Just some thoughts

[Dude111]

I just wanna address the staff here and say how much I love Techimo and im sorry if i have ever made anyone here mad since i have been here,its not my intent to do this and im sorry....

I am appreaciating sites like Techimo MORE AND MORE everyday as websites stupidly upgrade thier sites to VB4 for no reason which is ugly,slower and a complete disgrace to vbulletin and i am just sickend that SO MANY PEOPLE do not care what thier site looks like,they go from BEAUTIFUL to GARBAGE and they think its better..

I leave any site that goes from somthing pretty to something thats slow/ugly trash and i feel the world has become the way it is now BECAUSE OF PEOPLE NOT CARING ENOUGH TO FIGHT TO SAVE WHAT IS GOOD!!!!!

An example is this site.... www.mybroadband.co.za/vb

Look at how disgusting it is NOW ON VB4!! (I have left the site)

This is how it looked on vb3.6: http://web.archive.org/web/200803100...band.co.za/vb/

MUCH,MUCH BETTER........ NICE COLOURS,ETC...... (I have tears in my eyes looking at it,its the very best of vbb)

In my opinion anyone who drops vb3.x and puts vb4 on thier server (And does not rewrite everything to keep the same look),DOES NOT CARE ABOUT QUALITY AND ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM IN THIS WORLD AS TO WHY THINGS HAVE GOTTON SO BAD....

I dont wanna make anyone mad here on the staff,but i beg you not to make the same mistake http://mybroadband.co.za/vb did... (And many other sites) No reason to do it.. I am on some sites still running vb2.x and they are beautiful!!


THIS IS 1000% NICER!!!!


Please dont be part of the problem in this world and take something as nice as what we have on techimo and put that on here.....

Thank you

[ShyguyXPC]

comment removed (Spammer deleted)

[Dude111]

I didnt see what they said but i take it they did not have nice things to say??

I just am VERY VOCAL about my feelings and the quality of things and when something goes from beautiful like what we have here @ techimo TO A PIECE OF SLOWER GARBAGE (Ugly icons,etc) i speak up about it!! -- I have not lost my sense of WHATS GOOD and im not afraid to express it either!!


I have said my peace on a couple sites that went VB4 (mybroadband.co.za being one of them) and then i leave those sites.... I will not support trash..... Its sad so many people stay @ those sites and either think they are just as good or complain about things not working... (Or its slow,etc) -- THEY SHOULD JUST LEAVE THE SITE!!!!!!! (The staff might get the hint on these sites if enough ppl leave)

Its just very sad whats happend to people,it really is..... (They have been so dumbed down to accept garbage when they used to want better)

[ShyguyXPC]

keep in mind, what you consider garbage, in aesthetics, may not be for others.

if things indeed do run slower as a result I can understand, but on the "look" of the site, though a person may not like the look, they should only judge it based on its content, and purpose, as well as if it runs smoothly or not.

IMO, TechIMO could use a freshening up in the looks department (Too much white space, reminds me of too much of Google+, Facebook, and other sites with all the white, wish it had a bit more color and pop to it sometimes, but whatever..._), as its really dated looking, but for the most part runs fairly smoothly, so no need to fix what ain't broke, and only fix what is.

Just wish it was a bit more mobile device friendly.

earlier this year, Overclock.net Overclock.net - An Overclocking Community went through a MAJOR site overhaul, and to be honest, its vastly better than it was before, has more of a typical "Site" feel to it, or a Blog site look/feel, but its still very easy to use. Definitely an Evolutionary step up from the older "old school" Forums look like we have here, had there, and on other sites.

[RicheemxX]

I know we run a highly modified version of VB so it might not be possible for us to update to a newer version, at least not at the moment. I agree with shy though, we could use a bit of a refresh. It has been a bit since we've has some changes and even those were minor compared to some of the overhauls I've seen other sites do.

[Dude111]

Wow thats the 2nd site i have seen on that software now Shyguy!

www.avsforum.com/f/ went to it a few months ago.. (Even that is better than VB4)

I dunno i like the original VBB style (Version 3.x and lower) .. Much nicer looking.. I like other software also though.......... (IPB,SMF,etc)

[RicheemxX]

IMO the default style of VB4 used here isn't bad. I kinda like that they have a few color options installed as well.
https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum.php

[ShyguyXPC]

OCN, one of the bigger enthusiast/tech support sites out there now days, at least when it comes to the Folding@Home and other DC Project teams, had the choice and what not in going with them a while back, something to do with some connections with the guys who developed the software, I think KarmaKiller knew a bit more about it, I remember him posting on FB about it last year.


I'm not that much into Forums software and what not, most I have done is my own Forums page via free service, using PHPBB or some version of it (it was either PHP BB2 or BB3).

Synergy Breed Gamers

For our gaming server. Only have a few members, those of us on our server, and rarely have to visit the site myself LOL, at least not until we get some more regulars into our server...

So far the only graphics I integrated into the site was the Sites Header or whatever its called, did that a while back in Carrara 7 or 8, text is fully/truly 3D, and has 3 sets of text overlapped or whatever, each character is its own individual object, so 66 characters in all. I had some other 3D graphics along with 2D to add to the site, but haven't gotten around to diving into adding it, or tinkering with the look, as I don't want to turn it into a MySpace lagfest site either.

[Dude111]

But look @ the ICONS rich,they are disgusting compared to the icons and smilies here!!


Dont get me wrong,VB4 can work. Look at this site: www.paklinks.com/gs -- That guy REWROTE EVERYTHING to keep the same look he had on vb3.8.7!! (Its 99% the same) Its slower but its tolerable!!

Most ppl though ARE TOO LAZY to rewrite it all and they put up the crap you see @ vbulletin.com


And SHYGUY,i looked @ what overlook looked like before on vb3.8.5 and it was even better!

http://web.archive.org/web/201101291...overclock.net/

What they are on now IS BETTER than vb4 but 3.8.5 is better i think.... But ill take what they are on now over VB4 anyday! (As i take avsforum)

[RicheemxX]

If something as simple and stupid as smiles and icons were part of my decision to freq. a site I'd rarely visit most places. Besides that those are items that can be customized.

I personally think the icons look pretty clean as does almost everything else. Its far cleaner than some of the sites out there. I dig the rounded corners and drop shadow effects. To me it just looks more up to date.

Your issue is not with VB4, your issue is with the designs they implemented. That's fine and all but sometimes sites need to change to stay in the game. It'd take a bit of getting use to if we did a drastic change here. But that would be hardly a reason for me to stop visiting.

The only things I don't like about the original site you listed is that they don't use a full width or use the sidebar option. I don't like the empty space on the side, nor do I like the social media icons on the top. Otherwise like I said IMO the default VB4 theme looks really clean!

[ShyguyXPC]

with OCN, it may seem to look a bit better with the old site, but they were going for Features, interface and what not changes as well, once you've dug around a bit on the old site, then go to the new one, there's more options for searches, the site itself has greater features and support, all in all, its a larger more interactive experience than the older one was.

And like Rich said, with the Smiley's and Icons, most sites can just import new ones, hell I can ditch all the old and use custom ones, or custom packs on my dinky little site as well. (attached pic)

[ShyguyXPC]

Rich, are you referring to OCN's old site? If so, that narrow format was default, they had it set so that the user can change it to Widescreen if so desired once on the site (can't remember if it was once logged in, or if you even had to be registered, but was set as default and could be changed).

[RicheemxX]

Nah I was talking about the broadband site Dude posted. The OCN site isn't that bad, at least they used most of the space. That other site with the limited width and tons of empty space on either side just doesn't do it for me.

[ShyguyXPC]

I just noticed that Broadband site also has user selectable layouts at the bottom as well, fixed width full screen, full screen, etc.

Really wish sites would place those options up top, instead of a user having to hunt for them and scroll to the bottom of the page to find those options, OCN did the same thing on their old site.

[RicheemxX]

Ahh so it does, I wasn't looking around at the bottom of the page too much for those settings. Yeah it would be nice to have those up top but I guess when you are a user and have the settings changed it doesn't matter much.

I didn't look around at some of the search features and some of the other options that could be implemented but overall the look and feel to me isn't bad.

I was just looking at the new features list and it doesn't look like much has changed other than more customizable styling and the updated look. I saw mention of an updated text editor and some other minor changes but for the most part I think everything else (on the back end at least) we've got now.

[Dude111]

Did you look @ paklinks.com Rich?? -- Its amazing what he did!!

I was upset @ first when he said he was upgrading to it,tried to talk him out of it,etc.... He replied and said "Gimme a chance with it,i know alot about CSS" .. Well i had heard it all before and that next day when he had gone to it i was going to take his site out of my favourites but decided to visit ONE MORE TIME for a laugh at how ugly it was....

Well,the laugh was on me!!!!!!!! -- I COULDNT BELIEVE IT!!!!! -- Looked exactly the same.... Same smilies,same icons,etc..... I pmed him and he said "Thanks for sticking around"


Maybe your right buddy,my issue isnt VB4 its how bad it looks compared to this for example.....

[RicheemxX]

I might be wrong but isn't that a phpBB style set? At least the icons and stuff?

IDK maybe I'm thinking about something else. But yeah the icons and similes are hardly an area of concern as those are customizable. The only difference is setting an overall theme that users like or that works for the site.

[Dude111]

Yes i think some of them are YES now that you mention it! (I have seen that image on PHPBB sites)

[KarmaKiller]

VB4 isn't really all that bad. It's not he software that makes the site ugly to look at, it's the designers/coders of the site. Any site can look ugly on any software.

From my experience with VB4, it's not actually bad. There is a lot more incorporated with it now, so it's kind of hellish to come from a modified VB3 setup and go to a VB4. (I've upgraded 2 sites already, and I won't take on anymore of those jobs)

As far as OCN and huddler, I'm still kind of up in the air with it. I mean, it added a TON of really really nice features, and made some things easier in some aspects. But as far as the moderation side, it's still kind of a train wreck. They have been releasing patches almost every 2 week since the launch, so it is getting better. I do think once all the bugs are worked out, it's going to take over VB territory.
There are several other sites that use huddler also.
AVS | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews
Head-Fi.org - Headphone forums and reviews for audiophiles
SmokingMeatForums.com - Smoker and smoking meat forums and reviews
And several others.

Now my opinion on TechIMO, I think it need a refresh on design, but not so much software. For the activity this forum gets, and for the main user base, I would imagine most are happy with the functionality. But the overall look/feel to the site, it feels very 90'ish IMO.
(Still love it here, just saying my point of view)

EDIT:
Also this plugin is my new favorite. (Also out for chrome)
If you don't like the way a site looks, make your own style sheet. =)

[ShyguyXPC]

added that plugin, and bookmarked, will give it a try.

could "liven" things up on sites like FB and TIMO, with all the white background.

But I agree with the freshening up of things visually, with this site it does have a real "90's" look as you mention to it.

With the lack of traffic over at Reseller Ratings in the Traders forum, also wouldn't mind seeing that section come back to TIMO itself.

But anyways, will give that add on a try see how it works.