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Site Announcements and Feedback => Announcements/Feedback/Suggestions => Topic started by: rknize on Thu, 27 June 2013, 11:48:17

Title: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rknize on Thu, 27 June 2013, 11:48:17
After July 18th, we plan to return to the old default theme for GeekHack (Thoriated).  The original theme for the new GeekHack was Oranje, but we actually relaunched with Thoriated as a last-minute change.  These are closely based on the default SMF theme, Curve.  Nostalgia was created to bring back the look and feel of the old GeekHack and Austere is the antithesis of that look.

Anyone can choose whatever theme they prefer in their profile, so this is not necessarily a question about which theme is your favorite.  Which theme should newcomers see when they first come to GeekHack?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Tym on Thu, 27 June 2013, 11:49:50
Nostalgia seems more welcoming, and homely where as the white ones seem too clean and medical, just my 2 cents.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: jdcarpe on Thu, 27 June 2013, 13:30:16
Yes, I agree with Tym. Nostalgia is how Geekhack is supposed to look, and should be the default that new members see.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: funkymeeba on Thu, 27 June 2013, 14:55:20
Nostalgia is the only one that doesn't make my eyes sore.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Techno Trousers on Thu, 27 June 2013, 15:02:24
I'm going to take the contrary opinion, but hear me out. I think the theme should be Austere for new and unauthenticated users, because it fits better with the current minimalist web style trends, and new users coming here for the first time will likely expect/enjoy it the most. Leave nostalgia to the old timers and those who prefer the darker themes.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Photoelectric on Thu, 27 June 2013, 19:04:33
Nostalgia is such high contrast, I can't stand using it.  At least on my IPS monitors.  I don't know if it looks more reasonable on faded TN panels.  The previous theme was okay (not a big fan of the colors, but at least it didn't hurt my eyes).  The new theme is nice.  A bit too bright, but most usable for me.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Input Nirvana on Thu, 27 June 2013, 19:50:56
My thoughts:

1- What is the goal of the default theme?
2- What themes would GH choose to offer... (I'm not sure that 'says' anything about GH)

DISCLAIMER: I use Nostalgia because I prefer dark screens, and I have a minimum 24" bright quality screen and white is often overpowering even when brightness is turned lower. I often am in a dark room at night (relaxing) and bright screens can be a bit too exciting :)  Deskthority is too bright for me.

If the goal is to "sell" GH and gain new members, and to use the default theme to initially attract and entice as a sales tool, what theme would do that best? A theme that is mainstream/common/fits like a glove, or a little different and stands out from the rest?


I did use Thoriated for quite a while, it is nice, but I prefer dark.

As far as newcomers, if you want them to click away happily, we need a GeekHack Girl (unfortunately my girlfriend won't even hear of it, so don't ask) in a GeekHack wet t-shirt, GeekHack ball cap, all in GeekHack colors.

These are my thoughts.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: jwaz on Thu, 27 June 2013, 20:34:53
Nostalgia! It's the true Geekhack theme!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: sth on Thu, 27 June 2013, 20:50:53
one theme to rule them all
one theme to find them
one theme to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them

in the land of geekhack where the shadows lie.


what more do you need? nostalgia is the only way.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: thegunner100 on Thu, 27 June 2013, 20:53:29
Definitely nostalgia. Dark themes are so much easier on the eyes, and it's the true GH theme!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rowdy on Thu, 27 June 2013, 20:56:06
I still haven't decided.  I'm trying the new theme, but it is a bit bright.  Probably switch back to Nostalgia soon.

OTOH most serious online forums have a white background (e.g. Oracle, Apple, Microsoft), and many trendy gamer-oriented web sites have dark background (e.g. Nvidia, Blizzard).

But ... it would be nice to hear from some new members what they think.  It seems to be mostly older (i.e. joined longer ago) members who prefer Nostalgia.

Only 1 person with < 400 posts has contributed, and he said "Austere".
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Beast on Thu, 27 June 2013, 20:58:17
Nostalgia is the only way!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Photoelectric on Thu, 27 June 2013, 21:16:04
Dark themes are so much easier on the eyes, and it's the true GH theme!

I agree.  But what's up with the near-neon orange (when contrasted with black)!  That's definitely not easy on eyes.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Lu_e on Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:54:25
If the profanity filter can be turned off on nostalgia, (which I just checked again and it looks like it now can be) then thats my vote.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Sifo on Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:57:56
Nostalgia.

#vintage
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: wcass on Fri, 28 June 2013, 15:23:44
i voted for nostalgia too. i like the orange and black. my only complaint is the rare white-text-on-orange.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: absyrd on Fri, 28 June 2013, 15:57:50
Nostalgia!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Sat, 29 June 2013, 01:10:34
Nostalgia IS GeekHack. All the rest are just... Wrong...
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: longweight on Sat, 29 June 2013, 01:11:47
Nostalgia is horrible, it makes GH look old.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Sat, 29 June 2013, 01:15:57
Yeah well Nostalgia doesn't make my eyes bleed. You can vote for and change to one of the 'other themes'.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Sun, 30 June 2013, 05:58:48
Nostalgia...
We should also make a Ripster-Posting-Bot!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Sun, 30 June 2013, 14:32:30
No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Glod on Thu, 04 July 2013, 21:10:30
i just noticed the new theme doesn't show who is looking at the thread you have open

Example:
Glod and 5 Guests are viewing this topic.
that doesn't show up with the new theme but is in nostalgia
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: calavera on Thu, 04 July 2013, 21:13:26
Don't care what the default is as long as I have an option to switch to a dark one.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: crazee64 on Sun, 07 July 2013, 19:38:09
I've only registered an hour or so ago and I've already changed my theme to Thoriated as I found it softer on the eyes.
/my $0.02
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Thimplum on Wed, 10 July 2013, 07:37:09
No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.

Didn't De$kth0r!ty try to put him on a one post per hour limit?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Wed, 10 July 2013, 11:48:39
No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.

Didn't De$kth0r!ty try to put him on a one post per hour limit?

Yes, and yet he was still perma-banned there too... NICKELS!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Tarzan on Wed, 10 July 2013, 11:57:01
Nostalgia IS GeekHack. All the rest are just... Wrong...

This.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Thimplum on Wed, 10 July 2013, 12:17:43
No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.

Didn't De$kth0r!ty try to put him on a one post per hour limit?

Yes, and yet he was still perma-banned there too... NICKELS!

PING!

On topic, I also agree that Nostalgia is the best way to go.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Wed, 10 July 2013, 12:23:26
RTFW! Nostalgia is the true GeekHack, the others are just sheep in wolves clothing. Would you trust a sheep that liked to cosplay as a wolf?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: sth on Wed, 10 July 2013, 20:40:11
Yeah well Nostalgia doesn't make my eyes bleed. You can vote for and change to one of the 'other themes'.

No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.

No bot can compete with the real thing. I say let him back in with maybe a 1 post per hour restriction so some of you guys don't start raising pitchforks about his 'spamming'. I loved both his intellectual input AND 'spamming' equally.

Didn't De$kth0r!ty try to put him on a one post per hour limit?

Yes, and yet he was still perma-banned there too... NICKELS!

RTFW! Nostalgia is the true GeekHack, the others are just sheep in wolves clothing. Would you trust a sheep that liked to cosplay as a wolf?

ugh. can i retract my vote for nostalgia? i don't think i like it as much anymore
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Ragnorock on Tue, 30 July 2013, 00:49:52
Nostalgia Ftw. Please do it so we don't have to worry about our posts being unreadable on other color schemes!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Tue, 30 July 2013, 01:13:35
Nostalgia Ftw. Please do it so we don't have to worry about our posts being unreadable on other color schemes!

He already did... Quite a while ago infact... Just open GH in a different browser (as a guest) and you'll see that it's nostalgia you're greeted with.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rknize on Tue, 30 July 2013, 10:37:46
Yup, we did the cut-over on the 18th...the 1-year anniversary of the site relaunch.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=45937.0
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: microsoft windows on Thu, 01 August 2013, 17:53:46
How about treating site visitors to the "Hotdog Stand" theme?
(http://codinghorror.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a85dcdae970b0120a86d4df2970b-pi)
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rowdy on Thu, 01 August 2013, 18:15:04
Mcdonalds?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: jdcarpe on Thu, 01 August 2013, 20:03:14
Windows 3.1. That brings back memories. My engineering prof said that he didn't think DOS would advance past version 5.0, as it was as sophisticated as anyone would ever need at that point. Just a few years later, and we were all using DOS 7 underneath the GUI of Windows 95/98.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Thimplum on Thu, 08 August 2013, 12:13:21
How about treating site visitors to the "Hotdog Stand" theme?
Show Image
(http://codinghorror.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a85dcdae970b0120a86d4df2970b-pi)


 :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Title: Re: poll sans pics
Post by: Nzen on Thu, 29 August 2013, 22:35:47
A poll about visuals without pictures is a recipe for buyers remorse.

I scraped these pictures from the waybackmachine, but don't know which is which. I think the upper left is thoriated? If someone would name each of the depicted themes, I can fix the image. (and cast a meaningful vote.)

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/9624215559_9ddec37e60_o.jpg)
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: The_Ed on Thu, 29 August 2013, 23:48:45
3 of those are from before my time considering the logo, and no longer exist. This poll was for deciding what the default theme that only unregistered users are forced to use would be. Since you are registered you can just change the theme in your profile settings, and vote accordingly. But this poll has long been decided, so your vote won't really mean much. So if I were you I would just test them all out and keep using the one that you like the best.
Title: Re: poll sans pics
Post by: Olitender on Sun, 17 November 2013, 18:31:47
A poll about visuals without pictures is a recipe for buyers remorse.

I scraped these pictures from the waybackmachine, but don't know which is which. I think the upper left is thoriated? If someone would name each of the depicted themes, I can fix the image. (and cast a meaningful vote.)

Show Image
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/9624215559_9ddec37e60_o.jpg)


That made it much easier. Thanks!
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: SpAmRaY on Sun, 17 November 2013, 18:34:18
Why is this thread still open?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 17 November 2013, 19:45:25
Why is this thread still open?

So people like us can keep talking about the dead horse.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: kilogeek on Thu, 30 January 2014, 21:59:36
I was the bugging member who said default theme menu made me blind  :))

But I love these black background themes

The only thing that hurts is white text on orange background for the menu, I would like either black text or a dark red replacing orange colors,
also round corners on the border... I would replace that with dotted border with square corners, looks more tech.

Just let me 30 mins and I come back with a mockup to show what I mean ^^ (rebel rebel)

Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: kilogeek on Thu, 30 January 2014, 22:38:48
Here it is :

[attach=1]
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: kilogeek on Thu, 30 January 2014, 23:00:20
Also a "blueprint" theme could be very nice, but this means changing all color scheme for dark blue background and lighter blue foregrounds, I can do the job it if an admin can send me the current CSS files (including pics) by mail, no need for PHP, I will just grab HTML outputs to do the job. I agree white themes don't really fit with Geekhack scope^^
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Photoelectric on Sat, 01 February 2014, 14:26:59
I also think that we could use some dark theme in muted tones.  I would use the black/orange theme, but the orange is very high contrast on my glossy IPS monitor and is not at all enjoyable.  I've been using Austere for the most neutral pleasant combination but do wish it were darker. 

If we could get something like black or dark gray background with text/dividers in neutral shades of white/gray/pale blue, etc. --it'd be amazing.

And...  Could we maybe get a dark Solarized theme?

http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: jwaz on Sat, 01 February 2014, 14:28:33
I also think that we could use some dark theme in muted tones.  I would use the black/orange theme, but the orange is very high contrast on my glossy IPS monitor and is not at all enjoyable.  I've been using Austere for the most neutral pleasant combination but do wish it were darker. 

If we could get something like black or dark gray background with text/dividers in neutral shades of white/gray/pale blue, etc. --it'd be amazing.

And...  Could we maybe get a dark Solarized theme?

http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized

That would be pretty cool, I'd be pretty into a monochrome theme, or something like nostalgia but with green :cool:
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: kilogeek on Sat, 01 February 2014, 18:08:55
nothing to do with theme but I WOULD LOVE A BOTTOM-RIGHT STATIC BUTTON that brings back to top of page :)  Same as on e-bay site.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: SpAmRaY on Sat, 01 February 2014, 18:14:00
nothing to do with theme but I WOULD LOVE A BOTTOM-RIGHT STATIC BUTTON that brings back to top of page :)  Same as on e-bay site.

Can't you just use the home button?
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Photoelectric on Sat, 01 February 2014, 18:17:47
Do you mean the "Go Up"  button on the bottom left of every thread page as well as every subforum? (next to page numbers).  There's also "go down".
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: Coreda on Sat, 01 February 2014, 20:38:41
nothing to do with theme but I WOULD LOVE A BOTTOM-RIGHT STATIC BUTTON that brings back to top of page :)  Same as on e-bay site.

I never quite understand 'Top' buttons on sites, as the Home key exists on almost every keyboard, and it usually is an anchor link which requires clicking Back twice to return to the previous page (unless it's using JS).
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: kilogeek on Sun, 02 February 2014, 05:38:23
nothing to do with theme but I WOULD LOVE A BOTTOM-RIGHT STATIC BUTTON that brings back to top of page :)  Same as on e-bay site.

I never quite understand 'Top' buttons on sites, as the Home key exists on almost every keyboard, and it usually is an anchor link which requires clicking Back twice to return to the previous page (unless it's using JS).

Home key is not on my mouse  :p  (very hard when you are 45 to change habbits)
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: GeorgeK on Thu, 24 July 2014, 10:51:43
Whilst I appreciate that Nostalgia is nostalgic (pun intended) for many - it makes my eyeballs hurt after just a few minutes....  Thoriated all the way for me
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: dustinhxc on Thu, 24 July 2014, 11:19:58
People use something besides nostalgia? Crazy! It's black and orange, one of the main things I love here! :)
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rowdy on Thu, 24 July 2014, 15:17:34
+1 Nostalgia.

It was GH when I joined, it still is GH to me.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: noisyturtle on Thu, 24 July 2014, 22:41:50
Nostalgia is the default theme of my heart  :llama:
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: rowdy on Thu, 24 July 2014, 22:56:43
Nostalgia is the default theme of my heart  :llama:

Mine has a sort of reddish pink theme.
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: TheMark on Sun, 27 July 2014, 14:50:06
This is only my second post (first being in new-members area)

I hate to complain so soon, but damn... I'm forced to use Tapatalk to be able to read the site. The black/orange looks cool but my eyes are bleeding after 10mins. (I have 20/20 without glasses)
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: HoffmanMyster on Sun, 27 July 2014, 15:01:14
This is only my second post (first being in new-members area)

I hate to complain so soon, but damn... I'm forced to use Tapatalk to be able to read the site. The black/orange looks cool but my eyes are bleeding after 10mins. (I have 20/20 without glasses)

You can change the theme in the settings.  Profile -> Modify Profile -> Look and Layout.  If you don't like the black background, I recommend Austere (Thoriated is also a reasonable option).
Title: Re: [POLL] Forum default theme
Post by: TheMark on Sun, 27 July 2014, 15:50:10

This is only my second post (first being in new-members area)

I hate to complain so soon, but damn... I'm forced to use Tapatalk to be able to read the site. The black/orange looks cool but my eyes are bleeding after 10mins. (I have 20/20 without glasses)

You can change the theme in the settings.  Profile -> Modify Profile -> Look and Layout.  If you don't like the black background, I recommend Austere (Thoriated is also a reasonable option).

Thank You! X1000