+klossner Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 The "send email" page is an accessibility nightmare. The box in which to compose text uses dark tiny gray letters on a light gray background. Those of us with old eyes cannot read this. Please give us an accessibility option to use black letters on white background at a visible font size. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Classic case of 20-something driving a desk. Low contrast user interface isn't just a gc.com problem. One of the GPS manufacturers has taken to that fashion as well. Quote Link to comment
Moun10Bike Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Can you post a screenshot of what you are seeing? The form was not designed as gray-on-gray, but dark gray on white. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Inspecting the elements of the Send Email page, I see a color of #7E7D7A, a font size of about 14px, and a background color of #FFF (white). The font size matches the minimum font size that I've configured in my current browser, but since it is calculated and not exactly 14px (14.0667px), some browsing environments may not give crisp clean fonts. And I've used larger minimum font sizes in other environments, so 14px could be too small for some users in some environments. And the legibility of #7E7D7A on white varies quite a bit, depending on what color profile I set my display to use (e.g., Internet, or Text, or Movies, or Games). Quote Link to comment
+K13 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Is there something taboo against using black twxt on white backgrounds? That makes text universally easier to see. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Using black-on-white for body text isn't kewl. It's more legible, but it isn't kewl. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) Can you post a screenshot of what you are seeing? The form was not designed as gray-on-gray, but dark gray on white. This is what I get in a couple of different platforms and browsers: "Send Email", gray on a white background: This Forum: Google Search Page (Not Groundspeak's site, just an example of the pervasiveness of kewl faded text): Edited July 8, 2015 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+K13 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Maybe the gray text is a conservation thing.... SAVE THE BLACK PIXELS! Quote Link to comment
+HHL Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 is this kewl? The coding kids might say yes. Actually, it's bad web design. Hans Quote Link to comment
+The A-Team Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 is this kewl? The coding kids might say yes. Actually, it's bad web design. Hans Yep, that combination fails all web accessibility tests. The grey-on-white on the Send Email page fails most web accessibility tests. It does pass the >18 pt test, though, so all Groundspeak needs to do is increase the font size of the Send Email form to >18 pt. Then they can still have their "kewl" colour while also making it more readable. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Classic case of 20-something driving a desk. Low contrast user interface isn't just a gc.com problem. One of the GPS manufacturers has taken to that fashion as well. Yup. Those 20-somethings discriminate against the visually handicapped. This website isn't too bad, though I don't like the small lighter grey subtitles on the fora, (See kunarion's post.) Being over 60, having had cataract surgery in both eyes that transformed my 20/1200 vision to 20/20 is great in many ways. But plastic does not focus. My bifocals are set for 24", and my distance for 'over four feet.' I can see the bottom of the screen well. But when everything pops up to the top of the screen, I cannot see them without cricking my neck up, and that is painful with the arthritis of the neck. (Hint: please put the tabs back to the left side of the screen. I cannot read them at the top of the screen!) I do not use the horrible message center. (I like e-mail! The way it was for the past ten years!) So I cannot comment on that page. But I find this website fairly easy for the visually handicapped. They could increase the font size in a few places, and increase the color contrast in many places. But it's not too bad. As opposed to our programming at work, where everything pops up to the top of the screen. That is definitely discriminatory against the visually handicapped. Two good things about the cataract surgery/lens correction: I can read the time on the clock radio at night! And I don't have to wear Coke bottle glasses anymore!! Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Sounds like you got fairly well squared away there, Harry. I'm over 60, but still in denial. Actually, not so much that as the fact that my vision seems to be changing again. I'm back to monovision (reason unknown) so my left eye is now working for normal reading most days and my right eye works well for distance. Sounds crazy, but after a bit, your brain knows how to throw out the out-focus information and concentrate on the 'good' side for whatever your objective. Some people actually have Lasik surgery to create this condition. Nothing ever looks perfect, but everything looks acceptable. Net/Net, you wind up with an effective 20/30, give or take, for whatever conditions exist. Anyway - back to topic, or at least closer to it. Human vision depends upon several factors, but if you're into cameras, you'll appreciate why a dark text on light background helps a lot of folks. 'Depth of focus' or 'Depth of field' is in no small part a function of aperture size. For cameras, it's the size of the hole in the front of the camera. For humans, it's the size of the opening of the pupil. It's one of two reasons that many people read better in brighter light -- their pupil reduces in size, creating better depth of focus. In short, for those that wear reading glasses, brighter light has the effect of making your arms seem a bit longer . Your eyes are able to focus over a longer range of distances. So a white background where the LCD is really pumping out the illumination can cause pupil constriction, and better depth of focus for the reader. Moving to the next variable, higher contrast, leaves us with a more or less ideal black on white for reading -- at least as it pertains to people with only the usual farsightedness that starts to creep up on many after the age of 40 or so. Toss in astigmatism and things change a bit, though. Quote Link to comment
+ZipnLoc Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 The "send email" page is an accessibility nightmare. The box in which to compose text uses dark tiny gray letters on a light gray background. Those of us with old eyes cannot read this. Please give us an accessibility option to use black letters on white background at a visible font size. Quote Link to comment
+ZipnLoc Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 lif you cant read the message letters, you must have problems finding nano caches.....ha ha ha sorry its a joke but i could not avoid sending it i am 73 and i wear glasses hi hi hi hi Quote Link to comment
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