Forum Styles?

[Fueniker S.]

Just noticed that there is a Style selector at the bottom of the forum pages, and I was wondering if we can get a dark themed style for those of us who don't want to have to sit through the brightness of all this white. Or if a custom one can be made.

[sal_vager]

The few past attempts to coax vBulletin into displaying a theme or style ended in tears and lost Kerbals, some things are best left alone in the "do not touch" corner.

But, the forums are mean to be migrated to better software some time after 1.0, which should also mean sane theme support

[sumghai]

I personally prefer all users using the same forum style, as consistency in user experience helps in support issues (e.g. "Click the blue button" "What blue button? All I have are fluorescent orange ones!").

Also, as the contents of these forums is predominantly text, black-text-on-white is much more suitable - darker UI schemes are more commonly used in graphics editing applications where colorful and complex pictures are the main focus (e.g. Adobe Photoshop)

[Fueniker S.]

That's good that the site could be moving software, and sumghai, some times staring at a white screen for too long is stressful on the eyes, and I find that being mostly black or a shade of grey easier to use for prolonged viewing. Also seeing as most buttons have text on them, is the colour really a problem?

[sumghai]

sumghai, some times staring at a white screen for too long is stressful on the eyes, and I find that being mostly black or a shade of grey easier to use for prolonged viewing.

That's anecdotal evidence.

Also seeing as most buttons have text on them, is the colour really a problem?

Depends on if the end user receiving support is fluent in the English language. You'd be surprised at the non-trivial number of non-English speakers attempting to navigate these forums.

[Fueniker S.]

Well yes, that is how it affects me, and I didn't think of that language barrier. Would it be possible to include some sort of Google translate app that translates only the words on buttons and menus and such?

[EdFred]

The few past attempts to coax vBulletin into displaying a theme or style ended in tears and lost Kerbals, some things are best left alone in the "do not touch" corner.

But, the forums are mean to be migrated to better software some time after 1.0, which should also mean sane theme support

Ugh, no. I hate Invision boards. I frequent another vBulletin board that has quite the range of themes (like over 10), and they never crashed. Of course, I've only been a member on that board for 14 years, so it's not like I have a lengthy history there or anything. Forum crashes are usually a pebcak error. I also much prefer darker colors, because after a while it (the lighter color) does affect my eyes.

[Fueniker S.]

i also much prefer darker colors, because after a while it (the lighter color) does affect my eyes.

i'm not alone!!! Yay!

[NWDogg]

I was just looking for a way to get some sort of Night or dark theme for these forums, and I see I'm not the only one. It's unfortunate that it isn't an option. Reddit (or RES anyway) has a white-on-black night theme that is easily 1000 times easier to read than this forum. I, unfortunately, can't stand to look at this forum for more than a few minutes at a time before my eyes hurt...and it's a shame because I much prefer this forum over the subreddit.

[Fueniker S.]

I wonder, is there any chance that a community member can make a dark theme, and have it added? I mean if the stock is white, and you change it, and then you have problems navigating the forum, you know how to revert the theme. Plus this is no longer just "anecdotal evidence".

[vexx32]

It's a possibility, but since all previous attempts at doing anything more than minor modifications to the existing style have ended quite terribly, I can't say I like the chances of being able to do it very well, if at all.

[RainDreamer]

Quick question: I messed with the style and accidently switch it to mobile style in my browser... How do I turn it back now?

Nevermind, figured it out, Just needed to click on the full site link at bottom.

Edited March 14, 2015 by RainDreamer

[r4pt0r]

I've been on some forums that have a "night mode" that makes the blinding whiteness a dark grey. An alternative would be a browser extension to do the same job.

Heres one for chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-vision/fommidcneendjonelhhhkmoekeicedej?hl=en-US

Heres one for firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/eyeguard/

[Fueniker S.]

That's great, can you use it only for a single site though?