Warning: About to Change Themes

Posted on October 27, 2010    Posted by      71 Comments

Head’s up, folks: I’ve found a new theme I think I like, and I’m going to try installing it. I can’t promise everything won’t blow right up. Also, when I do install it, I will then proceed to fiddle. Do not be surprised if things look a bit hinky afterward. I’ll let you know when everything is done exploding.

Pray for us all.

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71 Comments on “Warning: About to Change Themes”

  1. In the meantime, you want us to hang out, hitting “Refresh” constantly and offering criticism as you go –right?

    Scott is cut off on the SG:U pic over there.

  4. oh god no… i hate change… :(

    just kidding. looks pretty good in Chrome right now. Your devil avatar did freak me out at first, though…
    That calendar looks kinda random, though…

  6. Looks good. I finally got around to using Google Chrome tonight so I’m dealing with new Whatever and new browser….

  16. Like the look but, where did the SGU comment thread go? I just finished watching this week’s show and what everyone else said.
    I’ll check back later. Congrates on not having any damage from those nasty stroms, they weren’t fun over in Indy.

  17. I am taking medication for a recent illness and now I think I might be hallucinating with those thingies on the side. Ugh, I might throw up.

  20. It was all splody for a minute there, but it reloaded just fine. I’m glad I can click on the top image to get to the home page again – it was a feature I missed.

  21. I guess it makes it easier to find my own comments. I just look for cutesy pink… and devil boy for John.

  22. The new favicon is verrrry mysterious. Sorta looks like a gray mustache on the face of a very dark-skinned gentleman at midnight.

  26. bm: Actually, it’s really just a cut and paste but there would probably be a lot of bugs to be worked out. I don’t think Scalzi needs the headache now. The comments aren’t perfect but they are few enough to keep track.

  27. Looks good. Only problem I see (on Chrome on a Mac) is that threads with comments turned off (like the Filmcritic links) still have a non-working “leave a comment” link.

  29. Jamie has it right. It’s hard on the eyes. bm: no the antibiotics aren’t making me geeky they’re making me sick to my stomach and the eye stuff on this new look is adding to my dizziness.

  30. I like the picture of your new puppy though. It’s nice. I think I have Sopite syndrome. Wow, a website than cause Sopite? ;-)

  33. My grammar sucked in that last post but it was directed at Scalzi and really, it is either Chrome or Whatever that is causing a case of motion sickness….or it’s just the medication..

  34. It is believed that Sopite, if there is such a thing…is caused by eye movement and ear interaction with pressure. I tend to have the theory that is completely located within the eyes and pressure. Oh, nevermind. I need to go to bed.

  36. I liked the old style, but I could live with this…

    Only issue I can see is in the sidebar (Whateverettes, Blatheration, etc.). It’d be clearer if there was a little more space between each entry…as it is, it all kind of runs together.

  37. In the “about” menu, I’d reduce the line spacing. The extra dead space doesn’t help readability, and it threatens to hide the bottom menu option.

  41. Two thoughts:
    – The more streamlined layout works well on small screens.
    – A preview button for comments would be nice. I can’t be the only inept typist who reads Whatever. Right?

    Right?

  42. Ditto Susan’s comment about the sidebar items running together… and I’d like to see more of the items from the last theme’s sidebars return, like the ones flagging the SG:U Open Discussion Thread and The Big Idea. Oh, wait, I see them WAY down at the bottom of the page, below this commenting area. I think you should give them more prominent placement.

  44. GREAT! I just spent 2 months reading all all entries for the last month (mostly because all the links and side-stories transported me into alternate realities, which took me many enjoyable hours to get out of)… well, anyway, I finally got up-to-date and now the format is changed… luckily, I’m very good at dealing with change since my brain has been scalzinized by reading all the threads…

    looking forward to getting to know my fellow weirdos…

  50. I generally like it though I agree that the things stuck on the bottom won’t be found by many people.

  53. O Annoying Scalzi, just how annoying are you?

    Very annoying.

    The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club

  54. O Foolish Scalzi, now that you have enabled gravatars, the Executive Committee of The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club issues the following demand:

    That all gravatars not imaging Her are hereby banned.

    The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club

  55. Being a boring old Internet Explorer user I can see the page and the avatars just fine and I have to say I like the redesign.

  58. It’s very… gray. Cloudy early winter Sunday morning in Harper Quad gray. Are other Whatever readers seeing different colors? (I’m using Firefox, fwiw)

  60. The Jonathan Coulton quote is perfect. He’s got enough material, you could do a different one every week and go for years.

  61. I think you need to tweek the colour tones or contrasts a touch. The grey scale is an homogeneous blur in places.

  62. The top bit looks great, but the feel of the comments section isn’t as nice as it used to be. Is there a way to make your comments stand out John, like the blue of the old site?

  63. On the whole, not really a problem, but I do have a couple of criticisms. First, I dislike having the link to the comments at the top of the post. If you write a longer piece – as you often do – it means scrolling all the way back up in order to comment. The link also goes to the box for adding a comment rather than to the first comment, which again can mean a lot of scrolling.

    Second, the font for the comments is really hard on the eyes to me. The kerning is odd, the letters feel jammed together, while it gives an overall impression of 40s era newsprint. Whatever this font is, I really hate it.

    Also, if we get to use HTML now, then a preview option would be a good idea.

  64. I agree that the link to the comments does make me scroll up to read the first – I don’t want to be “that guy” who restates what someone else said, so I do try to read before posting. Also, I find I’m missing your twitterage.

  65. No avatars, pleeeeease!! Visually distracting, making me want to navigate away from the page rather than read the comments. And I agree with DemetriosX about the comments font.

  66. Well, it has been a nice couple of years.

    Is the owner of this site doing drugs now? I’m sorry. This is just stupid. If I wanted this level of crap on a website, there are lots of other places I can go…

    *finds cute avatar*
    *decides he gave that shite up twenty years ago*
    *waves goodbye*

  67. Hmmm… like the dog. I find it harder to identify your comments, though. I liked that they used to show up in green.

  69. At first I was like “Where the heck did the comment thread go?” Then I found it. Crisis averted.

    I like it. Will take a small amount of getting used to, but I think I can live through the adjustment period.

  70. ‘Gotta say I like the pic of Sophie, but the rest of this change is just not good – it’s no longer warm and fuzzy, too cold and blah color-wise, and the lack of nice images from The Big Idea books and the photo from SG:U is making this looked too stripped bare. I also really don’t like the cutting of the piece (behind the jump). This is making me quite sad.

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Athena Scalzi, editor – AMS
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