Where in the world did basic design rules go?
Why do so many sites do as this one does http://www.regrettheerror.com/2010/12/03/they-sullied-his-good-name/#disqus_thread and http://www.poynter.org – and go with gray or worse, light gray on white type?
It CAN’T be just I who has to squint to read the words displayed like that. Whatever happened to good ol’ black on white? (A related issue is – why do so many make the type too small – but I can tell you, black on white type is a LOT more readable than gray on white, at ANY type size!)
Anyone have a clue where this trend began, and how we can reverse it, for the sake of all of our eyesight?
PS – Found this lil forum thread on the topic, so I’m not alone, yay! http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2259365-Why-Do-Web-Designers-use-Light-Gray-Type-on-a-White-Background
Leave it to Barney 
but did you ever get an answer to the gray type on white Pet Peeve?
No, but better – they changed to black on white type! Maybe I had something to do with that;-)