Our new spring look

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Fri May 15, 2015 2:17 pm

I finally got to look at the layout on a computer (until now I had only seen it on my phone)

I would be happy with a smaller sidebar. I see when the screen width is under a certain threshold it changes into a top-bar with a (+) twisty button to hide it. Are we going to get a hide/show twisty button when it is in sidebar mode?

I really like that on my phone, I no longer need to constantly pinch/spread zoom all over the place, but now I can't zoom at all. It is great that I don't *need* to zoom, but upsetting that I can't zoom at all on occasions when I want to... not sure if these goals are mutually exclusive. I know next to nothing about web design :)

Anyway, thanks for the new design! in spite of those things, I am quite happy :)

Froginator · Post by **Froginator** » Fri May 15, 2015 2:45 pm

WOAH! I just came here to check my messages and WOAH. A new look. And it's awesome!

Post by **Mogri** » Fri May 15, 2015 3:32 pm

Bob the Hamster wrote:I would be happy with a smaller sidebar. I see when the screen width is under a certain threshold it changes into a top-bar with a (+) twisty button to hide it. Are we going to get a hide/show twisty button when it is in sidebar mode?

The plan is to add a similar button to the desktop view that moves the sidebar to the top and back. Note to the confused: the button is not there yet.

I will also make the avatar/userinfo appear on the right in sidebar view so that the post content is more centered. In top-nav mode, the layout will stay the same.

Bob the Hamster wrote:I really like that on my phone, I no longer need to constantly pinch/spread zoom all over the place, but now I can't zoom at all. It is great that I don't *need* to zoom, but upsetting that I can't zoom at all on occasions when I want to... not sure if these goals are mutually exclusive. I know next to nothing about web design

Yes, you can zoom now.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Fri May 15, 2015 3:39 pm

Mogri wrote:Yes, you can zoom now.

Yay! Works great! :)

Meatballsub · Post by **Meatballsub** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:53 pm

Yeah, I actually really like the new layout. Great job.

Post by **Mogri** » Fri May 15, 2015 9:36 pm

Updates:

The sidebar is now narrower in the default view (20% instead of 25%).
The sidebar can be switched to a top nav. Your setting is remembered on your computer (saved to the computer even if you log out).
In sidebar view, avatars display on the right so that the main content appears closer to the center of your screen.
The +/- on the expand/collapse button in the mobile view is better-centered. (These are the kinds of things that I worry about...)

Pepsi Ranger · Post by **Pepsi Ranger** » Fri May 15, 2015 10:33 pm

Top bar is definitely better, though it's nice to have a sidebar option for once (even if 20% is still overly large). I can tell you the trouble with that sidebar is that having a huge off-center field of messages feels terribly lopsided and it makes me feel like I'm about to capsize. Not too comfortable for reading. A centered reading space really is important psychologically, and I'm glad you gave us the option to put the side bar to the top. Now I can read the forums again without getting a headache.

What I like most about the change, besides the bold orange font for thread titles (so much better than before), is the lack of post count. I've always hated that these forums keep a record of how many times we post here, like it's a competition or something. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of stats, but posting messages shouldn't be a contest.

However, and I haven't checked yet to see if this is already an option, it still might be nice to have an option for some kind of personal stats view for those users who do like to know their numbers (maybe on their profile page or something).

Just a point of artistic reference, red is usually the color made to contrast green, so as much as I like the bold orange titles, you might want to see how red looks, too, and maybe offer a secondary theme if it does look better.

EDIT: Actually, even with the top bar, the forum space is still a bit off-center. The avatar section basically takes up the same amount of space as the side bar does. Maybe give both sides of the posting space the same margins?

Post by **Mogri** » Fri May 15, 2015 11:13 pm

Pepsi Ranger wrote:However, and I haven't checked yet to see if this is already an option, it still might be nice to have an option for some kind of personal stats view for those users who do like to know their numbers (maybe on their profile page or something).

Yes, the full stats are still available on the profile. Removing the noob indicators is more of a side effect than a conscious design decision, but I agree that it makes for a friendlier community.

Pepsi Ranger wrote:EDIT: Actually, even with the top bar, the forum space is still a bit off-center. The avatar section basically takes up the same amount of space as the side bar does. Maybe give both sides of the posting space the same margins?

To the extent that this is a problem, it was always a problem. The old style had a fixed-width bar, so the offset was less noticeable on larger monitors, but it was always there.

I could go 85-15 or 90-10 instead of the current 80-20 split (same goes for the sidebar, although 10% is probably too small on most laptops), but I don't love the idea of an empty gutter on the other side of the screen.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Sat May 16, 2015 12:32 am

Overall, I'd say this new set up looks the best if you zoom in a lot, as if on a phone.
The side bar auto compresses, everything is centered, it's all simplified.
I understand that websites are being pushed to be more mobile or delisted on search engines but it would be nice to see a set up that didn't seem like it was mobile first and PC second.

Soule X · Post by **Soule X** » Sat May 16, 2015 12:33 am

Looks much better on mobile. However, when in a particular forum I don't see an option to go back to the forum index which is a huge flaw. Also as James said it would be nice to zoom when you want to.

EDIT: Nevermind the first part. I didn't know that plus sign did that! That's pretty awesome.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Sat May 16, 2015 2:48 pm

Two thing I noticed about mobile

1) I don't see any avatars anymore! I never realized how much I relied on avatars when browsing a thread quickly to find the last post I had read

2) although I can now pinch/spread zoom when reading a thread, I cannot do it when composing a reply. That is where zoom is most needed on my phone, for precise cursor placement when fixing typos.

Post by **Mogri** » Sat May 16, 2015 5:30 pm

Spoonweaver wrote:Overall, I'd say this new set up looks the best if you zoom in a lot, as if on a phone.
The side bar auto compresses, everything is centered, it's all simplified.
I understand that websites are being pushed to be more mobile or delisted on search engines but it would be nice to see a set up that didn't seem like it was mobile first and PC second.

I'm glad you like the mobile layout, but this was not designed around the mobile look. If you have suggestions for improvement on the desktop view, I'm happy to hear them.

Bob/Soule: The zoom fix got reverted somehow. I've un-reverted it, so you should be able to zoom on any page again.

Post by **Mogri** » Sat May 16, 2015 6:49 pm

I've tweaked things a bit more, fixing some display issues with the topnav view and maximizing the amount of space dedicated to post content in desktop view. The profile button has been removed as part of these changes, but you can still view profiles by clicking on a username or avatar

I've also added avatars to mobile without significantly impacting its layout. James knows who you are!

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Sat May 16, 2015 9:12 pm

Mogri wrote: I've also added avatars to mobile without significantly impacting its layout. James knows who you are!

And they look great! :)

Pinch zoom still not working anywhere as far as I can tell

Post by **Mogri** » Sun May 17, 2015 12:28 am

I'm either going crazy or incredibly absentminded. Try zooming again.