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Comment by MayorMonty | Hacker News Reader

The most important part is preference IMO. People have the right to choose which is right for them, and if they determine that dark mode is better for them (even if they just think it looks better), having a setting in the OS that cascades down to all applications and websites is just a nice feature to have.

This is why prefers-color-scheme is the perfect mechanism for this. Simply swap out your CSS variables and automatically your site is immediately more accessible to people who prefer dark mode.

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Except some people prefer dark UI but light websites. You can't please everyone. There should be a per-site based setting such as microphone access etc. where if prefer-color-scheme: dark is detected, user can toggle it should they choose.

But, as a site owner it's my prerogative on the decisions I make regarding design. It's not always about choice :)

I fall in this category. I like light-on-dark background for code and parts where the text is well-spaced. Mainly because it gives place for more distinguishable colors. However I hate reading blocks of texts in white-on-black. I have set Mail to use light background and I wish there was a way to tell Safari to not communicate a dark preference.

Thank you. Everything else around this dicussion is pointless. If some people like light or dark mode thats up to them to choose. At least we're getting some choice back in our UIs.

I wouldn't agree with that. People may have made their choice based on incorrect research or incorrect assumptions: there is value in discussing the latest research.

It's like saying discussions about whether cigarettes are good or bad for you are pointless, the important thing is that people are able to buy them if they want.

No sorry, that has nothing to-do with research, but taste.

In fact, research like that i call bullshit, its like 'research' food, 'scientists' found out that that people prefer yellow carrots because red is a warning color.

Well I never made a decision based on a pretense that I was going to save my eyes by switching. I just prefer one particular scheme better and find more pleasant to work with all day, it doesn't need to be anymore complicated than that for me.

Your comparison to the cigarette discussion is an interesting point. The article didn't present anything particularly strong in regards to studies around this though so I'm unsure what there is to discuss, aside from speculation on whats good and bad for our eyes. If we're speculating I'd wager regular breaks and getting away from your screen as much as possible is far more impactful that which color scheme you choose.

This is where I land too. My IDE is dark. So are my terminals and slack. Everything else is black on white background. I tried using dark mode in the reading mode on my browsers, but it never felt natural, especially for long form reading.

> even if they just think it looks better

This is the reason why I use dark mode now. Eye strain and saving battery I don't think about. Easier to read? Sure, because it's my preference. I even use lights behind my monitors to counteract the "flash" you get when you switch from a dark IDE to a white web browser. I don't like complete _darkness_, I just like the look.

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