Something looks different...

So, did I accidentally change something or has the forum been upgraded / reskinned? Everything looks different! I thought for one horrible moment that that "watch this topic for replies" function had disappeared but I see it's just relocated to an Actions menu.

Anyway... interesting! Will take a little getting used to.

On a related note, does anyone know if there's a smartphone app compatible with this forum? A nice app view and support for notifications, etc. on the phone would be great (though might mean I post more - could be seen as a good or bad thing!)

It's not just you Paul. It changed for me too.

Seems the main site URL takes you to a portal, rather than to the forum, as it used to.

The following URL takes you to the forum:

https://www.sheffieldboardgamers.com/forum

Not sure if there is a user preference to change it back to the old style, other than that, just have to update bookmarks I guess.

Sorry that's me - there was a request to add a chatbox on the main page - It really didn't look right in the old forum layout... this one suited it best... I'll happily change back if people don't like it...

Just found the portal - will try and remove it - that's annoying...

Aneurin

Aneurin wrote:Sorry that's me - there was a request to add a chatbox on the main page - It really didn't look right in the old forum layout... this one suited it best... I'll happily change back if people don't like it...

Just found the portal - will try and remove it - that's annoying...

Aneurin

No, it's fine! Just different...

And a chat box, eh? Interesting. Now all we need is an integrated online edition of Star Realms and I'll never need to leave the forum pages again.

Oh and if anyone wants to redesign the blue buttons at the top that would be appreciated... perhaps game related shapes? I just need JPEGS for all the above - Home, Portal, Calendar, FAQ, Search, Members, Groups, Profile, No PM, PM (green text usually), Logout and login!

Aneurin wrote:Oh and if anyone wants to redesign the blue buttons at the top that would be appreciated... perhaps game related shapes? I just need JPEGS for all the above - Home, Portal, Calendar, FAQ, Search, Members, Groups, Profile, No PM, PM (green text usually), Logout and login!

How about having them as board game logos?

These are brilliant Rik, you are one talented guy! Do you have the images? Can you upload to the image server?

You will probably need to crop and resize them to the right size.

I can't remember how different it was before but it definitely feels less comfortable to read now. This is what I can identify:

The font size is uncomfortably small.
The margins are unbalanced. The forum grid extends all the way to the right of the page, but not all the way to the left. The calender is in the way
Thread title text isn't centred in the row.
Do all the links have to be underlined? This style reminds me of ugly webpages from my childhood. I think the human race learned that coloured bold text is a link without it having to also be underlined, adding more visual clutter to the text.

EDIT: Oh, yuck, Avatars on the right. We read left to right. We should know who is talking before we read what they are saying.

Sam wrote:I can't remember how different it was before but it definitely feels less comfortable to read now. This is what I can identify:

The font size is uncomfortably small.
The margins are unbalanced. The forum grid extends all the way to the right of the page, but not all the way to the left. The calender is in the way
Thread title text isn't centred in the row.
Do all the links have to be underlined? This style reminds me of ugly webpages from my childhood. I think the human race learned that coloured bold text is a link without it having to also be underlined, adding more visual clutter to the text.

EDIT: Oh, yuck, Avatars on the right. We read left to right. We should know who is talking before we read what they are saying.

Think I prefer the old format too Sam.

Would be good if there was a per-user preference to select which style to use, but can't seem to find anything.

Sam wrote:
EDIT: Oh, yuck, Avatars on the right. We read left to right. We should know who is talking before we read what they are saying.

Anything else sir? Links, Text size increased, left sided and avatars shifted...

Looks a ton better. Still cluttered, but my therapist says I shouldn't be overcritical

But I have to mention that header. We still have the logo twice! And how many times does it need to say our name? Four times?! Once on each logo then twice in the middle?! Then the text underneath has the same words in a different order! This is an outrage! I'm livid!

Seriously, we literally just need the logo, either in the middle or to the left.

And the buttons need changing for sure. Rik's ones are cool, I'm interested to see what they look like in place.

EDIT: Is the forum supposed to be ad-free when logged in?

What about the 'who is online' 'affilieated shops' and calander boxes? They sit in a column on the right hand side, which makes less room (horizontally) for the main content of the main forum. Can anything be done about that?

Other than that, it looks a lot better. I like how the portal is diminished in prominence.

Ho boy do I regret my last post now Google has redesigned its front page

Anything I can do to help in addition to whining about it, I would be happy to

Sam wrote:Ho boy do I regret my last post now Google has redesigned its front page

You have to think about the visually impaired... see google think about those that can only read vertically ... can they read the tiny little name on the emblem? In fact you yourself moaned about small text before... Alone it doesn't look right.

Perhaps we could change the text on the emblem to a German phrase - "play more in steel city" = "Spielen mehr in der Stahlstadt"

But yes we can delete the small SBGC under the main title - that is silly...