Feedback to naws on the forum

niel

i have opened this thread for not only my comment to naws, but also anybody else that has comments, suggestions, ideas, etc.

anyway, i have to comment on the pure white background while trying to read the black print. the bright background is a bit of a strain on my eyes while trying to read. i don't really remember how you had it setup before, but i remember it wasn't this much of a strain. to read the many new posts every day is difficult enough and not just for me as a moderator as many members read all posts too.

Windsun

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Do you mean the white outside the main frame of the forum, or the forum itself?

Ages ago when I first set this up, I had it set for max width of 100%, but now with so many wide screen monitors being used (my new one is HD - about 2000 wide) it spreads out so much that it is hard to read, so I set it to a max width of the header graphic, around 1240.

If your screen is over 1260px or so wide, then it will have some - or a lot - of white space outside the forum.

niel

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

i have a bit of space outside and shouldn't be much of a problem, but it is all white inside as well. i can only speak for myself on my difficulty in seeing things well. it could be just me too as my eyes aren't what they used to be, but the high glare of bright white causes a bit of strain when i try reading the print.

BB.

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Yesterday, the inside of the post and text boxes seem to be pure white...

Before and today, the seem to have a slight pale blue cast. Does seem less "glaring to me" this way.

-Bill

notsobright

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

I havnt noticed anything out of the ordinary but then Im not here as often as the mods either.

however, I do agree that white background w/black text is harder on the eyes and to read.

I would like to propose/suggest a (another) change. a black or dark grey background w/light grey text.

not only because it is easy on the eyes but it would also help all users involved conserve fractions of energy. individualy, this wont make much difference but it might overall.

Ive started trying to reduce my own consumption of energy more recently. switched from CFL to LED lighting and started using the laptop instead of the desktop for internet activity. with having less lighting in the area, this is when I started to notice that forums and other websites with white or bright backgrounds are harder on the eyes. it may also be because when using the laptop the screen is much closer or a combination of these but I hadnt really noticed this before using the CFL lighting and desktops w/ both LCD and tube type displays.

Im hesitant to make this request for another change on the forum. I probably wouldnt have if it was only for my benifit but after considering that it would actually result in less current draw for all users that connect here I decided to mention it since it really could add up in the long run, no?

I can only wonder if every website on the internet changed to dark background how significant the decrease in energy use would be..

well that will never happen (makes too much sense) and if I ever mentioned any thing of the sort at other forums I am a member of I would be ridiculed and flamed for being a tree hugger and such but here I know most everyone can see where Im coming from with this allthough now I am looking into tweeking my browser so that I can change all the bright sites to dark anyway.

so what do y'all think? anyone actually prefer the bright backgrounds and if so, why?

thanks

Ralph Day

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

No longer all white inside. When writing a reply I notice the difference between what I'm writing and the posts background. I like it.

niel

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

my opinion on notsobright's comment is one of it would probably work well for me in being able to see things better and save some energy in the process. this would be like a negative picture of what we currently see. unfortunately, there's more than just text on here that it might detract from too i suppose they could be windowed in a band of white, but that might be expecting too much of a solar site as i doubt those at naws are i t or pc experts.

along these lines larger lettering could also have the same benefit of readability without us having to change our present resolution settings, but if that's tried i wouldn't go more than up one more notch in font size.

i'm just kicking thoughts here and please feel free to comment on this.

Cariboocoot

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Niel;

Have you tried changing the angle of view? Or is that a problem for your eyes?
I notice on my screen the background is white if viewed straight-on, but pale blue if the screen is tilted slightly (posting box doesn't change; just the final posts). That could be my screen, or my eyes.
I also hit CTRL+ (Firefox) and up the size, as it's pretty miserably small on a 7" netbook.

BB.

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

OK, I have figured out how to change forground/background colors here at the forum.

• Load / Use Firefox browswer
• Install a new "Add-On" called Styles Tuner 2.0

Restart the browser, go to the forum and pick a thread you would like to change the style of.

Click on Tools/Styles Tuner/Styles Tuner. Click on the left button (pen/"edit mode")

Then click on a field you would like to change. You now have sliders for the color and intensity you can adjust.

I have still not gotten the hang of editing the stuff... But if the background/text really bothers you--Try playing with the tools.

It only affects the website you are currently adjusting--so it is not like going into the preferences window and changing the settings for your entire browser.

I am not quite sure I understand the adjustment interface... It appears to be "relative"--As soon as you leave one adjustment and come back--the sliders are set back to the middle--So now it adjust your adjusted settings. A bit strange and hard to tweak.

I am not sure I would suggest this first add-on for everyone. It turns out that there are lots of "styles" in the "simple" wind-sun website--so there are a lot of elements to "adjust" to get a consistent page (and sliders do not allow you to simply cut and paste setting to multiple elements (that I have seen yet).

There is also another firefox add-on called Color That Site... I am going to give that one a shot now.

-Bill

BB.

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

The second tool (color that site) seems to be much easier to use--but has an almost fatal flaw too...

Some / Most of the Text is Dark on Light background for this forum--but some of it (headers/main links) are Black on Light background.

If you choose to invert the text for Light on dark, the other text inverts for dark on light... So you get mostly light text on a dark background (you set backgrounds with a different option)--but a bit of the Links/Headers is also black on a dark background--And I have not figured out how to change that... You are left with the option of Light/dark text on a middle shaded background so you can read all of the text on a page.

By the way, for the Color that Site add-on, you have to go to settings and apply them to the whole www.wind-sun.com domain--the default is just to the page you are working on.

Anyway, have fun and see if any of this is helpful for you. I am not sure I will keep this add-on either.

-Bill

niel

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

bb and coot,
thanks for those suggestions as both do help. i'll have to play some more with the coloring program, but what a difference that makes and enlarging the print on top of that is really easy on my eyes. if anybody else has similar suggestions i'd like to hear them as i'm not the only one who would like this i'm sure.

creakndale

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

If you're looking at a TV or PC monitor and you're in a dark room it might be eye strain from the contrast. It feels like tunnel vision with a dark peripheral and high brightness in the center of one's field of view. I have been affected by this phenomenon and by adding some light behind the monitor the problem is greatly reduced.

creakndale

niel

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

i know it's been some time since you posted on the light contrast, but rest assured that was not my problem. it is a good suggestion for others that may be having the contrast problem though. this even applies to watching tv sometimes as a bit of background light can take some strain off of viewing it.

dagr51

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Saw the notice that NAWS has a Facebook page, but cannot for the life of me find a way to "Friend" NAWS. Am I doing something wrong or are you not accepting friend requests?

russ

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

I checked the Facebook page this morning and found the same thing.

The only thing close was something like 'sign up'. When I clicked that and entered my email it told me I was already on the list.

rick

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Hmm...I'm not sure what the problem is. My guess is that Facebook is having some kind of problem. We've had our FB page for a couple of months now and we've got over 130 people on our friends list so far. I'm assuming that anyone trying to follow us on FB must have their own FB account. If not, that may be the problem. I also posted the FB link on our store's website at the top of the page: http://www.solar-electric.com/
Lets give it a few days to be sure the problem is not on FB's end. If it's still not working, we'll try sending you an invite to our FB page or something.

russ

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

I have a Facebook account - visit it daily as my daughter uses it - an easy way to keep contact 7 time zones away.

Russ

dagr51

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Finally got the first NAWS post on my Facebook page this afternoon. Thanks!

vtmaps

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

I just saw a post from a new poster. Even though I can see his first post, the forum shows his posting total = 0. --vtMaps
Attachment not found.

bmet

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

I have to agree with Niel. Perhaps its my middle-aged eyes, but the overall brightness of the background is hard on my eyes. It's funny, that laptop computers use to have a manual brightness adjustment, wishing I had that when I visit here.

niel wrote: »

i have opened this thread for not only my comment to naws, but also anybody else that has comments, suggestions, ideas, etc.

anyway, i have to comment on the pure white background while trying to read the black print. the bright background is a bit of a strain on my eyes while trying to read. i don't really remember how you had it setup before, but i remember it wasn't this much of a strain. to read the many new posts every day is difficult enough and not just for me as a moderator as many members read all posts too.

Cariboocoot

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

vtmaps wrote: »

I just saw a post from a new poster. Even though I can see his first post, the forum shows his posting total = 0. --vtMaps

That happens when a spammer gets deleted in a certain way and they already have a post up. I've removed it.

niel

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

vtmaps wrote: »

I just saw a post from a new poster. Even though I can see his first post, the forum shows his posting total = 0. --vtMaps
Attachment not found.

that's because he's listed as a spammer out of pakistan.

Skippy

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

bmet wrote: »

laptop computers use to have a manual brightness adjustment . . .

You can't adjust your brightness ? I know on all my laptops, they have "hotkeys", all you have to do is download and install the drivers for them. By pressing the function key "FN" and f9 or f10 makes it brighter or dimmer . . and yes, it helps alot with the all white background.

inetdog

Re: Feedback to naws on the forum

Skippy wrote: »

You can't adjust your brightness ? I know on all my laptops, they have "hotkeys", all you have to do is download and install the drivers for them. By pressing the function key "FN" and f9 or f10 makes it brighter or dimmer . . and yes, it helps alot with the all white background.

On a MacBook, it is even easier. The F1 and F2 position keys are lower and raise brightness respectively. No modifier key required. If you really want to produce F1 or F2 instead, you have to use the "Fn" key as a modifier. The exact opposite of non-Apple machines.