Users want control. They want content, but they also want to be able to view it in the way that best meets their needs. My Yahoo! is a great example, and one that I use everyday. I can select which modules I want, drag and drop to reorder them, provide my own RSS feeds and more. I can even pick the color scheme that fits my mood.

Color is an important and often overlooked aspect of Web Programming as well, Richard. I quickly searched and found a good article for web designers on the value of choosing the right color scheme. But what if we want to ensure that each user experiences colors that fit into his/her own predefined environment? There is a way that we can do this without prompting them to pick a “skin” or “theme.”

Did you know Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Level 2 provides for user-defined color preferences? Implementation is as easy as:
P { color: WindowText; background-color: Window }.

Browser support in Windows is excellent, as highlighted by Jeff Howden’s Colors, Fonts, & Cursors matrix. You’ll have to do your own testing in other operating systems but remember; the CSS2 Specification was a formal recommendation way back in May, 1998, so it's universally well-supported. After viewing the table below (a subset of Jeff's), try changing your theme/color scheme. The colors below should update to incorporate your own defined look and feel. In fact, defaulting to the user’s settings may even increase accessibility.