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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
673 Posts |
 Posted - 10/15/2002 : 19:26:52
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Comments on the existing color schemes. I've been looking at them both on the front forum page as well as on a thread page. I also need to look at them on the iTronix, but I can get some idea.
A-Maizing and Bluish: Good contrast on the threads page, both with the blue and grey backgrounds. But the links on the main page, on the blue background, are impossible to read.
Hues of Blues: I don't like the aquaish hue (the first one in a thread). The background seems a bit overpowering.
Mr. Middlemun's Salon (the one I've been using): The front page is very easy to read. I've used this on the iTronix, and it's legible. The first color in the threads is a little dark, and a little difficult to read, but the rest looks good.
Plain Jane Rice Burroughs: The threads page again has good contrast. The links on the main page, though, are a little under-contrasted, both the grey-on-pale and the blue-on-slate.
Purple: Good contrast on the links on the front page, but the darker background on the links page is a little difficult.
Red, White and You: Very stark on the front page. On the thread page, I think the blue is too light, but the black is legible on it. On the red, however, the contrast is very poor.
Shades of Gray: I like the grey. The contrast is, well, it could be better, but it's not bad. However, I think it's almost too much, especially on the front page.
Square One TV.ORG: This scheme looks fine, but I know from experience on the iTronix that it is hard to read on a black and white screen.
Triple Play: Ouch! That green! This may be the best scheme for a black-and-white display, though, with the simple, single-color navy on the threads page.
Suggestions: A couple of the places where the links blend in should be changed to something more contrasting, like on A-MaB and HoB. Also, you might consider a High Contrast colorset. In the colorsets I have for my home page, I made sure to include a "Contrast" set, which is basically all white-on-black. It may seem stark, but it would be easy for someone with a monochrome display (or with poor eyesight) to change to it just for a help.
______________________________
Jason Elliot Benda -- <katemonday@attbi.com>
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA."
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 10/16/2002 : 11:41:52
#594
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Of course, the colors look totally different on different monitors...I know at work and at home, (and also, from Beth's house) the schemes look not a thing alike. And what looks good from the PC I set them up on can totally look like crap on another. (Believe me, I've noticed it with the ones I've done.)
So I wish I had more comparison myself. I'm open to tweaking things a bit myself. (Hrm...perhaps I should propose to Brian and Henry that you be an "Undercover Agent" as well? Then you'd be able to help us tweak the schemes...)
Anyway, good input. Mmmm...input! (Sorry, wrong show! Hee.) I'll look things over and see what I can change.
My personal fave so far is still Mr. Middlemun's Salon *PATTING SELF ON BACK FOR THE IDEA*. Though Brian made it so totally unique for, well, if you haven't noticed, I'm not gonna tell why! 
______________________________
Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend
Edited by - jillthepill on 10/16/2002 11:43:04 |
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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
Posts: 673 |
Posted - 10/22/2002 : 17:03:23
#703
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I've switched my current scheme to Shades Of Grey, because I was tired of being unable to read the unvisited links in the posts in Mr. Middlemun's Salon. However, while everything is legible here, I do wish that the visited link color were different. It looks the same as the plain text. Perhaps a nice #FF9 would be pale enough to be unobtrusive, yet still yellow enough to be different.
______________________________
Jason Elliot Benda -- <katemonday@attbi.com>
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA." |
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 10/22/2002 : 17:23:43
#706
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Little. Yellow. Different. (I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself!)
I am using Triple Play at the moment. I haven't been brave enough to actually use it (it's kinda dark for my tastes), but it's a nice little change. I just wish I had a better idea of how the schemes look on many different monitors. Hrm...perhaps I should fire up the site on all the 'puters here at work? LOL...after everyone else has left, though. 
Your Kate icon looks particularly stunning against Triple Play, actually!
______________________________
Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend
Edited by - jillthepill on 10/22/2002 17:25:30 |
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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
Posts: 673 |
Posted - 10/23/2002 : 16:39:27
#718
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Header image. Main Forum page. Not loading. Tried three different browsers.
More specific information: I'm signed in to the Forum in three different browser windows right now: one IE 6, one Netscape 6, one Opera 6. I'm using Shades of Gray color scheme on all of them. The image at the upper left of the main Forum page (URL not posted for fear of starting an argument; you know where it is) is not loading in any of them. If I change color schemes to A-Maizing and Bluish, the image loads. The problem appears to be in the color scheme's definition of that image; in Shades of Gray, it's http://www.squareonetv.org/forum/spacer.gif; in A-Maizing and Bluish, it's http://www.squareonetv.org/forum/index.gif. (Note: if I change to Mr. Middlemun's Salon, that image, http://www.squareonetv.org/forum/salon.gif, isn't loading, either, at least in Opera and ... well, wait, now it's loading in Netscape and Opera. *pause* Okay, I just checked all the color schemes in both Opera and Netscape. Hold on, let me go write this message in Lynx so I can check IE as well. *pause again*
Okay, I'm in Lynx now, and I've switched this comment to the Color Scheme thread, since it's a color scheme-specific issue. (Besides, I hadn't noticed that every scheme has a little border frame around it except Default/Square One TV.ORG and Shades Of Gray. I wanted to point that out; now I don't have to make another post.)
So there's a bug (or there's an incorrect image link) in the Shades of Grey color scheme.
While we're on the subject, I am astonished how different the same color scheme can look on the same computer and monitor on three different browsers. Take a look, especially Jill and Brian, at this image (zipped for your protection convenience; the whole file as a 24-bit .bmp is about 5.5 MB); it's a screenshot of me running A-Maizing and Bluish on the front page in three different browsers (plus the Lynx window for this post). I kept it at 24-bit because I want to see if it really looks that different on another machine.
Caveat artifex: do the schemes use words to define colors, or do they use hex codes? PLEASE tell me they use hex codes. There are strict definitions for only 16 word-colors (one of which is "lime"). If they do use words, using hex codes may solve the problem.
______________________________
Jason Elliot Benda -- <katemonday@attbi.com>
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA." |
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 10/23/2002 : 17:06:15
#720
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Actually, yeah, they do use words, but can also be assigned in HEX. So if you know the HEX codes for any of them, send them on, and I will change them. Or you could just tell me (say, in a list) which colors they should be if they look wrong also.
I do have an eyedropper tool of sorts that picks up the colors on any page, but it's a bit of a pain to use also... (It's mostly a colored scrollbar creator proggy.)
I will download that file now and see what it looks like also. I should hook you up with Paint Shop Pro so you don't have to use MS PAINt! (But nevermind that!)
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Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend |
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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
Posts: 673 |
Posted - 10/23/2002 : 17:48:18
#725
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Okay, I'm running out of posts (my next post will be my 97th (my favorite number), and shortly after that I'll lose my orange stars and get stuck with red ones (boo!)), but here's a little tutorial about colors. For more information, please read Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide by Eric A. Meyer, Chapter 3.
There are exactly 16 colors suggested in the CSS specification by name. There are no purely defined colors by name, but these 16 (which are supposed to be at least close to the colors you would see if you set a VGA monitor to 16 colors) are generally supported: aqua (#00FFFF), black (#000000), blue (#0000FF), fuschia (#FF0000), gray (#808080), green (#00FF00), lime (#00FF00), maroon (#800000), navy (#000080), olive (#808000), purple (#800080), red (#FF0000), silver (#C0C0C0), teal (#008080), white (#FFFFFF), yellow (#FFFF00). (I know my source says green and lime are the same; I don't think that's right (I think green is supposed to be darker).) Note that cyan and magenta are actually called aqua and fuschia, respectively, in this suggestion.
We all know that colors are not always the same in different browsers, platforms, or monitors. There is a suggestion that web designers restrict their choices to a set of 216 colors, considered "web-safe", which should (should, I said should) look the same across platforms and browsers, rendered without any dithering or changing. I've restricted my own web design to these 216 colors. I had a table of them ... it's not up right now. Let me put it up ... there. That's a list in short-hex of the 216 colors; to write them in full hex, repeat each digit. (For example, the bright pink #F69 in full hex is #FF6699.)
So I'm asking that the color scheme designers NOT use words, which can have a variety of meanings, to define the colors, but use normal hex codes (or decimal codes, or short hex, or something that codes the RGB equivalent: in CSS, for example, "color: rgb(255,102,153);", "color: #F69;", "color: #FF6699;", and "color: rgb(100%,40%,60%);" all code the same bright pink). Please. Thank you.
______________________________
Jason Elliot Benda -- <katemonday@attbi.com>
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA." |
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 10/23/2002 : 18:25:56
#726
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Okay, now that is weird. I looked at your screenshot, and indeed, they all look totally different. And not just that, none of them actually looks like the way it does on my system (here at work or at home). So yeah, I guess that does pose a problem. (But WHO wants to browse text-only anyway? Hee.)
I should give you a Mod nod (though it's not up to me to assign that task to anyone), and let you go in and fix those up, since you have a better idea of how things work on multiple platforms. Or you know, just send me a text listing and I'll do what I can.
This is the input we need though, it is most useful! Even Number Five would appreciate it! 
Edit: By Golly, Jason is right. I just loaded the "Shades of Gray" scheme (hadn't in awhile), and the header image is indeed broken. I don't remember it being like that before. The image properties show that it is looking for a "spacer.gif" file. Hrm...
Yet Another Edit: Ah good, it's fixed! Thanks, Brian!
______________________________
Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend
Edited by - jillthepill on 10/24/2002 18:46:22 |
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Hilley
Assistant Chief
Registered: May 2002
Location: East Elmhurst, NY
USA
Posts: 1523 |
Posted - 10/24/2002 : 17:52:37
#728
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I just fixed it. I wonder how it got that way. Test.
______________________________
I'm just an average American,
but that's aplenty for me,
I'm just an average American,
and you can be one like me. |
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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
Posts: 673 |
Posted - 11/03/2002 : 17:44:40
#845
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I just wanted to see what this picture looks like in the A-Maizing and Bluish scheme. I don't think either the maize or the blue is dark enough in the scheme. Of course, different browsers will render differently.
This picture, according to my computer, has a maize that is a dithering of rgb(254,214,023) and rgb(253,198,029). The closest color in the standard color map, numerically, would be rgb(255,204,000) or rgb(255,204,051), which in hex are #FFCC00 and #FFCC33. The blue is also dithered, rgb(041,041,066) and rgb(033,033,066). Unfortunately, the closest color to that in the standard map is rgb(051,051,051), or hex #333333, which is not a blue at all.
According to the shadesofmaize.bmp screencap I linked to earlier in this thread, my computer shows the following colors:
·Netscape: blue rgb(010,011,014), maize (outer) rgb(238,232,170), maize (inner) rgb(250,250,210)
·Opera: blue rgb(000,000,128), maize (outer) rgb(238,232,170), maize (inner) rgb(250,250,210)
·Inernet Explorer: blue rgb(160,176,224), maize (outer) rgb(238,232,170), maize (inner) rgb(250,250,210)
So actually (I didn't know that), all three browsers rendered the maize the same; the difference was in the blue.
I tried to make a scheme on my own home page that approximated the Michigan colors, just by sight. I used #FC0 for the maize and #009 for the blue. (You can see it on my page; just change the colorset to "Maize".) So actually the blue might not be dark enough, but the maize is pretty good. I was trying to match colors at http://mgoblue.com (the official site of the University Of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Athletic Department) when I did it; maybe their blue is lighter.
If someone else could run some color analysis on their own machine(s) and see if they get different numbers, I would appreciate it. I'd like to get to the bottom of this.
Okay, yes, another update. I made this image:
That's a reasonable facsimile of the image I posted earlier, but with no dithering. I reduced the image to exactly three colors: white #FFF, maize #FC0, and blue #003. I then re-painted the whole thing. I know the word "MICHIGAN" looks a little different, but I actually re-typed it rather than just try to clean it up. So, how does it look? And does it seem to look different on different environments? I'll look at the various browsers on my machine and update yet again.
Okay, they seem to look the same across the browsers. Actually, the header blue (the background for the first post) looks similar in all three browsers; it's only that other blue that looks different (WAY different, as documented above).
Further, I was going to complain about the header image, that the Halloween image was still up, even when I switched schemes. But when I loaded the A-Maizing and Bluish scheme in Netscape and Opera, I got the old header image. But I STILL see the Halloween header image in Internet Explorer. I don't get it.
______________________________
Jason Elliot Benda -- <katemonday@attbi.com>
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA."
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 17:45:06
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 17:46:17
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 18:34:37
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 18:38:11
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 19:35:56
Edited by - 26376 on 11/03/2002 19:45:13 |
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Primary Consult
Assistant Chief
Registered: May 2002
Location: Albany·NY
USA
Posts: 746 |
Posted - 11/20/2002 : 22:04:18
#1116
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| I just added yet another color scheme... "Snitz Default"... that is the original one that comes by default with the board software. I had to go to the forum site and manually figure out the colors since we've long since changed them. |
Quality > Quantity
Te fecimus tectus! |
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 11/21/2002 : 00:59:06
#1120
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Oh, so there it is! Wow, it's not too far off from my "Red White and You" Scheme, only I didn't even have that example to go by! I guess I just have a good grasp of colors? Hee hee, yeah, sure...
Anyway, that's lurvely, except the header image, of course.  Nice and plain Vanilla though for those who fear change!
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Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend
Poke your nose? No. G. Gordon and I never fight. - Cynthia Gooch, The Case of the Poconos Paradise
Find Me on Facebook! | Online Journal Thingy
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26376
Undercover Agent
Registered: August 2002
Location: Illinois
USA
Posts: 673 |
Posted - 03/13/2003 : 23:02:58
#1865
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| I'm still using Shades of Grey, and I still like it, but I still have the complaint that the visited-link color is not different enough. My system is showing it as #F0F8FF, only a slight blue tinge (blue? really? I had no idea) from the standard text color of #FFFFFF. May I suggest something a little more different, perhaps with a bit of yellow (I always thought it was yellow, actually). Maybe a #FFFFE8 or so? Just something that looks more easily discernable than what it is now. |
Jason Elliot Benda --  <insert e-mail address here>
Moderator: Forum 1, Forum 2, Forum 5, Forum 8, and Forum 9
Member #6 Send Me A PM
"Wishing you a pleasant day and a higher GPA." |
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HrdCorDweeb
Sergeant
Registered: December 2002
Location: Brooklyn NY
USA
Posts: 218 |
Posted - 03/13/2003 : 23:25:04
#1869
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| im pretty happy with the default scheme. i really dont see the need for so many different colors, but im a simple guy anyway. |
I'd rather sleep in the park with the generators!!! |
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Jill the Pill
Undercover Agent
Registered: July 2002
Location: Washington State
USA
Posts: 2268 |
Posted - 08/21/2003 : 17:07:23
#3226
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I added a new colour scheme just awhile ago, as I felt we were lacking a "green" sort of theme, which I thought would be nice and refreshing. So, I made one, at the very least, for my own enjoyment.
It's called "Mean n Green", and if y'all would like to try it and give me feedback on it, I'd like to know how it looks. (Just change it in your Profile settings, or in the little drop down menu above!) I fiddled with the various settings over and over until it got to where I didn't find the colours overwhelming (along with a pleasant array of contrasting hues *G*), but I know each browser/monitor views things differently. It's fairly limited, choice wise, unless one wants to do the exact hex numbers, which I couldn't be bothered with at the moment.  I just wanted it to be readable and pretty. (I'm such a girl...aren't I?)
Anyway, check it out, and if you have any suggestions for other schemes that you feel would be useful for all members, input is welcomed! |
Afresh anon? Whaddya a-mean, a-man? - Miles Reed, The Case of the Mystery Weekend
Poke your nose? No. G. Gordon and I never fight. - Cynthia Gooch, The Case of the Poconos Paradise
Find Me on Facebook! | Online Journal Thingy
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Edited by - Jill the Pill on 08/21/2003 17:09:48 |
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