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Poll

Name the buttons - win a case of beer!

Call the staff button "Staff"
[ 0 ] (0%)
Call the staff button "Manage"
[ 6 ] (42.9%)
Call it something else (please specify)
[ 1 ] (7.1%)
Call the user's button "Personal"
[ 0 ] (0%)
Call the user's button by the username
[ 4 ] (28.6%)
Call it something else (please specify)
[ 3 ] (21.4%)

Total Members Voted: 7

New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal Started by Antechinus · · Read 76687 times 0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic. previous topic - next topic - Topic derived from Re: Linktree and Dropmenu arr...

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #60 –

QuoteI like Norv's screenshot FWIW.
  So do I ... (even though its not family friendly  O:-) )

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #61 –

Well TBH, I think that area on Gthub looks like a cluttered mess. The avatar there on Github doesn't annoy me for two reasons. First, I don't use one on Github anyway, so I just get the faded grey icon, which is less of an eyesore than my avatar shrunk to that scale would be. Second, the whole area is such a cluttered mess anyway that it'd be hard to make it look worse.


Quote from: IchBin – Both facebook and github have the avatar in the username menu. I don't think it looks that bad. Plus everyone see's their own avatar anyway. Not like you can't tell what it is or anything.
I can tell what it is, but it looks totally crap at that scale and in that location. There's just enough detail to "tell what it is", but not enough to make it a useful or pleasant addition to the interface. There is a reason people want avatars at least 100x100 for general use.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

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Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #62 –

People of course want avatars 100x100, so they can see everyone else. Most users don't spend time looking at their own avatar. Especially in a profile spot where the name is the indicator. Either way, I'm fine with whatever everyone decides.
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion, you must set yourself on fire!

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #63 –

Yeah I'm not going to fight to the death about it. I'm just not keen on things that I think look silly. Every time my eyes pass over an av that is shrunk to that extent, the reaction it evokes can be summed up as "Hey some twit shrunk my avatar into a pointless, miniscule, pixellated piece of bat poo." Every time. I notice visual details.

If all the cool kids are doing their interfaces so they look like random bats just happened to defecate in inappropriate locations, that's their problem. Don't see why it should be my problem too. :)
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #64 –

I'll update the site once we manage to review and pull in Ant's latest PR. It makes the menu cleaner, less agglomerated, which along with Ema's search tweak will be nice for us others to play around with.
We'lI give a try to the admin/mod combo as well (a bit I have some doubts on real usefulness).

This topic will remain open, and since Ant didn't set a time on the poll, votes continue to be welcome. But the username for profile/settings most likely makes sense as a separate 'user corner'. That's a bigger layout change that intended to be discussed in this topic, and its proponents are welcome to make a PR on it.
The best moment for testing your PR is right after you merge it. Can't miss with that one.

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #65 –

I'm definitely in favor of a user corner for links and notifications and such. I really couldn't care less if the avatar is displayed somewhere around there. It follows the trend in many websites, but I understand the arguments against it. It could always be a theme option with the default turned off.

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #66 –

Quote from: TestMonkey – I'll update the site once we manage to review and pull in Ant's latest PR. It makes the menu cleaner, less agglomerated, which along with Ema's search tweak will be nice for us others to play around with.
We'lI give a try to the admin/mod combo as well (a bit I have some doubts on real usefulness).
That one does make the array a bit complicated, which may be an issue for some people. I'd be happy with it combined or with it left as the old style.

QuoteBut the username for profile/settings most likely makes sense as a separate 'user corner'. That's a bigger layout change that intended to be discussed in this topic, and its proponents are welcome to make a PR on it.
It's not at all hard to do. I could code it up pretty quickly. I'd just like it to look as clean as possible if we're going that way.


Quote from: Eliana Tamerin – I'm definitely in favor of a user corner for links and notifications and such.
If you want to wear pointy hat and sit in the corner, go for it. :P

Quote from: Eliana Tamerin – It could always be a theme option with the default turned off.
User option, so dumb admins can't force it in people's faces. :D
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #67 –

Quote from: Antechinus –
QuoteBut the username for profile/settings most likely makes sense as a separate 'user corner'. That's a bigger layout change that intended to be discussed in this topic, and its proponents are welcome to make a PR on it.
It's not at all hard to do. I could code it up pretty quickly.
That's not what I meant. It ain't no a competition to "prove" how hard or easy it is to do. It's an open source project where everyone - and that means those who want the trick - is welcome to step up and do it. Those who want it have volunteered to code it. ;) (I haz a feeling Brad did.)
You'll be welcome to review their PR.
The best moment for testing your PR is right after you merge it. Can't miss with that one.

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #68 –

I wasn't saying it was a competition. :P You said it was a "bigger change in layout". My point was that it's easy enough to incorporate. We already have the conditionals for maintenance mode warnings up there, and as mentioned I had always intended that area to be used for more important things than the timestamp (with maybe timestamp as fallback content for those without some options).
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #69 –

Hey thought: user option.

Really, I do like the old school setup where the My Account stuff is in the menu with the rest. It's more natural than hunting for it in some odd corner. We could always provide people* with a choice: either have the FB style where it's shoved into a corner with a piece of bat poo next to it, or have it all in the menu where it belongs. :)

*Meaning people, not admins.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #70 –

Quote from: Antechinus – Hey thought: user option.

Really, I do like the old school setup where the My Account stuff is in the menu with the rest. It's more natural than hunting for it in some odd corner. We could always provide people* with a choice: either have the FB style where it's shoved into a corner with a piece of bat poo next to it, or have it all in the menu where it belongs. :)

*Meaning people, not admins.

No, make a choice and keep major design ideas consistent. Either make a user corner/area/whatchamakallit or don't, but don't offer fifty options in the default installation. That means 502 possibilities to text exhaustively to make sure that it works with every combination, and it makes you look indecisive. Let mods and themes do design differences in the final product, not user options.

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #71 –

Ok, I have decided there are better things to argue about than bat poo in a corner, since it's pretty obvious that most of you want it. I have no effing idea why you want it, but apparently you do. Must be some mild form of fairly innocuous mental illness or something. :D

One request: can we keep a visible log out button, and not hide that in a user droppy? I'll often log into a site, catch up with anything relevant, and then log out again without even looking at my profile/PM stuff. This means I want an easily findable log out button, just as I want an easily findable log in form. IMO, both should be on permanent display (form for guests, button for logged members).

And, if we can manage to agree on this compromise, I would strongly prefer that button to over at the right next to the upshrink button, as already coded. That location is a good one, IMO. The log in and register buttons are also in the main menu (and please don't suggest hiding those in a corner).
Last Edit: July 19, 2013, 08:35:34 pm by Antechinus
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #72 –

Come to think of it, how many log in and register links does one page need? Take the current arrangement.

There's the greeting thingy at upper right for guests: "Welcome to Elk Molestation and Bondage Dungeon. Please login or register."

Then there's the Log in and Register buttons in the main menu.

Then there's the quick log in form in the bit below the menu.

This seems a bit overkill for what is basic functionality. I think it could be rationalised a bit. Suggestion: the greeting at upper right serves no valuable purpose, as far as I can see. Also, the text in the log in form is really a no brainer. Anyone capable of using a forum app knows to log in with their username and password. The inputs even have placeholder text. So, how about we just give a basic greeting above the form and leave it at that?

"Welcome to Elk Molestation and Bondage Dungeon"
[Username] [Password] [Session length] [Shiny button]

We don't need to tell people to "please log in or register". They'll do it if they want to. If they don't want to, it's none of our business. The register button in the menu should stay, but the log in one could well be regarded as redundant.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #73 –

Ay up. Hey are people more or less thinking we should just go back to having the old, separate, Admin and Moderate buttonz at top level? I'm more or less convinced it's the best option, especially if user stuff is being moved to the upper right corner.

If we go back to two buttonz for admin and mod, that should simplify sorting out the indicators too. Not that they couldn't be sorted the way it is now, but still.

If everyone's cool with it, I might just put the admin and mod arrays back the way they wre.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: New menu arrangement: Community - Staff - Personal

Reply #74 –

Yes, it makes sense.
The point has been made, that a main menu item should really link to a single area, with its sidebar and all. Not to two. I think it has been my feeling too, playing with them on local. I use sidebars always, it might be even more obvious then. So unless we merge them (and admin is huge already), a single menu button for both seems more or less unnatural.

(For profile and PMs, it's reportedly even more odd at the moment, but we can sort that I guess.)
The best moment for testing your PR is right after you merge it. Can't miss with that one.