Using "colors LightBG" in ipythonrc does not affect colors for tracebacks on OS X. The problem occurs on both a PPC Mac running 10.4.11/Py2.4/IPy0.8.2 and an Intel Mac running 10.4.1/Py2.5/IPy0.8.1.
I have had this problem for the past several versions of IPython, extending back at least a year. I also use IPython on a linux machine (currently with EL5 and Py2.5), where I also use LightBG. The problem has never appeared under linux for me.
I searched for reports of this bug and found ticket #243, which reports it as closed because the current build did not manifest it. The reporter did not note a platform. I wonder if the bug platform was OS X, but the closer tested under linux.
I just installed the tarball with 0.8.3.svn.r3001 and the problem persists.
For my own use, I have sought to "hard wire" a traceback color. After many failed attempts at several places in the code, the following change in ConfigLoader?.py does the trick for me:
Replace line 76:
Xinfo = ultraTB.AutoFormattedTB()
With:
Xinfo = ultraTB.AutoFormattedTB(color_scheme='LightBG')
Obviously this is not a real fix; I post it here as a workaround for anyone stumbling on this until a proper fix is implemented.
