Prosilver or Subsilver2?

[Iris]

This is about a decision that I'll probably take in the future which impacts the forums directly, so it'd be nice if people actually voted and explained the reasons for their choice. As usual, I talk about this stuff in my blog, which nobody reads, so let me do some self-promoting in here so that people don't forget that I frequently post about important Wesnoth-related stuff there, where I have complete control over the posts' layout and content.

Prosilver, or Subsilver2? That is the question.

For those who don't know, Prosilver is the brand-new default forum style in phpBB 3.0.x "Olympus", and Subsilver2 is somewhat of a port of the phpBB 2.x style, Subsilver. As per the blog post, there are upstream plans to drop Subsilver2's support in the future, and I also want to do it now that we have time to get used to it.

Style demos (base styles only):

• Prosilver
• Subsilver2
• AcidTech (Blue)

[Pentarctagon]

Acidtech, though it seems to lag a bit when scrolling (firefox 3.6.8 ).

[Gambit]

I prefer subsilver2, but acknowledge the possible bias of having used it all this time.
If you fixed the icons like you plan to, and the horrendously wide sidebar then there really wouldn't be anything concrete wrong with it.

[Simons Mith]

I use whatever I was given by default when I first signed up. Subsilver2, it appears. I set a preference while fiddling with Control Panel settings about 4 years ago (there was only a choice of one or two, back then, as I recall), so that setting's remained even though there are now further options available. I've never been impressed with it; it's bland, generic, mediocre. OTOH I'd much rather have a bland board config than an arty, 'stylish' (and usually unreadable) one. If I hadn't set that preference I doubt I would have had any major complaints when the default board style switched to the newer Wesnoth scheme. I've seen the newer scheme when I'm not logged in, and it looks OK. You can colour me indifferent but not dissatisfied with the status quo, I suppose.

From an admin's viewpoint, I'm not surprised to discover subsilver2 is ugly under the hood, so getting rid of it for that reason alone would be fine by me. The only other custom forums I've used much are the OpenTTD forums, http://www.tt-forums.net/viewforum.php?f=55 and I'd prefer any of the Wesnoth settings to their rather ugly default.

[Iris]

I've just added links to style previews in the first post, for those who are too lazy to try each one of our base styles.

[Mountain_King]

For me, I would say Subsilver 2. The acidtech does weird things to my eyes, and prosilver is kind of square. The subsilver2 is sleek and doesn't make my eyes bug out (like this: ).

[norbert]

[...], so it'd be nice if people actually voted and explained the reasons for their choice.

I picked subsilver2, but prosilver is also usable. The main reasons I prefer subsilver2 are its imageset and its somewhat darker blue. Both AcidTech versions look terrible, in my opinion. (Sorry Pentarctagon... ) If subsilver2 is more work to maintain, just go with prosilver.

[artisticdude]

I've used Subsilver2 for most of my Wesnoth career. It just looks and feels so much cleaner and brighter than AcidTech, IMO (okay, not really 'cleaner', but you know what I mean). As far as technical issues go, I haven't come across anything that I recognized as a problem in Subsilver2

And just for the record, Shadowmaster, I follow your blog regularly.

[Golden_Soldier]

I like Prosilver because it just looks cool

[Crushmaster]

I voted for Wesnoth (Subsilver-2 based).
God bless,
Crushmaster.

[boru]

AcidTech orange - happy halloween
AcidTech - very science fiction-y. Perfect for a Star Trek discussion board, or even a Star Trek TNG discussion board.
Wesnoth - yellow text on cream?
Prosilver - it has its moments. I like that text in the "view new posts" seems more compact. I don't like the animated jumpy scrolling icons along the side. I generally don't pay any attention to those icons because I don't care which topics are "hot." I'm sure all that jumpy scrolly stuff means something very significant but it's much easier to ignore in good old boring subsilver2. (EDIT: thanks for fixing the icons, much improved). And by jove, my language is British English, does that mean I'll finally learn to speak properly? And I'm not sure if putting "view your posts" on a different line with "view new posts" is actually an improvement or just change for change's sake. There's this icon for posts with multiple pages, it takes up space and if you click on it, nothing happens. If it weren't there, maybe they could squeeze in more page numbers, which in some cases might be useful. I'll try this one a bit longer before I actually vote.
Subsilver2 - I'm used to this, like an old fraying blanket that you don't really notice the fraying parts. It usually vanishes, which to me is the sign of a good setup.

[Maiklas3000]

I would vote for Subsilver2 just on the basis of font size, though I'm guessing you could change that for Prosilver. AcidTech looks horrid at the forum view level, although I like its post text, white on dark background - but anyway, a large percentage of people hate that, prefering black on white.

Edit: You can change the font size on Prosilver using the "vA^" symbol at top right, but when you click a post for the first time, it first comes up small, then switches to the size you selected. I find this too annoying to tolerate.

[Zarel]

I don't really understand what most people have against prosilver.

Having used many different forums in my time, I've always preferred prosilver. subsilver2 always seemed like it was made by someone who didn't know as much about design.

[Iris]

And by jove, my language is British English, does that mean I'll finally learn to speak properly?

Nope.

phpBB has always used British English as its native language. There's a US English language pack out there but I don't really feel the need to install it.

Having used many different forums in my time, I've always preferred prosilver. subsilver2 always seemed like it was made by someone who didn't know as much about design.

Interestingly, they were designed by the same person.

[Zarel]

Interestingly, they were designed by the same person.

Oh, I already knew that - I used to follow phpBB development closely back in the day.

If I felt like being snarky, I'd probably say something like "Interestingly, it is possible for humans to learn a great deal about design over a period of seven years, especially if they spend those seven years working in the design industry."

Either way, I stand by my original claim.