From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: util-linux-owner@vger.kernel.org Received: from mail1.vodafone.ie ([213.233.128.43]:50024 "EHLO mail1.vodafone.ie" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1755658AbbBLLOP (ORCPT ); Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:14:15 -0500 Message-ID: <54DC88BF.5040702@draigBrady.com> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2015 11:04:31 +0000 From: =?windows-1252?Q?P=E1draig_Brady?= MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Felix Miata , util-linux@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: tty[1-6]: colors a negative accessibility/usability trend References: <54DC762E.2090404@earthlink.net> In-Reply-To: <54DC762E.2090404@earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Sender: util-linux-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On 12/02/15 09:45, Felix Miata wrote: > Red, blue and green in particular produce poor contrast on the black > background of a typical framebuffer screen. Agreed, though the bold variants are better. Better again are 256 color variants. The Linux console lagged xterms in support, but does support it now. > As these screens are configured > as functional twins of those modes we find ourselves in at rescue time, it > amounts to an unfortunate and unnecessary accessibility/usability obstacle > that is IMO is a subset of a larger general problem found under the moniker > A11Y[1]. > > A very good, very recent article discusses the mindset that leads to default > settings that thwart use by the disadvantaged[2], however slight that > impediment may be. I agree completely. color is useful but one has to be very careful in how it's used. ls --color for example is too aggressive IMHO, and I adjust to highlight rather than color with: http://www.pixelbeat.org/scripts/l I've been pusing back upstream against adding new color combinations. > With util-linux >= 2.25 we can turn colors off via > > # touch /etc/terminal-colors.d/disable [3] > > for some commands, but far too few. It should apply to all, including many > outside the purview of util-linux, and more importantly, do so by default. coreutils will keep this scheme in mind too. thanks, Pádraig.