StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Simon_Jester wrote:I can work with "Quick Reply." The changed configuration is... disorienting (as noted, having the usernames and avatars on the right is a bit eyewatering for some reason).

I grew accustomed to the old look and never had a problem with it, but presumably the new look is better for someone somewhere so I guess that's a wash. I'm sure the software updates will be beneficial to some even if I never noticed a problem, so... yay upgrades?

I would have been happy leaving it as-is, but there were apparently some security issues with the older version, and that forced my hand. Unfortunately, as you've all noticed, it's pretty obvious that I could not recreate the old look, at least not yet.

Collecting some of the current issues, maybe me, Starglider or Phong can help?

* Quick reply is above the next/prev page buttons.
* Profiles are right aligned instead of left aligned in posts.
* Multiple themes have readability issues. I'm using prosilver so I don't feel them.
* No widescreen support.
* Request to move quick links outside their menu and as top level links.
* For some of the themes, some of the time the board icon isn't loaded in the browser (ico.gif?)

(instead of searching all the posts)

Terralthra wrote:I used the low-bandwidth theme. What would be required to bring it (or something similar) back?

An investment of time and effort.

For anyone who's curious, I made zero changes to the template files. Both BlackSoul-SDN and MillenniumFalcon-SDN are based on prosilver, with the only changes being modifications to colours.css and imageset.css (and the only change to imageset.css was switching the logo from the phpbb logo to the stardestroyer.net logo with ISD). Prosilver has a right-side profile display, hence the reason why it looks like that on both BlackSoul-SDN and MillenniumFalcon-SDN.

Apparently, an updated version of subsilver exists which is compatible with phpBB 3.1.x. I didn't realize this before, because it doesn't come bundled in the default installation package.

Borgholio wrote:2. Icon for unread posts is hard to make out. It looks identical to the "no unread posts" icon aside from a green tint that (at least for me) is hard to pick out from the blue-grey background.

I'm having a terrible time of it - of course, having eyes that don't respond well to green wavelengths isn't helping, either. I think one reason I prefer "outdated" sites is because a lot of the newer ones play merry hell on me when combined with my abnormal color vision. I've tried out the different themes, all of them seem to have some sort of issue for me, but I understand tweaks are still happening.

Darth Wong wrote:Apparently, an updated version of subsilver exists which is compatible with phpBB 3.1.x. I didn't realize this before, because it doesn't come bundled in the default installation package.

If you're willing and able, it would make my eyeballs happy to see that theme as an option again.

A subsilver-based Millennium Falcon would be very welcome. I positively HATE the avatars on the right, but most of everything else is negotiable.

I'll second that for the dark whatever theme.

I like the update for the most part, but I'm another one who dislikes the user info being on the right. The way it displays on a mobile is also...less than stellar.
Still, good to see the old girl got a makeover

Darth Wong wrote:

Terralthra wrote:I used the low-bandwidth theme. What would be required to bring it (or something similar) back?

An investment of time and effort.

Ironic since the only thing I used it for was to skive at work. Mike is clearly now a member of the bourgeoisie capitalist class seeking dominance over humanity.

And for whatever it's worth; +1 for the avatar info on the right hand side being just strange.

+1 against avatars on the right.

It's an avant-garde forum layout that makes you spend an extra second thinking about posts and posters.

Ditto. They really look far better on the left.

Crown wrote:And for whatever it's worth; +1 for the avatar info on the right hand side being just strange.

Apparently the phpBB developers just really like that for some unfathomable reason.

While it bucks convention on other board software, I really don't mind the user info on the right side. It feels different, yes, but hell, it's something new. And I appreciate the effort to bring the software up to date. Patching old software is a pain in the ass, and sometimes flat out impossible. At least with this upgrade you won't have to deal with the software side of things for a good long while.

Wild Zontargs wrote:

I had to recreate the BlackSoul and MillenniumFalcon themes by monkeying with CSS files, so if there are any colour-scheme clashes or readability issues, please let me know.

In Millennium Falcon, the userbox text for "Posts:", "Joined:", etc are small black print on dark grey. Not the most readable combination.

Similar problems in BlackSoul. Many text elements are just black blobs on a dark blue background to me. Unreadable.

EnterpriseSovereign wrote:Wow, having the user avatars appearing on the right hand side of the screen is a little jarring I have to say...

More than "a little jarring", it goes contrary to normal reading order for just about every Western language except Hebrew. It makes no sense to have to jump your eyes from extreme left to right and back to look at who's posted something, then start reading the actual post. Much easier to see the user data running down the left side, then start reading immediately from the avatar position.

Edit: Something else brought up on the other thread — the separation between individual posts is less obvious and less easy to see. Everything just runs together in one long pageful of text. And this is where the user data on the right is such a failure, when it was on the left it naturally broke up the individual posts without having to look for it.

RogueIce wrote:

Crown wrote:And for whatever it's worth; +1 for the avatar info on the right hand side being just strange.

Apparently the phpBB developers just really like that for some unfathomable reason.

The stated justification is that this configuration puts the content first, and then user second.

TimothyC wrote:

RogueIce wrote:

Crown wrote:And for whatever it's worth; +1 for the avatar info on the right hand side being just strange.

Apparently the phpBB developers just really like that for some unfathomable reason.

The stated justification is that this configuration puts the content first, and then user second.

The obvious solution is to have an option under user preferences, to let users decide for themselves how they want to view threads.

User info being on the left is the de facto standard for message board layouts, I don't recall any other English-speaking board that I've visted not using this convention.

TimothyC wrote:

RogueIce wrote:

Crown wrote:And for whatever it's worth; +1 for the avatar info on the right hand side being just strange.

Apparently the phpBB developers just really like that for some unfathomable reason.

The stated justification is that this configuration puts the content first, and then user second.

It's a dumb justification, and they should feel dumb. I want to know the author of the post I am reading before I form my opinions on it, thank you very much. Does this seem like an uncritical and biased method of reading? Why yes, it does. Because it is. And I like it that way. And the people at phpBB dev can go screw if they think otherwise.

Not to mention that it breaks years of bbs and forum standard for an arbitrary justification that may not even be a useful one.

It'll take some getting used to, but I dig it. I especially like the new logo on top left. It's similar to my redesign of your old one that I made so long ago.

Imperial528 wrote:It's a dumb justification, and they should feel dumb. I want to know the author of the post I am reading before I form my opinions on it, thank you very much. Does this seem like an uncritical and biased method of reading? Why yes, it does. Because it is. And I like it that way. And the people at phpBB dev can go screw if they think otherwise.

Not to mention that it breaks years of bbs and forum standard for an arbitrary justification that may not even be a useful one.

Hey, I'm just going with what has been stated. I personally prefer subsilver2 to prosilver myself. One thing to keep in mind is that the phpbb devs first implimented prosilver back in 2005 for the first 3.0.x release, and they had expected people to start to migrate by now.

One neat thing: a print view for topics. Useful if you wanted to, say, print out your favorite fic in the CCF forum.

TimothyC wrote:

Imperial528 wrote:It's a dumb justification, and they should feel dumb. I want to know the author of the post I am reading before I form my opinions on it, thank you very much. Does this seem like an uncritical and biased method of reading? Why yes, it does. Because it is. And I like it that way. And the people at phpBB dev can go screw if they think otherwise.

Not to mention that it breaks years of bbs and forum standard for an arbitrary justification that may not even be a useful one.

Hey, I'm just going with what has been stated. I personally prefer subsilver2 to prosilver myself. One thing to keep in mind is that the phpbb devs first implimented prosilver back in 2005 for the first 3.0.x release, and they had expected people to start to migrate by now.

Then they are fucking idiots. If you have an established user interface that everyone has become familiar with, you DO NOT change it just because. User interaces are one of those things that people usually do NOT want to change if they work well enough, because you need to relearn so many other things than just that.

There is a special place in hell for those who break that rule.

In a week (possibly less) everybody will be accustomed to the right hand side avatars and if you then change it back to left hand avatars again people will complain again.