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I've been working on a better topic view skin that might be better for mobile, and I'm ready for anyone interested to test it and give feedback before I merge it into the main forum theme. To test it, you'll have to switch to the development theme, and to do that:

1) In your menu (the one at the top right with your username), select Old User CP.

2) Under Modify Profile, select Look and Layout.

3) Beside Current Theme, hit the change link.

4) Scroll down to winter-dev and hit the [Use this theme] link!

Then just view any topic (try changing the size of the browser window while viewing it on PC) and let me know what you think here. It's still a work in progress and probably not a final design cause there's some things I think can be better, but I wanted to go ahead and share it since it's at least useable.

I definitely like how the new style looks on mobile better than before, but I find the lack of lines dividing the  under from the post a little annoying. That may just be the OCD talking though.

Random query, but do you think there will ever be a dark theme option?

I definitely like how the new style looks on mobile better than before, but I find the lack of lines dividing the  under from the post a little annoying. That may just be the OCD talking though.

Random query, but do you think there will ever be a dark theme option?

Thanks for the feedback! For me, it was removing the line between the poster information and the post that took some getting used to, but the more I use it the more I like it...without the lines the post area looks so much cleaner and open. I'd be interested in knowing if you still find the lack of lines disturbing in a day or two though.

Believe it or not, I actually prefer dark themes...Wintreath's theme is the first light theme I'd ever made, in fact. There's some obstacles to having multiple theme options, especially with custom site areas that weren't designed with that in mind, but I'd love to eventually have a dark theme.

Yeah I'd have to concur the removal of the line between the poster info and the post is quite disorienting

The bottom and top line removals/replace with a little bit darker makes everything much cleaner though!

As a desktop user, I think it looks quite sharp and modern-looking.

And, wow, I think that's a huge upgrade for mobile. Having the username on top of the posts makes a whole lot more sense. You lose the other bits (post count, karma, familial house, and NS nation), but I suppose those aren't as important.

Congratulations, you might finally get me to turn off "force desktop site."

(Though now that I'm trying the mobile site I'm noticing that the forums viewing tables are too large for my old phone screen, and I have to zoom out on each page . So maybe not.)

And, wow, I think that's a huge upgrade for mobile. Having the username on top of the posts makes a whole lot more sense. You lose the other bits (post count, karma, familial house, and NS nation), but I suppose those aren't as important.

I think with a bit of work (possibly putting those in smaller, separate columns), those should work in showing up as well. I'm recalling Mafia Universe's mobile site here (or perhaps it's just vBulletin's), where they did similarly and still managed to have the info show up on mobile.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

Tonight I did some work trying to clean up the top of the page above the posts. I streamlined the breadcrumb navigation (it didn't need to give the topic name since you already know what it is, and there was no point in displaying the category). I also hid some buttons that I doubt are used very often...to show them, all you have to do is hit the ... button.

Like any change, the shortened breadcrumbs are taking a bit to get used to, especially on desktop, and especially since I can't remember what it was like before but it definitely feels different.

Edit: ah, I think the strange part is the current subforum you're in not being on its own line. Feels a bit weird scanning to the far left and not finding it there.

Like any change, the shortened breadcrumbs are taking a bit to get used to, especially on desktop, and especially since I can't remember what it was like before but it definitely feels different.

Edit: ah, I think the strange part is the current subforum you're in not being on its own line. Feels a bit weird scanning to the far left and not finding it there.

Before the breadcrumb navigation took up at least two lines and more often three. I have some other ideas for getting it all on one line though. Hopefully I can work on that tonight.

Like any change, the shortened breadcrumbs are taking a bit to get used to, especially on desktop, and especially since I can't remember what it was like before but it definitely feels different.

Edit: ah, I think the strange part is the current subforum you're in not being on its own line. Feels a bit weird scanning to the far left and not finding it there.

Before the breadcrumb navigation took up at least two lines and more often three. I have some other ideas for getting it all on one line though. Hopefully I can work on that tonight.

That didn't really matter on larger screens though.

I can see why this is desirable and don't particularly mind the change. This single-line breadcrumb style is used in most other forums after all.

However, most other forums also have a separate in-page subforum title, whereas Wintreath doesn't (and so the last breadcrumb on a subforum page ends up serving the same purpose, which makes it more important).

Edit: changed weird unintentional repetitive wording

That didn't really matter on larger screens though.

I can see why this is desirable and don't particularly mind the change. I can see this single-line breadcrumb style used in most other forums after all.

However, most other forums also have a separate in-page subforum title, whereas Wintreath doesn't (and so the last breadcrumb on a subforum page ends up serving the same purpose, which makes it more important).

No, it doesn't, but the parts I removed weren't necessary, either. I changed the topic title, which can be quite long to "View Topic" because the topic title is already right below it. I removed the category from the breadcrumb entirely because I doubt it's used and it was a duplicate link to the forum front page anyways. I then shortened "Wintreath Regional Community" to "Wintreath". I don't intend on removing the subforum from the breadcrumb.

That didn't really matter on larger screens though.

I can see why this is desirable and don't particularly mind the change. I can see this single-line breadcrumb style used in most other forums after all.

However, most other forums also have a separate in-page subforum title, whereas Wintreath doesn't (and so the last breadcrumb on a subforum page ends up serving the same purpose, which makes it more important).

No, it doesn't, but the parts I removed weren't necessary, either. I changed the topic title, which can be quite long to "View Topic" because the topic title is already right below it. I removed the category from the breadcrumb entirely because I doubt it's used and it was a duplicate link to the forum front page anyways. I then shortened "Wintreath Regional Community" to "Wintreath". I don't intend on removing the subforum from the breadcrumb.

Oh absolutely, the removal of the category is quite helpful, I do recall accidentally clicking on it in the past and getting mildly annoyed.

My point though is that moving the current subforum title off its own line and into the middle of another line deemphasizes it when the subforum title isn't present anywhere else on the page.


And this is getting kinda off topic but the amount that I'm subtly tripping up when trying to navigate this website is making me realize how much I unknowingly rely on this gui element for navigation without even realizing it lol

Like, for some unknown reason, at some point, I apparently have gotten used to using the breadcrumb rather than the logo to navigate back to the main forum, and am now slightly messing up because I'm expecting to click "Regional Community" but am mousing over the first-level subforum breadcrumb instead.

The struggles us old-timers take on in the name of modernization.

Would it help to display the subforum instead of the forum if the topic is in a subforum?

The struggles us old-timers take on in the name of modernization.

Would it help to display the subforum instead of the forum if the topic is in a subforum?

I'm not sure how that would be helpful?

(And to clarify, I'm using "subforum" to refer to any subdivision of this forum, not just nested ones.)

So it's been a few days, and I've definitely adjusted to the lack of lines. I still don't like the upper darker part having a hard break next to the profile area, but I have adjusted, and rather like now, the lack of lines. It does grow on one.

I do like the condensed buttons. It threw me when I first noticed it, but I like it.