Oolite Bulletins

I like this idea. I mentioned "consolidation" as one of the goals of this topic and I think that cim has presented a very good concept for achieving that.

I like the look of the template, but the one thing I would caution is that lengthy text on a black background actually can get quite tiring on the eyes and isn't dyslexic-friendly. I'd suggest either offering a template option for "high contrast" black on white or make the main content areas (the text part of the page) white on black in the template.

Why not preserve the look of the oolite.org main page and have the "Status Quo" blurb along with links to a download page, a links page and then instead of the "About" page, link to the current main page for the wiki (which would be a portal page).

Nice work, cim.

Selezen wrote:

I like the look of the template, but the one thing I would caution is that lengthy text on a black background actually can get quite tiring on the eyes and isn't dyslexic-friendly. I'd suggest either offering a template option for "high contrast" black on white or make the main content areas (the text part of the page) white on black in the template.

Main content should certainly be black text on white except on the front page (and perhaps there too). I tried it the other way and as you say it was horrible to read for long (and we'd also have to check through for content which assumed a black on white style). I just need to figure out a way to get a nice-looking transition between the black (or at least dark) background of the page and the white background of the main content area - at the moment it looks too sharp. (Suggestions from people with more design skills welcome!)

Selezen wrote:

Why not preserve the look of the oolite.org main page and have the "Status Quo" blurb along with links to a download page, a links page and then instead of the "About" page, link to the current main page for the wiki (which would be a portal page).

I think the problem with the current Oolite main page is that it tells you virtually nothing if you don't already know what Oolite is. From what's on it, I might guess it was an Elite artwork and fanfic site if I didn't know more. If I'd never played Elite, then I'd be even more confused. And there's plenty of space to put the about text and download links - I don't see that we gain much by having them split over three separate pages.

The portal page could probably do with a bit of a reorganisation, too, but that's a separate issue.

Good point about the main page. I suppose it is a bit "fannish".

Since the community wrote the Wikipedia Oolite article why not lift bits of that for the main page, but with an Infobox-type thing with the main actions of the site (download, links, about, wiki, etc)?

Transition between black and white areas of the site could either use a gradient border image or a plain colour border that is midway in contrast between the black and white. Maybe a mid gray (#777777) or a blueish gray (#6666aa) would do it. Make it a 2px border and it should provide enough contrast without being stressful on the eye.

Alternatively, a just slightly off white colour might work as a "shadow" border (about #eeeeee)

Don't we have some web designers on board who could whip something up as a template to work from?

maik wrote:

Don't we have some web designers on board who could whip something up as a template to work from?

Is that a quote from 'clients from hell'?

The "we don't know what we want but we'll say when we see it" is hell to work to, especially when the client is a committee, and an online committee is even worse.

The design competition method, as was used for the logo and the recent book cover, followed by a vote, may be more profitable and rewarding and less frustrating approach.

I couldn't agree more.

SandJ wrote:

The design competition method, as was used for the logo and the recent book cover, followed by a vote, may be more profitable and rewarding and less frustrating approach.

Another damn fine idea.

I just want to clarify something. I love having ideas about things, but I never have the time to action them. Maik made a few points in this discussion about putting together a sample of my ideas for the web site and so on and basically hinted that I should "put my money where my mouth is".

I'd love nothing more than to do that, but sadly I just do not have the time (which is why I don't generate OXPs any more too). I have a 10 hour a day job, three kids (one of whom is autistic), a disabled wife to look after (and thus a house to look after too) and various jobs to do between leaving work and getting home. The last time I put my home computer on to do something for myself was December. All of my Oolite postings are generally done in "coffee breaks" or lunch breaks at work (or whilst waiting for the latest software build to complete). As a result my "suggestions" are all text based with the occasional bout of sneaky FTP work during a lunch break.

I apologise for this profusely, as I would like little more than to have more time to devote to Oolite and the community.

I say this because I do have some ideas for the main page, but it's not practical for me to be able to develop them and implement tests on the wiki. My suggestions, as in my previous post, would be descriptive rather than practical and (as usual) I'd be relying on other members of the Friendliest Board This Side Of Reidquat to actually carry out the work. Which doesn't sit comfortably with me.

Apologies for the double post, but to highlight my description of the content transition, here's a sample on my main Elite wiki user page (since I don't have a user account on Maik's wiki).

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/User:Selezen

Selezen wrote:

since I don't have a user account on Maik's wiki

You never asked for one See PM.

Selezen wrote:

Apologies for the double post, but to highlight my description of the content transition, here's a sample on my main Elite wiki user page (since I don't have a user account on Maik's wiki).

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/User:Selezen

Thanks - yes, that does seem to ease the transition well. I'll see what I can do with that.

If anyone has a nice starfield/nebula background image already, that would be good - I'm looking for something like http://maikschulz.de/images/7.jpg but without the HUD or laser fire, and with fewer nebulae so that the vertical wrap is easier.(horizontal wrap is less of an issue, and I can work around that).

Okay, with a bit more modification, and a bit of rewording of the Wikipedia descriptions as Selezen suggested to get some text for the home page (text isn't so big a deal, of course, since anyone can adjust that as needed):

Wikified Home page

Full-size: http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/~cim/oolite/ss ... ge-mk2.png

Content page

Full-size: http://compsoc.dur.ac.uk/~cim/oolite/ss/contentpage.png
(still not quite happy with the borders on the main content area, but I'll keep trying different approaches - definitely some sort of grey should work, but how much and in what style still needs tweaking)

Those screenshots don't look bad at all! Very good, in fact.

I see what you mean about the borders. The top tab list looks a bit odd with the borders, almost separated from the content they are supposed to be referencing.

Almost there, though! Fantastic job!!

I really like the oolite.org replacement site, I would say it is a viable alternative.

But the actual wiki content with the black stuff around it looks aggressive. Would it be possible to have the "normal" parts of the wiki remain as they were before and only have the oolite.org replacement in black?

maik wrote:

I really like the oolite.org replacement site, I would say it is a viable alternative.

But the actual wiki content with the black stuff around it looks aggressive. Would it be possible to have the "normal" parts of the wiki remain as they were before and only have the oolite.org replacement in black?

Yes, easily, just by making sure all the custom styles were specified to the home page only.

However, I've gone back to Selezen's original #777 border suggestion, but made it a bit thicker and rounded off the corners, and then turned the nebulae way up on the backdrop and lightened the side panels, to get a less harsh effect. I also moved the tabs inside the white area so they didn't look so lost.

I'm actually happy with that, now - thanks for all the suggestions. Definitely keeping it for myself, even if we go back to the traditional wiki colours for everyone else...

I like that look for the main wiki pages - the rounded corners finish it off nicely. I think the "oolite.org" content should be all black with no borders, much as you have shown in your first set of screenshots.

If it was put to a vote I would vote for the Wiki option as cim has presented it rather than a new database driven site (or even a non-database driven standalone site).