The Sinclair QL Forum

After a few days of using the site on both laptops and phone, I agree with the vertical space - too much is used by non-text content.

However, we have to remember that the admins are (I'm assuming) using themes that come with phpBB or come from a phpBB themes library somewhere, and unless they are front end devs themselves, it can take a while to adjust everything. CSS is a real PITA unless you are an adept.

I suspect like all things, the site will get better incrementally as admins implement the feedback that they deem most helpful (and/or most easily implemented! ). For now we have a secure and responsive (HTML wise) website with working functionality, which I am very grateful for. I've been involved in an phpBB migration before, and let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart.

Having said all of that, my initial suggestions (admins, ignore as you see fit):
1. drop the whole particles/graphic section, pretty as they are. Replace it with a fairly shallow div with the QL Forum name (in QL font?) I faked this for now by making the div have a style of display: none, but obviously would be better if you opt to remove it to comment it out in the template so that the overhead of pulling this in is not there.
2. reduce the padding around key elements. I tried reducing the padding around the li.row class and got a much higher density of posts, which I think would hopefully satisfy most users. I used 4px all around as a starter
3. Potentially make the default font slightly smaller.

Here are a couple of screenshots (before and after) where I have hidden the particles/gfx div and have reduced padding on the li.row class to 4px all round. I have not changed the font size though. What do people think?

Before: After: Note there is an artefact poking out from the top under the Contact Us link - I have not played around to get rid of it yet.

PS I should emphasise that I am only making suggestions - admins please do not feel put upon! I really appreciate the effort that has gone in to bringing the site tech up to date.

Sparrowhawk wrote: ↑Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:50 pm After a few days of using the site on both laptops and phone, I agree with the vertical space - too much is used by non-text content.

1. drop the whole particles/graphic section, pretty as they are. Replace it with a fairly shallow div with the QL Forum name (in QL font?) I faked this for now by making the div have a style of display: none, but obviously would be better if you opt to remove it to comment it out in the template so that the overhead of pulling this in is not there.
2. reduce the padding around key elements. I tried reducing the padding around the li.row class and got a much higher density of posts, which I think would hopefully satisfy most users. I used 4px all around as a starter

Agree with all the above

Strongly disagree with the next one!
The font is a bit small for my eyes - in the evening, when my eyes are tired I have to increase zoom to 110% to read comfortably.
(On my screen the quoted text looks more crisp and much easier to read than the post text - maybe because the font used in posts is grey)

Sparrowhawk wrote: ↑Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:50 pm 3. Potentially make the default font slightly smaller.

Sorry, I did not proof read my post - I mean the default font for the headings.

Possible forum bug: in this message the names of the programs are formatted as bold, but this is not visible in the posted message This is normal text . This is bold text.
This is italic text. This is bold italic text.

Sparrowhawk wrote: ↑Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:50 pm Having said all of that, my initial suggestions (admins, ignore as you see fit):
1. drop the whole particles/graphic section, pretty as they are. Replace it with a fairly shallow div with the QL Forum name (in QL font?)

Good idea, I'd vote for that also.

Possible display buglet (I can't remember whether the old forum behaved in the same way or not):

When viewing the New Posts view, the subforum name is not shown anywhere so it is not clear which section eqach new post belongs to. Really not a biggy, just a nice to have. Because, you know, you admins are not busy or anything...

Runs away bravely before the ban hammer can lop off his head!

OK my next tuppence worth.

Now the banner has been shrunk can the animated dots and lines be shrunk to the same height ?
I'd prefer that the user info be placed on the left of the texts in the forum posts -I read from left to right and stop reading once I hit blank space.

that's about it for now.

Another RSS issue (in addition to the single line code issue): Quoted text doesnt name the person quoted any more. Its there in the app display, but not included in the email. This sometimes makes it hard to follow the thread.

Thanks for feedback everyone. The design and style is not set in stone and there is plenty of scope etc for tweaks and changes. The big job was just getting it moved over and brought bang up to date.