[LinuxBender]

I don't have an answer for your specific question but if you use Firefox and have the addon uBlock Origin [1] installed then you can adjust the colors

about:addons -> uBlock -> Preferences -> My Filters, then add

    ## HN Color
    news.ycombinator.com##html:style(background-color: #080808 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com###hnmain:style(background-color: #121216 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.age:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.c00:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.comhead > a:style(color: #dedede !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.comhead:style(color: #dedede !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.hnuser:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext > a:link:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext > a:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.subtext:style(color: #ccc !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##.title > a:style(color: ccc !important; background-color: #000000 !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:link:style(color: #bdbdbd !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:visited:style(color: #adadad !important)
    news.ycombinator.com##a:hover:style(color: #fd0000 !important; background-color: #000855 !important)

Then adjust it however you like it.

[1] - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin...