[openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website] Dark Mode for maps (Issue #5328)

[Wilhem275]

> I haven't seen any substantial counter-proposal to my "option 4c" suggestion ("Cartographers choose") earlier:

@gravitystorm Actually I wrote one, but it got lost in mine and others' wall of text 😅 

I'll rephrase here, also because things changed a lot with the recent (welcome) introduction of user preferences.
Basically, what we're discussing now are just defaults for unlogged users, as logged users can now override any setting.

My idea is that "Cartographers choose" is good in terms of choosing _what kind_ of dark version of their style should be shown; so that they can avoid alterations they don't find faithful to their work.
But still, even if a dark map was developed/approved, I think light map should be the default presentation.

This is because many (if not most) dark mode users are keeping it as their default system's setting, for various reasons not directly related to brightness/contrast/ease of reading, and thus system (or site UI)'s settings cannot be considered as the relevant factor to decide which style of map should be presented as a default.

I have one personal reason for this, and a more general one.
Personal one is that I often need to access OSM while not logged in (I don't want to save my personal credentials in company's devices). Dark system ok, dark browser ok... dark maps definitely not ok. Which is happening with the current situation: I'm still plagued by the default gray layer whenever I'm logged out. At least at home I'm free now.
Also, sometimes I need to access OSM in anonymous tabs.

In general, I think standard map styles should be the default way OSM presents itself, especially to new users. Dark maps are an appreciable extra feature but they are usually less rich is information, and less... nice. I think part of OSM.org success is also due to the featured styles being appreciated for their colourful and rich way of representing the world. Again, this is unrelated to reasons for users to keep their system dark.


As a side note: even for logged users, I think it would be better to move the maps preference to the layers menu, for a quicker switch.
And/or just show Dark Transport as another style offered in the layers menu, I'd be happy to use it at night 😁 

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