Questions re Skinner mode, main page

[crickets]

EarlG, I am loving the new site - thanks so much for all of your hard work! After trying all of the different modes, Skinner mode is easiest on the eyes, with one exception. On both my PC and phone, unvisited links are purple, with visited links showing a slightly pinker hue that is very difficult to distinguish. Is this normal? Would it be possible to have colors closer to the usual unvisited blue/visited purple colors on DU3? or even the white/gray option from Night mode?

Just in case:

PC (Asus Laptop)
Windows 10
Brave v 1.58.129

Phone (Pixel 3a xl)
Android 12 Build SP2A.220505.008
Brave v 1.5.62


I'm loving the main page layout, but one major change is a little jarring. Is there any reason why LBN headlines are at the bottom of the page now? I kinda miss 'em at the top. I'm so sorry if any of this is too nitpicky. Latest Videos thumbnail blocked in below image so I could fit everything in.

______

DU4 (Visited Canada link)




DU3

[EarlG]

1. Unfortunately

The issue here is that you're running some kind of "dark mode" extension, and that extension is setting its own link colors. Skinner Mode is set up with a white background and traditional blue links (purple when visited) -- if a third-party extension changes those colors, there's nothing I can do to control the result. There may be something you can do in the extension settings to change the link colors?

As for the placement of the Latest Breaking News items, this was simply a design choice. I wanted to feature the "Left Column" content more prominently, which meant that I needed to move the Trending and Greatest sections around, which meant I had to push the LBN items down.

From your first screenshot it does seem that the LBN column is unusually wide but it's hard to tell because it looks like the screenshot has been cropped. Is there any chance you could post the whole thing? I'm just curious to see what you're seeing.

[crickets]

2. Requested screencap, extension discussion

Uncropped DU4 screenshot you requested, same area of screen, nothing blocked on the page:



I think the layout issue might be an extra line to the left of the LBN section.


PC (laptop) /Windows 10 - freshly rebooted.

I used to run the Dark Reader extension, but turned it off long ago when Brave introduced a dark mode.

I doublechecked to make sure Dark Reader was off (it was) and turned off Brave's dark mode. Results are the same: DU3 has normal colors and DU4 links are a festival of pink.

Turned off ALL browser extensions. Same results.


DU3 front page




DU4 front page, visted top Milley link, which is ever so slightly pinker.



The remaining dark mode is in Windows 10. Changing to light mode didn't help: same issues with a bright white background. I started to look at other color settings and realized, um... I'm not touching that. Windows 10 is behaving as closely to what I want as I can get it, and I don't want to rock the boat.

Turned Dark Reader extension on, visited DU4 and colors are different, but I'm happy enough with them. Oddly enough, link colors no longer behave on front page. They did earlier today, and still do in the forums.





I don't want to make extra work for you, so when DU4 rolls out, I will just turn Dark Reader on again and hope that will solve the link color issue.

Computers, amiright?



Android phone - freshly rebooted.

My usual setup is running both Android dark theme and Brave night mode. I try not to browse on my phone, but when I have to for weird internet access reasons, it's usually cast to my computer screen, with the screen rotated and Brave set to show all sites in desktop layout. I'm using Skinner mode in DU4.


DU3 - colors are normal.



DU4 - all the links, including visited ones, are pink.

Mobile layout


Desktop layout, visited first link



Turned off Brave night mode. Colors are normal in both DU3 and DU4 - yay! Screen is glaring white - boo! Also, visited links on front page still do not register, though they do in the forums.

DU4 setting changed from Skinner mode to Dark mode. Not fond of the layout, but I can live with it on my phone, because... phone. Whatever. I don't know if these colors are normal or not, but links on front page do not reflect visited sites, forums links do.

Minor note: when clicking My Stuff in Skinner mode to change settings, I see a ton of dead space under the buttons. Not a problem in DU Night mode. Also noticed that the account settings page in Skinner mode is a bit borked to the left side of the page, but I have been at this for hours and it can wait for another post. Sorry this is so long!

Other minor note: my goodness, the top nav buttons are huge and bright, but - meh, whatever.




It's odd that the same problem shows up pretty much in the same way on both devices, and DU4 is the only place I'm having these problems. Since no one else is weighing in on the discussion, this may just be a 'me' thing and it looks like I can fix most of it on my end. I don't get it, but thanks for taking time to check my post, and I hope this information was helpful.

[EarlG]

3. Thanks, this is very helpful

Last edited Fri Sep 22, 2023, 04:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Just a point of clarification -- when you say "normal colors" please appreciate that with the exception of the bottom screenshot I do not consider these colors "normal" in any way

With the exception of Night Mode in DU4, there's nothing in our code that would make DU3 or DU4 show up with a black background and light text like that. It's definitely a setting in your operating system or browser which is making that happen.

If you aren't comfortable making any further changes to your settings than you already have, and if this is how you're used to seeing DU, that's completely fine -- it's just that unfortunately, it's not something I can really work with because I have no power to change the colors for you. Something at your end has overridden the colors which I initially set, and I can't re-override them.

I'm actually a little more concerned about the spacing issues that seem to be going on. The "Enter Discussion Forums" box on DU4 in screenshots 3 and 4 is too far to the left, and the search icon is overlapping the site logo. This is not entirely unexpected behavior on mobile devices which have viewport widths close to the "breakpoints" that determine which version of the site you should get.

From what I can tell, your phone size *should* mean that you get a modified mobile layout when you turn the phone into a horizontal position -- but instead you're getting the tablet layout (which is why there isn't quite enough space to fit everything in, and some items are overlapping). I'll have to try some tweaks to see if I can resolve that.

* Edited to add: I just realized that the screenshot showing the "Enter Discussion Forums" problem is displayed on your laptop, not your mobile phone. I'm going to see if I can make some changes to fix that overlap issue.

[crickets]

5. Colors, layout

when you say "normal colors" please appreciate that with the exception of the bottom screenshot I do not consider these colors "normal" in any way ... unfortunately, it's not something I can really work with because I have no power to change the colors for you.

Points taken 😄 and I think the Dark Reader extension will handle colors for me when the time comes.

The "Enter Discussion Forums" box on DU4 in screenshots 3 and 4 is too far to the left

Yes, those are laptop screenshots, and since your tweaks, the "Enter Discussion Forums" box lines up perfectly now. I didn't even notice it before, but it looks great now.

[EarlG]

4. I made a couple of layout changes

Hopefully I've resolved the home page "Enter Discussion Forums" box overlap problem on your laptop -- let me know if that looks better.

I'm still a tad confused about what I'm seeing in the bottom four screenshots. It looks like a phone held horizontally, but there's also a Windows task bar at the bottom of the image. How were those screenshots taken? Just so I'm clear about what I'm looking at, thanks.

[crickets]

6. Phone screenshots

Last edited Fri Sep 22, 2023, 11:05 PM - Edit history (1)

I think you missed this bit in the post, but it was so long it's totally understandable.

I try not to browse on my phone, but when I have to for weird internet access reasons, it's usually cast to my computer screen, with the screen rotated and Brave set to show all sites in desktop layout.

The following are from my phone. Here's the issue I mentioned with the Account Settings page in DU4 (screen orientation does not matter, and analogous DU3 page behaves fine on my phone.)

Skinner mode:



Night mode: (I think I see what you mean about the Search button. It doesn't bother me, but it's still overlapping.)



Edit to add vertical screenshot, whoopsies.



My Stuff/Navigate: (screen orientation doesn't matter. the problem is not replicated on laptop.)




Account Settings screen on my laptop looks fine in Skinner mode. (too many tabs open? moi?)



Following links from My Posts on DU3 to DU4 always shows error message "That forum is offline." Sorry if aready mentioned.

Anyhoo, I'm through finding minor nits for you. Thank you again for taking the time to read these posts and respond, EarlG. Love the new text formatting buttons, btw! (pls don't kill me, but the classic smilies button is misaligned. *ducks*) 🥰

Last eta, promise. I just noticed the shadow donkey at the bottom of the Account Settings page in Night mode. Cool!