed cataracts very young (mid-40s — “young” for cataracts) and pre-surgery, I could only read using dark mode. Light mode backgrounds blew everything out, was like staring at a bright white cloud.

Post-surgery I’m back to light mode for most things.

Show threadMathiasJun 14, 2023

@timbray Need that light mode on the phone when I'm outside on the bicycle.

There are a couple of music apps that are only dark that are unusable outside for me.

Show threadcthos 🐱Jun 14, 2023
@timbray Light mode is fantastic for those days I need to do some light code writing outdoors and there's a fair amount of ambient light.
Show threadSteve Dinn 🇨🇦Jun 14, 2023
@timbray I'm not a fan of the amoled dark modes, but a dusky look is nice.
Show threadJohnOCFIIJun 14, 2023
@timbray I’m on auto except for certain media consumption apps that I set to dark mode.
Show threadDani DanisJun 14, 2023
@timbray
I prefer dark mode, but a few apps are bad at it & force me to switch.
Show threadBoredomFestivalJun 14, 2023
@timbray dark mode is The Devil
Show threadPär BjörklundJun 14, 2023

@timbray dark mode on phone except when using it outside during summer.

Dark mode in IDEs but not rest of the system. My main reason for dark mode is better syntax coloring, it's not as "rich" on a white background

Show threadJeroen Ruigrok van der WervenJun 14, 2023
@timbray Are we talking carefully crafted modes here? Not, like some applications do for dark mode, use white on (crushed) black causing halation and making astigmatism worse for people.
Show threadgam3Jun 14, 2023
@timbray Thank you cell phone batteries for makes so many web sites just a little bit uglier.
Show threadGábor Sándor PappJun 14, 2023
@timbray Light mode, most of the time, has better contrast and readability.
Show threadHelgeJun 14, 2023

@timbray While I'm usually in dark mode, there are some situations in which I use light mode:

1. I haven't had enough headaches today and need more.

2. Just installed new IDE and haven't configured it yet.

3. I need some time off and want my colleagues to think I've lost my mind and need to take a day off.

Show threadPaulJun 14, 2023
@timbray There are light modes and there are burn your retinas out modes
Show threadPolly WaughJun 14, 2023
@timbray
Light because, vision problems
Show threadHughsterJun 14, 2023
@timbray Light mode for everything other than terminals on PC. On phone, light most of the time and dark in darkened rooms and spaces to reduce glare.
Show threadLaurent SansonettiJun 14, 2023
@timbray used to be a light mode guy until I burned my eyes and now I’m dark mode (I even have a browser plug-in that enforces it on all sites) + blue light filters everywhere
Show threadPudding KartoffelJun 14, 2023
@timbray dark mode (and if so then please perfect 000000 dark mode) works only on high contrast displays. I really love it on my 14" OLED laptop, but can't stand any form of dark mode on conventional LCD displays, even high density IPS
Show threadJenJun 14, 2023
@timbray Wait, not everyone just switches everything from light<->dark depending on daytime? :P
Show threadEd DaviesJun 14, 2023

@timbray “Both, it depends” here.

I generally struggle with dark mode. Maybe it's the themes I've tried but I find it really hard to distinguish windows and things.

OTOH, for the Mastodon web UI I prefer the dark theme. Maybe it was just that the light theme (gone, now AFAICS) was poor. Dunno.

Show threadablackpantherJun 14, 2023
@timbray
Show threadRicky RigatoniJun 14, 2023
@timbray I will use both. BUT, if a program's light mode is better then its dark mode I WILL be mad about it. So I voted dark mode since that is my heart's answer.
Show threadBrendan B.Jun 14, 2023
@timbray keep in mind I voted “both” but other than briefly in the morning, it’s light mode the rest of the day.
Show threadMrTomLegit Jun 14, 2023
@timbray Using dark mode all the time, everything starts to look the same. Give me solarized mode.
Show threadSean MurthyJun 14, 2023
@timbray "System Setting"
Show threadWesJun 14, 2023
@timbray usually dark mode but a few applications - Office comes to mind - I toggle to light mode because I can’t use them in dark mode
Show threadHalliganJun 14, 2023
@timbray Light for word processing and spreadsheets. Dark for everything else
Show threadEvan ProdromouJun 15, 2023
@timbray whoa, great engagement on this poll!
Show threadPeter LudemannJun 15, 2023
@timbray Dark for text, light for maps (during daytime).
Show threadAnthony WilliamsJun 15, 2023
@timbray
I tried dark mode for a while. Overall it was a really bad experience; everything was just harder to read and it hurt my eyes after a while. I switched back to light mode, and it felt so much better. For Emacs and terminals I use custom colours with an off-white background to remove the harshness of pure white.