This is a module that is purely for fun. Since many forums are for socializing, it’s nice to be able to display your current mood. I had never seen this on a forum until we used Cutecast. There was a hack that allowed the users to select their mood. We ended up incorporating it over at Lotsofkids, and it quickly became a favorite feature. Sadly, when we moved to Phorum, we lost that ability. No more! Jim did a great job with this module. Currently it’s just installed at Bitmap World. I can’t wait to get it up on our other sites!
I created most of the mood graphics included in the module. However, the overall design of the graphic was one is used on several other systems. I don’t know the original artist, so I can’t give credit.
You can download the module from the Phorum website HERE.
Below are screenshots of the module. Click for a larger version.
It’s really funny how different Jim and I are in certain “admin” ways. Aesthetics are not very important to him. He will laugh that every screen could be white background with black text and he would be happy. For me, I need an infusion of color and design. Granted, I tend to be a purist in that regard–I don’t like design that is overly fancy. However, color is very important. This seems obvious for a main site, since your visitors will see it. But what about the backend, the admin screens that nobody sees? I realize there is not a real need to have them look good, but I find a great benefit in having skinned admin screens. I often use the same programs on several sites and that means that I have several instances of the same admin screen. If I am working on multiple sites at once, that can get confusing and you can end up posting a change to one site when you meant it for another. I have to admit, Wordpress doesn’t allow skinned admins, but they do have the name of the site you are working on in big letters in a header at the top of the admin, so that helps. Still, I wouldn’t mind having a bit of color to that control panel either.
Funny thing is, I have taken to manually skinning many of the admin panels for the progrms I work on. At first, Jim thought I was crazy for doing it, until he started to see the results…and practicality. As with me, having the different admins skinned to coincide with the respective website, he could see at a glance where he was working. That is particularly helpful for him, since he is known to have 20-30 tabs open at one time (no joke).
It was a bit of a wrangle to get this module done for Phorum. It required actual coding changes by the Phorum team, but they were really great about it and worked with Jim to get it done (even though it will probably be tweaked in the future). The necessary changes were incorporated into the 5.2.12 update and then Jim was able to release the module.
This module only affects the Admin screens. It does not use templates, per se, but rather skin files which are included in the module. I have to admit, the screens turned out pretty sharp. Below is a screenshot of the “Oynx” skin. There are 7 others included in the module. Click on the image for a larger version.
Most forum systems have a User List. I have never really used one with Lotsofkids, however I use them regularly on our other forums. I was ready to live without one for Bitmap World, but when I asked Jim “is this possible?” and he said “yes”, we decided to run with it.
One thing I was insistent about was that you could filter the list by letter. Particularly with really long member lists, it’s hard to scroll through pages and pages to find a certain name. I have only seen letter sorting on a one other system, but it’s a great feature and Jim was able to put it into the Phorum module.
Classic Emerald:
Scriptmonkeys Template (Blue Lime). Note there is an arrow pointing to where the link will automatically appear on SM templates. The icon is also included in the Module package:
Most forums are designed so that you have a graphical indication if there are new messages. This is not something I used for Lotsofkids, but when we went to switch our Bitmap World forum over, I realized it was a big issue. Our readers use that to easily peek in for new messages. This is important since the BMW forum is on the slow side, so quickly seeing if there is something new is important. I was going to have Jim simply hack the template we were using to add that, but then I thought it would be helpful if we did it as a module so others could enjoy that functionality.
This was a module Jim and I really worked on as a team. We hashed out the best way to do it and got into some nitty-gritty discussions. While I’m not a programmer, I do have a good working knowledge of coding which helps a lot when Jim needs to hammer out a problem. We’re both happy with the end product.
Below are screenshots of the module. Click for a larger version. Note the icons shown in the screenshots are the custom icons we use on all our sites. The default images are the Silk icons which come with Phorum. We do have some additional icons that are bundled with the module so you can change them.
Scriptmonkeys Template (Camo):
This module was developed, as many of them have been, based on my needs at Lotsofkids.com. While I can do script installations and minor coding hacks, I am dependent on Jim for major upgrades and additions. I have been wanting to add some static pages where I could put some additional content for the forums, but have held off because Jim has been so busy and I didn’t want to put more on his plate. When working on the Phorum modules, I mused that it would be great if Phorum had something like the “pages” funtion in Wordpress, or rather like the MiniCMS plug-in for Coppermine. Jim thought it would be easy to do, so he put it on the to-do list. So much for not giving him more work! Thankfully this module wasn’t too difficult.
The module allows Phorum to work as a CMS, generating static pages which can be linked to through Phorum itself or anywhere else on a website. There is no limit on the number of pages you can generate. Also, you can use whatever formatting you like for the pages, including the CSS from your Phorum template, straight HTML, or even PHP code.
This module would work nicely with our Bitmap World and Violet templates, since they have a sidebar for links.
Below is a screenshot of the module. Click for a larger version.
This module was created at the begging request of Michelle. She’s a big fan of Wordpress and loves the ability to edit the templates from the admin screen. She thought that this would be a good addition for Phorum. Since a lot of the other popular forum systems have this ability, I figured she was right.
The hardest part of the project was trying to get the hang of all the particularities of creating an actual module. With that down, I don’t think I’d have a big problem doing more in the future. Much of the actual editing coding I took from my work on Family Webcomics. That whole site was built around the ability of users to create and edit their comic/personal profiles.
When we initially did our template design for Phorum, we created 17 templates. We wanted to do a few more, featuring some more “simplistic” designs (essentially non-graphic designs). Our plan was to do maybe 6 to 12 more. When all was said and done, we had created over 20 more templates! As I mentioned before, we wanted to bring Phorum up to speed with many of the other systems out there that have a wide variety of templates. However, another reason was simply because there are so many good designs I have wanted to port to another system–as well as designs just shooting around my head–that I simply found myself adding “just one more” to the tune of a dozen or so.
There are at least a dozen more graphics I would have loved to make into a template, but I had to stop myself. There just isn’t enough time right now and we need to move back to some of our other projects. Someday, though…
A good deal of our templates were done utilizing the vertical striping layout. I wanted to make sure to do a number with the horizontal/alternate striping. Purple is a popular color and deep purple can be so dramatic and classy. Thus my desire to do a theme in that color scheme. Grape seemed like the best name for this theme–even though my family prefers red grapes.
Click thumbnail for screenshot. Click HERE for live preview. Click here to download from the Phorum website.
Since there are a couple of different layouts for the Phorum templates, we have been trying to vary our themes to utilize each of them. I already did a coffee theme using the template featuring vertical striping. I wanted to do a coffee theme using the more traditional emerald-inspired layout (sans the top bar) featuring horizontal striping. Jim particularly liked the way this color scheme worked out.
One of the things about being a good designer is working outside your own comfort zone. I happen to love soft muted colors, leaning towards pastels. However, I know there are people who love strong unsaturated colors that jump out at you. I wanted to do a rainbow theme and decided to use a bold colors. The white accent helps soften it a bit. Not for everyone, but certainly striking, and I know there will be quite a few people who will love this design.
All of that said, when I look at this theme, it reminds me of a pack of “Fruit Stripe” gum, which my kids love.
