RPF New Look Feedback Thread

[Mechinyun]

For the typed content, I can certainly understand where someone would have a preference for one over the other, but going back to some of the early examples that were posted, when you look at a news site with fixed width, you are essentially looking at single posts... so where we are vs where they are isn't very different.

Here is a rough idea of variable at 1920 vs fixed.

View attachment 46591

Yeah that variable is funky, I think theres definitely a limit on how wide you would want to go, I have one of those new 27 inch apple displays, i never go full screen it for that reason.. simply to wide. Ultimately though just having the option to make it how wide that works for you is best. Still all good, it works how it is.

 

[Serenity]

I dig the new RPF logo, and overall I think the new look is nice, but I really, really hope you guys change your views on not having additional skins (ie: Star Wars/Legacy) so there is some more variety from which to choose. I realize that having Star Wars characters might not be the type of look/appeal you are trying to put on now, but it felt warmer to have familiar faces/characters on the banner instead the generic bubble characters.

 

[Art Andrews]

Other than saying that some other sites (most of which are not forums) have fixed width, I still haven't seen a reason why the RPF went to this. Art, can you expand on the reasonings - other than other sites have fixed width? Thanks.

Or maybe I missed it?

It is primarily for consistence of the look of the site as well as ease of design. It is much more difficult to design for variable width as things shift all over the place.

Consistency of look is a big deal to us, which is why you see the chrome for both light and dark being the same and us making a concerted effort to make as much of the style choices the same between the two styles. The fixed width is another element of striving for that consistency.

Check the original post in the Announcements thread and look at the old light and dark vs the new light and dark styles. While I know that doesn't address the fixed width directly, hopefully you can see what I mean about working to create a more consistent look.

 

[Art Andrews]

I dig the new RPF logo, and overall I think the new look is nice, but I really, really hope you guys change your views on not having additional skins (ie: Star Wars/Legacy) so there is some more variety from which to choose. I realize that having Star Wars characters might not be the type of look/appeal you are trying to put on now, but it felt warmer to have familiar faces/characters on the banner instead the generic bubble characters.

I won't emphatically state we would NEVER do franchise specific styles, but given the complexity of creating good, clean styles, the chances of us spending the money to have franchise based styles is pretty unlikely.

One of the initial idea I tested was trying to do a rotating image with different franchise imagery in the header, but it just came off lame and inconsistent. Now, perhaps someone else could do it better than I could (I am not a graphics person), but for now, we have no plans for franchise based styles.

 

[dualedge]

There is something of a solution for the ads, but it isn't an easy one and it would only benefit the front page and forum pages, not the thread pages, which renders it almost useless. I don't like that we have two ads stacked on top of one another in most of the forums and am still trying to find a way around that...

In creating the new look, one of the things we worked very hard to do was make sure we didn't push the content further down the page. I think we failed by 1 pixel. The new header is 1 pixel taller than the old style. Personally, I would have liked to have decreased the size of the header, but we really wanted the icons and making them any smaller than they are really begins to degrade their ability to be identified.

Yeah, I like the icons - it's a nice touch. They definitely can't be any smaller and they compliment the new logo. I don't think there's a lot of space saving to be done with the banner and I think you guys have set it up smartly. I can't say I disagree with much, if anything, of the choices in how it's set up. And I figured you probably already felt the same about the forum page heights... but it's like you said, there's just not a practical solution to it right now.

I definitely think this is a good upgrade IMHO.

 

[JD]

It is primarily for consistence of the look of the site as well as ease of design. It is much more difficult to design for variable width as things shift all over the place.

Consistency of look is a big deal to us, which is why you see the chrome for both light and dark being the same and us making a concerted effort to make as much of the style choices the same between the two styles. The fixed width is another element of striving for that consistency.

Check the original post in the Announcements thread and look at the old light and dark vs the new light and dark styles. While I know that doesn't address the fixed width directly, hopefully you can see what I mean about working to create a more consistent look.

Thanks for the explanation. I know the staff has worked hard on this, it is appreciated - I just hope that some of the feedback is used.

It's really seeming like the fixed width is an issue with a lot of the people here. I'm still not clear why the admin team's wish to create 'consistency of look' is such a necessity when it comes to fixed width and other themes.

In fact, it's becoming clearer that this "consistency" is going to eventually exclude other themes (ie, the Star Wars Legacy theme). This really appears to be a homegeneziation of the RPF - it's seems that the staff is set on creating less of a personal RPF for many of us and more of a bland, generic site. I'm not sure why, other than the mod's own personal tastes.

I really hope that the feedback here is being taken to heart. While, the admin team holds the RPF funding and decides what to do with it - I do hope they membership is still allowed to have an impact on the direction it goes.

 

[teecrooz]

Wasn't sure what happened when I logged on this morning, but after a few hours, I'm all caught up and getting used to it. The only weird thing with the fixed width, is when someone posts a large picture. It crushes their avatar and details section on the left and then the picture overhangs on the right (see second post in this thread).

Other than that, I'm over it all and looking forward to seeing what else is in store.

 

[Art Andrews]

Yeah, I like the icons - it's a nice touch. They definitely can't be any smaller and they compliment the new logo. I don't think there's a lot of space saving to be done with the banner and I think you guys have set it up smartly. I can't say I disagree with much, if anything, of the choices in how it's set up. And I figured you probably already felt the same about the forum page heights... but it's like you said, there's just not a practical solution to it right now.

I definitely think this is a good upgrade IMHO.

While I think I would be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail, my dream would be a header like deviantART: where ART meets application!... 42 pixels... less than a third the height of ours. That means you get to content over 100pixels faster (did you know pixels were a measurement of time? kinda like a parsec in Star Wars). Oh... to dream...

 

[Michael Bergeron]

With vB 4, we will be creating all new themes from the ground up, and due to the time and effort it takes to create those themes, we won't be recreating the Legacy theme.... and no we aren't going to slap the old banner on a new theme as that would be tacky and completely counter productive.

Hopefully, when the full move is made to 4.0 some decision might be made to save the Star Wars theme. To me, that is the RPF theme and if cash is needed to convert that to 4.0 I'd happily buy an item to help fund that.

HERE HERE! I'd be happy to organize fund raising for a legacy option!

 

[deck5]

The Star Wars background said things for the site?

As little as it may have said, the new logo says nothing whatsoever. It's unfortunate that money was spent to produce something that looks like a generic template from a logo creation app.

 

[El Duderino]

I don't know if this has been brought to your attention, but images aren't re-sizing and they stretch out the page, some of them.

 

[JD]

As little as it may have said, the new logo says nothing whatsoever. It's unfortunate that money was spent to produce something that looks like a generic template from a logo creation app.

Well said.

It's the economy of words here that I think says it best.

 

[-... . .- --..]

Guys,

I've seen every RPF board style from day one, and was an admin for more than one significant change in board software and themes.

I really like what you've done with the place. The logo and icons are excellent, imo, so please don't let anyone talk you out of them. The color schemes and font treatments are really, really nice. Such a huge improvement over the previous iteration, and I'll be first in line to get a new shirt. You guys have clearly been thinking very carefully about this change, and it shows.

And while I'm a hi-res, widescreen kind of guy myself, the decision to go with a fixed width is understandable. IMO, folks will be used to it by tomorrow.

Great job guys, and thanks for all of the hard work!

 

[Art Andrews]

It's really seeming like the fixed width is an issue with a lot of the people here.

We will be keeping a keen eye on this thread as well as the countless PMs we are getting over the next week or so. Change is almost always met with resistance (and honestly, the overwhelming enthusiasm with which these changes are being embraced is uncanny) and we realize for many, there is a necessary adjustment time for any change. For example, even if you LOVED fixed width, when going from variable to fixed, you can't help but feel the content is 'crushed' upon initially viewing the fixed. What we will be looking for are things that stand out as being truly detrimental to the site and once things have had a little while to settle down, the bad things that are still poking out will be modified.

I'm still not clear why the admin team's wish to create 'consistency of look' is such a necessity when it comes to fixed width and other themes.

Are you being facetious or are you serious? If you are being serious and can't understand why we would would want the RPF to have a consistent look and branding... I am not sure I could explain it.

This really appears to be a homegeneziation of the RPF - it's seems that the staff is set on creating less of a personal RPF for many of us and more of a bland, generic site.

You say that as if creating a homogenized site is a bad thing. I have no shame at all in saying that is EXACTLY what we are doing. We want ANYONE with a love for props, costumes or models to feel welcome here. Our hobby and community is already fractured and divided beyond belief, which only serves to hurt the community as a whole. Of course we are working to create a site that is more welcoming to everyone and not just one clique or segment of the greater prop community! If I am looking for a Star Trek uniform and come to a site where the leaderboard is a giant Star Wars graphic, how welcome do you think I am going to feel? We have very purposefully create a look that doesn't discriminate and welcomes anyone with an interest for what we do. If you can't see the value in that, again, I don't think I can explain it further to you.

I really hope that the feedback here is being taken to heart. While, the admin team holds the RPF funding and decides what to do with it - I do hope they membership is still allowed to have an impact on the direction it goes.

The membership will always have an impact on the direction the site goes, but this site has never been a typical democracy. However, you still have the ability to 'vote' by your presence or lack thereof. A lot of what we do is run by the numbers and where we see trends and opportunities, we try to take them. In addition to that, we do provide opportunities for feedback (this thread is a perfect example). I think some mistakenly equate us not doing every single thing a minority wants as not listening, but that is not the case. We are definitely listening and always will.

 

[WebChief]

Wow, 7 pages "discussing" the way a forum looks? In one day?

Looks great to me and I've been around here for quite some time. Thanks for the new, clean look, Art.

 

[Art Andrews]

I don't know if this has been brought to your attention, but images aren't re-sizing and they stretch out the page, some of them.

Yeah... that is the one thing that is killing us. I haven't had a chance to tackle it yet, but will be getting on it ASAP.

 

[NikonD80]

Well that was a bit of a surprise. I thought I'd gone to the wrong site for a minute.

Well done to all concerned for the new look and thanks for bothering to keep this site fresh and alive. I had no idea how much though and effort goes into this sort of thing. I think the new look is quite intuative and personally I don't mind the empty space on either side of my screen. I must admit that I'll miss that SW banner but I can see your point that there's a lot more to this site than that franchise.

 

[exoray]

To me I'm mostly indifferent with the logo, doesn't really matter to me what it looks like, but I will agree with others that it has a very generic Apple iOS icon theme going on...

Just for giggles...

I took this...

Ran it through here iPhone Style Icon Generator

And got this...

So I can see where people are coming from and identifying with, but as I said I'm indifferent...

 

[Shylaah]

>>>clip<<< I think that is one of the primary reason we are trying to make a shift AWAY from "replica prop." It is very limiting and we don't want you to feel you can't show your custom work or original pieces, or your screen used collection. This is a prop, costume and model site and anything relating to those topics are welcome here.

I didn't know we were trying to shift AWAY from "replica prop"....I mean,
that's the NAME of the place and what people here do. I think custom
work and original pieces belong on an art forum. IMO, replica prop/costume
making is a very unique skill set that encompasses much more than making
original pieces, and this is/was a place to show and grow those skills.

Will terribly miss The Junkyard name--I'm among those who didn't know
it was SW related, and do think it was a very RPFee identifiable thing,
but then if the identity of the forum is changing....???

I don't like the new line-up, that Replica Props and Replica Costumes are now
separated by Screen Used Props. The Marketplace icon, I think would be
better to be a "For Sale" sign, as a SALE tag indicates to me "ON SALE" i. e.
having a sale, reduced or bargain prices.....!?

The new look is a little too generic, too Public Signage Pictogram-ish
to me. But I visit this forum for what the members contribute, not to look
at layouts, logos and icons and as long as that doesn't become too generic
or change too much, guess I'll be sticking around.

Love the colors, glad you're offering the light on dark background.

Shylaah

 

[Vaderman]

Well, fixed width is much easier to sell advertising on, since you can insure a specific banner size and an experience where people will see the banners.
I have missed this change though, since I am still seeing the legacy Star Wars theme.
Sorry to hear that the variable width won't be supported.

The only thing that drew my attention to this was the missing Junkyard! When I went to the Off Topic to read or start a thread, I saw the notice.
That, too, it seems is done to homogenize the site and make it more palatable to more people, i.e. advertisers.
I guess if you are trying to sell ads and make money, this is all great progress. You want more ads and more people to see them.
I wonder , though, what it will mean as more people come in, including the people who hold trademarks and copyrights nearer to their hearts (well, I guess lawyers, too!)
I like the new logo though. I guess I need to go check out the new settings and see how narrow this fixed, commercial-friendly site is!

EDIT: Oops, just caught a few more comments on this thread. I see the homogenizing is intentional. If the goal is to roll in other prop forums and attract disparate groups, like the Dented Helmet or others, then I am all for it.
Great to have everything in one place. It seems like the look of Star WArs though, is what brought so many people here and kept them here, is it really so offensive to people now as to be not worth the effort to port over the design of that theme?
What about allowing users to create and upload themes?

Also, I had never equated "Junkyard" with Star Wars. Maybe that reference was from the prequels?