Which Skin Should Be the Default? A Comparison of Prime and Nexus

[Greg Bernhardt]

We would like you input on which skin you'd like to see as the default.

 

[Doc Al]

Other than appearance, what are differences in the two skins? (Is the functionality identical?)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Other than appearance, what are differences in the two skins? (Is the functionality identical?)

Functionality is identical. Prime is about 10-12% faster and has the mainpage sidebar.

 

[hypnagogue]

I'd go with Prime if it didn't have the sidebar, or if there was an option to remove the sidebar and have the "Who's Online" and forum stats stuff at the bottom of the forum index, as it is right now in Nexus. But as it stands now, I'll go with Nexus.

 

[Lisa!]

If prime is faster, I go for prime as well! But I admit that Nexus looks better.

 

[Doc Al]

If it's faster, and will help get back the preview window (), then Prime's my choice--all things being equal (see below). I'll take function over form any day. (It's a bit cleaner looking, anyway.)

I don't like the main page sidebar, but I almost never use the mainpage anyway. But without the "forum jump" feature that used to be at the bottom, I'm forced to use the mainpage. If that feature's not coming back, then I'll stick to Nexus.

If that sidebar is removed, Prime wins for me.

 

[Moonbear]

If it's faster, and will help get back the preview window (), then Prime's my choice--all things being equal (see below). I'll take function over form any day. (It's a bit cleaner looking, anyway.)

I don't like the main page sidebar, but I almost never use the mainpage anyway. But without the "forum jump" feature that used to be at the bottom, I'm forced to use the mainpage. If that feature's not coming back, then I'll stick to Nexus.

If that sidebar is removed, Prime wins for me.

I'm voting with Doc Al on all of the above points!

 

[Astronuc]

If Prime is faster - i.e. if it uses less bandwidth, which seems to be an issue - it would seem practical to make it default.

I prefer Prime anyway.

 

[robphy]

I like Prime... with the sidebar. I think an option to turn it on or off would be nice... as long as the sidebar is available. Which of the two is the default doesn't matter... as long as Prime isn't the first of the two skins to be replaced.

 

[mattmns]

I too would like an option to turn off the sidebar on prime, or to move it to the bottom. Other than that, prime is great!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just to let you two know, I don't have any plans to make the sidebar a user option, sorry.

 

[Gokul43201]

Prime is my default setting. I find the sidebar a causing little crowding though.

 

[mattmns]

If you are using firefox you can remove the sidebar using an extension called, "remove it permanently"

https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=521&application=firefox

 

[Mk]

I thought everybody would vote for Nexus What was the design before the original Prime?

I haven't been on Prime since we got Nexus, and now I see it has changed. The usernames are less thick, color scheme is modified, etc.. and it does look very nice! Only thing is I think you should have kept the old shockwave banner up at the top. The current gifs as banner look cheap, and childish (no offense :uhh:). I'm sure you planned on having it replaced if we crossed over.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

You can't please everyone

 

[marlon]

Prime, for all the above reasons.

marlon

 

[Dawguard]

I definately prefer Nexus: I don't find that it cuts down on my speed very much. The little gimmicks and graphics make it worthwhile.

 

[Jeff Ford]

I'd go for Prime if we could get rid of the sidebar. It just makes the page look too cluttered.

 

[robphy]

One reason I never liked Nexus is its reliance on Flash. (For webpages, I like HTML and javascript. Similarly, for email, I prefer plain text.)

IMO, one nice feature of the sidebar is the blog listing, which can raise more awareness of the blog and direct more traffic to it.

IMO, there should also be a feed to a PHYSICS resource (not just to SCIENCE and to ASTRONOMY). I'm not sure what is out there... I've stumbled upon feeds from
http://www.physorg.com/
http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/
http://www.aip.org/rss.html
http://www.physicstoday.org/

 

[Doc Al]

Now that "forum jump" is back, I've switched to Prime. I kind of like the sidebar on the main page.

 

[Evo]

I'm sticking with Nexus, it has a less cluttered look. The side bar is too distracting.

 

[Moonbear]

If you're going to insist on keeping the sidebar on the main index page, then perhaps some rearranging of the order items appear in it could be considered. I'm thinking of it in terms of relevance to PF so people's first view of the site isn't something that takes them to a link off-site. I'd put the Who's Online, Forum Stats, and Birthdays to the top of the column, then the top 10 recent posts just below that, then the physics blog next, and then after all that PF-related stuff, put in the news feeds.

 

[Doc Al]

Good ideas, Moonbear!

The reason the sidebar doesn't bother me too much is that I never use the mainpage! (I'll go to the mainpage once in a while just to check the sidebar stuff, if I have the time.) But I think it would be pretty distracting for the average user.

 

[Lisa!]

The sidebar was really distracting at first but I've finally got used to it!

 

[Orefa]

I like the sidebar: more functionality from the main page with a sort of "executive summary" of what's on the site today. It doesn't look cluttered on a wide screen.

I preferred the look of the Flash header which is refined and professional compared to just a plain text title. Removing the animation may contribute to saving bandwidth, but a GIF/PNG reminiscent of it (or a single frame) could be a suitable compromise.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

At 1024x768 and above resolution the sidebar should not feel cramped imo. If you are using a lower resolution I would suggested buying a monitor made within the last 10 years and get with the times

Moonbear what res are you running on your laptop? I currently run at 1920x1200

 

[Tom McCurdy]

I vote the old school theme that is not even an option any more... what happened to physicforums look. I now feel like I'm on a gammer forum.

 

[Tom McCurdy]

Also on a sidenote: where did my journal with 100+ entries go?

 

[Evo]

At 1024x768 and above resolution the sidebar should not feel cramped imo. If you are using a lower resolution I would suggested buying a monitor made within the last 10 years and get with the times

:rofl: :rofl: Yeah, blame us...

 

[Moonbear]

At 1024x768 and above resolution the sidebar should not feel cramped imo. If you are using a lower resolution I would suggested buying a monitor made within the last 10 years and get with the times

Moonbear what res are you running on your laptop? I currently run at 1920x1200

1024X768 is the highest resolution...it's only a 12" laptop, not one of those monstrous 15" ones some people get. The problem is the table with the forum index gets compressed, but not the sidebar, so on the smaller monitor, the sidebar takes up a disproportionate amount of the main page. It looks sort of like 2/3 index and 1/3 sidebar. On the 17" monitor at home, it looks more like 4/5 index and 1/5 sidebar, which is more reasonable. I'd really rather ditch the sidebar than view such a squished index. And, no, I'm not going to get a different laptop or monitor just to view PF.

 

[z-component]

I like Prime more. The sidebar is a bit distracting but I don't mind it. I collapse the boxes I don't use (this setting stays until my cookies are removed every day). Nexus never appealed to me much and Prime seems to have similar traits to the old PF Classic theme. I vote Prime for the default and I pretty much agree with all of the above points.

 

[robphy]

I have a 12" laptop screen running at 1024x768 and view PF on Firefox with 13pixel Arial font. I concur that the sidebar is fixed-width (at about 200 pixels= (1/5)(screen width) ) and the forum index is about 640pixels... the rest of the space being empty space [and, for me, 60 pixels for my vertical taskbar].

I would agree to ditch the sidebar if more than the last post in each forum were listed. But I do think the sidebar increases the information density by using the otherwise empty blank space.

I'll admit that I'm an information junkie.

[I just learned from z-component's post that the boxes collapse. Maybe, as a compromise, the boxes could collapse to take up less horizontal space.]

 

[hypnagogue]

Dissatisfaction with the sidebar seems to be a recurring theme... it would be nice if there was at least an option to go with the conventional non-sidebar, who's online etc. stuff at the bottom.

If a feature requires a certain kind of setting or a certain kind of monitor to look nice, it shouldn't be automatically and irreversibly built into what is supposed to be a clean, no frills design IMO. Nexus is supposed to be the fancier skin, requires flash to work properly and all that, so if anything it seems to me the sidebar would be more appropriate for Nexus. Of course it'd be a moot point if the user could choose to have it or not on either skin.

 

[Moonbear]

Dissatisfaction with the sidebar seems to be a recurring theme... it would be nice if there was at least an option to go with the conventional non-sidebar, who's online etc. stuff at the bottom.

If a feature requires a certain kind of setting or a certain kind of monitor to look nice, it shouldn't be automatically and irreversibly built into what is supposed to be a clean, no frills design IMO. Nexus is supposed to be the fancier skin, requires flash to work properly and all that, so if anything it seems to me the sidebar would be more appropriate for Nexus. Of course it'd be a moot point if the user could choose to have it or not on either skin.

I agree, the point of Prime is to be the no-frills, uncluttered, fast-loading, easy-on-the-eyes version. Nexus is supposed to be the frilly, fun-at-the-expense-of-speed version. The side-bar option seems more appropriate in Nexus than Prime.

 

[gerben]

I like prime more because it makes PF look less like a gaming or science fiction site, although it still has those kitschy green icons in front of each forum title and the sidebar is just awful.

The default skin should look clear, simple and informative and should not try to look “cool” or whatever the intention of the frilly new skins is.

__
my resolution should be high enough, at 1680x1050, but that should not be important, you should be able to watch a forum-site on any resolution… it is about text