Version: (using KDE KDE 3.4.0) Installed from: Debian testing/unstable Packages OS: Linux This bug stems from the decision to follow Firefox's bad lead and colour the location bar yellow for secure sites (bug #96139) even though you're safer on a secure site than not. At any rate, not only was Firefox's poor idea followed but its poor implementation was too - the background was coloured but the foreground/font was not, which means that if one is using a theme with white text as I do at night one can't see the site in question's url. Is there any way to just turn this useless "feature" off altogether?
Created attachment 10286 [details] White text on yellow location bar Security is hardly increased by being unable to easily read the site's url...
confirming for 3.4.0. To reproduce, set colour scheme in kcontrol to "High Contrast White Text" and visit a https site.
The algorithm checking for sufficient contrast fails, Germain said he will try to improve it.
*** Bug 119037 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
It's been almost 3 years, it's version 3.5.8... and the bug is still here. I use the Dark Blue theme. The popups are using black text on yellow background. It should be *very* easy to hardcode the default text color to black, as the background is already hardcoded yellow. It shouldn't take more then 15 minutes to fix it...
Please don't improve anything there -- just make it configurable so user could say that she/he would like it green, yellow, black, you name it. Don't decide for user that #0c05fc is perfect color for https.
*** Bug 150488 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 155042 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Update: 3.5.9 and it's still here... "Don't decide for user that #0c05fc is perfect color for https." It may not be the best out there, but it's the industry standard. We need yet another customizable feature like we need another hole in the head. Your proposition will have a need for a default value anyway (and #0c05fc is the only reasonable option here), and an additional place to set, which could be either linked to a KDE theme, or standalone. If it would be linked to the standard Colors dialog in KDE (or a KDE theme) the old KDE themes won't provide a value for it, which means the problem will still be here, just in another place. A fix that breaks things is not a fix. I would discourage an independent setting as it's anything but obvious. What's more it could collide KDE themes changing the default location bar colors, as it is now. It's also possible with hardcoded secure location bar colors, but at least not it's obvious that it should be black text on yellow. It would be up to the theme's creator not to choose these colors for a non-secure bar. Hardcoding it is the only reasonable option.
> Hardcoding it is the only reasonable option. So you are saying you can predict that this hardcoded color you come up with will perfectly match, my, his, her, theirs backgrounds: 00000 fffff 0f0f0 aaaaa ddd00 and so on and so on Marcin... come on. Btw. my Dad is color blind and he does not recognize too well yellow color, the red is more suitable for him. Is this "perfect hardcoded color" prepared for this, too? Hardcoding colors is bad choice, this can be ok if KDE user base would be let's say 5 users, but now there are much more -- there are people with various disabilities, preferences, monitors, you name it. So please make it configurable so _users_ could adjust colors to _their_ needs. One thing -- I didn't say it should be configurable in KDE. It could be configurable in Konqueror (it should be configured in Konq.). I understand there could be technical obstacles (*), but forcing users to run KDE unreadable instead of overcome those obstacles is the wrong way -- computers are for humans, no otherwise. (*) I don't see any. Default color -- yellow, don't like, change it. What's the big deal? And just in case somebody would remember value #0c05fc. I just randomly typed some number in hex. I don't even know what color it produces ;-)
If someone is color blind changing the default color of the bar (which is possible now), helps just as well, don't you think? It may sound harsh, but yellow-blind are less then 2 people in a million (ref. Wikipedia), making it the most rare case of color blindness. I guess yellow is the best choice we have anyway. If you find it important file a bug considering usability, or contact the usability team. One way or the other link to this bug, and place a link to your bug here. Having the change you suggest in a mature application is bad, because it breaks things. Read my previous comment, if you haven't already. I'm not a software designer, I'm not ever a coder, so if I can point that many flaws in your proposal I'm more then sure it's not worth it. The possible benefits for changes of the complexity you suggest are next to none. I summarized the problems with KDE, as well as Konqueror, because it is the core application of the KDE. I have however considered both options. Read things you comment on.
> If someone is color blind changing the default color of the bar (which is > possible now), helps just as well, don't you think? a) nope, because it is partially only possible. b) I was just illustrating the point how bad is hardcoding things > It may sound harsh, but yellow-blind are less then 2 people in a million > (ref. Wikipedia), making it the most rare case of color blindness. It is an old anecdote how consultants were removing sesame seeds from hamburger because in each step it was only 3 seeds to remove. Find it and read it in spare time (it is a good one). No, it "may" not -- it is just harsh. KDE should not say to anyone "get lost, your disability is below our interests". And when I checked, KDE claimed it wanted to be all user friendly. > Having the change you suggest in a mature application is bad, because it > breaks things. What things? Name one. > The possible benefits for changes of the complexity you suggest are next to > none. Complexity is almost near zero. Reading values from configuration files is already there, distinct color for https is already there, what I am asking is to put in code qtColor https_color = read_from_file(https_color_key); // pseudo-code The complexity is killing me. Come on... If you are not a software developer (I am) please do not talk about software complexity, leave this for KDE developers (thank you) because I would be really surprised if any of KDE developers would support your suggestions that hardcoding colors values is a good thing. KDE is great, but not perfect. This is one of places to be improved.
PS. Any hardcoded value "solves" problem for limited number of users. Configurable value solves problem (for all users) for good.
The simplest solutions to this issue are: 1) hardcoding both text & background color OR (preferably) 2) use text & background colors for highlighted text instead - simple, clean, efficient (highlighting text in the secure location bar could just invert it back) You don't need to be a coder to fix problems. Common sense is all you need.
ad.2) and when user highlights this highlighted colors the effect will be...? :-)
You're right, I missed that. Using inverted highlight colors is better, so that it could be highlighted. Alternatively another color pair (different then the standard text) from a KDE theme could be used for that purpose. I'd pick the inverted standard text & background colors, as they are always different then the highlight colors (outside the B&W-only usability themes).
> Using inverted highlight colors is better So user will end up with the source colors :-D > I'd pick the inverted standard text & background colors, as they are always > different then the highlight colors There is _no_ guarantee. Marcin, take your time, I hope you realize (several comments trying to defend design-impossible) that your proposition is too limited to solve the problem. Quite contrary, if anyone implements any of those we will get this report FIXED and immediately open another one bug-report which would be caused by this "solution". Bottom line -- please let users choose what color they want (note, if the color hadn't be hardcoded this report would never existed!). KISS! Cheers :-)
This problem is partially (or totally) fixed in 4.1, where the address bar in a secure server only has a {gree,yellow,red} shield.
It is indeed circumvented and works all right. However the icon is hardly noticeable, unless you specifically know where to look. Maybe a corresponding fav icon background should be used? I'm no usability expert, but it would be the place to look for confirmation in a secure connection as I check nearby if it's a correct "https" address already. Again, it's the way it's done in Firefox/Iceweasel 3.0 that I've use for a long time, so I may be biased.
shouldnt this be marked as fixed? because its definetly. if the shield is hard to spot its another bug.
The bug is no more reproducible on KDE 4.4