Hey Sam,
I think we are referring to the listing of story titles for the most part.
.NB-dark .left-pane is a very light, rgb(67, 69, 67);
When it can be much darker, even the forum color of #222222 would be an improvement. They don’t have to be 100% black. I know as a designer myself, I avoid pure black whenever possible, though some in this post want pure blacks.