I think it is time....

[pianodude123]

Hey arn,

I dont know if I am the only one, but I think it is time for a new forum/site design/update. The grey-ish background with the BIG text ads on top and on bottom are not very appealing. Also, I think we should give the logo a little work...it looks like clip-art. Definately at least make it a bit "aqua-ey!"

If you need some help with the redesign, contact me somehow or another, and I will be glad to help for free.

[Blue Velvet]

You know what? I think it's fine... more than fine. Aqua is so yesterday. This site is designed for legibility IMO.

And the logo? It's a good piece of work.
But what do I know? I'm just a designer.

[pianodude123]

You know what? I think it's fine... more than fine. Aqua is so yesterday. This site is designed for legibility IMO.

No,

I dont mean "exactly" aqua, just more shiny, and apple like. It is like a generic apple, and apples are FAR from generic. if yolu want generic get a dell

[PlaceofDis]

the logo is great.
the forums are easy to nagivate. are fast and simple. i wouldn't want them any other ways. (we could just use more smilies :p )

[Blue Velvet]

If you think that this site will be improved by some shiny surfaces, I think you're completely missing the point about legibility and usability. This site does not have a 'grey' background and to call the logo 'clipart' betrays a lack of knowledge about logo design.

However, if I have one unasked-for criticism, it would be that the forum section headings (i.e. Mac Hardware, Mac Software etc.) are a little lost on the main forums page. They could do with a little more emphasis to more clearly delineate the separate sections.

[Dr. Dastardly]

Yes please Arn make it look just like Spymac.

I alwasy wanted to throw up in my mouth a little bit just like iGary everytime I visit. :rolleyes:

[cubist]

Not only is the site very easy to read, but also, it loads fast. And I like the recent improvement where you can edit in place.

OK, more smilies might be nice, but nothing else, ok?

[mad jew]

I once went to an Australian Mac forums site that had a brushed metal look. It was Safari within Safari. After thirty seconds I left, it was ridiculously hard to follow. :o

Having said that, I'd like more naked ladies on the front page arn. This is the internet.

[DaveP]

I agree that the forums being very simple and plain make them very readable and pleasing on the eye. It took me about 3 months to realize the logo had a question mark in it....

[jadekitty24]

It took me about 3 months to realize the logo had a question mark in it....
I never noticed it until you mentioned it!!
crawls back under rock
PS-the site is fine the way it is!!

[arn]

Hey arn,
I dont know if I am the only one, but I think it is time for a new forum/site design/update. The grey-ish background with the BIG text ads on top and on bottom are not very appealing. Also, I think we should give the logo a little work...it looks like clip-art. Definately at least make it a bit "aqua-ey!"


I actually really like the logo :)

As for a general site redesign, I don't have any plans. I could tweak some things here and there and tighten things up a bit, but that's the extent.

I do think the icons/smilies could use some brushing up. I'm just using the vbulletin default. I've looked around but the icons I've seen elsewhere haven't been that inspiring either.

arn

[EricNau]

I never noticed it until you mentioned it!!
crawls back under rock
PS-the site is fine the way it is!!
I had never noticed it either.

Since we are talking about the logo anyway...
I was trying to modify the logo to turn it into an icon, so I could bookmark this site in my dock using the logo.
All I really did to it was make the background transparent, but for some reason it still shows the white. :(
See...39123

What did I do wrong? (The attached image is the icon I tried making)

PS - keep the site the way it is

[arn]

All I really did to it was make the background transparent, but for some reason it still shows the white. :(


Try using a copy of my avatar, which already has a transparent background on the edges.

arn

[Jay42]

I'm not huge into site design, so don't kill me for saying this:

I think i've been to other v bulletin sites where you can hover over a post with your mouse and get a quick preview of the original post. I know more than a few people would object to this as a default, but could it be an option or something?

[arn]

I'm not huge into site design, so don't kill me for saying this:

I think i've been to other v bulletin sites where you can hover over a post with your mouse and get a quick preview of the text. I know more than a few people would object to this as a default, but could it be an option or something?

unfortunately, I don't think we can enable it individually. it's all or nothing. And the main reason I didn't enable it was that I didn't like it. but other people have said the same.

arn

[EricNau]

Try using a copy of my avatar, which already has a transparent background on the edges.

arn
OS X still keeps the white background, even with your avatar. I guess it can't be done. Oh well. Thanks

[Jay42]

unfortunately, I don't think we can enable it individually. it's all or nothing. And the main reason I didn't enable it was that I didn't like it. but other people have said the same.

arn

Yeah, definitely not a good idea then.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

OS X still keeps the white background, even with your avatar. I guess it can't be done. Oh well. ThanksTry pic2icon (http://www.download.com/Pic2Icon/3000-2256_4-8881968.html?tag=lst-0-1) or similar...

[ITASOR]

the BIG text ads on top and on bottom are not very appealing.

Then contribute.

[EricNau]

Try pic2icon (http://www.download.com/Pic2Icon/3000-2256_4-8881968.html?tag=lst-0-1) or similar...
Thanks, that worked perfectly. :)

[trainguy77]

I like how it looks right now. I got to other forums(don't worry i am not leaving:eek: ) and look at them for 30 seconds and have to leave. Some people have forums that they think look cool for about 2 seconds then i try to read a post.......I like the way it is.

[Counterfit]

I never noticed it until you mentioned it!!
crawls back under rock
PS-the site is fine the way it is!!
I didn't notice it until now either, and I've been here 2 years, 2 months (minus 2 days ;)) longer than you! :eek:
I personally like the site design, sans the lack of smileys. I like the default IPB smileys, and I also like the smileys at Macfora.com too.

[2nyRiggz]

This site is fine the way it is. the colors don't hurt my eyes which is a good thing.


Bless

[EricNau]

Animated smileys would be nice.

[Aarow]

Is the macrumors logo supposed to look like a mole? I see a mole..

[Capt Underpants]

Is the macrumors logo supposed to look like a mole? I see a mole..

You're probably looking at the bottom of the question mark...

[dmw007]

OK, more smilies might be nice, but nothing else, ok?

The only needed upgrade to MR in my humble opinion. :)

[EricNau]

Is the macrumors logo supposed to look like a mole? I see a mole..
I don't see it. :confused:

[jsalzer]

Animated smileys would be nice.

On behalf of modem users - there's nothing more annoying than waiting 30-60 seconds for a page to load because a few goofballs throw 20 animated smileys in their posts. This is currently a very modem-friendly site.

I also never noticed about the question mark in the logo. Both ways, I think it's great. Though the question mark is overpowering now that I know it's there. ;)

[Aarow]

I don't see it. :confused:

The bottom of the question mark is the nose, the seeds are the eyes. It's a weird looking mole, that's for sure.

[EricNau]

The bottom of the question mark is the nose, the seeds are the eyes. It's a weird looking mole, that's for sure.
That is hilarious! :D That's all I am going to see from now on.

On behalf of modem users - there's nothing more annoying than waiting 30-60 seconds for a page to load because a few goofballs throw 20 animated smileys in their posts. This is currently a very modem-friendly site.

I also never noticed about the question mark in the logo. Both ways, I think it's great. Though the question mark is overpowering now that I know it's there. ;)
Maybe...
It could be an option, to animate smileys or not. (just like displaying signatures is optional)
For those that disabled animation, the smiley would still show up, but it just wouldn't move.

[trainguy77]

The bottom of the question mark is the nose, the seeds are the eyes. It's a weird looking mole, that's for sure.
WOW i never noticed that before....and now I can't get rid of it! now we need a knew logo........:rolleyes:

[Jay42]

I would agree with those that want to keep the forums generally the same. Sometimes I am intrigued by other fancy forums, but after a while, they definitely become annoying. I much prefer MR's simple style that gets the job done and doesn't get in the way after a while.

[Spock]

I remember when the site looked like this, http://web.archive.org/web/20001202060300/www.macrumors.com/article.php3?sid=20000920121128

Did the petition work?????

[Counterfit]

Did the petition work?????
Apparently, it was completely unnecessary in the first place.

[arn]

for those who care the MacRumors Logo first showed up on Feb 5 2002

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1927

arn

[Flowbee]

unfortunately, I don't think we can enable it individually. it's all or nothing. And the main reason I didn't enable it was that I didn't like it.

That makes two of us. I find those little pop-up message previews really annoying and unnecessary.

[EricNau]

for those who care the MacRumors Logo first showed up on Feb 5 2002

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1927

arn
That's interesting. Seems like a lot of people didn't notice the question mark. That makes me feel better. Maybe the question mark should be a different color. (Just Kidding)

[Doctor Q]

While we're adding animated smilies, could we make all the text blink too? :rolleyes:

[Phat_Pat]

While we're adding animated smilies, could we make all the text blink too? :rolleyes:
and if you quote the original post can we get the screen to flash the colors of the random 50 times per second for 30 seconds?

[Lacero]

I like animated smilies... only by people who make the effort to add them themselves. http://www3.telus.net/poojja/s/band.gif

39152

[Blackheart]

Could we get the MR favicon on the forums.macrumors.com too? :confused: :)

[EricNau]

While we're adding animated smilies, could we make all the text blink too? :rolleyes:
That would be cool! :D

[AmbitiousLemon]

for those who care the MacRumors Logo first showed up on Feb 5 2002

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1927

arn

i remember that that. other funny thing, i recognize more of those posters than the current compliment of users... guess i've gotten out of touch.

i've sort of forgotten what the site used to look like though.

[robbieduncan]

Could we get the MR favicon on the forums.macrumors.com too? :confused: :)

It does for me? (At least it does right now: on a PC at work using FireFox)

[jelloshotgun]

I remember when the site looked like this, http://web.archive.org/web/20001202060300/www.macrumors.com/article.php3?sid=20000920121128


Was the site originally using slashcode?

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Could we get the MR favicon on the forums.macrumors.com too? :confused: :)You're using Safari, right...?

Just (quit Safari and) delete everything in ~/Library/Safari/Icons/ and you should get to see the MR favicon... :)

[Flowbee]

While we're adding animated smilies, could we make all the text blink too? :rolleyes:

And what about allowing large, banner-sized images in our sigs? These forums could really rawk!

[clayj]

Another vBulletin site I recently joined is http://www.panthershuddle.com/forum/... for whatever reason, they have ALL of the bells and whistles turned on: Images in sigs (which is BAD), a galaxy of smilies (many of which are animated), reputation (which Arn turned on VERY briefly a little while back... you can give "rep" to someone for a good post... or you can take it away for a bad one), custom user titles (contributors can specify their own titles), hovering previews of posts, etc.

However, doing all that makes the site MUCH less readable. And, their site only has about 10% of the traffic of this site.

I like things the way they are, although I do like the custom titles option.

[amacgenius]

I think we could use a little more color, but other than that I love the forum, and damn yes I see that damn Mole now, and I've always knows the question mark was there.

Anyways, color and a few more smilies (NOT animated) would be nice :).

[arn]

Was the site originally using slashcode?

site originally used an early version of PHPSlash. but that pretty much sucked. :)

arn

[XNine]

The only thing I think could possibly make the site any better, arn, is a little box at the bottom of the screen where you can select which forum you want to jump to, instead of going back to the main Forum List page every single time.

And.. and.. well, that's it, actually. :)

[XIII]

Am I the only one who likes the simple, easy smilies? :) :D ;)

[Applespider]

I've looked around but the icons I've seen elsewhere haven't been that inspiring either.


Perhaps a new contest; design some new non-animated smileys for MR. Sure there are some clever Mac related ones out there that someone could come up. Even Happy Mac and Sad Mac instead of :) and :(

[thedude110]

Am I the only one who likes the simple, easy smilies?

No, you're not -- animated :) s are irritatingly over the top.

I used to feel pretty :( about :) :confused: :eek: , but have resigned myself to their existence. If people start consistently using animated :rolleyes: :( :p , though, I can't imagine feeling anyting but :mad:. LOL.


:rolleyes:

[Lau]

Perhaps a new contest; design some new non-animated smileys for MR. Sure there are some clever Mac related ones out there that someone could come up. Even Happy Mac and Sad Mac instead of :) and :(

How about these? :D

Edit: Did em all, because my Friday night is just that damn exciting. :o

[Roger1]

I like the site. The only change I would make is getting rid of the funky blue at the top and bottom. Other than that, leave everything, because it's extremely quick loading (I don't want to waste a lot of time waiting for pages to load at work, ya know :p )

[zelmo]

The only thing I think could possibly make the site any better, arn, is a little box at the bottom of the screen where you can select which forum you want to jump to, instead of going back to the main Forum List page every single time.

And.. and.. well, that's it, actually. :)


This man makes an excellent point.

Other than that, I appreciate the tasteful, elegant, and functional interface MR has right now. Let's not be muddying it up with flashing crap.:p

[TMA]

I love the site and the forums the way they are...

Best bits:
- Logo
- Overall appearance
- Forums very easy to read
- Tight control of forum options keeps everything looking smooth
- Use of tabs
- Regular updates
- 'Tell it like it is' style
- Guides

However from reading this forum, some things I like the idea of...
- Forum navigation pull down menu
- More static smilies (not animated)

A few of my ideas...
- Make the home page less 'full'. Sometimes feels like information overload.
- A new poll every day.
- Interactive play mate :D

How about these? :D

Edit: Did em all, because my Friday night is just that damn exciting. :o

I actually think they're quite cute - Could maybe do with being a bit bolder, with bigger eyes and features, and perhaps with a stronger background colour. I'd use them.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

How about these? :DNice ones... :)

Did em all, because my Friday night is just that damn exciting. :oAnd hanging out here at MR isn't exiting...? :confused: :p

[Lau]

I actually think they're quite cute - Could maybe do with being a bit bolder, with bigger eyes and features, and perhaps with a stronger background colour. I'd use them.

Thanks. Yeah, they definitely need a outline, I think, and a bit more time spent on them! I was just playing around, really, but i quite like the idea of designing a set of smileys. <puts thinking cap on>


And hanging out here at MR isn't exiting...? :confused: :p

Of course it is! :D

[law guy]

I agree that the forums being very simple and plain make them very readable and pleasing on the eye. It took me about 3 months to realize the logo had a question mark in it....

It took me three years! I only looked at it really carefully for the first time the other day. Now, that I know it's there it's obvious, it really jumps out, but I can't believe I didn't notice it for so long.

[rdowns]

Thanks. Yeah, they definitely need a outline, I think, and a bit more time spent on them! I was just playing around, really, but i quite like the idea of designing a set of smileys. <puts thinking cap on>



Of course it is! :D

Cool smileys even though I don't really use them (except :rolleyes: ). Make 'em for demis only.

[devilot]

How about these? :D

Edit: Did em all, because my Friday night is just that damn exciting. :oThey are so adorable! You should get them printed on a shirt... I'd buy it. :o :D

P.S. As far as animated 'tars/smileys go-- I love Camino. I've made it so that animated things only play once before they stop moving!

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Make 'em for demis only.Hey... that's not nice... :mad:

:p ;)

[Applespider]

Nice ones Lau

Although I must confess I was thinking more of, literally, Happy & Sad Mac and I do like the idea of 'bombing' certain oft-repeated topics ;)

[pknz]

I vote for the black theme from Pro Apps.

[Lau]

Did some smiley updating....

Click the thumbnail, 'cause it shrunk 'em a bit....

edit, made em bigger in the post instead. :)

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39234&d=1137881800

[dcv]

Did some smiley updating....



Awww they're so cute!

[Lau]

Nice ones Lau

Although I must confess I was thinking more of, literally, Happy & Sad Mac and I do like the idea of 'bombing' certain oft-repeated topics ;)

Thanks. :)

It's a shame there were no 'embarrassed Mac' icons. :D Although I must say I love the idea of bombing bad threads!

[Blue Velvet]

Did some smiley updating....

They're great... but I do like the greater colour variation in the standard set. That blushing pink, gloomy purple and furious red communicate so much.

[Lau]

They're great... but I do like the greater colour variation in the standard set. That blushing pink, gloomy purple and furious red communicate so much.

Hmm, looking at them again, I think you're right. I was trying to keep them in vague apple-like colours (i.e. either a shade of red or green) but I think the ones we have already (as well as the colours communicating) are instantly recognisable by the colour, before you see the expression.

Lucky I saved them layered, huh? :D

[Lau]

These are close (ish) to the original MR smileys in colour, which is probably less confusing.

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39236&d=1137883651

[Counterfit]

I think they could stand to be a smidgen bigger.

[EGT]

What ever you do, don't get rid of this little guy: :D

He's my favourite smily!

[Lau]

I think they could stand to be a smidgen bigger.

What, when you click on them, or as they're viewed above? The embedded image above is shrunk slightly, and they're much smoother and slightly bigger when you click on it. :)

edit: attached em bigger to the post. :)

[solvs]

I actually really like the logo :)
Me too. And the site looks fine. Some minor updates here and there are nice, but I appreciate the fact that you ask for feedback before and after. Looking at sites like MacCentral and TV Tome, I can't say I like what they became. Little things are ok though, lest you think I fear change. ;)

[Aarow]

The smileys look nice, Lau. I would definitely use themhttp://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4254/applesmile4fy.jpg.

[Counterfit]

What, when you click on them, or as they're viewed above? The embedded image above is shrunk slightly, and they're much smoother and slightly bigger when you click on it. :)

edit: attached em bigger to the post. :)
Ah, much better. :)

[iBlue]

ok i love this little guy: http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39235&stc=1&d=1137882125

lau those apple icons are really cute too!


and on a bit more of the original topic, i love the layout, function and appearance of this site, including the logo. (which by the way i noticed the question mark right off the bat :p ) no complaints from me here.

[MacNut]

Love the site as it is, wondering if the avatar size can be upped to 80x80 as a lot of tars seem to be made for an 80x80 size.

Speaking of animated smiles where is a good place to download some nice ones.

Edit: ok one more thing can the forum colors be softened a bit, at 4 am the white background is a little harsh on the eyes, maybe just going 2 shades darker would do the trick.

[iAlan]

The bottom of the question mark is the nose, the seeds are the eyes. It's a weird looking mole, that's for sure.

More of a hedgehog / echidna (sp?) in my opinion, or for our friends in the UK a Womble!!

[iAlan]

I think they could stand to be a smidgen bigger.

Is that a 'smidgen' on the metric scale or imperial scale?

My Dashboard Converter has 1 metric smidgen to 1.264 imperial smidgen

Edit: Sorry for the double post...even though they are 7 minutes apart...

[Platform]

You know what? I think it's fine... more than fine. Aqua is so yesterday. This site is designed for legibility IMO.

And the logo? It's a good piece of work.
But what do I know? I'm just a designer.

Well....you seem to know enough for me ;)

I really like the logo....;)

[CompUser]

I think the site looks fine. I like the colors and PLEASE no animated smilies.

I never really looked at the MR logo closely. It does look like a mole. I never even noticed the question mark in it. haha- i'm stupid.

[ke2000]

Plain text it is reasonal to read.
Stay this site for long, you know, without graphic content, it is boring.

[strawbarigurl]

I like animated smilies... only by people who make the effort to add them themselves. http://www3.telus.net/poojja/s/band.gif

39152

How do you do blinking text? In ad email?? can you do that?

[belvdr]

Wrap your text in <blink> </blink> but it doesn't work in all browsers.

Here's a search to guide you:

http://www.google.com/search?q=w3school&hl=en#num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Aw3schools.com+blink&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=741ba24befc0f2d6

[spinnerlys]

How do you do blinking text? In ad email?? can you do that?

It's a .gif, you see when you right click on it and select "Save Image to ".

Test blinking text.
<blink>Test blinking text again.</blink>

At least it is not included in the BBS software.

Btw, how did you come upon this four year old thread?