OcUK Theme - have your say!

If you had a magic wand, what theme would you like?
I don't mind the blue but it should be a bit more modern and not neccessariy all blue. Obviously as the person currently updating the dark theme that's my preference but it's more than just the colour scheme. For instance:

Fixed width is a must for me, it makes text easier to read when an entire paragraph doesn't all fit on one line.

I have it set to limit the maximum width so as to keep images that are too large from being too large and from messing with the width of the forum. It also means that when people post massive photos it makes no difference they are resized to fit.

Icons and other visual flair are all a little more modern and not vbulletin default. I was thinking about updating the dark theme with even better icons but as there may be changes incoming I'll maybe hold off.


Would you like to remove the theme or keep it?
Remove it, I'm not a fan of the colours but more than that it's extremely dated (see above).

Change the ranks? If so to what?
Ranks mean nothing just implement a like system.

What do you like with the forums currently?
Signature limits, I would suggest relaxing them a little bit especially with file size.

Make it more "OcUK" related (e.g. overclocking related)?
Sublte icon changes etc would be nice.

Do away with ranks altogether and just have a rep system?
As above just show how many like people have, maybe an xp bar based on likes, oooh, you could have the rank be Hz or GHz :D

What are your ideas?
Here's what I like about other forums I visit:
A notification system that shows when people have replied to you, specifically when they have quoted you, it's a really nice.

Notifications when someone has replied to a thread you have made.

Avatars would be nice, I know you have said you're against them but I have them disabled currently because there is no point in having them on. I personally think that avatars should be implemented, it's like signatures they are what you use to identify posts from a certain person rather than reading the name.

I'll post some more ideas when I'm not supposed to be working.
 
Freefaller said:
Dear all,

We would like to give everyone the opportunity to contribute ideas to possible changes to the OcUK forum. However, first, we need to set a few ground rules:

  1. Signature rules will be staying the same.
  2. Avatars will not be animated, not customisable and remain the same size.
  3. The "blue" style is staying - this is an important part of OcUK identity.
  4. The OcUK team will have the final say no matter what the moderating team and our members decide.
  5. Post in the nature this thread is intended, to be constructive, have a bit of fun but also respectful. If you don't like things here, this is not the thread to air your frustrations (go to the Forum Content Discussion sub-forum).


If you had a magic wand, what theme would you like?
Would you like to remove the theme or keep it?
Change the ranks? If so to what?
What do you like with the forums currently?
Make it more "OcUK" related (e.g. overclocking related)?
Do away with ranks altogether and just have a rep system?
What are your ideas?


By "theme" we mean the current gangster theme.

This is a chance for you to have your say. The caveat is, there is no guarantee that your idea will be implemented, however, we do mean this genuinely, your ideas may spark other ideas and discussion which will help to form tangible suggestions. We are keen to hear your thoughts.

Please keep this friendly, this is supposed to be fun, but at the same time the team is after ideas on what we would change. Depending on the contributions we may make another thread with a vote, or we (the team) may choose our favourite. Or, of course, if nothing inspires us from the suggestions, we just keep things as they are.


------------

My personal idea is to revert moderator ranks to what they should be:

Commissarios to Administrator/Admin
Dons to Super Moderator
UBs to Moderator

Men of Honour to Outstanding Contributor

I also am keen on simplifying the rank system and potentially adding a rep style system or a "like" system.

However those are just my personal ideas / suggestions and hope you come up with your own.
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What is the logic behind reverting things to generic titles? Do you really want to take away the identity and uniqueness of this forum? You can't think of anything original to replace it, you just want it to be like everywhere else? What issues have you had with the current title system, do people not understand it or something? At least do the courtesy of providing some rationale when you want to change something that has been there 10+ years. :p

Rep and like systems simply don't work on forums this big, it would be massively abused. They are simply ego-stroking systems and are not in any way really useful... in fact it makes me cringe when people put a note in their sig asking others to like their posts.
 
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If things do change, my one suggestion would be to enable a image resizer plugin. Maybe to 1024 wide?
 
Could we get the ability to delete our own posts (say, within 1 minute if we double post or post in the wrong topic, etc etc), and to move our own threads, with the same sort of limit?

It would free up a bit of mod time, if anything.
 
If you had a magic wand, what theme would you like?
Would you like to remove the theme or keep it?
Change the ranks? If so to what?
Make it more "OcUK" related (e.g. overclocking related)?
What are your ideas?

I quite like the gangster theme but if this forum is portrayed as family friendly (swear filters, image restrictions etc..), I'm not sure gangsters fit that bill. Maybe something more computer related although I'm not sure what that would be, processors perhaps seeing as with new additions, more 'ranks' could be added?


What do you like with the forums currently?

For me, it has enough sub forums for each area of interest. It works fine.


Do away with ranks altogether and just have a rep system?

No. A rep system is just a short step away from everyone posting in coloured text (which I know we can do, but fortunately nobody does)
 
I'd like a different theme than the old boring gangster one. Perhaps to the Goonies.

evPF1kE.jpg
GKUzKc0.jpg
Oah888P.jpg
 
Being able to directly upload images to the forum would be nice (as I browse via mobile), and I'm too lazy to image tag :o.

Gangster theme is good.
Maybe a car theme... Or a dog theme :o
 
dacads said:
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" :p

I agree we do need a mobile theme though.
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This version is archaic, and also why not freshen up the forums a little? IT may not need fixing, but it is in need of modernising and we have an opportunity to implement things that maybe we hadn't considered.

If everyone had that "ain't broke don't fix it" attitude, we'd never innovate, or progress! :p

Richdog said:
What is the logic behind reverting things to generic titles? Do you really want to take away the identity and uniqueness of this forum? You can't think of anything original to replace it, you just want it to be like everywhere else? What issues have you had with the current title system, do people not understand it or something? At least do the courtesy of providing some rationale when you want to change something that has been there 10+ years. :p
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It is more about gauging people's thoughts. I personally never really like the gangster theme, but it was what Spie wanted - we now have a chance to freshen things up. If no themes spring to mind, we'll keep them of course, but why not have a chat about it anyway? :)

The "uniqueness" of the forum I'd hope are the forums themselves, the content, the membership, the community, rather than just a few gangster pictures - also the blue theme is staying as well as the logos, but it is an opportunity just to see what interest there is. :) It's not a given that we will change.

No courtesy required, it's just a gauging post. If the thematic style is of no consequence we'll just leave it, but potentially add some of the other bits that are important to people. We're not after change for the sake of change, as I've already mentioned, but if we did do a change, what changes would people want.

Rep and like systems simply don't work on forums this big, it would be massively abused. They are simply ego-stroking systems and are not in any way really useful... in fact it makes me cringe when people put a note in their sig asking others to like their posts.
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Hence the thread, to gauge the opinion. This sort of thing will always be 2-sided so rather than us making a decision, purely based on our opinions, if we put it out there we can not only give you guys a chance to have your say, but also it helps us make a more informed choice.

Ace Modder said:
If things do change, my one suggestion would be to enable a image resizer plugin. Maybe to 1024 wide?
Click to expand...

That's a good suggestion.
 
Colour scheme is fine in my opinion, would be nice to have a plain, i shouldn't be on this site at work make it so no-one can tell what im on theme, or just a lighter blue as the current site stands out quite a bit. I guess it would be good to modernise the blockiness with the same style of the main site.

Not keen on the rep system, unless it runs along side with post count and is secondary. If it is implemented would the requirement for MM change? Likes might be ok for helpful posts, but may just turn into a willy waving contest.

I think general backend stuff would be a good improvement, like going to last unread post doesn't seem to work, waiting 10 seconds between searches, especially when filtering by threads you've posted in. would be nice to have popup notifications or a notification count when you set up a sub to a thread. Would prefer that than getting an email.

Don't see the need for mod title changes, wouldn't fit with the naming theme if changed, could have the role in the picture itself like the vender reps/moh do. Might make it clearer.

Would be nice to have the ability to add polls ourselves and other thread functions, maybe deleting your own posts.
 
what is 'rep system' ? i googled but got nothing

to be honest, just leave as it is. this forums is the most cleanest and easiest forums to browse.

but add dark theme if possible
and make more mobile friendly for small smart phone. tapatalk ect
 
The theme for me is absolutely fine as it is. I like the naming/avatars. Not a fan of the rep system as it encourages beggars and can be abused.

Notifications would be useful when you're quoted, as previously mentioned.
 
wesley said:
what is 'rep system' ? i googled but got nothing
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Think, likes from facebook. People may agree with what you say but don't want to post, so just hit the like button instead.

Having been on forums several multiples bigger than ocuk, the system seems to work fine, I think people have moved past "begging for likes" so to speak.
 
wesley said:
what is 'rep system' ? i googled but got nothing

to be honest, just leave as it is. this forums is the most cleanest and easiest forums to browse.

but add dark theme if possible
and make more mobile friendly for small smart phone. tapatalk ect
Click to expand...

Basically there'd be another button on your post probably next to the trust button just saying "+1" or "Like".

Think Facebooks like system but it's cumulative across the whole site not just a single post.
 
Just to reiterate, more than happy for the theme to stay the same - however we have had a lot of calls in the past for a change so thought we'd put the suggestion out there!
 
Freefaller said:
Just to reiterate, more than happy for the theme to stay the same - however we have had a lot of calls in the past for a change so thought we'd put the suggestion out there!
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Well why not run a system that more easily allows multiple styles to be made available to users :)
 
Ace Modder said:
A little off topic: I'm saying it now; 4T5 (malc) is deserving of the MOH for 2016 :)
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Agreed!

squerble said:
Most of what I want has been mentioned already: new, updated software (mostly for security); mobile theme (or Tapatalk plugin); I could deal with a like/helpful post system, just don't do rep with up- and down-votes.
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Argh I really hope OcUK don't adopt "Tapatalk" - I personally have no issues viewing the forums on my phone as it is (this is being posted from an iPhone ;))
 
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