Suggestion for this forums design

[quix]

So I'm new here and poking around, and I had a quick suggestion. I'm having a little trouble reading posts initially, due to the lack of a fixed width for the posts and a lack of contrast between the "frames" of individual posts / comments and text areas.

Maybe I'm being a bit silly here, but I think this site would be a lot more accessible if there was a maximum width set, and maybe more contrast between posts so it was easier to distinguish who said what from things like their sigs and thinner columns for easier reading.

[tommylogic]

hmmm... I have no problems. spam?

[quix]

Spam? How did you make *that* jump?
It's a known fact that very wide columns of text are hard to read, ever wonder why newspapers never run text all the way across the page?

[tommylogic]

ahhh its alive... just checking.
fyi, looks fine on mine. Text is fluid to approx 525px. I find this acceptable. Contnet text could be set to eps, although I prefer fixed on my personal site.
I noticed the Blog site is set up in a more "magazine" style layout. That might be what you're looking for. Overall, my personal tatses resemble how this is set up, good combination of form, design and function.

Maybe you could do a mockup and post your "ideal forum"?

[James Jones]

I like it, it takes a bit of getting used to because most forums follow the same pattern of having your avatar, name etc on the left and to the right of that your post.

This one's a bit different, what is wrong with people and different, esspacially for a group of designers, anything a little strange and it's not what people are used to.

As far as accecable goes shorten your browser width, increase the font size.

[ianm]

no problems here quix, but i see where you are coming from

[Toon]

I'm sure quix will get used to it after about 100 posts or so, ask anyone that moved from the old forum it's took us all about 3 weeks to get used to it.

[ianm]

vBulletin is widely used and many forums are layed out this way

[tommylogic]

well in your spare time toon.. you could do about 20 custom layouts and let us skin it ourselves with a choice maybe ... LOL ..

[Toon]

Spare time?? I'm on my holidays now!