New Look for Our Community !

[Andy R]

As you can see, our community has a new look & feel. I know it's a shock because everyone was so used to the old look and feel, just give it a week and I know you will end up liking this skin better. It's one of those things where the first impression is just sort of confusion but if you hang in there and use it for a while then your mind will all of a sudden start to like it (that's what I am hoping anyway!).

We have also added a right hand column which currently has the recent threads. This will save you the effort of having to go back to the home/portal page to see this list. It's really hand for after posting when you can just scroll up and see what other discussion you want to read or post to.

The old site was designed 8 years ago and screen resolutions changed A LOT in that time. This skin is designed for 1024 pixel wide monitor resolutions but expands up to 1260 pixel wide for wide screen monitors. It does not expand 100% on purpose because we wanted to keep control over the layout and that's difficult with some of the super wide monitors these days. We felt this was a happy medium.

If you have a very low resolution monitor or the right hand column simply looks "weird" to you, we have added the option to turn it off. Just go to your UserCP >> Edit Options >> Turn off Right Column (which is all the way at the bottom).

We have plans to use the right hand column to display other content such as upcoming events, showcases of members boats, we might move the photos from the top over to the right column, etc. The idea is that we have so much information here on the site and all of it tends to be tucked away in it's own section. We want to find ways to promote the content of those other areas so they get more use.

Please post your feedback on the new look and feel here and we will work over the next couple weeks to refine it and iron out any bugs.

Thanks for your patience while we transition to this new look.

Andy

[Sailmonkey]

Hell, I was looking for the button I hit accidentally to change the skin

[DeepFrz]

It was a shock but I do like it.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Hell, I was looking for the button I hit accidentally to change the skin

that woke up a few dozing in the IT Dept here

"Wasn't me Guv, honest"

[cdennyb]

I'll pass on the new look... I hate change...and I hate the puky turquoise colors... Layout is fine...I want the option to have either one... best of both worlds.

[MarkJ]

Shock is an understatement!
I thought it was another forum so I quickly signed up as anew member and started posting....


Andy, I am sure the look will be good after a week.



Mark

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by cdennyb

I'll pass on the new look... I hate change...and I hate the puky turquoise colors... Layout is fine...I want the option to have either one... best of both worlds.

Last week there was that option - didn't realise that it was a new look - had a quick try and went straight back.

For me part of the CF attraction was using software am familiar with from elsewhere and in an obviously familiar layout. I doubt if I will leave over the change - but a fair chance I would not now sign up, life is too short to learn my way around endless new software / variations of. unless I am paid - and even then often can't be bothered .

I am guessing that the new banner is either a step along the way of rebranding as Catamaran Forum - or a continuation of targetting the more money than sense market

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by cdennyb

I'll pass on the new look... I hate change...and I hate the puky turquoise colors... Layout is fine...I want the option to have either one... best of both worlds.

Well, the layout is OK but I don't like the color either. And it clashes with the blue screen on my PC. Blue was better in my opinion.

As a suggestion - make the text area wider and the right side narrower. And consider a higher number of "recent threads".

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

life is too short to learn my way around endless new software / variations of...

The software did not change. All the buttons and all the functions and features are in the same place. It's like painting a boat a different color and adding a new bimini. Goes a long way to make it look like a different boat but sails exactly the same.

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

I am guessing that the new banner is either a step along the way of rebranding as Catamaran Forum - or a continuation of targetting the more money than sense market

I am not sure what banner you are talking about? Maybe you are talking about the "tag cloud" in the right hand column where it shows tags that are used on the posts. The more a tag is used the larger it shows up in that box. This feature is only temporary while we work on a new tagging system that will render that tag cloud obsolete. It's just there are something interesting to look at now and in the future we will have other content there.

[GordMay]

I see the non-functioning member locater map is gone. Any plans to replace it?

[TaoJones]

I recently spent about a week trying out the new look to evaluate it for look and feel, ease of use, bugs, etc. I, too, was at first put off by the jarring change, as well as a bit of trepidation about finding my way around when the old layout had become so intuitive.

But . . . surprise!

Within just a couple of days I had found all the equivalent ways to navigate the site as I had gotten so used to on the old layout. And, after that, the familiarity and level of comfort grew. It may sound odd, but it isn't really that huge of a change.

Oh, and I believe I had suggested making the color selectable . . . hmmm, maybe I should have pushed harder for that.

TaoJones

[Doodles]

I can't tell which threads I've read and which ones I haven't. With the old skin the ones I hadn't use to be BOLD ... what's wrong? Is there an option I've got to turn on or something?

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I see the non-functioning member locater map is gone. Any plans to replace it?

Not only did that feature simply stop working but it was found to be a security issue. We still have all the data and will try to bring back a feature like that in the near future. We might have to build it ourselves since the old add-on has not been updated since 2007.

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by rwidman

As a suggestion - make the text area wider and the right side narrower. And consider a higher number of "recent threads".

You can always turn off the right hand column. See post #1 in this thread for directions on how to do that. As for the number of posts in the recent threads, I will look into adding an option to allow you to do that.

Originally Posted by Doodles

I can't tell which threads I've read and which ones I haven't. With the old skin the ones I hadn't use to be BOLD ... what's wrong? Is there an option I've got to turn on or something?

Same thing on this skin. Threads in bold have new posts, those which are not bold have been read.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Doodles

I can't tell which threads I've read and which ones I haven't. With the old skin the ones I hadn't use to be BOLD ... what's wrong? Is there an option I've got to turn on or something?

If you see the little box with the check mark in it immediately before the title of a thread, the thread contains new posts since you last read it. If that check mark box isn't present, there have been no new posts since you read the thread.

If you want to go to the last post in a thread, look for a similar box (but with the check mark, or arrow, now pointing to the right) immediately after the name of the last poster in a thread. Clicking on that box will take you to the last post in a thread.

TaoJones