Project "ATS Dark Matter" -- The Evolution Continues...

Is anyone else having problems viewing in 1280 x 1024 ?

I get a big blank spot on the right side.


Thanks

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Is anyone else having problems viewing in 1280 x 1024 ?

The new design is a fixed width, not fluid.

That' sucks, I guess I'll just have to get closer to the screen.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Is anyone else having problems viewing in 1280 x 1024 ?

The new design is a fixed width, not fluid.

Well that alone is a BIG flaw in the forum's design.

Jon

Originally posted by Voxel
Well that alone is a BIG flaw in the forum's design.

I don't think it's a flaw, it's just a graphical decision and has other merit to go with the obvious drawbacks of threads which are now skinny, incorrectly formatted and not as visually pleasing. Fixed width allows easier graphical macaroni which is apparently liked by more people than me. Relative width makes some of the graphic work more difficult or not possible. Yay. Graphics.

I'll give it time since so much hard work went into it, but really the interface didn't need a facelift. It's the content and the readability which makes ATS great, certainly not the graphics. Anyway, I agree with Soficrow but I know people worked hard so I'll keep my mind open and mouth shut. The lighter background will be missed and I think it'll come back soon.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
The eye is trained to read black text since we were all in first grade, and it is very difficult to change that life long habit. In fact, I believe that was proven in surveys long ago, and it used to be discussed in professional sales management classes I have taken in relation to advertising. I just don't understand- you had it soooo right. If it ain't broke...Why fix it?

Much of it was already discussed here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

However, there is a general misconception about text colors online and offline.

For some time, light text on a dark background was the optimum combination for on-screen information. The primary reason being is that a computer is an "emitted light" medium. On a "reflective light" medium like paper, dark text on a light background works best (a significant number of studies have backed this up).

The biggest reason for this has been the refresh-rate of monitors... less light means your brain reacts less to the refresh-rate, thus the reason for light on dark being optimum.

However...

Modern CRT monitors have much higher refresh rates, and LCD monitors have none... so the issue is not as important as it once was. (Back "in the day" of early CD-ROM multimedia, dark on light was a significant no-no.)

Which brings us to our current issue... the new ATS Dark Matter redesign effort. As my initial response indicates, this is our new design look-and-feel direction. The downfall of applying global design changes to ATS is that it's difficult to apply meaningful changes in a partitioned sandbox to insulate members from design experiments. Right now, many pages are in need of serious attention, and still more need some additional thought.

I tried to find some of the oldest threads that responded to our initial change from white-on-dark-gray to black-on-lighter-gray text but can't find them. While membership was smaller, almost no one initially liked the change Since then, we kept getting lighter and lighter.

Originally posted by chissler
Question....

I've been curious about the Member Center button and it displaying new u2u's. I have noticed that it currently does not display when we have a new u2u. Is this an adjustment we have to make or is it being worked on?

Everything looks great so far to me ... even the fixed-width posts. Nothing was more infurating than having to scroll off the screen to read a 2 sentence post.

However I would like to bring up chissler's question as well ... is there any graphical notification of new u2us planned? Thanks.

EDIT = grammar

[edit on 5-12-2006 by Fiverz]

Read this and tell me how long it is before your eyes start to bleed, the same is true of this forum. Every forum I use is dark text on a light background and theres a reason for that, it works.

Flyer, I second your early post on we having a choice of colors once logged in for background.

I hope it can be done.

And BTW I like Fruity and brighted colors

We're experimenting with 4 content color combinations options that will primarily effect the threads and some other pages. You can compare them with this page of this thread by trying these links:

current dark matter

lighter threads in dark matter

light threads in the dark matter wrapper

very light threads in the dark matter wrapper


Eventually we'll have a system to specify your preference.

That home page is remarkable. I used to avoid it altogether and hit the new posts button; now I might actually find myself staring at it for a few moments or even using it to enter the individual forums. Good job

Personally, I'm not having an issue with the current color scheme. I guess it is just me, but I actually prefer light colored text on a darker background. And I also think that overall, the new site design is actually quite nice. It gives it that mysterious, 'top secret' feel. But I will be watching over the next few weeks to see what changes take place. I'm really just happy to have the blogs back on the main page!

EDIT: Spelling

[edit on 12/5/2006 by DCFusion]

Well, ok SO, am happy to try it. Maybe my eyes will readjust. But initially am having a hard time just reading the new posts display. It's kinda like a double effort now, where before it was easy and very fast. I realize you're still working things out. But I am curious, SO: do YOU find the new posts display easier to read than before? Can you see the distinction between the forum types as easily as or better than before?

Just a gentle reminder to keep the redesign as objective as possible within your own self, and not get carried away with the redistribution of color just for newness sakes.

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Is anyone else having problems viewing in 1280 x 1024 ?

I get a big blank spot on the right side.


Thanks

Absolutely, I am and am going to u2u you so that we can try to help each other out!

Mods et al.,

Good luck to anybody trying to scroll to the bottom of the page to see who is online right now, it's black on black and you have to tilt your computer back and forth to see anybodys name! This will be fixed I hope.

Looks cool to me guys....

Much better design...prefer fixed width and prefer light on dark bg.

Nice work.

People get cosy with the look of sites....it'll take a while for them to adjust, but adjust they will.

R

I like the new little features (that I might have not been aware of previously), although, it might help if the forum was centered for those of us with large resolutions. Just a suggestion. Otherwise it looks good.

I just wanted to add that I like the colors and the colors of the text, it's easier on the eyes than black and white.

[edit on 5-12-2006 by laiguana]

Looooooove it.

Had some trouble with the shades of gray text on the main page (the post count is particularly hard to see on this computer.)

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
We're experimenting with 4 content color combinations options that will primarily effect the threads and some other pages. You can compare them with this page of this thread by trying these links:

IMO only the last one is readable for the long term. It would be nice to have something to make the white to black contrast on the borders a bit less abrupt.

As someone else pointed out, the pages are incredibly narrow and I imagine theyd look horrible on a w/s monitor as they look quite bad at 1280x1024 with literally 1/3rd of the screen left blank.

Also, why not have horizontal Avs instead of vertical ones like the one above where over 50% of the screen is taken up with blank space.

[edit on 5-12-2006 by Flyer]