Discussion: The Website Skin/Color Scheme

Amyntas wrote:

Manu wrote:

Amyntas wrote: I like Lavender and Dusty Rose with a touch of Aqua ( the colour ) here and there and i want Temple Bot back ....

Do you NOT like Aqua (the person) around here or there, that you had to make the distinction? :laugh:

Lol , i really like Aqua , no question about that but i was trying to prevent jokes like this and reached quite the opposite :laugh:

You made it too easy, my friend :laugh:

There's always been strong opinions about the theme. Some hated the brown and preferred the red, or the black, etc...

At the moment, as someone pointed out, it's all about keeping it running. Pretty much every single time something gets updated, modifications get reverted and have to be reimplemented. Even things like the PM floodlimit are hardcoded. All of it is hard work. Then add the mobile users, whose devices come in every size imaginable. Then add the incompatibilities between the various pieces of software we use, meaning we can't use anything out of the box because it simply does not work, and even if it did, some out of the box themes are so heavy it would take a good 15 seconds for an australian to load totjo, which isn't practical.

I would personally prefer a different theme, but other more pressing matters come first. The site loads reasonably quickly, uses encryption, actually does what it's meant to do without getting hacked, and is usable on mobile.

I am currently reviewing the permissions system. Then it should be chat.

I'm much more inclined towards having a color scheme in general. I prefer the earth tones. I would be fine with a simple grey based monochromatic scheme. I do not like the default internet colors we have been stuck with due to the upgrade (through no one's fault mind you!)

If it is a matter of Ren not having the time, then perhaps someone could assist with the aesthetics of the site while he focuses on the technical. A divving of duties. Sharing of the load. Etc etc etc

Thank you for the update, ren! I hope that this discussion will help when the time comes that you can focus on the skin/layout.

Senan wrote: As I understand it, the motivation for the upgrade to this new site was due to security. It wasn't done arbitrarily. We needed the new version of the software to stay ahead of hackers. This meant everything was reset to the basic settings, and it takes hours of digging through code to put everything back to the way it was before. I don't know if changing a color scheme is possible on this new platform or not, but if it is, I know it is a much bigger undertaking than many people think it is. I'm sure Ren can elaborate, but he's been busy just getting this site back to functioning the way the old one did. The asthetics will come later.

No...no it's not...

I looked that up too. I didn't say it was hard to find. I said it is an undertaking to change. This site is not just the css template. There are numerous plugins and other custom changes that have been made from the original template that could be impacted. If it was simple, it would be done already. It's not. I trust ren when he says there are more pressing matters to deal with first.

Senan wrote: I looked that up too. I didn't say it was hard to find. I said it is an undertaking to change. This site is not just the css template. There are numerous plugins and other custom changes that have been made from the original template that could be impacted. If it was simple, it would be done already. It's not. I trust ren when he says there are more pressing matters to deal with first.

Well if you guys ever need an extra pair of fingers let me know, I've written and worked on custom CMS's and projects for 15 years, written about 10 of them from the ground up. I may not make things look pretty but I'm the back end functionality systems design and development guy.

*praying to the gods of our beloved Council*

Dear Council,

Please use the talents of such members as Tellahane.

MTFBWY
Connor

That's great to know, Tellahane, and thank you for offering! Sounds like you have way more experience than most, and definitely more knowledge than I do. This kind of help is exactly what we've all been discussing in terms of how to make the Temple better.

Connor is right. We need to take advantage of the many talents people can offer here.

Just changing the main colours is reasonably easy. However the site uses many css files, not just the main one, which would lead to multiple colour schemes getting used(and some are quite annoying to change). The theme as it is works reasonably well out of the box with the other components, which wipe something out whenever they get updated.