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forum redesign

Midnight_Caller
Rising Star
Posts: 4,167
Thanks: 15
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎15-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

One thing for the teem to think about wen writing the code for the Forum.
There is one "Big" drawbackk with CSS it doesn't work with older Browsers for example:
Netscape® 4.7
Web TV
And a number of other Browsers as well.  Huh
It will work with Internet Explorer® 4, because CSS was written for Internet Explorer®.  Sad
Midnight_Caller
Rising Star
Posts: 4,167
Thanks: 15
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎15-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

Hi Peter Stone
You got it in one.  Cheesy Grin
Watt You said
>and generally much more disability friendly (screen readers etc).
Is 100% correct  Cheesy
Watt You said
>Perhaps the best compromise is to design it in such a way that it'll be functional on browsers that don't support CSS and/or Javascript.
That is watt I was on about  Cheesy
Watt You said
>The "fallback" approach as it were.
Yes you got it!  Grin
MikeWhitehead
Grafter
Posts: 748
Registered: ‎19-08-2007

Re: forum redesign

Quote from: jwing
Yes the forums are indeed in some form of CSS but they do apparently have some "older" code in the actual template files which stops us making major layout changes to the forums easily, hence it’s currently not just a case of changing the stylesheet to majorly change the design layout.

This isn't a major problem really, it just means (as you said) changing some of the coding. I haven't come across any specific font elements in the code from SMF (although I'm not an active user of it) but if you mean elements such as:
<td valign="top" style="background-color: #ffffff;">

then this can simply be altered to:
<td valign="top" class="paginateAndTopic">

with the CSS document having the addition of:
.paginateAndTopic {
background-color: #ffffff;
}

That way, major style alterations would be easier to implement.
Kelly
Hero
Posts: 5,497
Thanks: 380
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

Yeah, he's working through the templates doing that sort of thing as he goes. 
Kelly Dorset
Ex-Broadband Service Manager
jwing
Grafter
Posts: 109
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

Just to let you know I might not be able to give you guys an update on progress tomorrow as Mitch is still quite unwell. Rest assurred that I will get him to post in here with an update as soon as he is back  Grin
MikeWhitehead
Grafter
Posts: 748
Registered: ‎19-08-2007

Re: forum redesign

What? No coding on a laptop while ill in bed? Shame on him Tongue  If there's a lot still to be done, I don't mind giving a hand to get it finished up quicker.
darkgen
Grafter
Posts: 108
Registered: ‎20-08-2007

Re: forum redesign

On a more gentle note, how difficult would it be to change the font colour on the thread index in each sub forum? Perhaps this can be incorporated as an individual choice within the profile.
Apologies but surely I can't be the only one having severe difficulties making out the thread subjects?
Cheers, Paul.
mitch
Dabbler
Posts: 12
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

Quote from: MikeWhitehead
What? No coding on a laptop while ill in bed?

are you buying?!?!  Grin

Don't worry, we aren't ignoring CSS! On the contrary...
Since we're doing this redesign, I'm doing it properly, and in a way that we have a shorter turnaround for new designs in the future. i'm changing the theme to be fully controlled by CSS, rather than the mess is it is now. For the people that have skinned SMF, you'll notice the amount of functions spitting out html in the theme that live in the source. you may also be able to tell from the stylesheets used on this forum, they're very basic and have little control over page layout - its more decoration (background color, font size).
i'll be trying to take back a bit more control over the content display in the themes by taking every bit of html i find in the source, into the templates and using css to control the layout, as well as other decoration.
Hopefully doing it the long way round means we can make big changes (and create brand new themes/designs) very easily. And we'll be able to take single stylesheet submissions from you all to make changes sitewide rather than the limited options you have with the stylesheet right now.
you might be able to change the odd background colour to make it look better for yourself but it still has to look cool all-round, and that involves a bit more work.

Midnight_Caller
Rising Star
Posts: 4,167
Thanks: 15
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎15-04-2007

Re: forum redesign

Mitch ar you back from your sick bed? 
If yes ar you geting on with the coding?  Huh
Will the css have the "fallback" approach on it?  Huh
So that all browsers that don't support CSS and/or Javascript can still access the forum.  Wink  Wink  Smiley
Have you tested the new coding with Bobby?
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

New look community site!

Well we have a prototype ladies and gentlemen, please let us know what you think. This is only a beta so please suggest improvements/point out problems (aside from the grey text on black background, this has been noted already).
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: New look community site!

Congratulations to Matthew for being the only person in the company to actually have a black theme running.
Personally, I'm not sure about the colour (I think it's too dark) and the jumping people remind me of Apple adverts.
pjmarsh
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 4,035
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: New look community site!

I'm not a fan of the dark colours either tbh.  Personal preference has always been for lighter colours.
Phil

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

LiamM
Grafter
Posts: 5,636
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: New look community site!

Hmm, I'm gonna buck the trend and say I like it 🙂
Ianwild
Grafter
Posts: 3,835
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: New look community site!

We should be clear that this is one of a few different prototypes we are looking at currently. Feedback is still very welcome though...
phil
Grafter
Posts: 69
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: New look community site!

As a user of community site, i really like it - the jumping people capture the energy of the community.
If it was provided as an option I'd tick the box 🙂