UBB.Developers Forums General Discussion Chit Chat The Joys Of UBB & Template Hacks

Isn't that one of the bigger reasons why UBBs are fun? The entire creative process from the upgrade to adding the hacks then onward to template hacking. It's a continual effort but worthwhile.

Having the support of the community and to give back is what's it all about. From the coders, to the designers and to the end users all of their input is necessary to keep UBB fresh and exciting. Without these elements all what's left is a product with no personality.

To give UBB personality is to create. Be innovative, be different but with enthusiasm and with passion. I've had the opportunity to admire many boards since I came here just over a year ago and I still get inspired.

Much respect to all of the developers (designers and coders) out there who takes much pride in what you do. Continue to grow and create...And maybe you'll reach your ultimate BB.

Yeah, template mods are lots of fun... one place where you can really let your creativity flow and your personality shine. I am continually amazed by what can be done with the ubb now-a-days... you didn't see anything like it just a couple of years ago

The limits have been stretched thats for sure, design are alot better now then they were a few years ago. Guess the fun factor is showing.

When I came to UBBDev the first thing I was impressed about was the support from the community. I knew extremely little about UBBs (and still I get puzzled) but understood this was the place to go to get the cool stuff for my board. UBBs were never the same since then...

While there isn't as much people online as before I'm anticipating there will be a new wave of mod hackers, template designers and users soon. I hope that the community will still be as supportive as when I first came here (never room for snobbish attitudes since we are all striving for similar goals). Keep the hacks and inspirations rolling cause we're just getting started. Hehe...

Sure beats stock.

sure enough... I plan to do a little more design with my personal site soon, it works well, but basically looks stock

Ahh...You know what I meant.

yes, and that's what I mean... my site looks stock and needs a little design help

Cool. I guess the first question would be what do you want to see in your layout?

That's definitely an idea.

I need to clean the layout some... as user-friendly as ubb.classic is, I know several people who are still intimidated by it. They don't know where to even start, as the features get in the way of simplifying reading and posting. With the ability to use alternate template sets, I need to develop a set to use in my newbie forum so it's easier for them to do the basic things

I can relate. I've tried to simply things (such as links) on my forums; even the placements of buttons are presented in one general area. The feedback I get from the members and guests are usually positive.

You've mentioned about "basic things". For example: Instead of installing the Page Top hack I opt to add a link set (e.g., forum home >> Category >> Forum Page >> Topic) at the bottom. This way people have the option to link out of the pages from the top or bottom sections. Since UBB 6.05 I have added "new topic" and "reply topic" buttons to each user's post so that people can post immediately without searching for the top or bottom button links. To me it just made more sense.

Even color selections play a key role. Since my forums are clan-based I've chosen a dark/bronze/industrial theme. I guess for community sites lighter colors are better. The links are underlined to make things a bit easier as well.

I agree Allen that creating a user-friendly environment for all user-types goes a long way.

those are some good ideas

Some more things that can be done:

remove all the extra buttons and links across the top of each post and remove the stuff along the bottom of each, as well as a lot of the stuff in the author column.

add the quick reply mod so they don't even have to go to another page to reply and you're most of the way there for the threads.

Show all topics in the forums and remove the drop-down box that gives them a choice of 'days pruned'. If you really want them to be able to search, give them a 'quick search' box in its place.

hmmmm... more stuff too

Cool suggestions. I thought about stripping out the extra profile and links on the users's posts but many of my members complained of the idea...So I guess on my board that won't happen...For now of course.

On the Quick Reply I've added a portion of DPK's Smilie Hack then placed the Smilie Legend (popup window) of the smilies so that the users can post them without going to the posting pages.

I think I'm even going to try and insert the UBB code buttons into the Quick Reply...Unless someone beats me to it.

I'll brainstorm a bit as well...It's funny how the process of talking things out helps

more than likely not the newbies
alternate template sets are what's needed for a forum where you tell the newbies they are welcome... ask questions.. etc

Hehe...True. Although I think the newcomers are just too afraid to ask. I can be intimidating you know.

Newcomers to a board would probably benefit from the forum description that appears in the forum pages. Nothing long, but just enough information about the particular forum so that the user will get the gist of it.

Ever noticed that the majority of any site/board the links and buttons are set to the left of the pages? Most likely this is due to the english influence of going from left to right. Well the scrollbars, unless modified, aligns to the right. If the links are to the left or all over the place for that matter it just makes it cumbersome for the users to jump all around with their mouse clicking on the links.

To make things a bit more user-friendly I went into a different direction and set the majority of the links to the right, where the scrollbar lies. This way the users, especially those who use higher resolutions and wider monitors will have an easier time navigating between the pages. It's different, but so far my users seem to like it.

Another thing is that I placed the PM Inbox System hack on the public_common.pl instead of the public_forum_summary.pl file. This way no matter which page the user is in they will always see if a new PM are in their inbox.

This is another thing that is unique. Every board that I have visited has their "my profile" buttons situated so that when a user clicks the link it will take them to their PM, in which the user will have to click an extra link to view the "Edit Profile". This to me just doesn't make sense.

To make things more practical I've edited the links so that when you click on the "my profile" the link will take you to their "Edit Profile" page. Because I have the PM Inbox installed that link will take them directly to their PMs. All of the other links (cookies, new post indicator and Edit Profile) links were stripped out making a clean PM page.

PT check your PM

those are some great UI ideas PT... lemme think of some too

Cool Allen.

Just replied Tackaberry.