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menziep

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 21, 2006
527
1
Ive been on the MR's forums for a while now and would like to know if there will be a updated forums look.

The current one is alright i just think it could do with an update.

Please Post Your Comments
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
Bored today?

anyways, there have been discussions on this before. and the forums do not need to be updated, (in my opinion at least) simply because the current look is easy to look at, and simply functional without excess.
 

cwedl

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2003
1,401
30
Go to your control panel "User CP" and go to "edit options" from here go to the bottom to "Miscellaneous Options" you can have the choice to change the forum skin. I have mine set to Mac Rumors Skin but you can change the skin to standard. Two option! what more would you want:D ...
 

verozov

macrumors regular
Jan 8, 2005
145
0
Columbia, SC
I do think it's okay, but it would be kind of cool to have an updated look (at least in colors). Something possibly Digg-like, clean and simple but newer looking. If this ever did happen, however, it would be best if there was an option on whether you wanted to switch or not.
 

whocares

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2002
1,494
0
:noitаɔo˩
cwedl said:
Go to your control panel "User CP" and go to "edit options" from here go to the bottom to "Miscellaneous Options" you can have the choice to change the forum skin. I have mine set to Mac Rumors Skin but you can change the skin to standard. Two option! what more would you want:D ...

You can have whatever skin you like as long as it's Mac Rumors skin. :p :p
 

menziep

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 21, 2006
527
1
PlaceofDis said:
Bored today?

anyways, there have been discussions on this before. and the forums do not need to be updated, (in my opinion at least) simply because the current look is easy to look at, and simply functional without excess.


Yes i am bored (Sorry!)

Anyway i just saw the looks other forums had thats all.

Example

 

AvSRoCkCO1067

macrumors 65816
Sep 6, 2005
1,401
0
CO
Yeah...that image in your last post isn't showing up...:confused:

EDIT: Now it is! I still like MacRumors skin tho...
 

spicyapple

macrumors 68000
Jul 20, 2006
1,724
1
MR could do with a nice Slashdot-like upgrade with softer edges and that glossy look.
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,795
7,537
Los Angeles
It's nice to update the look of a site once in a while, menziep. I think some minor changes could be made to freshen up MacRumors' face.

In any case, no major changes planned at the moment. We don't want to shock anyone by making massive changes, nor do we want to imitate other sites.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
Leaving arguments of aesthetics and style to one side, if I had two criticisms from a visual and usability point of view they would be:

1) There are too many dark and medium grey rules (lines) and frames used to delineate areas on a page... it's a little cluttered. Personally, I would prefer something a little cleaner, maybe somewhere between this and what we have now. Possibly following on from this...

2) The main forum page https://forums.macrumors.com/ is becoming a little unwieldy. A design that would have suited a smaller forum has now become a mass of too much visual information possibly leading to some confusion for newcomers... do feel that the main forum titles (e.g. Mac Hardware, Special Interests) have become a little lost in the mass of information there.
 

whocares

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2002
1,494
0
:noitаɔo˩
Blue Velvet said:
1) There are too many dark and medium grey rules (lines) and frames used to delineate areas on a page... it's a little cluttered. Personally, I would prefer something a little cleaner, maybe somewhere between this and what we have now. Possibly following on from this...

I disagree because I'm used to the way it is now. All the visual clues (post containers, etc.) are ingrained in my brain. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :p

I know change can be good, but nothing too shocking please. I think it can be cleaned up a tad, but overall it seems to work well.



Blue Velvet said:
2) The main forum page https://forums.macrumors.com/ is becoming a little unwieldy. A design that would have suited a smaller forum has now become a mass of too much visual information possibly leading to some confusion for newcomers... do feel that the main forum titles (e.g. Mac Hardware, Special Interests) have become a little lost in the mass of information there.

Agreed. I very rarely use that page. In fact I went there today and didn't recognise half the forums. :eek:
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
Doctor Q said:
In any case, no major changes planned at the moment. We don't want to shock anyone by making massive changes, nor do we want to imitate other sites.
I'm still waiting for those 1-3 pixels of signature graphics, so I can annoy everyone. :p

Change for changes sake can sometimes backfire.

Make changes and drive people away, or lose some of the soul -- because you try to be hip or an advertising medium like more than one Mac page.

Right now, the pages don't steal the show from the content.

However some cleanup and minor issues are always welcome.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
And the buttons for quote and reply with quill pens... quill pens? On a tech forum?

I mean, there's retro and there's just plain odd. :D
 

whocares

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2002
1,494
0
:noitаɔo˩
Blue Velvet said:
And the buttons for quote and reply with quill pens... quill pens? On a tech forum?

I mean, there's retro and there's just plain odd. :D

Surely *you* know that pen & paper are more powerful than anything a computer can do. ;)

Plus they could be high-tech Kevlar-reinforced epoxy quill pens with titanium alloy tips. A space-age pen of sorts. :p
 

eva01

macrumors 601
Feb 22, 2005
4,720
1
Gah! Plymouth
Blue Velvet said:
2) The main forum page https://forums.macrumors.com/ is becoming a little unwieldy. A design that would have suited a smaller forum has now become a mass of too much visual information possibly leading to some confusion for newcomers... do feel that the main forum titles (e.g. Mac Hardware, Special Interests) have become a little lost in the mass of information there.

Agree wholeheartedly, I have always disliked forums that have too many categories and forums in them, just because it looks cluttered.
 

bigandy

macrumors G3
Apr 30, 2004
8,852
7
Murka
attachment.php

like it?​

try here to install it if you're wanting it.

Josh made the skin, see here for more details on it and installing it in Safari instead of FireFox.
 

michaelrjohnson

macrumors 68020
Aug 9, 2000
2,180
5
53132
A Call to Action!

I think the fact that the increasing frequency of threads in the Site and Forum Feedback Forum that address some concerns about the gestalt, if you will, of MR indicates that some action needs to be taken
 

pianoman

macrumors 68000
May 31, 2006
1,963
0
Blue Velvet said:
2) The main forum page https://forums.macrumors.com/ is becoming a little unwieldy. A design that would have suited a smaller forum has now become a mass of too much visual information possibly leading to some confusion for newcomers... do feel that the main forum titles (e.g. Mac Hardware, Special Interests) have become a little lost in the mass of information there.

I am relatively new to the site (although I have been visiting and posting more frequently in the past few weeks) and I am intimidated by the main forum site. It is much easier for me to search for a forum topic or just look at the topics that are posted on the main site. An update would be nice as the grey is a little oppressive and there are a lot of lines. Besides the color, I appreciate the ease-of-use and the layout.
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,795
7,537
Los Angeles
Handy tip

You can click the unlabeled buttons
collapse_tcat_collapsed.gif
at the tops of sections of the main forum page to collapse those sections. Less clutter!
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
I've seen other forums that look much cooler at first (don't worry, I didn't actually post in them) but they soon became pretty frustrating. What I like about the MacRumors skin is that it's so simple and doesn't get in the way of the actual content (when we actually have content). :cool:
 
L

Lau

Guest
I dreamt about this last night (further proof that I am a total saddo). It had all been changed to be centre aligned, old skool dark grey gradients everywhere with tiny buttons and horrible fonts. Arn, please don't do this, it was dreadful. :p

I like the forums BV linked to above, nice and clean. :)
 

iGav

macrumors G3
Mar 9, 2002
9,025
1
I'm always surprised at how conservative and resistant to change most Mac users are.
 

MacNut

macrumors Core
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
9,973
CT
An update would be cool, But I think some people assume update means overhaul and everything is different. Some new colors and a slightly changed layout might be a good thing. Just as long as the house isn't torn town and rebuilt, Just the kitchen remodeled.
 

After G

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2003
1,583
1
California
I'm going to vouch for a change as well.

The main forum page is too full of info for me. I end up just refreshing the main page and looking for new stuff on there (don't know if the right sidebar is updated that often).

This is what I end up doing:

1) Look on the main page.
2) Open new tabs for all the threads on the front page that interest me.
3) Answer each thread, or read through them
4) Go to main page, refresh and repeat.

There has to be an easier way than that. Maybe I just haven't experimented enough. Maybe we could use a "New threads" page?
 
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