calling all graphics experts

If you haven't noticed yet I disabled the message icons. But they're still being called on the front forumdisplay. What I need is a 1x1 pixel, transparent gif. I'll place them instead of the message icons. This is a bandwidth saving feature. Email it to me at [email protected]

Smilies/Graemlins will still be allowed. And after Sasha upgrades the UBB software I'll look for a hack to add more.

I'm using Chris' new buttons. They're smaller than the previous versions. Unfortunately his beautiful frontpage was a bandwidth hog. So I have the frontpage go directly to the forum. I thank him for his efforts and hope he enjoys his prizes for winning the contest.

On the way- Hope it works for you.

Check your email. Don't drop it. They're hard to find in the carpet.

Thanks guys. (I didn't drop it.)

Glad those buttons were of use.

Unfortunately his beautiful frontpage was a bandwidth hog. So I have the frontpage go directly to the forum.

Sorry `bout that, I didn`t realise how much strain it would add, but it`s no biggie. (the E2e has become my EDC in place of the old E2, gets me out of a dark situation when the worn out nicads in the 9N crap out all the time). FYI the page lives on at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/c.millinship/newcpf/cpfhome.htm in case anyone would still like to use it. I don`t have bandwidth limits on that web server as far as I know.


I`ll see if I can come up with something nice, plain and simple later on to head up CPF- in site colours with no grafix. I notice the only way to access the Links section was from the front page and there is no access to it now- is the Links section still here? If so, a little text-link to it is in order.


I`ll get back to you

Right, new "slimline" all-text CPF index page completed and sent to the Boss for approval, all 2.5K of it . I`ll also link to a version here, let me know what you think (and if anyone gets any wierd formatting problems).

For now, there is no Links section and no Contact page, I`m not sure if David is going to restore these but they`re not there for now so I didn`t add links to them. If they come back (I offered to re-design them to match this page too), I`ll add the links. Simple

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/c.millinship/newcpf/index.htm

The links page is going to be seperated out into an entirely different url and website. Seperate account and everything. I won't put banner ads on CPF. I will put banner ads on this website.

www.FlashlightLinks.com

I removed the contact page because those listed on it were getting spammed.

I like the Text version. Not quite as flashy but the only people we're trying to impress are new members and if they judge a book by it's cover we don't want them here anyway. NO seriously it's great, I personally have a link that bypasses that alltogether and I think many others here do to sooooooo

So Boss, what`s the verdict over my plain-text home page replacement? Ryan likes it (I think), but does anyone else? I feel a site as massive as CPF definately needs something to head it up and formally introduce it to linksurfers and searchers. Also a handy place to stick a stats tracker like Nedstat if you wanted such a thing (be interesting to see how busy it is round here!). That plain unformatted forwarding page just doesn`t do anything for me. It looks temporary and unfinished, and then plonks newbies right in the busy foyer without any introduction.

Not that I`m really complaining, and I won`t be upset if you don`t want it. I just thought you and everyone else here would like it. It`s about as efficient as HTML coding gets, only 2K so it`ll take next to nothing out of the bandwidth total.

Ok ok ok I was thinin about the text page and thinking maybe since many of the regular members (I think) skip it anyway...I have a link that goes right to todays active topics...maybe you could add just a little to it, not much. Here is what I am thinking.

If you could make some little corner blocks (Maybe I'll just make them and eMail them to you...hard to explain) you could turn that white box into a smooth, round shape not completely unlike the old one with minimal bandwidth. Placement might be a mess for netscape users though

**EDIT**
Watch out...crudely coded HTML to follow
See what I'm saying here

I get whut yer sayin` Ryan, that`s almost exactly how I did the original graphic-intensive page ( archived for eternity here ). I can do it to that new text page too, using the same Gif images I made. But, adhering to the Boss`s concerns over the big amount of bandwidth my old design required, I designed the new improved slimline page to require no grafix at all, even if it isn`t quite as smooooth.


It`s up to you, the CPF Membership, and of course the Boss too. Corners or no corners? If there`s interest, I`ll prototype a new page. Just let me know, I`m happy to help. If it weren`t for this place I`d have no social life whatsoever so you all know I`m grateful for this site`s existence......

....and as far as Netscape compatibility goes, well my old PC with a copy of NSN4.7 on it now has a big dent in the side (don`t ask) but I`ll try and make it work to function-test any new page variants. As much as I hate Netscrape (as do, I expect, many other web site designers cos it`s so damn quirky) I respect the right for the individual to chooze what browser they wish to use, so I try to ensure my handmade web designs work on both platrforms.

Opera? Whooo? (but I will I`ll try it one day, just happy with IE5.5 on the old Win98 machine for now)


<edit>got the address of the archived page wrong- it linked to the new improved text-only version. It doesn`t now.

Excuse me for bumping this but: I really feel that with all the improvements and upgrades here, CPF needs something better than a plain unformatted click-on link as its front page.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this? Please take a look at my alternative text-only page here - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/c.millinship/newcpf/index.htm - that I made to replace the bandwidth-hungry graphic rich page that stood before for a brief time. Let me know what you think! More importantly let the Boss know what you think.

Boss- if it`s popular, I really hope you`ll consider using it here. It`s yours for the taking, I don`t expect anything in return! And it would be such a shame for the CPF homepage contest to have been largely for nothing. We should really have something simple there in place of my original page.

If no one minds, I could take what Chris has there (which I like!!) and add Latest Threads to it (like active topics only doesn't reset at midnight), and we can put it up!

David?

I like the simplicity of Chris M.'s new page - it looks stylish, cool and elegant, (like the man himself).

Sasha,
if by "Latest Topics" you mean a list of the last active 100 or so, that would be great !!
(If not 100, it would have to be the last 80 or so anyway, because we have had ~75 a day sometimes. So, say two pages worth of topic lists ?)

It could be much better for continuity of the various discussions, and more representative of the mood and themes of the community.
Members would be able to see other topics that might interest them much more easily.

We're so worldwide that midnight is nominal anyway. Even in the USA, you have a wide range of time-zones across the country, while the UK is 5-8 hours different, and other regions are on very different hours.

Only thing is, this has been asked about before, (especially by me !!) and the Boss didn't activate it, so maybe he'd prefer to leave it as it is.

Jahn

It depends Sasha. If you could still read the most recent post like you can now go for it. If it's like it is on your board---you just see the subject, forget it!

(There's that flood control yet again...I thought Darell was kidding when he said something about it once, how the heck could you post twice in 60 seconds? Quickreply has cahnged that. Is my minute up is my minute up???)

...Latest Threads to it (like active topics only doesn't reset at midnight)

Please e-mail me about this (my address is somewhat disguised down there under the banner)- I`m not familiar with the feature but let me know the specifics and I`ll make the necessary changes.

it looks stylish, cool and elegant, (like the man himself).
Glad you like it too. But: we`ve not met yet have we? (maybe we`ll get the chance next week- I`ll be down in your part of the world) I`m quite the opposite- overweight, scruffy and clumsy