New styles for the Bored

[tubadave]

OMG, you work fast, LOL.

I absolutely love that pic. The little SWA logo on the side of the desk is a nice touch.

Very well done. Looks like I'll have a new avatar shortly.

Thanks, lb...er, I mean, ES.

[tubadave]

Just a heads up....those of you who have currently selected themes other than prosilver or subsilver2 may suddenly find your themes reset to subsilver2 as I work on figuring out why the spoiler tags don't work in any of the new themes. Getaway Blue (which I've been using) has already been reset in that way, and others may follow suit as I experiment a bit.

Apologies in advance for the inconvenience.


EDIT: I need some spoilers in a handy place for testing.

Spoiler

Testing.

Testing.

Still testing.

[Bob78164]

Just a heads up....those of you who have currently selected themes other than prosilver or subsilver2 may suddenly find your themes reset to subsilver2 as I work on figuring out why the spoiler tags don't work in any of the new themes. Getaway Blue (which I've been using) has already been reset in that way, and others may follow suit as I experiment a bit.

Apologies in advance for the inconvenience.


EDIT: I need some spoilers in a handy place for testing.

Spoiler

Testing.

Testing.

Still testing.

Yaaaaay! Spoiler tags are working for AeroRed! --Bob

[tubadave]

Yaaaaay! Spoiler tags are working for AeroRed! --Bob

They should be working for all of them now, but I'm still going through and testing them one at a time. At least now I know I can skip testing AeroRed.

[tubadave]

OK, the spoiler tags should now be working for all styles. The "cesium" style is a bit incompatible with the "black box" style of spoiler tag, since the background for the cesium style is also black. The spoiler tag functions correctly, but you can't see where it is! I'll have to see if I can manually edit the code for that one theme.

The admin control panel (where all of the functions and settings for the Bored are controlled...it's only visible to 'Gor, lb13 and myself) shows me what styles I've already installed, and how many people are using each one, but it doesn't tell me WHO is using each one. So, to the two people besides me that were using Getaway Blue, I apologize for resetting your style back to subsilver2. I did that while experimenting to figure out what was going on with the spoiler tags, but ultimately didn't need to do that as part of the solution, so everyone else was spared. If I knew who you were, I'd just switch you back manually, but alas, I do not.

I'm working a bit later than usual this evening, but with things being so slow, I've had time to look into this. I'll be home in an hour or so, and will be able to do more then. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to make suggestions or let me know if something that's changed since the upgrade isn't to your liking. I can't guarantee that I can give everyone exactly what they want in every case, but I'll get as close as I can.

[kayrharris]

I was Getaway Blue, but it's certainly no trouble to switch back.

[littlebeast13]

I was Getaway Blue, but it's certainly no trouble to switch back.

Maybe you should try a style that obscures your post count.....

lb13

[TheConfessor]

This is a test to see how the new board handles long URLs.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-General-Igno ... 973&sr=1-9

Okay, so apparently the software abbreviates long URLs and inserts an ellipsis for the missing characters. I'm not sure if this is good, bad, or indifferent. Probably it's mostly good, though I imagine it could have both pros and cons. For one thing, it might mean that there's no need to do tinyurls anymore.

Just to compare a short URL, this link should verify that it doesn't abbreviate every URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Montand

Yep, so apparently there's a maximum URL length that will be displayed, and any URL that's longer will be abbreviated. Dave, I don't know if this is an optional setting, but it seems like a good idea.

[kayrharris]

I was Getaway Blue, but it's certainly no trouble to switch back.

Maybe you should try a style that obscures your post count.....

lb13

Don't forget I leave Wednesday night for my Napa, CA trip and won't be
back until Sunday night. I might fit in a post or two from the Blackberry, but I am sure
you'll have a sizable lead by the time I get back.

[tubadave]

Yep, so apparently there's a maximum URL length that will be displayed, and any URL that's longer will be abbreviated. Dave, I don't know if this is an optional setting, but it seems like a good idea.

It seems like a good idea to me too, since really loooooong addresses that don't allow line breaks can really mess up a page of posts. It's a built-in setting in phpBB3 and not intended to be changed easily, if at all. A quick bit of research has uncovered that the size limit for a link (including the http part) is 55 characters, which can be edited directly in the code, or removed entirely, if desired. My inclination is to leave it like it is for now, and perhaps adjust it later, if there's sufficient demand.

But you're right, it does seem useful in that it eliminates the need for tiny urls.


If you absolutely MUST post an insanely long URL, you can work around the link length limit using the CODE tag or the URL tag.

[secondchance]

please do not hesitate to make suggestions or let me know if something that's changed since the upgrade isn't to your liking. I can't guarantee that I can give everyone exactly what they want in every case, but I'll get as close as I can.

Thank you for all your hard work on this upgrade! Here is my inquiry:

Even tho I have "yes" selected for receiving email notification of a reply to a post I've made, I am not receiving them the way I used to. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this change, and how to fix it...

Also... I've been going back and forth between Getaway Blue and plain old Getaway; I think I prefer the latter for its simplicity. But while experimenting with all of them, I couldn't see any difference between Getaway and Getaway Dark Blue. Is it just me?

Thanks!

[TheConfessor]

OK, I've got another minor item to ask about. When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

[tubadave]

Even tho I have "yes" selected for receiving email notification of a reply to a post I've made, I am not receiving them the way I used to. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this change, and how to fix it...

I've checked, and you appear to have the correct option selected for that. Not sure why it wouldn't be working otherwise....everything is set up just as it was before. I wonder if this is affecting anyone else.....?

Also... I've been going back and forth between Getaway Blue and plain old Getaway; I think I prefer the latter for its simplicity. But while experimenting with all of them, I couldn't see any difference between Getaway and Getaway Dark Blue. Is it just me?

Getaway Dark Blue is very washed out....it's really more gray than blue. I've put them side by side, and there's definitely a difference, but it's subtle.

When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

I see the entire image from where I'm at, every time, and under any of the styles/interfaces I've tested. I'm not really sure what would cause this, as nothing has been set to limit images in posts in any way. I'll look into this some more and see what I can find out.

[TheConfessor]

When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

I see the entire image from where I'm at, every time, and under any of the styles/interfaces I've tested. I'm not really sure what would cause this, as nothing has been set to limit images in posts in any way. I'll look into this some more and see what I can find out.

Just to add a little more information, my window was slightly less than full screen width. When I clicked to maximize the window to full screen size, I saw a little bit more of the TUBADAVE portrait -- including a small edge of the E, but still not the full image. FYI, my screen still shows the icons on the right. I don't know if that's a factor or not. Don't spend much time on this for my sake. It's not a big deal to me. Thanks for your efforts.

[secondchance]

Thanks for checking the previous inquiries. Still am not getting email notifications... odd.

Here's another thing I'm noticing that's different... When I hit quote to add to a previous post, as I'm typing my response, the window rolls back up to the top/beginning of the quoted post, and I have to keep scrolling back down to finish typing. This happens over and over again while I write out my post, and it takes quite a while to just hammer out a few sentences. I'm not sure why this is happening, or if I'm doing something wrong. Anyone else finding this to be a problem?

Thanks

[cindy.wellman]

Thanks for checking the previous inquiries. Still am not getting email notifications... odd.

I'm not getting the notifications anymore either.

[littlebeast13]

OK, I've got another minor item to ask about. When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

I'm not sure why the image is getting cut off for you, but then again, I always had problems with the rigth side of the screen being cut off on another website I frequent on my old computer apparently because of the way the browser was set up..... more stuff I don't really understand...

ES's portraits are all 999 X 727 pixels, which has proven to be the optimal size for his purposes. He would go into a tizzy were he to have to shrink them down....

lb13

[WheresFanny]

OK, I've got another minor item to ask about. When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

I'm not sure why the image is getting cut off for you, but then again, I always had problems with the rigth side of the screen being cut off on another website I frequent on my old computer apparently because of the way the browser was set up..... more stuff I don't really understand...

ES's portraits are all 999 X 727 pixels, which has proven to be the optimal size for his purposes. He would go into a tizzy were he to have to shrink them down....

lb13

It does that to me as well, but I can't remember whether it's due to a style (I've only used subsilver and Getaway Green) or whether it depends on whether it's my laptop or desktop.

I'm on the laptop now, so I'll go find a picture and check.

[WheresFanny]

OK, I've got another minor item to ask about. When Evil Squirrel posts his portraits, about 10% or 15% of the right edge of the image is cut off. For example, your portrait says "TUBADAV." Is this just me, or is everyone seeing the same thing? (I am using the default interface, and have made no changes since you launched this new board.)

If it's not just me, then does that mean Evil Squirrel needs to resize his images? Is there any way to actually see the full image?

I'm not sure why the image is getting cut off for you, but then again, I always had problems with the rigth side of the screen being cut off on another website I frequent on my old computer apparently because of the way the browser was set up..... more stuff I don't really understand...

ES's portraits are all 999 X 727 pixels, which has proven to be the optimal size for his purposes. He would go into a tizzy were he to have to shrink them down....

lb13

It does that to me as well, but I can't remember whether it's due to a style (I've only used subsilver and Getaway Green) or whether it depends on whether it's my laptop or desktop.

I'm on the laptop now, so I'll go find a picture and check.

Okay, at first I thought it was due to avatars left or right because on subsilver (av left) I saw the whole thing and on prosilver (av right) it was cut off. But in Getaway Green (av left) it's cut off but there a scroll bar on the bottom so the whole thing can be viewed and that was not there in either of the other two styles.

Am I the only one who prefers the avatar right views?

[littlebeast13]

I'm not sure why the image is getting cut off for you, but then again, I always had problems with the rigth side of the screen being cut off on another website I frequent on my old computer apparently because of the way the browser was set up..... more stuff I don't really understand...

ES's portraits are all 999 X 727 pixels, which has proven to be the optimal size for his purposes. He would go into a tizzy were he to have to shrink them down....

lb13

It does that to me as well, but I can't remember whether it's due to a style (I've only used subsilver and Getaway Green) or whether it depends on whether it's my laptop or desktop.

I'm on the laptop now, so I'll go find a picture and check.

Okay, at first I thought it was due to avatars left or right because on subsilver (av left) I saw the whole thing and on prosilver (av right) it was cut off. But in Getaway Green (av left) it's cut off but there a scroll bar on the bottom so the whole thing can be viewed and that was not there in either of the other two styles.

Am I the only one who prefers the avatar right views?

I like them on the left.

Even on other message boards I've been to with avatars, they've always been on the left, so I don't know why the default view has them on the right. It makes poster identification easier since the left side of the page is always where I look first.....

lb13

[TheConfessor]

Am I the only one who prefers the avatar right views?

I don't really care. I just wish there weren't all these different options, so we'd know that everyone was seeing the same thing. Which is why I stuck with the default. (Well, also because I'm lazy.)

[MarleysGh0st]

Am I the only one who prefers the avatar right views?

I don't really care. I just wish there weren't all these different options, so we'd know that everyone was seeing the same thing. Which is why I stuck with the default. (Well, also because I'm lazy.)

I don't think the stylistic differences in fonts and background colors are a threat to our community, Ed. The words we're reading are still the same!

[thguy65]

Somewhat on a different topic:

Has anyone figured out if we can get links to open in a new window?
Having to leave The Bored to view a linked web page is my current pet peeve.

[Catfish]

Somewhat on a different topic:

Has anyone figured out if we can get links to open in a new window?
Having to leave The Bored to view a linked web page is my current pet peeve.

Bob J contributed this tidbit, for which I am ever grateful:

Hold down the Control key while clicking the link.

I remember to do it about 25% of the time, but I'm getting better.

[thguy65]

Somewhat on a different topic:

Has anyone figured out if we can get links to open in a new window?
Having to leave The Bored to view a linked web page is my current pet peeve.

Bob J contributed this tidbit, for which I am ever grateful:

Hold down the Control key while clicking the link.

I remember to do it about 25% of the time, but I'm getting better.

Thanks for the work-around. Playing with that, I actually prefer right-clicking and selecting "Open in New Window"