[nine_k]

When we earthlings see a new moon, we see one dark side turned towards us, while another dark side is the far side; Moon is completely in the Earth's shadow.

During a solar eclipse, the far side is brightly lit, while the side turned towards us is dark.

Most of the time the dark side does not match the far or the near side, we see a part of both the dark and lit sides as a crescent.

I don't see how "the far side" and "the dark side" can be used interchangeably in any situation.

[adamomada]

The earth’s shadow has nothing to do with moon phases and only affects our view during a lunar eclipse.

I always thought the dark side of the moon meant from earths’ view: we can see the light side (even when it’s dark) but we can’t see the dark side (even when it’s light)

[asmithmd1]

Uh, no. The ONLY time we see a new moon is during an eclipse. Other times the moon is above or below the sun and is too dim to see. A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes into the earth’s shadow and they happens during full moons

[nine_k]

OK, we don't actually get to recognize the shape of the new moon with a naked eye because it's dark against the sky. It's still hot enough for some time to be visible in IR pretty well.

The point is that the lit part of the Moon moves widely, while the far / near sides don't due to the tidal lock. Hence they can't be used interchangeably.

[philwelch]

I think if you’re somewhere free of light pollution you might notice a moon-sized gap in the stars.