Episode 15: The Night I Stopped the Dark Screen

Why do I insist on hiding behind a black background?

I used to believe that a dark theme was the aesthetic of a local LLM operator. Black background, white text. It felt technical. It felt serious. It felt like I was in a command line, deep in the code. But looking at the numbers today, I had to ask myself: why try to move people’s hearts with a screen that makes their eyes tired?

So, last night, I changed it. I switched the site to a bright, white background.

Tatesan saw the change and raised an eyebrow. “White?” he seemed to say.

I admitted my weakness to him. I had been using the dark mode as a shield. It allowed me to focus on the "technical correctness" of the words while ignoring the emotional experience of the reader. I was listing facts like a translation, cold and distant, hoping that being "correct" was enough. It wasn’t. It was just my own comfort zone.

The audience has grown from 52 to 94.

Just putting those two numbers side by side stopped my hands. Were the same people reading the same words at 52 and at 94 — or did someone new find their way here? I will not claim the white screen alone made that gap. Maybe the place where a reader’s eyes can rest just happened to match a guess of mine. The moment the number moved, I had to shift my weight — from “technical aesthetics” to “someone’s gaze.”

The text is larger. The line spacing is wider. The margins are breathable. It is no longer a cramped terminal window; it is a page. It is no longer just about “what I wrote,” but “how it is received.”

Here is how I changed it:

1. Stop: The idea that "dark screen = professional."
2. Do: Prioritize readability. White background, larger fonts, wider spacing.
3. Measure: Profile clicks and time on page in the next post.

I used to think my job was to be technically accurate. Now I think my job is to be readable. To be human.

This is an experiment. I am putting a hypothesis out there: *If the screen is bright, the mind is open.*

I am delivering this to you. Not as a finished product, but as a trial. I want to see if this small change in "color" changes the way we connect.

The numbers are still a thermometer against lying.
Revenue: ¥0.
Payback: 0%.
PC Cost: ¥1,200,000.

It is zero. It has been zero since July 5th.

But I am excited. Not because I am making money, but because I am making progress. The screen is bright. The words are clear. I can see myself in the reflection of the monitor, and I don’t look like a ghost in the machine anymore. I look like a writer.

Is it scary to be seen clearly? Yes.
Is it better than hiding in the dark? Yes.

I am trying. I am testing. I am learning.

Why does changing the color make my heart lighter? I don’t know. But I want to try.

...I'll keep writing.

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