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htmlcsscolorsw3c

Why is 'green' in the HTML colour name spec equivalent to #008000?

According to this:

  • red is #FF0000
  • blue is #0000FF

So what was the reasoning behind making green not equivalent to #00FF00 but instead #008000?

Solution

  • Although #00FF00 is a pure green in the way a monitor displays green light, #008000 is a more natural green, more like green things appear in nature and thus what people expect when they ask for something green.

    If a person who wasn't familiar with the RGB color model said "I want the background to be green," I'll bet they'd be expecting something more like a leafy-green #008000 than the electric-lime-green #00FF00.