Wow! New Forum Layout Looks Gorgeous!!

stubbsonic · Post by **stubbsonic** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 8:24 am

What a stunningly elegant new look!! I really like it!!

bayswater · Post by **bayswater** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 8:38 am

Very nice. Snappier too. Is there anything else that’s new besides appearance?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 9:10 am

bayswater wrote:Very nice. Snappier too. Is there anything else that’s new besides appearance?

Not really. Updated the board to the latest version of phpBB, but nothing major.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 9:53 am

Oh, I am going to fix the forum icons on the main page-- the ones that look like old DP9 icons. Not only are we in DP11 now, but there was a change with the board software a while back that made those icons appear in addition to the stock forum icons, not instead of. That's why you see the generic icon plus the DP icon to the right of it. I may either update them to reflect DP11, or just lose them because I don't like having to have both.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:31 am

Did some digging and found a fix for the duplicate forum icons and then updated the relevant forum icons to snazzy DP11 icons.

dix · Post by **dix** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 11:43 am

Looks great James! Much more permanent looking. Had to update the color of my avatar and sig, but np.

I actually dig the basic, un-frivolousness of MN. The only feature I covet from other forums is the ability to "Like" a post. It can be irritating to get an email notification for a topic I'm following, only to login and find just a "

" and nothing else. ...The ability to react to posts would cut down on that behavior.

But overall a very nice upgrade James. Thank you.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:37 pm

Thanks. Yeah, I’d been meaning to do this for a while, so I whipped up something late last night. It’s a third party “theme” called Carbon that I made some very minor tweaks to. Maybe if I’d done this sooner there’s still be a Sweetwater banner up top?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:42 pm

dix wrote:The only feature I covet from other forums is the ability to "Like" a post. It can be irritating to get an email notification for a topic I'm following, only to login and find just a " " and nothing else. ...The ability to react to posts would cut down on that behavior.

I’ll look into it. This board is based on a free open source board software called phpBB. They have a site at https://phpbb.com

Since I’m not a programmer I’m at the mercy of whatever the development team feels are worthy features to add. There are third-party tweaks called “extensions” available that can add other features. I used one of those to get rid of the redundant forum icons on the main page. I’ll have to investigate what’s available and see if I can add it without affecting stability.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:44 pm

I'll pile on with kudos for the update James... Great Job, and Thank You!

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:50 pm

HCMarkus wrote:I'll pile on with kudos for the update James... Great Job, and Thank You!

Thanks man! Since you’re one of the regulars here I was eager for you log on and get your reaction. It was long overdue. Real life was intervening as it always seems to do.

dix · Post by **dix** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 1:00 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:42 pm
dix wrote:The only feature I covet from other forums is the ability to "Like" a post. It can be irritating to get an email notification for a topic I'm following, only to login and find just a " " and nothing else. ...The ability to react to posts would cut down on that behavior.
I’ll look into it. This board is based on a free open source board software called phpBB. They have a site at https://phpbb.com

Since I’m not a programmer I’m at the mercy of whatever the development team feels are worthy features to add. There are third-party tweaks called “extensions” available that can add other features. I used one of those to get rid of the redundant forum icons on the main page. I’ll have to investigate what’s available and see if I can add it without affecting stability.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 5:43 pm

Thanks for updating the software James.

Only two minor "gripes":

The contrast between post text and background could be better, IOW darker grey for the latter.
As many here would agree, "likes" would be handy.

Well done brother.

EDIT:
I've learned over the years that the emojis will look better against a darker or black background. Just a bonus.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 6:37 pm

monkey man wrote:The contrast between post text and background could be better, IOW darker grey for the latter.

Yeah. Not sure I’m going to be able to do anything about that.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 7:26 pm

I hear ya bro'. I'd be in the same boat if I were you.

The 3rd-party-created (or otherwise) theme can be edited but some sort of knowledge of HTML is required. With any luck you'll stumble upon a theme one day that nails this particular aspect of the UI.

Pity, 'cause other than that, I really like it.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Apr 09, 2022 7:50 pm

monkey man wrote:I hear ya bro'. I'd be in the same boat if I were you.

The 3rd-party-created (or otherwise) theme can be edited but some sort of knowledge of HTML is required. With any luck you'll stumble upon a theme one day that nails this particular aspect of the UI.

Pity, 'cause other than that, I really like it.

Okay. Let me put it this way. I know some HTML and usually it involves digging through style sheets and finding the color value. I’m FINE with how it is and I don’t plan to go searching through other themes since so far I only have one objection to it. It looks fine to me. If I have extra time to go digging through the theme files and adjust that color I will, but it’s not exactly a priority right now. I could just revert to the old one if you’d prefer.

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