Anyone else back to default blue yet?

[AndyF]

I quite like this new skin. Certainly will be easier to modify :)

[maccrazy]

I agree with yellow_spider. For those who want to make the theme match their website, it will be much quicker with this theme than the blue one. I wouldn't like to see the blue one disappear though. :)

[Digi]

I disagree :P In my experience, users complain about even the smallest of changes to the skin at first.

That depends on the change and the manner in which the change was presented. If the template is good, few won't welcome it. Of course, doing something such as moving from bright to dark will trigger an after affect because the personality of the site changes greatly form things such as this (ie. going from bright and sunny to gloomy rainy day). On the other hand, if you had a default skin and the forums are part of a large already made site, and get a skin properly designed around it to look seamless, people rarely, regardless if it is drastic, rebel against it. This is usually the case I see with my customers. :)

[Josh04]

That depends on the change and the manner in which the change was presented. If the template is good, few won't welcome it. Of course, doing something such as moving from bright to dark will trigger an after affect because the personality of the site changes greatly form things such as this (ie. going from bright and sunny to gloomy rainy day). On the other hand, if you had a default skin and the forums are part of a large already made site, and get a skin properly designed around it to look seamless, people rarely, regardless if it is drastic, rebel against it. This is usually the case I see with my customers. :)

I wish I had your customers :)

I get moaned at for anything I change, and then after a week or so it's "Okay, actually." Then again, I think people just enjoy arguing with me *headdesk*

I almost had riots when I changed the normal page markers to this the other week:



This is the bit where they're hideously ugly and I feel stupid :P

[Digi]

lol, nothing like riots to make for good *headwall* :P

[Josh04]

It's no joke. One of my members threatened to leave over them, entirely seriously :P

[Garthilk]

I like the new one, where can I download it?

[Alex Duggan]

I like the new one, where can I download it?

It's not yet available - it'll be included with IP.Board 2.3.0 which is currently in BETA testing at the moment.

[Keven Fox]

I love beta testing :P

[Josh04]

For the record, I'd love to be considered for the beta, if you accept any more testers. I'm interested in the enhancements to the performance, as my site runs on rather limited hardware, so any improvements are welcome :)

[Existence4]

I'm pretty impressed with the new skin, so I'm not using the classic blue. This one is a lot more professional in my eyes, and that's pretty much what I'm going for on forums like this.

[PSXHosting Ltd.]

I like the new look. :thumbsup:

[ellawella]

This new style definitely represents a step in the wrong direction. I don't understand why anyone would demand greater simplicity, either - learn what you're doing or don't do it at all.

I will be sticking to the old blue.

[.Timmy]

This new style definitely represents a step in the wrong direction. I don't understand why anyone would demand greater simplicity, either - learn what you're doing or don't do it at all.

I will be sticking to the old blue.

So you would rather have a very image-dependent, slow-loading skin rather than a fast-loading, simple, and easy-on-the-eyes one? :rolleyes:

It's optional either way.

[ellawella]

So you would rather have a very image-dependent, slow-loading skin rather than a fast-loading, simple, and easy-on-the-eyes one? :rolleyes:

It's optional either way.

Even though you so cutely put the question in a horribly biased manner, given that choice, yes, I would.

And I'm glad it's optional. It means I can switch back :)

[Rikki]

I don't understand why anyone would demand greater simplicity, either - learn what you're doing or don't do it at all.

That's very strange logic indeed. I know very well what I'm doing, but anything that enables me to work faster and easier is surely a good thing. Life would be rather frustrating if everything followed your logic.

[ellawella]

That's very strange logic indeed. I know very well what I'm doing, but anything that enables me to work faster and easier is surely a good thing. Life would be rather frustrating if everything followed your logic.

Same to you, since you appear to have taken my comment out of the immediate context.

What I meant to put across is that one should be willing to expend the requisite minutes, hours or even days performing a task satisfactorily so long as the end result justifies the expended effort. I'm quite happy spending lots of time building a nice looking skin - I don't care if I could spend less time generating an aesthetically inferior one.

[Rikki]

Same to you, since you appear to have taken my comment out of the immediate context.

What I meant to put across is that one should be willing to expend the requisite minutes, hours or even days performing a task satisfactorily so long as the end result justifies the expended effort. I'm quite happy spending lots of time building a nice looking skin - I don't care if I could spend less time generating an aesthetically inferior one.

If you're happy spending that time, that's great. Others of us are on a schedule and have clients waiting, and when they often want nothing more than a colour change, the new skin allows that to be done quicker. Don't assume everyone has the same intentions and constraints as yourself.

[bfarber]

That doesn't mean our large corporate customers purchasing 100 sites want to spend the "days" necessary to build a nice looking skin for each site. In most cases they want to change out the colors and upload a new logo. With the blue skin that's simply not an option (unless you can deal with the blue IPB forum markers, for example, etc. etc.). With this new skin, it is.

[ellawella]

It takes days to change the colour?

:blink:

[bfarber]

It takes days to change the colour?

:blink:

Not necessarily in the CSS, though I expect the companies setting up 100 sites at a time don't have the time to go through the individual CSS properties in our blue skin for all 100 sites within an hour.

Nor could they likely recreate nice looking buttons and icon markers (we have what, like 100 images) for 100 sites within a few hours either.

All in all, yes, I'd expect it would likely take days to set up nice skins, even closely based on the default skin, for 100 sites. With the new skin, it would be much much easier.

[ellawella]

Not necessarily in the CSS, though I expect the companies setting up 100 sites at a time don't have the time to go through the individual CSS properties in our blue skin for all 100 sites within an hour.

Nor could they likely recreate nice looking buttons and icon markers (we have what, like 100 images) for 100 sites within a few hours either.

All in all, yes, I'd expect it would likely take days to set up nice skins, even closely based on the default skin, for 100 sites. With the new skin, it would be much much easier.

Don't know about you, but I'm imagining running through the CSS replacing the hex values where necessary, then using Photoshop to batch alter the hue of the images. I estimate that I could complete that in under ten minutes.

Even if this new design is geared towards those who want a "quick fix", I see no reason for setting it default on the corporate forums. Surely you want to show off your best assets?

[Rikki]

I see no reason for setting it default on the corporate forums. Surely you want to show off your best assets?

You'll notice the opinion on it is split roughly down the middle. You can't please everyone all the time - though we're trying by making both available still.

[ellawella]

You'll notice the opinion on it is split roughly down the middle. You can't please everyone all the time - though we're trying by making both available still.

THat means you will have to keep two skins in line with development instead of just one, does it not? Extra work...

Well, I've stated my opinion. Obviously the IPS staff are not going to agree with me, so I will just say again that I'll be happy to stay with the old style.

[Κeith]

Whether you batch process or not, you're still spending a very large amount of time on each skin. O_o

I think the 100 skins in a few days was rather optimistic, in all honesty, even with the newer skin.