Forum Header Re-arrange

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Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Doram » September 30th, 2015, 12:53 pm

Ok. There's been lots of suggestions about what could be done with the header, and I believe we are getting to the point where people are having definite opinions (and those are the ones that I can act on).


Current: Discussing Graphical Options.

New polls coming soon.
Current discussion starts here (Click me!).

 Progress:

  • Figure out what goes on the animated header: 3/3 polls
  • Figure out what goes on the other part of the header: 2/2 polls
  • Discuss graphics and other options: discussion :larrow:
  • Figure out how to arrange the two parts of the header: 0/1 polls
  • Decide between graphic options: 0/1 polls
  • Figure out any extra options: 0/1 polls
  • Make the headers: 0/2 parts
  • Install the headers: 0/1 process

Previously...: show
Ok, the conversation thus far:

FrozenFire wrote:Also, is there anyway to make it more... visible? I don't know. It's probably something everyone reads and has access to, but sometimes some new users still ask some questions that are still on the FAQ and it makes me question if it's really a thing. I have no idea if it's something possible to accomplish though, just a suggestion.


Vendai wrote:Seconding this. Those dinky buttons in the top right don't stand out at all, which is kindof a large flaw since things like the Chat, Wiki, and FAQ are pretty important site resources. Arguably more important than the News, Music, and About tabs in the header.


You want the link text a different color? You want the icons different? Different how?
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote:Man must evolve, for all human conflict, a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.
The foundation of such a method is love.
More words from a wise man on activism, terrorism, violence, and peace
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Re: FAQ Suggestions

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Postby Venexis » September 30th, 2015, 5:02 pm

Doram wrote:You want the link text a different color? You want the icons different? Different how?

Personally? Less confusion, dead space, and sensory overload.

Current (courtesy of Raz): show
Image
Concept (shoddily shopped by yours truly): show
Image
It's a demonstration of concept not art don't judge me

First off, people should want to look at the site header, where all those important links are stored. There is a couple things wrong with our current one, most notably, the presentation of information and the animated logo. First up, presentation.

The first thing I notice when I look at the current site header is "holy hell that's a lot of useless space". It looks empty, whatever noteworthy stuff could be up there is just aimlessly floating in a sea of nothing. There's no element that calls your attention, except perhaps how barren the right half of the header looks. This is not a good attention-grabber.

Now let's assume you are looking over there, perhaps because you need to search something, or because you've heard rumours of a chat link somewhere in that direction. Okay, so, what's the next thing you notice? For me, it's something along the lines of "holy hell that's a lot of useless text/links". And... it kinda is. View your posts? I can do that from UCP. Member list? Maybe if there was a reliable way to search it. Medals? Why... why is this even here, instead of in their own thread, perhaps where users could suggest new achievements or submit their art (since, you know... we're still not finished making them all)?

Alright, assuming you do actually notice the important links off to the site, and aren't bothered by it, next up is the animated header itself, which is literally unworkable. It's not bad... if you're on a monitor as small as mine. It's actually quite neat, with the fancy animation and clarity. The problem is that it is ALWAYS a fixed size, and short of centering it, you can't do anything with it. Literally nothing. The rightmost building is a hard border that causes a jarring edge with the background and prevents tiling, and the weird angles/radial light animation means that stretching is out of the question as well... even if you just center it, then you have a mass of almost empty space on the right side and a mass of completely empty space on the left side.

So, my changes:
  • Designated space for a tileable header image (white dotted box, the inside is just random filler for the sake of not being plain grey). Smaller browsers simply display less of the right side. Tabs would ideally try to center in the middle.
  • Removed links that are broken, redundant, or do not see use (view posts, members, medals, music from the header tabs)
  • Moved important links (UCP, Inbox, Chat, Wiki, FAQ, Logout) to an important, easy to check location of fixed size in the top right. Regardless of browser size, this area would ideally display exactly the same way.
  • Moved search bar to a prominent location so it is not just smashed into a corner
  • Moved site navigation tree below the header so it is actually on the site you are currently trying to navigate
  • Moved miscellaneous time/last visit info together on the right side
  • Added a few border lines to compartmentalize links in the top right (dunno, I just tried it out)

I dunno how possible any of this stuff is, but it looks like a lot of rearranging or removing of elements we already have. Minus the header tabs automatically centering based on your browser size (still trying to find a good reference example for that) it sounds doable, and the result is a much more practical, useful, vibrant header, regardless of resolution.

EDIT1: added my browser sized versions because the original layout is phenomenally different on a smaller screen
Current (small screen): show
Image
Concept (small screen, now even shoddier): show
Image
Same settings and layout, the partially hidden Runouw.com in the header image is because it is the same static image in both.

EDIT2: So Last Legacy's forum is actually a perfect example of tabs that automatically center based on your browser size, the big User Control Panel at the top is always centered on a static image that simply doesn't display the rest of the right side of the image if your screen is too small.

tl;dr: If the site's formatting wasn't so wonky it'd probably be fine, but there's definitely a ton of redundant stuff up there that isn't helping.
Spoiler: show
Image
10/10, thanks FrozenFire :3

Or add me, at Venexis#9902.
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Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Doram » October 1st, 2015, 1:20 pm

So, first off, all of those links up there are the default-install stuff that phpBB puts up there, and they have never been changed (except for the most minor of tweaks, like fixing the chat link, and adding the wiki one). I know exactly where all of them are, and can re-arrange them, and turn off ones we aren't interested in, fairly easily. The only major question is what EXACTLY do we ALL agree on doing.

So, this thread, and lots of polls. I think the most prudent thing at this point is to just start gathering some metrics. As you can see up there, the first poll is already under way. I'll gather the info in the first post as this wears on.
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The foundation of such a method is love.
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Kimonio » October 1st, 2015, 1:49 pm

What if hypothetically we put the old header to span the entire width, the buttons centered on the background, and beneat that you have the key links, such as "Login/Logout" "Profile Hub(new name, same url, maybe?)" "Chat" "Wiki" "FAQ"?

And then under that, if we chose to, we could have the forum tree.
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Zunar » October 1st, 2015, 2:07 pm

Honestly I have the flash header disabled, it makes pages load more slowly and I rarely ever use it.
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Doram » October 1st, 2015, 2:17 pm

Well, I currently have the non-flash header mirroring the flash header, so any suggestions about re-arranging buttons technically applies to both.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote:Man must evolve, for all human conflict, a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.
The foundation of such a method is love.
More words from a wise man on activism, terrorism, violence, and peace
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Oranjui » October 1st, 2015, 3:06 pm

I use "View New Posts" waaaay more than I use "View Your Posts" so I don't really care about this one personally. Though I do know that a ton of people seem to use it, so..
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Kimonio » October 2nd, 2015, 6:42 pm

Thinking about it, if we moved the links below the header as posted, it'll kill two birds by being mobile friendly and more convenient
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Oranjui » October 2nd, 2015, 7:53 pm

Wait, which "View your posts" are we talking about? Egosearch (the arguably more useful one), or author search? Because I don't see egosearch in the UCP or on my profile anywhere. It's only on the header, and we should probably keep it, because people definitely use it.
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Re: Forum Header Re-arrange

Postby Goldy301 » October 2nd, 2015, 8:03 pm

Doram wrote:tot he point

What do you mean by that on first post? Or is it wrong?

The "View your posts" should be removed. I don't really use it much. Think we should remove it.
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Thanks to FrozenFire! 5 ☆☆☆☆☆ for this! ;P
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