safe gif colours (old topic!)

[jon spain]

Do the 216 safe colour combinations still matter? Because the diagrams I'm exporting from Inspiration slightly lose their values changing (0,102,204) to (0,97,198), I'm using the latter as my background. How far back (versions)does one have to go before a browser fails to pick it up properly? Thanx

[LonK]

The current consensus is that, no, it doesn't matter anymore. The cavaet is, of course, that the determining factor is the specific audience. For a bit of insight see this article.

Also, generally speaking, it is not software that governs this issue, but rather hardware. Predominant 256 color (8-bit) monitors of 4+ years ago are "almost" non-existent these days. However, many cell phones or other handhelds offer only 8-bit color.