Jon Robson

Dark mode’s bright future: How we hope dark mode will transform Wikipedia accessibility jdlrobson.com/posts/2024-07-… Wikipedia dark mode is finally here for the summer!

The cogs in the big machine of Wikipedia

#wikipediayir has improved with lots of new fun facts to explore about your editing this year! Most of my editing this year was relating to the new dark mode feature. What did you get up to? wikipediayir.netlify.app

New favourite Wikipedia illustration. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_…

@max77sabers Hey sorry for the delayed reply. There was a lot of careful discussions here internally, but I'm happy to report a change going out next week that will lighten the link colours. Preview at en.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/?vectornightmo… More info: #Considering_dark_mode" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">mediawiki.org/wiki/Design_Sy…

@jdlrobson Jon I can say with very high confidence now that I've been using Wikipedia's dark mode for a few weeks now, the blue chosen for link text is definitely too dark/the contrast ratio is too low. And it's also making the difference between white text and blue text too much

@philhawksworth @Netlify Congrats Phil! Sure whatever you do next will make the web even better! Thanks for your work bringing static sites back into fashion!❤️

@max77sabers I will pass this feedback on to our design team!

@jdlrobson and some indirect comparisons. It really is quite a dark color Wikipedia is using for links, it hearts readability because too large of a difference between the white text and the purple/blue link text. And of course contrast ratio too (purple/blue against the dark background)

Dark mode’s bright future: How we hope dark mode will transform Wikipedia accessibility jdlrobson.com/posts/2024-07-… Wikipedia dark mode is finally here for the summer!

@LeoVasanko @Wikipedia Automatic as default was the plan, but as I said in the blog post, we have been more conservative in the rollout by marking this as "beta" for now given problems with content. The control supports editors who need to switch between modes for testing and is generally useful.

@Wikipedia Please make automatic the default setting. In fact, you shouldn't need a toggle button at all because the user can set his browser/device to use whichever mode is preferred, and all well designed websites follow that automatically (CSS prefers-color-scheme).

Yes, you read that right. Dark mode is (finally!) here. One of the most requested features, dark mode improves accessibility and reduces eye strain for readers and volunteer editors across Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. While creating dark mode may seem simple, it required overcoming tricky and unique challenges particular to Wikipedia, such as respecting and maintaining accessibility of user-generated content. The Wikimedia Foundation’s engineering teams worked closely with communities to bring dark mode to light. It is now available on select wikis, and will soon be deployed to others. Learn more about the benefits of dark mode, the challenges in making it a reality, and how you can contribute. ➡️ w.wiki/Agzk

@Jan_RBLX @Wikipedia More like bbiab. We are working with editors to find better solutions here.

@Wikipedia Dark mode exists: SVG transparent background images has left the chat.

@mbenguigui_ @LoGravityTweets @Wikipedia (Also sorry for the unintentional dark mode pun 🫠)

@mbenguigui_ @LoGravityTweets @Wikipedia I can confirm it is not actively maintained. We keep the lights on and it gets language updates but that's it. No significant updates in over 4 years. gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/q/status:mer…

@susko33 @Wikipedia We continue working with editors to find good generic solutions that dont break their content. For example many soccer teams rely on an svg outline like commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kit_… and apply a background. You can fix issues like this via edit btn e.g. en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti…

@Wikipedia I'm glad official dark mode is here, better than using 3rd party extensions, but like c'mon. This is a low bar, and it's not like it hasn't been a problem in the Android app with dark theme.

@YuriSizov Yeh we did consider adjusting colors automatically and this was the biggest trade off. These can be fixed on the article level by a simple edit but given the scale of the problem we are hoping to do this better. #Apply_filters_to_dark_images_with_transparent_background" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">mediawiki.org/w/index.php?ti…

@YuriSizov We are working with editors to find the best solution for fixing SVGs. There is no automated approach here. Syntax highlighting was one of those things we had to deprioritize but there is a bug ticket explaining how to fix it, we just need someone to do it.🤞

@firt If you are looking for it on the spanish versiob unfortunately that is currently only available to logged in users. We are still working with the editing community in the spanish language to get this ready.

Wikipedia is announcing dark mode. I don't see it, though.

@firt Sorry you are not seeing it right now. It is still rolling out but you should be able to find it on the right side of the screen on the home page. You do not need an account. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

dark mode on the desktop website of Wikipedia is now available for everyone 1. go to en.wikipedia.org 2. "Appearance" menu on the right > Color > Dark #darkmode

@domi_twr @Wikipedia It is available on German Wikipedia to logged in users using the mobile or Vector 2022 skin.

@Wikipedia Well, not on the German Wikipedia...

@EmpanadasVR 🙏

@jdlrobson Promise kept.

I will donate more money to wikipedia if they enable a dark mode on desktop browsers.

Psst psst dark mode now slowly rolling out on desktop. We are delaying a few more languages until tomorrow. More information at night-mode-checker.wmcloud.org

As of 30 minutes ago, dark mode is now available for all registered accounts in all languages on desktop Wikipedia. If all goes to plan people without accounts will be getting it tomorrow.