The trend towards unreadable web pages and documents

[jinnantonnixx]

This morning, I downloaded a technical paper from Microsoft.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/4/C/44CDEF0E-7924-4787-A56A-16261691ACE3/Microsoft_Security_Intelligence_Report_Volume_19_A_Profile_Of_A_Persistent_Adversary_English.pdf

 

I started reading it and pretty soon I thought that my eyes were failing.

 

No, my eyes are fine. They'd published a document using light grey text on a white background. WTF? Legibility is everything in publishing, and this just blows. I had to Crtl-A to select-all to read the stupid thing.

 

This trend is really beginning to annoy me.

 

This is a must-read for trendy web publishers.

 

https://backchannel.com/how-the-web-became-unreadable-a781ddc711b6#.yd7ngexr1

Edited November 3, 2016 by jinnantonnixx

[bald_pig]

That's perfectly readable here?

[jinnantonnixx]

That's perfectly readable here?

 

Admittedly, it's better full screen than a smallish window which I originally used. However, it's a strain on my screen in my lighting. I wish that they'd used black text. No excuses, it should be more legible.

Edited November 3, 2016 by jinnantonnixx

[elsiegee40]

There's been something recently about this trend - the failure to have enough contrast between the text and the background does make it hard for many to read.

 

Apparently Apple's own wisdom on the subject of getting it right fails to meet the standards that it recommends

[Arthur]

The text in the PDF looks dark grey to me and perfectly legible.

[Lonix]

That's perfectly readable here?

Same. I can't see any issues at all.

[jinnantonnixx]

What is this? You're all supposed to agree with me!

[sted]

What is this? You're all supposed to agree with me!

 

its not the clearest thing ive ever read and id prefer it in straight b&w but i can read it

 

is that closer?

[jinnantonnixx]

There's been something recently about this trend - the failure to have enough contrast between the text and the background does make it hard for many to read.

 

Apparently Apple's own wisdom on the subject of getting it right fails to meet the standards that it recommends

 

That's right. If your office lighting is good and your screens are well calibrated, you might be able to read the documents as the designers intended.

 

I'll re-post my link to this trend in case it was missed.

 

https://backchannel.com/how-the-web-became-unreadable-a781ddc711b6#.yd7ngexr1

[bald_pig]

It might be worth checking your monitor settings?

[jinnantonnixx]

its not the clearest thing ive ever read and id prefer it in straight b&w but i can read it

 

is that closer?

 

It'll have to do.

 

It seems I have few compatriots for today's crusade.

[arwen]

I absolutely hate the trend most companies seem to be going on of putting grey text on white backgrounds. I hate it. Some greys are easier to read, but all give me eye strain after a while.overlay

[localzuk]

It really depends on the monitor and lighting. My old monitors display that document a lot more poorly than my shiny 6 month old one. I also have a brand new LED panel light directly above my desk so lighting is superb here. With the old strip lights, things were more difficult to deal with also.

[jinnantonnixx]

My monitors aren't the best, and the lighting isn't great either.

The grey, trendy documents probably look sublime in the designer's studio, but in the real world there are so many variables - as I can see from the replies - that the viewers experience is very inconsistent. Well, mine is at any rate.

Edited November 3, 2016 by jinnantonnixx

[unixman_again]

jinnantonnixx is correct though, there is a trend for sysadmins to fiddle with perfectly good websites and make them unusable. Excessive scrolling is one usual change they make. The Birmingham Mail updated their site yesterday morning. It was never been the greatest site but as part of the upgrade, they made the images huge and now you have to scroll forever to get to what you want. They are still using very low res images which were OK when they were about 1/4 of the size they are now, but look carp in the new large economy size.

 

I think part of the problem is they expect you to use their site on your phone, which is all well and good, but often rejigged sites don't work at all on a phone.

[sted]

jinnantonnixx is correct though, there is a trend for sysadmins to fiddle with perfectly good websites and make them unusable. Excessive scrolling is one usual change they make. The Birmingham Mail updated their site yesterday morning. It was never been the greatest site but as part of the upgrade, they made the images huge and now you have to scroll forever to get to what you want. They are still using very low res images which were OK when they were about 1/4 of the size they are now, but look carp in the new large economy size.

 

I think part of the problem is they expect you to use their site on your phone, which is all well and good, but often rejigged sites don't work at all on a phone.

 

just look at twitter over 1/2 the page is wasted on a 16:9 screen you could litterally have 1 tweet on the left and another on the right (maybe even a 3rd )and still have room for adverts (so it read)

1 2

3 4

5 6

...

 

[mikeprice]

Reads fine here - to start with

 

when I tried to read a whole page it started to become a pain - contrast is OK for giving th eeffect but 'could do better' in terms of delivering the info

[jinnantonnixx]

Reads fine here - to start with

 

when I tried to read a whole page it started to become a pain - contrast is OK for giving th eeffect but 'could do better' in terms of delivering the info

 

Yes! This is my point. At first glance, it's OK. But I had to struggle to actually read and comprehend the article. It was hard work on the eyes.