Forum Theme activated!

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Forum Theme activated!

Post by Mooncow »

The new theme "Chao Island" should be fully working now and has been set as the default theme. I have also added classic versions of the old themes for those of you who prefer the old style (and this can be switched in the user control panel).

I have left just 1 old theme ("Chao") for testing purposes, and will remove this in about 10 days or so.

Please let us know if you notice any bugs!
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Crash32 »

no
nonono
this is not good

such a squashed font, tight areas with massive gaps inbetween

why is the online button jammed above the avatar

why is there such a big gap above location and below chao points

why
what is going on

i mean no offense at all moony, but it'd be great if you could leave the old themes for a bit longer?
this new layout just isn't working for me

give me back my hero theme >:C
i'm using the chao theme, and it was my least favourite of the original 3 because the blue colours just don't blend
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Snowy »

Just stop complaining and get used to it.

I'm using the Classic Hero one and it's very badass. Not too bright not to dark. Just like I like it.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Eevlynn »

Hold on, Snowy, there's nothing wrong with Crash's criticisms; even more so when Mooncow is asking for our opinions and any bugs we might find. Voicing any concerns you might have can only benefit us, so don't be afraid to complain when appropriate !!

I'll be sticking to the new theme for a while and try to adjust to it/keep an eye out for any bugs; button placement and user information is going to take some getting used to, though, hahah.

My only irk is the color clashing (( Salmon/Mustard yellow on light blue on the Chao Island theme, the Hero Classic's pure white background (dulling it a smidgen might solve that), or the Hero/Dark Classic themes with the banner-bar-thing at top (though not sure if that one is a possible fix so ???), for examples. )).

Edit: Forgot to mention that the lack of a banner that redirects to the Index is another minor issue, but I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually.

Adore the progress though !!
Last edited by Eevlynn on Mon May 05, 2014 10:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by ZipoCXG »

I like how on the classic themes now the font colors are easier to select (not that I'd use them anyways). They were too small to accurately click before so that's something I appreciate.

One thing that bothers me about classic themes though is that there doesn't appear to be a way to check users' profile pages by clicking their usernames on topics like this, but on the index or last post info it works fine. Also the report button just hovering slightly below one's signature, is it possible to move it back to next to the quote button or something? And lastly, is the change font size button only for the default theme?

EDIT: Never mind about the profile bit, I'm dumb and didn't notice the profile button below each user's posts.
Last edited by ZipoCXG on Mon May 05, 2014 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Ommy »

Only problem I have is all the extra space and the font seeming a little squished, other than that it's fine!
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by DarkyBenji »

it's gonna be weird to see the avatar to the right :blink:
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Jeffery Mewtamer »

The new style had me freaking out for a minute or two, but I managed to stumble my way around the control panel to switch to a classic theme and now everything is good again(or at least bearable).

Being functionally blind, I cannot comment on the visual layout or color schemes, but the new theme has some serious accessibility issues compared to the old themes.

1. On the forum listing, the Category headers no longer have html Header tags. Since html headers are my primary tool for navigating longer web pages, this makes the main page much harder to navigate.
2. On the thread listing for each forum, the Forum Titles no longer have html header tags, removing an easy method for skipping over the navigation stuff at the top of each page.
3. On the page for indivdual threads, the User infoboxes now appear below the posts from my perspective, so I read the post before information on who is talking.
4. The user control panel no longer has any html tables. Since html tables serve a similair purpose to html headers for navigating web pages with my screen reader, this made switching themes harder than it probably should have. On the upside, the Control panel has html headers not present in the old themes.

Switching to a classic theme resolved 1-3 and I don't use the control panel much, so my freak out is mostly resolved. I do have two hitpicks about the classic themes compared to the old themes, but they are easy enough to adapt too:

1. On thread listings for each forum, The new Chao Island title line is at the same html header level as the forum title, adding an extra key press to skipping over the navigation at the top of the page.
2. When going through thred listings, the "go to first unread post" link is no longer the first item on a line, requiring an extra keypress to open each thread.

Overall, my accessibility ratings for the Chao Island forums would be:
Old themes: A+
Classic Themes: A
New Theme: D(being generous since I didn't bother trying to figure it out once I lerned about the classic themes).
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Wolf »

what i dont like-
  • i cant click the banner to go back to the main forum page, i have to scope for the "Forum" link

    the control panel/inbox/view new posts/etc. are all jumbled up and it's really unprofessional and confusing to look at. i liked them layed out in a line a LOT better. it was easier to see, and find what i need. i couldn't even tell i had a message this morning.

    the banner is a bit too much, and it's starting to worsen my headache. it clashes with the dark theme. are you planning to re-add the old banners to each old theme? i really need to stick to an all-dark layout because my eyes really struggle with bright things; it really hurts. otherwise i like how the chao stick out onto the forum...

    the text is a bit hard to read, but it does look cleaner.

    having the offline/online stamp above our ranks makes it again, look jumbled and unprofessional.

    picking a font color is more convenient i guess, but i'm so used to quickly clicking a certain color x_x so it's gonna take some getting used to


what i like-
  • the new search bar is convenient....?
    i like how the bottom of forum pages look


basically i give the Classic theme a 4/10
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Tobi »

Crash32 wrote:why is there such a big gap above location and below chao points
You mean the [Donate] bit...?

I'm not minding this as much as I thought, I instantly changed to classic dark theme, and I'm just a little disappointed the dark banner is gone.
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Quote removed because SOMEONE had to bug like 3 mods at a time over a signature.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by CasualCollision »

I actually like the classic themes quite a bit. When I saw that the top menu was different, I was worried that the poster's profile would be on the right side like the CI theme. Thankfully, I was wrong. It's different, but to me, it's a good kind of different. Using the CI theme in December, I've gotten used to the top menu.

However, I really, really don't like how the color scheme for the top menu doesn't change when you change to the hero or dark themes. I hope this isn't permanent, because that really bugs me. It'd be nice to see unique images for the classic hero and dark themes at the top. It might not be able to be official art, but that lets the artist community of CI get involved.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Linds 269 »

http://prntscr.com/3gifm2 i went back to hero but i do like the banner now cause it feels more official

http://prntscr.com/3gifxm the spacing with my username, the report button hanging in mid air so to speak, and those kinds of things are strange, but i can deal. i personally like the font and the more squished look. idk why.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by ShadriaFan »

  • The control panel, "Welcome ShadriaFan (Log out)", Inbox, New posts, help, search members, and shop are too close together and dark for me to read (especially on top of that dark chao).
  • The smilies are making the reply box way too big as they're all going down in a line one by one.
  • Above the font colors is a large black bar (most likely because the reply box is now wider than the webpage).
  • The online/offline box being above the names looks very unprofessional and seems like something a young child who is making his/her first website would do. (I know cause I accidently did that once in Web Design. Got some points marked off because of it.)
  • Banners should lead back to the main site (as taught in Web Design), as a quick form of exploring the website. If new users/possible new users had to go through the forums and stuff just to return to the main page, they may end up not joining at all in frustration.
this is with the Classic Hero.
Last edited by ShadriaFan on Mon May 05, 2014 10:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by eblu »

by using the new theme for the past few months, i've grown quite accustomed to this theme

one thing i'd like to see is better coloring
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by chaobreedersmh »

Please Mooncow I beg of you, keep the Chao theme. The banner I always thought was much better. I liked all the banners for the old themes and this is just kind of really freaking me out. The new banner I don't like other than that the new themes don't look bad. There are a few minor complaints like the text, the offline/online picture, the rank being above the user bar, the report button, and the names of posters are centered and for some reason that looks funny. I could get used to it though.

But I'd really love it if you could keep the old themes with the old banners.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Jack Augustine »

Upon entering CI earlier I saw the new theme. I had to switch off to the old theme, it was such a shock.

Please, don't take down the Chao theme!
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Crash32 »

the chao theme is burning my eyes so i switched back to the classic hero theme

as someone who accesses CI primarily from my iPad, the layout doesn't work as well here
the chao smilies are stuffed down the side in rows of 4, leaving a massive gap below the post and the submit/attach signature etc. buttons
there is a really out of place line below the header stuff (lines up under the chao's legs)
the chao are also out of place, with some writing/the search on top of them
the fact that the only way to access the forum index is to click the small "forum" button also bothers me as a touchscreen user, as that was the main way i got around the boards

just charge me 100 cp to unlock the old themes or something ;~;
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by eblu »

i'm p much the only one who likes the new theme
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by CasualCollision »

I think the new theme is alright, apart from the poster info being on the right side with (as far as I know) no way to switch it to the left.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by ShadriaFan »

the 'classic themes' have it to the left. That, and the use of 'view your posts', and 'view active topics', are the only real differences from the new theme that I have noticed.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Crash32 »

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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Tsui »

Does no one else notice how the very bottoms of the baby Chao's feet on the banner seem to be cut off?
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Ivogoji »

^Yikes. I didn't notice before, but now that you mention it, it's very distracting.

Other than missing the Hero theme banner a little, I've pretty much already forgotten what the old themes look like already.
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by Mooncow »

Jeffery Mewtamer wrote:The new style had me freaking out for a minute or two, but I managed to stumble my way around the control panel to switch to a classic theme and now everything is good again(or at least bearable).

Being functionally blind, I cannot comment on the visual layout or color schemes, but the new theme has some serious accessibility issues compared to the old themes.
snip
Firstly I didn't know you were genuinely blind so this sort of detailed feedback is much appreciated! I'll definitely take a look at the issues you mentioned. Thanks for the feedback and sorry for the initial shock factor!

Other points made that i'll look into:
  • Different coloured banners for each theme
  • The location of the "Online" image above avatars in the classic them
  • Mid-air report button
  • The top banner linking to main site instead of the forum index
  • Issues viewing forums on iPad/phones
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Re: Forum Theme activated!

Post by eblu »

i'm actually making a stylish theme that changes ci to a minimal, dark color scheme

also mooncow you really like to poke around in the html do ya

one more thing: can you move the log out button? i just logged out twice due to not tapping precisely and can't view the new posts
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