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Ask HN: Why do text posts have such low contrast?
I'm curious why this color was chosen.

They look like they're flagged comments. I know my eyesight is getting worse as I get older but I can't be the only one who needs a custom css just to be able to comfortably read the posts.

I know this does not answer your question but you can change any of the colors with uBlock filters. I can share mine but I must add the disclaimer it might make your eyes bleed. Adjust the colors based on your own preferences. I set my "topcolor" to #000000 in the UI and then the following goes into uBlock Origin "My Filters". A couple of those may not do anything any more.

    # HN Color
    news.ycombinator.com##html:style(background-color: #011 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com###hnmain:style(background-color: #011 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.toptext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.age:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c00.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.cdd.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c9C.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c73.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c5a.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.cbe.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c88.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.cae.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.cce.commtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.comhead > a:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.comhead:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.hnuser:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext > a:link:style(color: #588 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext > a:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext:style(color: #191 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.title > a:style(color: #191 !important; background-color: #011 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:link:style(color: #588 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:visited:style(color: #255 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:hover:style(color: #191 !important; background-color: #011 !important)
I didn't know you could do that with ublock. Thanks!
  • jampa
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> Posts without URLs get penalized. If you post with a link and then add the text as a first comment you have more visibility.

Source: https://github.com/minimaxir/hacker-news-undocumented?tab=re...

It’s definitely a rookie mistake to post a text comment when you want to explain a link, half because HN is that way and half because views are precious and if somebody visits your site it should ‘click’ with them (e.g. think of how much ads cost!)
  • pvg
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  • 1 day ago
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I'm guessing it's to somewhat discourage text posts - more of a linksharing messageboard than a blogging platform with a commenting system.
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