this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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My biggest gripe about the default GNOME settings. Are there any sickos that use black text on white?

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[–] ejs@piefed.social 42 points 1 month ago (2 children)

from a design perspective, consistency is key. light mode is on? then light mode means light mode, and apps should be in light mode.

do you want both your terminal to be dark theme and your gtk apps (including all of the gnome UI) to be light theme at the same time?

do you want settings within every single app in order to change from light mode to dark mode, as opposed to a global toggle that applies to every UI on your computer?

alternatively, is the terminal the only exception to this global toggle, and this design inconsistency by having the default contradict the default of the rest of your desktop environment is your preference?

[–] mosspiglet@discuss.online 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That's exactly how I like it. Terminal, white text on black background. Browser, etc in light mode.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

xfce4-terminal (which is standalone btw) has a "follow system theme" setting. This is something they do right.

[–] nyan@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And I think all programs should follow user theming, regardless of desktop environment, widget set, or anything else. ('Scuse me while I give GTK4 the stinkeye again.) You can never tell whether someone's colour selection is a matter of accessibility rather than just personal preference, so you absolutely should not ignore it. Defaults matter very little as long as you can change them.

[–] shark@lemmy.org 13 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Yeah, stopthemingmy.app feels crazy to me to be coming from the open-source community.

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I first read this as…

Stop them in my app.

[–] Murdoc@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

I did the same thing the other day when I saw "winedlloverrides" (for the program Wine if that helps).

[–] brax@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

I expect more of this kind of nonsense as more and more people come to Linux.

[–] Obin@feddit.org 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is why we ask respectfully that our applications not be themed.

Ok, just skimmed the page, but if I read it right, your apps are for screenshots, not people. That's a choice, but ok, I wasn't going to use them anyway, judging from the screenshots. May I suggest renaming the site pleasedontusemy.app, for clarity?

[–] njordomir@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

This is a great explanation of what drove me away from Gnome into the loving arms of KDE. I used to be a Gnome 2 die hard. I don't like Gnome 3, but I'm still glad it exists because some of you guys do.

I need a certain level of customizability.

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[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Are there any sickos that use black text on white?

hello!

black text on white with comic sans. lol

[–] Giloron@programming.dev 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A variable width font in a terminal???

Use this instead: https://tosche.net/fonts/comic-code

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[–] doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I can see comic sans making it more usable

[–] flameleaf@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

How? It's not even a monospace font

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

it helps if you're middle aged and some characters like "l", "1" and "I" look too much alike for comfort.

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are there any sickos that use black text on white?

IIRC that’s the default on macOS if the theme is in light mode instead of dark mode. So probably.

I'll occasionally switch to that as it shows up better on projection screens for presentations, but it's not my default.

[–] Cekan14@lemmy.org 15 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Are there any sickos that use black text on white?

Hi.

I think the other way around: I read black letters on white paper when I read a book; why shouldn't it be the same on a screen? I find the black background more fatiguing for the eyes.

[–] XenGi@feddit.org 9 points 1 month ago

A book doesn't actively shine light at you. That being said, all colours are beautiful. Don't shame peoples taste or use-cases. Default background color should simply change with the dark mode setting.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

why shouldn’t it be the same on a screen?

ooh ooh I know!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model

On paper, you use the subtractive colour model, so the light is reflected off the page, and the text is taking away from what's reflected.
On a screen, you use the additive colour model, so seeing brighter colours means more lights have to be shined directly into your eyes.

If you are finding white/bright text on dark backgrounds difficult to read, adjust your font size settings/thicknesses or check your eyesight out.

[–] Liketearsinrain@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago

Most studies I read have light background (and dark text) as the preferable choice. Most people use too high a brightness setting.

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[–] ThomasWilliams@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The only reason computers had a black background was with picture tubes the flyback signal would trigger if the luminesce level was high causing the picture to roll.

Once they'd fixed that (eg MacIntosh), they went back to white.

[–] thlibos@thelemmy.club 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I change mine to white text on blue background a la Commodore 64.

[–] wibble@reddthat.com 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Black on light grey. AmigaOS represent

[–] prex@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oooh! I was orange(ish) text on black a la Wyse but I might change for a bit

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[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Green text on a black background with a background image that makes the terminal window look like it has scan lines.

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Try having astigmatism, white text on a black background is physically painful

[–] mastod0n@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I have astigmatism and the only time this gets problematic is when I don't adjust the brightness accordingly for dark mode.

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[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

astigmatist with shitty glasses here. Make your font bolder or bigger

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[–] doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I do have astigmatism funnily enough

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[–] AstroLightz@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

I like to use white on a transparent/glossy color.

Kind of like this (very old pic I know):

[–] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It makes sense to use the same setting for this, at least by default, as for dark and light mode in general. Why would you want your terminal dark but your email client bright?

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Because when you're terminaling, you're hacking, hence dark. When you're emailing, you're officeing, hence light.

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[–] PanArab@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago

Every terminal program I used allows you to set its colours independent of the global theme.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Guess it depends on the theme. MacOS had it since OSX. FVWM back in the day. Just changes from time to time. If I'm in a bright ass room, sometimes it can be more comfortable.

[–] ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 month ago

I vastly prefer suntan background and blackish font. White on black makes my eyes tired.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 month ago

Pure black background makes it unreadable for me. When I encountered this on websites, i use the Firefox function to turn it into a black on white background theme, so my eyes don't hurt reading longer text. Same logic applies to the terminal, especially when programming. I think pure black as a background shouldn't be default. However I do actually appreciate darker tones as background, but its never pure black. It depends on the combination of colors for text (and on the rest of the system theme).

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 month ago

Not black text on white, but light grey/purple on dark grey was pretty popular with Sun Microsystems. I think OG Apple Macintosh used Black on White, or at least close enough colors.

That said I use something like this for work.

[–] savvywolf@pawb.social 4 points 1 month ago

Semitransparent backgrounds for terminals are the worst. I don't mean to kinkshame, but it, imo, should not be a default.

[–] toastal@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

And make it #000 pure black if you do… I have written about why

[–] db2@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Transparent is superior, fight me.

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Before I fight you, I have one question:

With or without background blur?

[–] db2@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Without, I'm still watching what's happening in that background window.

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

You're not invited to my birthday party anymore

[–] db2@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago
[–] bright_side_@piefed.world 3 points 1 month ago

I... like it 👀

[–] darklamer@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago

You're wrong.

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