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Tab foregrounds become gray for NYTimes pages

  • 9 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 56 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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In Firefox 114.0.2, the tab foreground color for most NYTimes.com pages initially is black, but after an instant, the foreground color now becomes gray. The background color is a similar gray, so the tab symbol for the NYTimes (beginning with an ornate letter T) cannot be distinguished from the background. The NYTimes tab foreground color used to remain black.

For an example, go to https://www.nytimes.com/. The tab foreground colors for some NYTimes pages remain black; for example, go to https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us. I think this tab foreground color change began recently, less than a month ago. This problem does not occur for web sites other than the NYTimes. Restarting my computer does not help. This tab color problem does not occur in Edge or Chrome.

Thanks for any info

In Firefox 114.0.2, the tab foreground color for most NYTimes.com pages initially is black, but after an instant, the foreground color now becomes gray. The background color is a similar gray, so the tab symbol for the NYTimes (beginning with an ornate letter T) cannot be distinguished from the background. The NYTimes tab foreground color used to remain black. For an example, go to https://www.nytimes.com/. The tab foreground colors for some NYTimes pages remain black; for example, go to https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us. I think this tab foreground color change began recently, less than a month ago. This problem does not occur for web sites other than the NYTimes. Restarting my computer does not help. This tab color problem does not occur in Edge or Chrome. Thanks for any info

All Replies (9)

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Where do those colors come from if you check the body element in the Inspector ?

You can right-click and select "Inspect" to open the built-in Inspector with this element selected.

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cor-el, Thanks for replying. I am trying to follow your instructions. I right-clicked near the top of the main NYTimes page, and I selected Inspect. On the left, I clicked on <body>; on the right, I see the following, which looks the same as in your image: body {

 color: var(--color-content-primary,#121212);
 background: var(--color-background-primary,#FFFFFF);

}

I will continue trying to replicate your images, but I am not certain about the steps, so I have attached a snapshot of my screen.

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cor-el, The attached screen snapshot may correspond to the second item that is highlighted in your first image. However, on my computer, additional blocks are listed in the middle section of the Inspector, between "body inline:1" and "Inherited from html".

I don't know where to find <body class="">, which is shown in your second image.

Do the gray-on-gray tab colors appear on your computer?

Thanks

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What text and background colors do you get when this goes wrong ?

You can right-click and select "Inspect" to open the built-in Inspector with this element selected. You may have to go up in the DOM tree (left panel) until you see that you leave a specific container.

Can you attach a screenshot?

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cor-el, While preparing a screenshot, I realized that the problem concerns the ornate T that is part of the NYT logo. I had been looking at a pinned tab, so I hadn't noticed that the following text in unpinned tabs is black and therefore visible.

Attached is a screenshot with 5 tabs. Looking from left to right: (1) The main NYT page is pinned. The tab is not selected, and the cursor is not over the tab, so the foreground and background gray colors are similar enough that the ornate T is not visible for practical purposes; in fact, nothing is visible. (2) The main NYT page is pinned. The tab is not selected, but the cursor is over the tab, so the foreground and background gray colors are different, and the ornate T is somewhat visible. (3) The main NYT page is not pinned. The tab is selected, but the cursor is not over the tab. The ornate T is barely visible. (4) The main NYT page is not pinned. The tab is not selected and the cursor is not over the tab. The ornate T is not visible, for practical purposes. (5) The NYT Help page is not pinned. The tab is not selected and the cursor is not over the tab. However, the ornate T is black, so no problem.

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I need to sleep now.

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I notice that you have the NoScript extension, so it is possible that this extension blocks JavaScript or otherwise interferes.

If you use extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) that can block content (Adblock Plus, NoScript, DuckDuckGo PE, Disconnect, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin) always make sure such extensions do not block content.

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I just now told NoScript to temporarily trust all JavaScript, etc., for the 5 tabs shown in the image I sent. (Doubleclick.net was not trusted.) For the first 4 tabs (which show the main NYT page), the T was black and easily visible for an instant, and then it became gray; in other words, the behavior and appearance were as before. In case it is relevant, I have over 300 tabs open; I opened a new window to make the image that I sent.

I have a second computer; I should have thought to check it earlier. NoScript is installed there too. The T is visible for pinned and unpinned NYT tabs, with no relaxation of permissions in NoScript. I have 5 tabs open. So, the problem may be specific to my first computer.

I will examine the troubleshooting page whose link you sent.

Thanks

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You can create a new profile as a quick test to see if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works, you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.