forum redesign

[#1]

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. 
It will work with Internet Explorer® 4, because CSS was written for Internet Explorer®. 

[#2]

Hi Peter Stone
You got it in one. 
Watt You said
>and generally much more disability friendly (screen readers etc).
Is 100% correct 
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 
Watt You said
>The "fallback" approach as it were.
Yes you got it! 

[#3]

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.

[#4]

Yeah, he's working through the templates doing that sort of thing as he goes. 

[#5]

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 

[#6]

What? No coding on a laptop while ill in bed? Shame on him   If there's a lot still to be done, I don't mind giving a hand to get it finished up quicker.

[#7]

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.

[#8]

Quote from: MikeWhitehead

What? No coding on a laptop while ill in bed?

are you buying?!?! 

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.

[#9]

Mitch ar you back from your sick bed? 
If yes ar you geting on with the coding? 
Will the css have the "fallback" approach on it? 
So that all browsers that don't support CSS and/or Javascript can still access the forum.     
Have you tested the new coding with Bobby?

[#10]

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).

[#11]

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.

[#12]

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

[#13]

Hmm, I'm gonna buck the trend and say I like it 🙂

[#14]

We should be clear that this is one of a few different prototypes we are looking at currently. Feedback is still very welcome though...

[#15]

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 🙂