Could you test this change?

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste backp and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.display.permit_backplate preference to switch the value from true to false

I don't know whether that will have any immediate effect or will be applied the next time you exit out and restart Firefox.

Please let me know what happens.

Thank you for your reply. I reject the concept that my computer should become a test bed, and that I should be forced into becoming a test subject. I cannot - and will not - risk unknown consequences of trying to fix this mess. That fix is the responsibility of those, who made this mess.

Those, who made this change, without ANY warning, are SABOTEURS. Instead of forcing this screen-color change on everyone, it should have been offered as an option, to the micro-minority, who need it.

Had I been advised that this "update" would make Firefox totally useless, I'd not have "upgraded".

At last, I get it. Mea culpa. Firefox is a toy for those, who have charge of it. They do not grasp that for some Firefox has been a daily tool, used to do serious work. Thus, those - who have charge of Firefox - feel at liberty to do as they wish, without thought for the consequences.

I'll see if Chrome can be made to serve my needs. Anything is better than a product, that is randomly changed by folks, who care not about the damage they do.

Further to my reply. Those - who authored this destructive screen-color change - should reverse it. They should issue an update, in which this screen-color change is an option to be used by those, who need it.

Even further, when it is thought necessary to make a change that directly re-shapes what an end-user sees or removes a long-available functionality, two weeks advance notice should be given.

Firefox users face deadlines. Springing changes on users: (a) is unnecessary and (b) can be hugely destructive, as is this screen-color change.

If you refuse to try anything at all, in my honest opinion don't bother posting. The software is used by loads of people on different devices. They don't 'Sabotage' anything.

Hi Jay, did you try my solution yet? It is a targeted preference flip to turn off the "blackplate" feature and return to the old behavior.

See also comment 2 in this bug report:

• Bug 1614921 - Readability backplate makes most of eBay white in High Contrast mode when the background should be black

(please do not comment in bug reports
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html)

This issue on the eBay website seems to be caused by eBay using a white background image.

html body {
    background: url(https://ir.ebaystatic.com/pictures/aw/pics/cmp/ds3/imgbg.jpg) repeat 0 0 #f8f8f8;
}

A possible workaround could be to override this CSS rule and unset the background via code userContent.css or set a specific background color.

@-moz-document domain(ebay.com){
 html body { background: unset !important; }
}

I appreciate the replies.

I repeat that I will not risk wider destruction by attempting to fix a problem, which: (a) I did not create; (b) I do not have the technical knowledge to approach, let alone to fix.

The destructive impacts of this screen-color "upgrade" are NOT limited to e-Bay. This "upgrade" also makes unprintable reports on the following news websites: Reuters, Wall Street Journal, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). On these sites the areas with text appear as solid black blocks. I reasonably suppose there are many more sites, whose content is made useless by this "upgrade".

I can avoid this "upgrade's" nasty impacts by using a standard Microsoft color set-up: light gray letters on a milky bluish-white background. I adopted a high-contrast screen color set-up - black background with white letters - to save my eyesight.

Most, who use the standard screen color set-up damage their eyes, without knowing it. The same is true for those, who work around heavy machinery without ear protectors. They lose hearing capacity so gradually, they may not notice it until years later. As eyesight is precious, I'll not risk it.

This upgrade should be replaced - PRONTO - by one that makes this "backplate" feature an option, for users, who need it.

Further, it should be standard operating procedure to provide notice of any changes that affect on-screen display colors, fonts, printing, etc. These are core end-user features. They should not be changed absent the most compelling of reasons.

cookiezzz said

If you refuse to try anything at all, in my honest opinion don't bother posting. The software is used by loads of people on different devices. They don't 'Sabotage' anything.

I am not willing to try to fix this, because I lack the technical competence to do deal with further damage, that an attempted fix can create.

Thus, I do not - under any circumstances - edit registry files. I realize many, who have the proper training, do this every day. But I don't have that training.

Those, who crammed-down this "upgrade" - apparently to help a wafer-thin minority of users - seem not to have done sufficient testing.

Those "upgrade" designers surely do have the technical savvy to fix unexpected consequences. I don't.

Hi Jay, support forum volunteers do not decide what features are turned on and off. You know your options for Firefox 73.0 and if you prefer to wait for this to maybe change in the future (or not), or switch to a different browser in protest, that is your prerogative.

Jay Simkin said

""Many users with low vision rely on Windows' High Contrast Mode to make websites more readable. Traditionally, to increase the readability of text, Firefox has disabled background images when High Contrast Mode is enabled. With today’s release of Firefox 73, we introduce a “readability backplate” solution which places a block of background color between the text and background image. Now, websites in High Contrast Mode are more readable without disabling background images." This "upgrade" has made unreadable many webpages. I have - for years - used a high-contrast screen color set-up: black background with white letters. I used to be able to control the on-screen colors of visited and unvisited links. That control went away a few "upgrades" ago. This most recent upgrade, make all e-Bay pages unreadable: there are huge white areas, which used to be black. How do I undo this "upgrade", so that Firefox no longer wrecks my screen-color set-up. Note: I will not - under any circumstances - address a problem created by an upgrade, by changing my computer's settings, e.g., by editing registry files, etc. jscher2000 said

Hi Jay, support forum volunteers do not decide what features are turned on and off. You know your options for Firefox 73.0 and if you prefer to wait for this to maybe change in the future (or not), or switch to a different browser in protest, that is your prerogative.

So, who does decide? Someone, somewhere, decided that this change was for the better. I've no idea who is that person or - if there's a committee - how to contact anyone on that committee. That lack of transparency is a problem.

Do you know which person - or which committee - made that decision, and how to contact them?

I will not abandon my high-contrast screen color set-up and I'll not be drawn into trying to fix a problem, that is way above my pay-grade and which I did nothing to bring about.

Switching to another browser is very disruptive. But if I can't find out how to "file a petition" to get this "upgrade" reversed and restructured, I have no choice.

Hi Jay, there are places to provide feedback and/or request feature changes. Actually, you have many choices, depending on your desired style of interaction.

Discussion Sites/Advocacy

• Mozilla Discourse: https://discourse.mozilla.org/
  • If none of the categories seem to fit, try https://discourse.mozilla.org/c/firefox-development
• Reddit (monitored by Mozilla): https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/
• I saw someone created a Change.org petition but I don't know who sees those

Limited Length Comments

• Feedback site: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/
• Twitter (Mozilla official): https://twitter.com/firefox

Dear Mr. Scher,

Hope you're well. Thank you!!!!

Desperate men do desperate things. Your solution worked. Per-fect-ly!!!

I followed your instructions to the letter - literally - then exited Firefox and re-started it. The black boxes went away.

As I cannot know if further "updates" will undo your fix, I've copied the steps into a Word document, that I'll store.

Those, who made this change, plainly were not aware of the number of sites, use of which was impaired by this change.

It would be well if those, who decided on upgrades, would serve notice of what's planned, so that there's time: (a) to detect unforeseen consequences and (b) to devise fixes for those consequences.

Thank you, for carving-out the time to find a solution.

Yours truly,

Jay E. Simkin

bem legal

Tudo bem, obrigado!