I understand it's a matter of preference from user to user. However, from a forum admin stand point, loading time, etc. which types of colors (dark/light) are better for a forum and users in general? I'm in the process of deciding which colors are the best for me, but don't want to have members detest the colors and site load time. Any tips and/or color scheme preferences?

Well alot of old people dont like old colors. So based on that its always safe to go easy on the eyes and make colors light.

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I'd try to get a lighter color skin with as few graphics as possible while still looking good

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Lighter colors it is then! I like this site's color but I do have to turn down my screen's brightness when I visit here. For some reason it's too bright and appears faded which causes my eyes to become fatigued. oon't get me wrong, I love this site so far. I will find a balance between this site's color and a somewhat darker palette. At the very least, I know not to go with a black or dark color scheme.

I'm another fan of light coloured skins

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Bryce R [[ BLOG ]]
The Blogging Café - Blogging Forum
Do you run a forum? Check out my forum owners blog.

It depends on the subject of your forum. For example if you are on a photography discussion forum, darker rather black/grey shades are most prefered over others.

But if its a generall discussion forum, I would say lighter themes are best

One problem that I get with dark themes is that there's not enough contrast for text.

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Bryce R [[ BLOG ]]
The Blogging Café - Blogging Forum
Do you run a forum? Check out my forum owners blog.

Over the past month, I visted dozens of forums and I noticed the most common colors are the ones that are similar to the default vbulletin setup. There are a number of sites that were black/dark and I think you're right after reading them for a second or two, I lost interest and moved on to a brighter site. Ultimately, a lighter scheme is best I gather. Thanks for your opinions.

Maybe its just me, but I don't like dark color in forums, because normally reading light colored text on a dark forum is a pain in the eye. Since forum architecture by its vary nature require a lot of reading and writing, I feel dark colored skins aren't the way to go!

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A environmental friend of mine said darker colors on a monitor are better for the environment (less energy used). I say less energy used for the monitor yes, more energy spent making my glasses yes too.