Fine Tuning...

[daiv]

OK everyone, the pictures have all been restored and new images can be added. Also, the header information at the top of the page should display properly for everyone now in all browsers. I tested it in IE9, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari and all appears to be as it should be.

So I figured I would create a public list here of things to work on. It makes sense, after all of you went through the upgrade process with me.

Here are some things I noticed that I want to look into:

1. Adding images within posts - checking size restrictions and making sure they display as pop-ups when larger than the max allowed size.

2. Make links open in a new window. This was the default setting in the old forum and should be an option in the control panel.

3. Font color of post/forum headings - some have said the green is ard to read on the grey?

[daiv]

Oh, I forgot - enable "Quick Reply"

Done!

[Harriet]

Yep, Quick Reply works!

What can we expect about "galleries"? Is that still an "after the rest is fixed" option we can look forward to? Is it there and I missed it?

I like the new forum. Thank you for making it better!

[daiv]

Harriet, yes we need to add "galleries" to the list. Since the upgrade required a backup, I figure we better clear out some of the extra space before we upload galleries. But I think that will also fit into what Peterb was looking for too.

[CelticRose]

I'm not having any difficulty reading the green text on grey background. In fact, I'd like to thank you for using a background color other than the glaring white used on many websites.

I'd like to request that you add a button that allows one to embed a YouTube video in a post.

[daiv]

I'd like to request that you add a button that allows one to embed a YouTube video in a post.

I remember you mentioned that before. I just checked as I thought it was already built in and just needed activating, but I think I've got to do a quick mod for that. No problem I think we can see to that in the morning.

Daiv

[tumamoc]

Font color of post/forum headings - some have said the green is ard to read on the grey?

Early on, I had a problem seeing white text on the grey background on the User Control Panel -- Login line, but I guess that was just temporary, as the color is now green. Maybe that's what you're referring to?

[iann]

The forum software seems to do an enormous amount of work using javascript after the basic page framework loads. Presumably this is intentional but less would be nicer. My machine is forever turning on its fan while I'm at cactiguide because it is working so hard, plus all sorts of things flicker and flash at me after I think the page has loaded. I feel like I'm getting epilepsy

[Bruce]

3. Font color of post/forum headings - some have said the green is ard to read on the grey?

I agree. I'd like to see a darker green - at least for the posts within the threads.


Bruce

[peter]

Looking good so far! Good work!

[daiv]

@Ian - I know you also use other PHPBB forums. Are you experiencing these same issues on these forums? As the only mod installed right now is the picture thumbnail mod, the page should be identical or less than other forums. The style template originally had lots of silly gimmicks like fade-in graphics etc., but those should be all disabled now. Perhaps that version is cached on your machine? Try doing a ctrl-F5 and see how it goes from there.

[daiv]

OK, I darkened the green of the text. What you tink Bruce?

[Bruce]

The darker text is much easier to read. But - it looks black, not green, at least on my monitor. I personally prefer this "black" text but if you want it to be more cactus-y, then maybe half way between the original green and the current one?

[iann]

Very dark green, but not black. Compare to the word moderators underneath. I like contrast Even the green of the individual reply titles is a bit faint but then that isn't something that usually needs to be read.

[Bruce]

Another thought: As I scan down the page, my eye doesn't always pick up the start of a post, mainly (I think) because of the large ratio of pale grey to text. What do you think about changing the background color to a green (as pale as the grey) on alternate posts? The text could then stay dark and the alternate stripes of green and grey should give the forum a cactus-y color scheme.