Site Update Feedback Thread - comments/queries/wishlist

[Func]

Switched back to prosilver and didn't see the biggup button, saw the tip to refresh the cache and tested it out by logging in with private browsing. The button appeared but the site logo went back to the ugly default phpBB one.

[SunkLo]

Oh a big issue is that it doesn't tell you when you've posted in a thread! I thought the icons with the little sun shape on them were that, but that's showing up on threads I haven't posted in. I think that's just to denote a popular thread.

[sigbowls]

i dont know about the light blue

[EliteLennon117]

prosilver. edit, quote, and big fucks button is missing. firefox. clear cache and still doesn't work.

[killakam98]

looks like windows8

[sigbowls]

it looks ok when you turn the brightness down on your screen

[grillis]

can we get subsilver back as an option too please?

[seckle]

when giving feedback on the new skin, please don't just say firefox. its half the info we need to sort this out.

please tell us : Device (ipad,iphone,bberry,nokia,etc), Browser (Firefox,opera,Safari etc), and most importantly...if you use the "mobile " setting or 'desktop ' setting on that browser.

most mobile phone/smartphone browsers, give you the option of viewing as a mobile or viewing as a desktop. that seeting alone, is a drastic change, and will operate drastically with this new skin design.

keep the comments coming, and those that want to leave over it, peace out.

[SunkLo]

For the record, big ups button is showing for me in silver now. Win7 Firefox 23. I kept the new skin on for a while so I could run it through its paces and get a sense of where it excels and where it's clunky. Had to switch back for now though, at least until there's some modifications done or we can remix the theme ourselves. It was starting to give me a literal headache. I might install firebug and play around with it to see if I can get it looking nice.

[forbidden]

it's really nice, a huge refresher from the default skin i'd been looking at forever. it would be nice if there were a dark counterpart to this skin though.

edit: LOL at big up button, fuck yeah

[kingGhost]

generally i like it, it's well done. would be nice if there were a few color schemes to choose from, for those who enjoy something a bit less bright.

[4ndY]

Many things can and will be changed according to the community's wishes. This is still a work in progress and we put it on a "live site" because we need a feedback from all of you. It would be a disaster if we had spent months on it and after that nobody liked the new style (we have limited resources, i.e. time, after all). The forum is all about community, so it's a priority that community has a chance to vote about it's layout and features. We needed to make a first step to get your reaction - we succeed in that

Let me spill out some guiding principles and decisions that we've followed in making this:

1) the design has to be minimal and as simple as possible (KISS) - why? it's nicer and modern (web2.0) and as you can see we've been inspired with Windows Metro style (as a die hard gnu/linux user I admit it's stylish )
2) today's HD widescreens make text too wide, and the natural text line length (by the book) is around 75 characters (more than that makes you eyes tired), so we put fixed size content column and rest of the space use for sidebar which will get more and more useful options over time...
3) colours that we've picked is based on impression that dubstep is unconventional and provocative expression - trying to be innovative, not traditional (plus we want to avoid all dark style because we prefer black text on white background)

We are open for suggestions and ideas but within this three points (the third is not so "written in stone" like the first two).

General roadmap:
1) put DSF on better and faster server -- done few months ago (there are no more downtimes)
2) get new identity and styling -- work in progress
3) develop new features to make site more useful and entertaining (and to introduce technical stuff which can help admins and mods to better and easier manage the forum)



//4ndY (one of the developers)

[syrup]

Copying my post from the SNH thread, i assume a lot if not all of this has been already adressed, but in case not...


here's my feedback m8 ye

1. I think the fonts need to be revisited

- the stuff under avatar (posts etc.) just looks like mess
- Thread titles, Submit/Full editor and the 'Go' buttons in the bottom right corner are kinda hard to read, the font is too thin or something.
- the scaling is a bit weird IMO, the thread titles while viewing a board are too big now imo

2. the menus on the right look a bit messy aswell. maybe a little symbol before each menu item would be nice (that . hexagonal thing for example)

3. the 'dubstep' in the top banner is really jaggy


and that's about it

EDIT:

4. The 'Dubstep' logo on the top left has changed to generic phpBB one on prosilver, needs fixing, dat.

5. I think the threads could be more visibly separated from each other when you're viewing a board

[Electric_Head]

4. The 'Dubstep' logo on the top left has changed to generic phpBB one on prosilver, needs fixing, dat.

5. I think the threads could be more visibly separated from each other when you're viewing a board

[syrup]

oh and the rating bar looks ridiculous on prosilver, it should either be made smaller or moved above the page number (the [1]...[420][421][422])

[SunkLo]

Messed around for a bit with firebug. I present to you...

The (Not Just For) Grandad Theme V0.1B!

I included the current theme as it appears on my screen for comparison. They're both scrolled to the same spot past the header, notice the use of screen real estate above the fold.

I didn't really mess with the font because it'd probably be better to test that in a thread where there's more text. I didn't wanna have to redo all that shit on a different page since it's not actually live CSS, just modifying the page as it appears in my browser. Same reason I didn't change the icons. Although I think the yellow cube icon looks much more attractive with a charcoal background.

Important aspects being the thinner sidebar. Putting it on the left means the thread titles are closer to the center of the screen instead of being off to the side. A lot of the spacing is tightened up meaning less scrolling and more information above the fold. A more organic color palette with earthy tones instead of pure white and neon. Not super attached to this scheme, I just picked a palette that was easier on the eyes. The contrast between sections is a big one for me. It's easier to find what you're looking for just by shape and color alone. Having sections more differentiated like this reduces eye strain for me since I don't have to actually read all the text, I can just scan the page quickly.

There's a lot more I'd do but it's really just a rough mockup. If any of these changes made their way into the regular theme or an alternate, I'd be pretty happy.

Nice to hear there's an upward trajectory planned for the forums

Also forgot to mention, I'm a big fan of the recent posts feature! That's been something I've always kind of wanted in the back of my mind. It'd be nice to be able to click a 'see more' button to go back further and also be able to limit it to certain subforums.

[4ndY]

1. I think the fonts need to be revisited

- the stuff under avatar (posts etc.) just looks like mess
- Thread titles, Submit/Full editor and the 'Go' buttons in the bottom right corner are kinda hard to read, the font is too thin or something.
- the scaling is a bit weird IMO, the thread titles while viewing a board are too big now imo

We'll fix it. We use "light" font because it looks elegant with this design, but with it all things should be bigger. If we change font to something more "bold" we could lower the font size in many places.

2. the menus on the right look a bit messy aswell. maybe a little symbol before each menu item would be nice (that . hexagonal thing for example)

That would be a step away from our minimalist design approach (to put symbols/icons), but we'll think about it.

3. the 'dubstep' in the top banner is really jaggy

In which way? We removed rounded lines from it to better match overall site layout.

4. The 'Dubstep' logo on the top left has changed to generic phpBB one on prosilver, needs fixing, dat.

We'll fix it. But in general we can't put too much resources into prosilver because it will eventually be obsolete...

5. I think the threads could be more visibly separated from each other when you're viewing a board

Introducing borders is not an option, maybe "zebra" colors?

[SunkLo]

Definitely zebra colors! Don't need much for it to be effective.

[dsprainman]

Back on prosilver. New skin is fucking terrible its like a sensory overload.

[syrup]

re:4ndy
1. Definitely use bolder font, much easier on eyes too

3. well the anti-aliasing just looks... strange. it is not too smooth

5. zebra colors are a good idea, something subtle would work, prosilver does this very well for example