John Barresi Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Please take a look at the templates below, and vote on your favorite(s) above? == Classic Blue == Pro Classic == IPS Beyond == CleanCut == IPB 3.0 (current) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Pro Classic seems to be the tightest and my favorite from a scanning/reading standpoint. While Classic Blue is more familiar, it's also a little bloated looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Topic viewing... Pro Classic Classic Blue IPS Beyond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloo Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I quite like the Classic Blue and the Pro Classic, I know I said about the good old colour on another post. Just for info, when I clic to view the Classic Blue it will not let me "back" button to go back to the proper forum, and on the Pro Classic I have to resize the screen quite a lot to view it. Comes up in slightly less than half the screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Ah, choices...let me just think a bit before voting. Question: Do any of the templates include a legend at the bottom that shows what the different icons mean on the topics? When I look at New Posts on the old software, (like at the Rev forum) there's a little section at the bottom that tells you what the different colors and symbols mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS Kite Stakes Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I am leaning toward the pro classic. It has some updated graphics without losing too much of the feel of the old forum. The added content at the right hand side is a nice touch. I also would like to see a "icon legend" at the bottom of the home page to let readers know what is what. Custom icons for each topic, instead of a generic file folder. Examples would be a dual line kite for general sport kite discussion, a Rev for quad heads, a parafoil or Cody for single line, that type of thing. That would make these forums really pop and give them that personalized feel. Another item I have seen on other forums is a random sample of user uploaded photos from user galleries at the bottom of the forum home page (above the stats)that change each time the page is loaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Question: Do any of the templates include a legend at the bottom that shows what the different icons mean on the topics? There's an addon (to the engine / all templates) that I'm working on getting installed, won't figure into the template selection. Custom icons for each topic, instead of a generic file folder. Examples would be a dual line kite for general sport kite discussion, a Rev for quad heads, a parafoil or Cody for single line, that type of thing. That would make these forums really pop and give them that personalized feel. This has been discussed before, just a matter of creating such icons... Graphic skill, artistry and available time are my main obstacles at the moment. Watty said he might take a whack at this, but I havn't heard anything about it recently... I know he's been busy with various projects. Another item I have seen on other forums is a random sample of user uploaded photos from user galleries at the bottom of the forum home page (above the stats)that change each time the page is loaded. This is also easily done by way of an addon function, works on all templates... Can be added if there's enough demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerochic Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 I'm liking the Classic Blue and Pro Classic thus far. I'm a creature of habit and this seems the easiest way to skim when time doesn't allow a full read. :? I realize these are only sample images, but do these skins automatically resize to fit your screen? I don't want to have to readjust my view every time I check in to read. I do like the sidebar as well. That seems like a handy feature and it's not too busy designwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Aye, they all refit automatically... Please pay the sample images no mind, they might be different sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 I'm sure you've all noticed, the sidebar is collapsible... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 From those choices, I think I give a slim edge to the Pro Classic over Classic Blue. It's slightly brighter and newer in look while maintaining the distinct separation and organization of all the elements in the various screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quaa714 Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Liking the PRO Classic here! Vote cast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 By the way, in the alternate templates, I like that the My Settings link is visible right on one of the bars across the top. Having it buried in the dropdown menu next to the user name isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's different than every other forum I visit, and on a couple occasions when I was looking for it it took a bit of poking around to remember where it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 By the way, in the alternate templates, I like that the My Settings link is visible right on one of the bars across the top. Having it buried in the dropdown menu next to the user name isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's different than every other forum I visit, and on a couple occasions when I was looking for it it took a bit of poking around to remember where it was. I agree completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 By the way, in the alternate templates, I like that the My Settings link is visible right on one of the bars across the top. Having it buried in the dropdown menu next to the user name isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's different than every other forum I visit, and on a couple occasions when I was looking for it it took a bit of poking around to remember where it was. I agree completely. One other question... When I used "View New Content" just now, I did not see your post here in the returned list. I had to go directly to the forum manually to see there was a new post. Is the particular forum excluded from the search, or might there be some setting on my end that causes it not to show up? I noticed it earlier on other posts to this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrier Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 IMO all of them are "bloated", the boxes to the right offer too much information, as with the current layout some of which is often duplicated, this makes the index page too crowded for my liking. The index page is too slow to load now, quite often I can skim down the page checking for anything of interest before the adds have loaded, for me status, latest blog entries etc would be better on a seperate page somewhere. This is a read/write medium, the best way to present written information has been well honed over a great number of years, it is difficult to improve on a well laid out page useing high contrast with minimal clutter to get information across. As with most written work content is everything though. BTW on my screen (1280 wide) this page has too much empty space to the left and has text hard up to a minimal right margin, the layout could be improved for easy scanning, it may well look different on other screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 IMO all of them are "bloated", the boxes to the right offer too much information, as with the current layout some of which is often duplicated, this makes the index page too crowded for my liking. That particular part of your concern is easily addressed. All the templates have the ability to collapse the sidebar to the right. Click the "x" at the top right of the sidebar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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