Mini Profile Updates

I like the box around messages.

And I got a new monitor!! Now I can seeeeeeee!!! xDDD
And it really, really looks awesome! ^_^

...the forums, too.

Thanks for all the input, guys!

I wish that onenitedrive could add a gradient to the box around the text, but the people that code Forumotion really are quite terrible, and they don't have enough divs or they have too many things in the same class, so one things will effect another, or one thing just can't be done at all. (I'm sure onenitedrive could explain it better. xD)

I wanted to wait and get all your opinions on the box around the text, so I'll see what onenitedrive thinks. He made the quote boxes gradually get darker too, so that was something that he already had changed.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I was bored last night and started playing around with things again . I'm still not sure about the boxes around posts. Part of me was saying, "that's just too much" when I first added them. Now, I'm leaning more toward liking them. I kind of like how they separate the post content from the background and signatures. It's not a big deal to change it back if everyone decides they don't like it.

edit: I made the boxes a little less noticeable. Does that make it any better for those of you that didn't care for it?

Something that I wanted onenitedrive to do a little while ago was to do something like what they do at Forum Promotion, where they essentially have this talk-box behind your text. Here's an example of what it looks like when their members post. However, because Forumotion lacked the appropriate amount of divs to create that here, the best we could do was a box.

I think I like it even more now that it's lighter.

OneNiteDrive:
Maybe this will help you out a litte:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/17/taming-advanced-css-selectors/

on the other hand, please don't add a gradient. that WILL be too much.

PS: I recommend that site to anyone in the webdesign or just design/art/photography department.

Kaito wrote:OneNiteDrive:
Maybe this will help you out a litte:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/17/taming-advanced-css-selectors/

on the other hand, please don't add a gradient. that WILL be too much.

PS: I recommend that site to anyone in the webdesign or just design/art/photography department.

Thanks Kaito, there is some very useful information on that site. I'll have to look at it more later.
I'm not positive, but I don't think it will solve the issue that Fate was talking about though. The reason being, I can't edit the HTML for the forum. I just don't have access to it. Which means, I can't add a div, image or other code where I want it to be. I'm simply altering CSS that is already there.

CSS is much more powerful than most people think, though.

I have no idea what specifically you want to have done, but I'm sure the article will at least help you out at some point, if not enable you to do what you actually want to do.

With all due respect, Kaito, onenitedrive is just being modest. He understands both CSS and HTML very well and has been working with coding for a long time (and it is also his major as a web graphic designer). The thing is, while that website may be really helpful and may even explain how to do something like what we were wanting to do with the chat bubble behind the text, that doesn't change the fact that onenitedrive doesn't have the extra divs to work with. He is unable to create any more divs or classes and can only work with what we have. He already knows how to make the chat bubble, but is just unable because of Forumotion's restrictions.

Have you guys tried switching over to phpbb2? If you do, then you can specifically edit the CSS for each and every page. The message inbox layout can be completely different the messages sent layout and so on and so forth.

You can keep the general scheme you guys have now when you make the switch, though some things will screwed up and altered in a way you don't like; that's unavoidable. What I would do is this:

Step one: Export your current site. Save the file on your hard drive.

Step two: Create a new forumotion board.

Step three: Import the saved theme. (importing and exporting is handled through "Theme Maintenance", but I'm sure you two already figured that out by now xD)

Step four: Using your new test board, switch the theme over to phpbb2 and edit the CSS as you wish now that you have more flexibility.

Step five: Once everything is to your liking; export that theme and then import it onto FOG.

This will keep FOG from suffering drastic changes while users are online. You can also avoid putting us "under construction" that way too. And in case you screw up, well...that's what the test site is for.

Hope that idea helps.

That was something that we had considered, but all that work simply to include the little pointer coming out of the text bubble that is already around your text seems a bit unnecessary. I'll let onenitedrive think about it some more though, but as you said, it would change a lot to switch versions, and a lot of work would need to be done in order to preserve all that we have or to recreate it for that version.

Even more importantly, phpBB3 (the one we currently have) has a lot more features than the previous version: http://www.phpbb.com/about/features/

We would lose all of our custom profile fields (including the Caligo sheet), along with a whole lot more. We also wouldn't be able to have subforums too, apparently, or have any user ranks, which is not something that I'd like. Global Moderators too would be nonexistent, and I'd lose a lot of my Admin capabilities and features.

Uhm......bull shit. xD

Actually phpbb2 with forumotion is a like another "theme". "Do you want the flexibility of bb2" is basically the question that its asking when you are given the options of bb2, bb3, punbb, and invision. It DOES NOT change your security settings, group administration, and profile fields. You still keep the roleplaying profiles as well.

I just tested this out and it took my three seconds flat. Remember, you are hosted through Forumotion. What they've done is basically taken the original language of phpbb and they've altered it themselves to balance everything out. They've given you four versions with different "styles". bb2 is really boxy but allows for more customization. bb3 is really sleak and clean, but degrades your customization options. punbb is a rip off of bb2 and gives you the same customization options, but it looks a little different as far as the boxy-ness goes. I'm not even sure why punbb and invision exist. They're just annoying to me.

But yeah, you're looking at the original pros and cons of the php community. Forumotion offers you something different. Trust me, try it out. Your admin rights remain the exact same.

phpBB2 is the thing of cavemen. Why go back to that when we waited YEARS for phpBB3?

And when I say we, I mean me. The day phpBB3 went RC, I had a ravioli and threw confetti on my bushes.

...

Wow, Ack. Nothing like some ravioli to celebrate!

Ah, so that doesn't relate to what Forumotion provides us with in terms of the different versions? That's good, at least. I wonder where I could get a comparison then of them for Forumotion users.

XD Lol ACK. I kind of feel the same way, that we'd be backtracking if we went to a much earlier version. Before you know it, there will soon be phpBB4 out!

PS. I love Daniel Tosh (I'm not enough of a genius to be that funny)

I think the point is coming down to... It seems like a bit too much effort to essentially start from scratch. If they can't get one thing to work, that isn't even all that important, I think we can let it slide. Tony seems to have a pretty good idea of how manipulate the forum enough without having to trash most of it and start all over. *shrugs*

But that's just my two cents. They're kind of oxidizing, but oh well.

I don't think the whole speech bubbles would fit FOG anyway. A speech bubble is typically white; and having a grey one to match the theme just doesn't...fit. >_>

Though its fun to tinker with forumotion, I must say. I'm going through right and picking out mood icons for my own forum. People can select from a drop down list a set "status" of their mood, but when they click on it, it displays a funny graphic instead.

I LIKE SHINY PICTURES!

*Dr. Phil enters the room, sit down, crosses his hands*
"Those are very good points, the both of you. Yes..." *nods*

xD

Seriously, that's actually true, Agenda. Speech bubbles are white, and on the Forum Promotion website that we were looking off of, their speech bubbles for posts are white too, so that seems to work and fit better with them.

Aw, and that's a really cute idea, Agenda!

*is all fuzzy and warm inside*

I know that this is for miny profiles, but I just have to say that all in all everything looks super fantastic Fate. Noticed you changed quite a few things around and it all came together nicely.

Have a cookie for being so fasmatastically wonderful!

-Hand over cookie-

Aw, thanks so much, Sighlent. I'm really happy that the work we put in is paying off and that you guys like it. ^_^

*gasp* The cookies... They're evil! But so deliciously good looking.. *takes one and eats it anyway* Weeeee :bounce:

Eh..I've gotten used to the boxes already.

All this CSS talk is hurting my brain though.

I think it was a good idea that Tony made the boxes less noticeable, so it's easier to ignore them, but they still make the forum look nice without being overbearing.