I think the intent was not only to not do harm, but to undo the burn-in caused when the screen is on by cycling each pixel on and off. (Early CRT monitors used to have a “memory” of what was on there before, similar to the artifacts left behind after e-ink screens are cleared)
Plus early on you couldn't turn off the screen from the PC, only the physical button worked. We had to wait for VESA blanking IIRC to have something working.
So either your screen was always on, or you printed moving pattern to avoid burning the phosphor.
Comments
I think the intent was not only to not do harm, but to undo the burn-in caused when the screen is on by cycling each pixel on and off. (Early CRT monitors used to have a “memory” of what was on there before, similar to the artifacts left behind after e-ink screens are cleared)
Plus early on you couldn't turn off the screen from the PC, only the physical button worked. We had to wait for VESA blanking IIRC to have something working.
So either your screen was always on, or you printed moving pattern to avoid burning the phosphor.