My god, this new design is ugly.

[Nikolai]

Apolyton is an english word. The first letter is an 'A'. And yes, it looks like a delta, which is a nod.
It's a logo. And why would anybody read a greek letter first and then continue to read the other letters as latin letters?

I'm am able to read Greek, and yes, we knew this was a delta in Greek as well.

I don't understand how you guys have troubles reading white on black. Maybe it's my screen?
On my screen it looks really good and sharp. But if it doesn't on other screens, then that may be the problem.

The color scheme is HORRIBLE. Hard and tiring to read. I avoid visiting Poly when I'm tired. I avoid visiting as often as I otherwise would. It's that bad.

[MxM]

And count me +1 on the ugly triangle for an A. It's a Delta. In a Greek word. That's also very unsettling and if you ever read Greek, it's really ugly to watch and even read, because it's like you've now written 'Dpolyton'.

Now you spoiled for me too. I am dyslexic and I did not realize that there is no A after Delta. Now if I lock I see Dpolyton.
And while I can not read Greek, Delta is common symbol used in mathematics (I am an engineer), so it is easily recognizable. I like the delta itself, but dislike its use as a first letter.

May be one can use Delta as an emblem for the site and still type the whole word Apolyton? Like one would have the large triangle and then Apolyton along the bottom.

[Closey]

Please provide an alternative to the white text on a black background - it's really unpleasant to look at and will probably create difficulties for people with visual problems.

Yeah, that's basically it for me. I think the background images would look nicer if the actual forum was white (or at least some light shade of some color) instead of black as well. Less of a contrast. The actual images themselves are great though.. it's just the stark contrasts that are issues to me.

[techumseh]

My initial reaction was "Hooray, they finally did something with the site!" I like the logo, and I'm glad that there is the widescreen option. But as I mainly (only?) use the forums, I find that they are not friendly or inviting. It's partly the newness of the interface, which I'm sure I'll get used to. But mainly it's the color scheme which is somewhat repelling. It's something that they might use on a website for a horror movie. Dramatic, yes, but dark and forboding. Not inviting. So I find myself avoiding going the Scenario League forums, which I've visited 3 times a day or more for 11 years.

Robert, you want inviting. It's about getting more traffic to the site, and the best way to do that is to listen to your members. Thanks for taking this on. We appreciate the work you and your colleagues do in order to provide Civ fans with a place to go.

[Dinner]

The font size needs to be larger and we need a forum lite style which has black letters on a white background.

[Case]

I don't understand how you guys have troubles reading white on black. Maybe it's my screen?
On my screen it looks really good and sharp. But if it doesn't on other screens, then that may be the problem.

There's nothing wrong with my monitor - it's a matter of personal preferences.

[hexagonian]

As a professional graphic artist, this look makes me cringe...

[MxM]

There's nothing wrong with my monitor - it's a matter of personal preferences.

I honestly think it goes deeper than preference. It is simply difficult to read, especially who does not have 20/20 vision (though I do, and still it is difficult for me to read).
It is like saying that it is matter of personal preference that people do not want to have a website with most information displayed in font size 7pt.

[Robert]

Do more people agree with MxM that the font size (Apart from the colours) is a problem?
(ie. is it easier to read if you do "control-mouse_wheel_up")

[Closey]

Do more people agree with MxM that the font size (Apart from the colours) is a problem?
(ie. is it easier to read if you do "control-mouse_wheel_up")

The font size is fine to me

[Case]

Robert, the theme of this thread seems to be that more options are needed - is it possible to add extra skins? (eg, one with black text on a white background and another with larger text as a minimum)

[Robert]

Yes, we are going to provide more styles. Not sure if it'll be black on white (that's pretty boring).
I'm sorry if I had not made that clear already

I'm just still very interested in how it comes that many of you claim that it's hard to read this style.
I have zero problems, I'm most probably the one who's the most around on Apolton right now, reading everything. And I have none of the problems you mention. So I wonder what it is.

Is it my screen? Are my eyes better? Am I just weird, am I in denial, or perhaps are some of you copying each other's complains, are there some dogma's like "no white on black", and that this style just never got a chance from some of you.
That's what I'm trying to find out.

[Rempedaalops]

I actually find that I can read longer with white on black, because white background is more tiresome for my eyes after a while, because of the brightness. I have no problems either.

[LDiCesare]

The site's hard to read because there's a lot of confusing colorful stuff everywhere around the screen, and white on black doesn't attract the eye.
The full width and removal of background image make it easier to read to begin with. I just tried to put the default image and width back and made a mistake when trying to switch back again to no-image because the image in the back and on the sides is so too distracting.
There are a few details, like: When posting, putting your mouse on top of an icon (B for bold for instance) makes it white with something white inside, which is impossible to read. Some of the icons have tooltips, which means you can wait a second to guess what it is you were selecting, but some don't.

Is it my screen? Are my eyes better? Am I just weird, am I in denial, or perhaps are some of you copying each other's complains, are there some dogma's like "no white on black", and that this style just never got a chance from some of you.
That's what I'm trying to find out.

Not that it matters, you know. People find it hard to read, and even if it's a dogma, you might still want to please the potential readers.
I think it just makes me want to flee when I see it. I put a black on grey and a white on black page side by side, and from afar I can't help looking at the white page and ditching the black. I do use white on black when text editing, though, but I use wider a font. The font size is the same here as the site I compared the forum with, but it 'seems' smaller. Optic illusion or something, I don't know, it just feels smaller. Maybe it's the hard contrast? I have no problem with this for instance: http://ensens.over-blog.com/article-les-erreurs-a-ne-pas-commettre-pour-l-ergonomie-d-un-site-internet-42907655-comments.html
This survey shows better readability for black (or blue) on white/grey than white on black.
This paper shows black on medium grey is probably the best in terms of readability. The difference between BK/W and W/BL in terms of reaction time is impressive, but unfortunateely there was no W/BK in that paper.
I finally found this:

Text of any color on a black background is hard to read for people who have astigmatism

I happen to be astygmat.
Check there for more details.

[jobe]

So maybe just get that optional different theme and everyone will be happy ?