Happier Abroad Forum Community

Since some don't like the theme and layout of this forum, while others do, let's take a poll.

Should this forum's layout and theme be changed and upgraded (to phpbb3)? Or should it stay the same?

Cast your vote!

Feel free to post any suggestions as well.

There are some themes in phpbb3 similar to this one, but they just don't look the same. And it's human nature to prefer things to stay the same and not change, as we naturally like familiarity.

Well f**k me sideways Winston. About 20 mins ago I was wondering whether I should start a thread just like this, with a poll.

There's nothing wrong with the colour scheme or anything like that. It's just little things like :

* when you view the last 100 posts, there's no info about when the last post was made. So if you check and see that so and so is the last poster, and then you come back later and see the same name, you don't know if it's the same post or if a more recent one was made. So you check, and if there has been no new posts, you've kind of wasted your time.

* The bit near the top where you can "View Latest 100 Topcs", "View Your Posts" etc, at first I thought it was an advert. It just looks weird, it looks like one of those google sponsored ads. I understand that what it says implies that it's part of the forum, but when you're online your attention span is very short and sometimes you don't pay attention, which is why it's so important that everything is absolutely clear.

* When I received my first ever private message, and it said you have 1 message, I seriously thought it was one of those adverts that tries to trick you into clicking on it.

* There's an awful lot of advertising here. In a way I don't mind that much because it's always nice to see loads of women smiling at you, but I don't know, maybe it might cheapen the whole look of the place for some people. I'm not that bothered about it but perhaps others are. But I do understand that you get revenue from it so I guess it's up to you.

* Overall the look of the forum could be tidied up and made more professional / uniform. But somehow, strangely, it has a certain odd look which is also kind of appealing. Perhaps you could combine the two somehow. i.e. professional but with character.

* I lurk on Roosh's forum every day. I joined once but they banned me, the bastards. However, I still find their forum very interesting. The same goes for MGTOW (they also banned me - looks like this is the only place where I'm welcome). Maybe you could poach some of their members, as they seem to have very interesting insights that are often compatible with the philosophy that we have here.

As much as I disagree with the ignorant folks over at http://www.rationalskepticism.org/ I have learned over the years to appreciate their forum's layout. I find it very efficient and pleasant. Maybe you could go for something like what they have.

Rational Skepticism uses a phpbb3 forum theme, which we could use as well. My other forum also uses phpbb3. You can check it out here:
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/index.php

Is that one really better than this one? There are some phpbb3 themes that have the same color theme as this one too. But it just doesn't have the same "odd look" like Johnny mentioned. lol

The only thing on this forum that doesn't work is that if you are on IE browser, it's hard to type a post because after the first few lines, it has trouble scrolling down and keeps jumping the cursor back up. I haven't figured out a way to fix that.

On your other forum, the bit that says View your topics, etc is right underneath an advert, so at first sight it looks like adverts. I know it's strange, because it clearly pertains to the forum, but like I say when you're online your attention span is shorter so it needs to be clearer / somehow separate. But overall your other forum looks neater than this one. And yes RatSkep is also better.

I think maybe the problem with this forum is that it looks like a combination of a blog and forum. It looks a bit unfocussed. There's a lot of writing here and there, like the bit at the top about sparking sexual attraction with women and energy healing, and the "Join John Adams..." bit.

Yeah, leave it like it is and just ignore the manginas' complaining.

Johnny,
Here are some phpbb3 themes that are similar to this one in color. What do you think of them?

https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... blue/demo/
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... ance/demo/

Winston, the colour scheme of the first (the darker blue) one is slightly better, as well as the shading on the bars inbetween sections. It looks simple, fresh and clear. The other one does too but it looks slightly amateurish. However, I do like the font used for the second one, where it says "Elegance" at the top, whereas the font of the first one (where it says "pHpBB creating communities") looks a bit childish, primitive. But then again it's not that bad. I personally really like forums where it's absolutely clear where to click to see todays topics or unanswered posts, and the second one shows that, whereas the first one has that down pointing arrow which if you click on it reveals those 2 options. But now that I know what it does I don't mind.

Overall, the first one (dark blue) is better. I have seen better forums than both of those, but out of the two, it's the first one for me.

I've also just spotted this one :

https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... yler/demo/

I really like that shade of blue. It's nice and bright, and exciting.


If you want to keep the general blue and white concept (which I think is good), maybe you could have a poll with all the blue ones from the options given.

Johnny1975 wrote:Winston, the colour scheme of the first (the darker blue) one is slightly better, as well as the shading on the bars inbetween sections. It looks simple, fresh and clear. The other one does too but it looks slightly amateurish. However, I do like the font used for the second one, where it says "Elegance" at the top, whereas the font of the first one (where it says "pHpBB creating communities") looks a bit childish, primitive. But then again it's not that bad. I personally really like forums where it's absolutely clear where to click to see todays topics or unanswered posts, and the second one shows that, whereas the first one has that down pointing arrow which if you click on it reveals those 2 options. But now that I know what it does I don't mind.

Overall, the first one (dark blue) is better. I have seen better forums than both of those, but out of the two, it's the first one for me.

I've also just spotted this one :

https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... yler/demo/

I really like that shade of blue. It's nice and bright, and exciting.


If you want to keep the general blue and white concept (which I think is good), maybe you could have a poll with all the blue ones from the options given.

I am loving it

Which one? The one that I linked to? I like it myself very much, but maybe there's a better one, that's why I think we should have a poll to choose out of all the blue / white themed ones.

Johnny1975 wrote:Which one? The one that I linked to? I like it myself very much, but maybe there's a better one, that's why I think we should have a poll to choose out of all the blue / white themed ones.

I am thinking more of the format that the So Suave forums have. Basically a format where we don't have like a gazillion threads on the frontpage and a format with a lot less commercials all over the forum.

Johnny,
The theme you suggested looks good too. The blue looks bright and vivid, but not too bright. It looks like from the poll here that the forum members are evenly divided about this issue of whether to upgrade the forum or not.

However, even though this theme is fully functional, there is one bug that might prevent some from posting. If you are using this forum from IE browser, it seems that if you write a post and go below the text box, the cursor will keep jumping up to the top, so that you can't see what you are typing below. It's a weird bug, and exists on all versions of IE browser except the latest one. I wish people would stop using IE browser since it sucks, but apparently, many people still use it because it's familiar and comes bundled with Windows.

Do any of you have that issue when using IE browser here?

The point is, this bug may discourage people from posting, since it's annoying not being able to see what you are writing beyond a certain point. I don't know how to fix it, so the only way to remedy it may be to upgrade.

Winston, some places to emulate would be the So Suave forums and Post Masculine. Not because of their content but just the layouts of the forums.

The Tom Leykis forum uses the exact same theme as this one, last time I checked. But I don't know if it still does though. Anyone know?

What a coincidence huh? Maybe this theme appeals to people like us. lol

I think the reason why blue / white is appealing is because blue = male, white = truth.

By the way, whatever new format you use, I think we should be able to swear without having the words starred out.

Also, maybe, if it's possible, try and recruit new members from similar forums. Sometimes it feels like this place isn't anywhere near as busy as it deserves to be.

You could also have a section where people can write articles on specific topics.

Johnny,
Check out this Subandreas theme. It's blue and white and looks similar to Vbulletin's classic theme. What do you think?

https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... as08/demo/

Also, this theme called Absolution looks nice too. It has that vivid dark blue that you like.

https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/styl ... tion/demo/

Btw, if you visit RationalSkepticism, you should hear out the other side and visit my other site, SCEPCOP at:

http://www.debunkingskeptics.com

When you do, you realize that these so called "skeptics" are not freethinkers or truthseekers, or even rational or logical, but are merely establishment defenders. This is evident as they always defend the establishment view of things and are never critical toward orthodoxy, which they defend and take on faith anything they say without burden of proof. This is the case with the James Randi crowd, Michael Shermer crowd, CSICOP crowd, and any organization that calls themselves "skeptics".