Re: bad UI defaults

[Dave Love]

Miles Bader <address@hidden> writes:

> On Thu, Apr 17, 2003 at 02:41:49PM +0100, Dave Love wrote:
> > I think are bad defaults.
> > 
> >  * The `mode-line-inactive' face is bright compared with `mode-line',
> >    and different to the menu bar and scroll bar colours.  That means
> >    that with two windows -- my most common configuration -- the eye is
> >    drawn to the wrong window.
> 
> I disagree completely;

OK, `my eye', but I'm surprised if the cognitive effect is unique to
me.

> what makes something stand out is not
> lightness-versus-darkness, but _contrast_ -- the lighter inactive mode-line
> face is closer to the default background color of white, and thus stands out
> less than the darker active mode-line.

Well, the inactive mode line contrasts with the rest of the
frameworkery and has greater contrast within it.  Whatever, I found
the effect disconcerting.  Similarly for the changed behaviour of the
graphical mail indicator after the customizable prominence I
originally provided got removed.

> Note that if you use a black background, the brightness of the
> active/inactive mode-line faces are (essentially) swapped, 

I assumed so, but I was just commenting on what I saw with largely
default settings of everything.  (I should have said with sawfish
under X.)