John, I just noticed the new colors/layout for the forums.

I find it much harder to read it compared to the old colors/fonts. I think that generally the very dark background with bright white letters are hard to read. Also it is harder to notice the boldface vs regular titles.

Is there a way for me to customize the colors or is it set server wide?

(Once I read somewhere that they found that the easiest color combination to read from monitors is yellowish background with red letters. I myself like RGB "beige" backgrounds with "grey20" characters.)

Ok, figured it out. Posting this reply just so that if others have the same issue, they can find the answer.

If you get to your control panel, Edit Options and on the bottom select Old School for the Forum Skin, you are all set. (Light bg with dark fg.)

No need to go to the Control Panel. Look at the very bottom left-hand corner of each page. "Default style" is the new layout and "Old School" is the former layout.

Ah! Much better... My eyes hurt from looking at the new style for just 30 seconds.

That's cool - I figured some people would like the old style better so I left it there. I wonder if a different color font on the dark background might work better? I'm open to suggestions. :)

Why not make a combination of the old style and the new style? Meaning keep the background and text colors but also keep the cool new graphics. I think that would look great!

For text, you might want to try different shades of grey to tone it down.

My opinion is that the very dark blue in the center parts of the forum is too dark. I think if it was the same shade as near the top of the logo, it would make it easier to see. And then maybe light grey text. The optimum solution would be if we could set text and background colors ourselves in the user control panel. I don't suppose that is possible?

Why not make a combination of the old style and the new style? Meaning keep the background and text colors but also keep the cool new graphics. I think that would look great!
I agree with this. I really like this layout with the graphics, etc. but the actual areas with the posts/subjects/etc should remain black on white. A combination of the 2 layouts would be just perfect.

Yeah, I agree with most of what's been said here. It is too dark a color, but I like the idea of combining the two styles. :)

i like the new style better. i think it looks fresher, more edgy, sleeker and more professional looking than before.

i agree with what others said about the colors though. the stronger contrast is harder on the eyes. also, i preferred "new posts" to be a top level button like before. it's one of those things that i would immediately click on everytime i go to the forums. i wonder if others use it as much as i do?

while on the topic of design, i was wondering how come i can't reply in the white text box at the bottom of the threads? instead of having to hit "reply" in a post.

also, i preferred "new posts" to be a top level button like before. it's one of those things that i would immediately click on everytime i go to the forums. i wonder if others use it as much as i do?


Wow! I never realized that function was there. I'm using the "Old School" display, I think I'm going to be using that New Posts thing all the time now.

Good ideas. I'll work on a hybrid design as soon as I can!

while on the topic of design, i was wondering how come i can't reply in the white text box at the bottom of the threads? instead of having to hit "reply" in a post.Because "Quick Reply" should be used to reply to a particular post, and unless the system knows which post you are replying to and quotes it, then it would not always be clear to others which post you were responding to.

i preferred "new posts" to be a top level button like before. it's one of those things that i would immediately click on everytime i go to the forums. i wonder if others use it as much as i do?
With the new style, just click "Quick Links" and it's right there (just in case you missed it!)

Wow, mixing the old light/white backgrounds with the new dark graphics does NOT work. I've been playing around with it for quite a while and it looks like complete hell.

I'm going to add the header graphics to the original design, but the rest will stay pretty much the same. That will give people who like the old style as much of the new stuff as possible while remaining light background with dark text.

I'm going to try some different text colors on this style instead of white and see if it looks less harsh. Stay tuned!

Ok, what do you all think of the new text color now? It's less harsh than the white, and still seems very readable to me.

Ok, what do you all think of the new text color now? It's less harsh than the white, and still seems very readable to me.

It is much better, I was coping with it before but not I don't notice any problems at all.

It is much better, I was coping with it before but not I don't notice any problems at all.

I agree. This is much better.

I am using old school. :)

I am using old school. :)
Same here, way easier on the eyes.

Cool, also check out the revised "old school" style (I just finished it). I've incorporated many of the graphics of this style with the classic black text on white background from the old style.

I like the dark one best, but at least now both of them look pretty cool. The default VB layout is not that great......

Let me know what you think! :)

I love the grapichs on this new one, but the old school is easier to read. I feel I have to squint when reading. What about one notch larger letters? My sight is good, and I can see from a long distance usually.

Actually as I'm writing this, the letters here are larger and easier to read. Maybe the lighter gray background also makes a difference?

new school is great...but like Pez and Old Adidas shoes, old skool ROCKS!

great job on the website john!

I think with the new school the only thing I would need, to have no problems at all is a slightly bigger font. I have no problem with the colors. When I switch back to old school that is the first thing I notice, the font is mcuh bigger.

Hey John I'm diggin' on the new layout!! One thing I do miss.... a link to johnstonefitness.com near the top of the page!

Hey John I'm diggin' on the new layout!! One thing I do miss.... a link to johnstonefitness.com near the top of the page!
I second that! really got some use out of that link every morning. The forum would pop up from an email and then from there I hop over to the main site.

I'll be sure to add the link back to the main site, and hot-link the title graphic/logo back to the top forum page. :)

I've made some changes to the font size/colors on the dark layout, let me know if that's better. Thanks!

Still working on everything - quite a punch list I've got going. :D

I love the new design/layout, but then I've always been partial to dark backgrounds on message boards :D

Great Job John! :claplow:

I'll be sure to add the link back to the main site, and hot-link the title graphic/logo back to the top forum page. :)

I've made some changes to the font size/colors on the dark layout, let me know if that's better. Thanks!

Still working on everything - quite a punch list I've got going. :D

font size and color look great now, I have no problem reading the new version. It is really great looking, the old one pales (literally) in comparison.

Thanks for the main site link, John!

I've just switched back from "old school" and the new look is now much improved. I think I'll be leaving it in the updated mode now.

Okay, now that I see that all the comments are so well received, here's my comment.

The content is too close to the bottom! At the top of the page is a title bar, then blank space, then ads, then a forum title bar, then a forum title, and notices about posting rules. THEN, finally, do we get to the threads.

I suppose this is probably intentional so that that ads are right in the middle of the page, but I would feel SO much better if I could just see even the first thread title without scrolling down....

Oh well, that's just me.

Okay, now that I see that all the comments are so well received, here's my comment.

The content is too close to the bottom! At the top of the page is a title bar, then blank space, then ads, then a forum title bar, then a forum title, and notices about posting rules. THEN, finally, do we get to the threads.

I suppose this is probably intentional so that that ads are right in the middle of the page, but I would feel SO much better if I could just see even the first thread title without scrolling down....

Oh well, that's just me."Bottom" is relative with computers. I can see the first 11 threads without scrolling (1600x1200). I suggest that you get a bigger monitor and/or adjust your screen resolution to a higher setting if having to scroll to see the first thread bothers you that much.

"Bottom" is relative with computers. I can see the first 11 threads without scrolling (1600x1200). I suggest that you get a bigger monitor and/or adjust your screen resolution to a higher setting if having to scroll to see the first thread bothers you that much.

The problem is most people will have a much lower resolution than that, probably 1024x768 on average. Whenever I used to design sites that you have to scroll down to read info my clients always complained about it. You've got to consider the average screen resolution. Now I have that in mind when I design sites.

People are lazy. Although scrolling might burn a couple of calories :D

Loving Old School New Beat btw :tucool:

The problem is most people will have a much lower resolution than that, probably 1024x768 on average. Whenever I used to design sites that you have to scroll down to read info my clients always complained about it. You've got to consider the average screen resolution. Now I have that in mind when I design sites.

People are lazy. Although scrolling might burn a couple of calories :D

Loving Old School New Beat btw :tucool:
I understand that most people have their computer displays set at around 1024x768 or even lower, and that's why this forum was designed with all resolutions in mind. There's certain information - yes, ads included - that needs to be at the top of the page. People with lower resolutions simply can't see as much at once compared to people who are using higher resolutions. There's nothing I can do about that, and the general layout of the forum is not going to change, so I was merely offering a solution since scrolling down to see the first thread seems to bother her.

Personally I don't see the big deal: you have to scroll all around anyway to browse the boards.

Glad you like the OSNB style!