New design

Just thought I would point this out - in my opinion, the new design is confusing, and I had a tough time finding out where the login was and where the categories were. That is just my opinion.

There are other styles available to use if the default one confuses you. Look in the bottom left corner of the forum near the About Us tab and you will see the style selector.

I tend to agree with the OP on this one. Making this the default style could lead to some serious confusion. I know there are other styles to use but why does this confusing, and much too different, one have to be the default?

I don't really have any problems with Fundamental (I think that's what it is called) even though it isn't my favourite style either, it seems pretty easy to navigate to me. Besides, any old hats who don't like it will probably know how to change to their preferred style and anyone new won't get that unfamiliar feeling from it since it will probably be new to them.

I find Fundamental hard to navigate myself, it's pretty hard to see all the sections' last posts and even on the online list it was hard to see mods because regular users were colored very similar to them.

I like it. I'm getting used to it already. I would only suggest brighter colors :), alternative colors would be great!

we have a new skin? lol wth. I've been using the let's fly together one forever.

Yeah, I just changed it back to the Lets fly together.

I mean. I personally think that it's so confusing because most if not all the other skins are extremely similar; we've stuck relatively close to the same method of displaying the different forum sections. Cause of that, any drastic change, like the one Fundamental gave us, is going to be hard to navigate. I think it's for that reason that it should be the default, though. It give the whole community the opportunity to try something new for a change, and helps with the whole acceptance of something new as well. If it becomes too much to bear, then the option to change the default is always there, but I feel people are more inclined to at least give the style a chance if it's what they're given first, rather than it be just a style that's there, but not given much publicity. It's always good to try new things, after all.

I'm no final authority on anything, but I would think it's far more useful to the style creators that you use the style's release thread instead to voice your opinions on the properties of the design! Feedback's always cool, and encouraged, for that matter; however, I think a good use of this thread is to gauge whether or not a different, more user friendly style can be used as the forum default, a question I hope an admin or Rukario can answer.

I think that Fundamental is an interesting experimental style, which is certainly something I like to see more of on PC. However, I agree with the OP here also. It's somewhat cluttered due to the side-bar, and the legibility of the forum sections isn't what I would consider to be suitable for new users.

It's a style that I feel would appeal to users who know their way around PC already, and are looking for a fresh change. If I'm honest, the style should be something clean and inviting. A clear example of what I think would be most suitable is Chromatic, or Route 167. I'll reiterate that I think Fundamental is a great style, but it's not as usable as the ones I've linked due to the experimental nature of some of it's functionality, and I do not feel it should be PC's default.

Just wondering if there was any kind of update on the default forum style. I think it would also be nice to know the rationale behind choosing future (and past) forum styles.

hashtag said:

Just wondering if there was any kind of update on the default forum style. I think it would also be nice to know the rationale behind choosing future (and past) forum styles.

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Okay given that you haven't gotten a response yet I'll just apply what knowledge I have to the situation. Historically there was never any "official" discussion on what a default style should be, in HQ. As long as I was there the default style was chosen at random increments by an Admin when they see fit. I personally don't pose issue with that, especially if they run it by other staff on Skype/other chat methods.

However, I do think it should be reverted when people don't feel the current one is suitable. While this thread has few people stating that there could be a more usable style as the default; I feel that it's enough to consider changing the default to something more relevant to the site.

abnegation said:

Okay given that you haven't gotten a response yet I'll just apply what knowledge I have to the situation. Historically there was never any "official" discussion on what a default style should be, in HQ. As long as I was there the default style was chosen at random increments by an Admin when they see fit. I personally don't pose issue with that, especially if they run it by other staff on Skype/other chat methods.

However, I do think it should be reverted when people don't feel the current one is suitable. While this thread has few people stating that there could be a more usable style as the default; I feel that it's enough to consider changing the default to something more relevant to the site.

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Color Flattered ORAS might be a good replacement. I think it's one of the smoothest layouts on the site, plus with ORAS coming out around the corner it could be quite appealing and attract a good deal of traffic to the site. But this could just be bias coming from me considering Color Flattered ORAS is the layout I usually use.

El Héroe Oscuro said:

Color Flattered ORAS might be a good replacement. I think it's one of the smoothest layouts on the site, plus with ORAS coming out around the corner it could be quite appealing and attract a good deal of traffic to the site. But this could just be bias coming from me considering Color Flattered ORAS is the layout I usually use.

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It's a nice style, but I'm not sure it's a wise choice given that the background image is over 1.3MB in size. Something which will have a quicker load might be a good idea for someone's first look at the site.

A style that causes the site to take longer to load, or a style that isn't accessible or automatically easy to use could end up in loss of registrations. Given PC's recent activity drought (compared to the norm), it would be wise actually taking some time to choose a clean, inviting, and quick-to-load style that is consistent in design/functionality to the broad spectrum of styles that already exist.

abnegation said:

It's a nice style, but I'm not sure it's a wise choice given that the background image is over 1.3MB in size. Something which will have a quicker load might be a good idea for someone's first look at the site.

A style that causes the site to take longer to load, or a style that isn't accessible or automatically easy to use could end up in loss of registrations. Given PC's recent activity drought (compared to the norm), it would be wise actually taking some time to choose a clean, inviting, and quick-to-load style that is consistent in design/functionality to the broad spectrum of styles that already exist.

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So maybe...a new layout that combines the feel of Let's Fly Together with an ORAS flair to it? I don't know the specifics of the background image size, but because it only takes up the top part of the screen I feel that it will require less memory than say Color Flattered ORAS.

Maybe create an automatic cycle that changes the default style from a list of selected styles every x amount of months? That way, the problem of finding a default style "somewhat of this style and of that style" wouldn't be much of a problem.

Also I tend to agree with some of the posters above in that while the current default looks pretty spiffy, it's not exactly user-friendly; especially for new users. We want to attract as many people as possible! (I suppose a funky and unique style is one way if you look at it in that regard but eh!)

Any more updates on possible default style changes?

As one of the few newly recruited members, I feel that I must state my previous concerns, and dislike of the previous layout. The old layout was very dark, disorientating, and felt like it would be a chore to navigate. From my very first glance at it I felt very intimidated, and was actually debating on whether or not I should even join the site due to the struggle of working my way around what seemed to be a very gloomy forum.

Given my previous opinion of old layout. This new version is a breathe of fresh air, as the colour is much more appealing and lively then the previous version. So much so that I must appraise this new layout and applaud the fact I am now able to traverse around the content with great ease. They have my gratitude.