Introducing Stratics Pro

[Taylor]

This is why we should have the option here to add and remove them on the user side of things.We had this option in the old forum,right? That way you,and any other staffer won't have to worry with it.

So, there's still an option to add/remove a single signature here, like on the old forums. Instructions are here: How to Upload and Disable Signatures | Stratics Forums.

However, the reason this isn't possible to let users upload rotating signatures is that, in order for the rotation to work, the images have to be uploaded in a specific fashion to our server. It can't make them rotate simply by uploading them as a forum attachment unfortunately, nor could it in vBulletin. :<

 

[Petra Fyde]

There have never, to my knowledge, been rotating signatures on the boards. UBB boards did allow for multiple signatures to be uploaded, it was then possible to select which of your signatures was applied to what post. I don't think this facility exists in any modern board software - though of course I could be wrong.

 

[Flutter]

I researched this, but it doesn't look like there's a plugin for it yet.

Please make this post sticky so when my paypal is updated I can find it and other people who might be interested can see.

 

[Flutter]

There have never, to my knowledge, been rotating signatures on the boards. UBB boards did allow for multiple signatures to be uploaded, it was then possible to select which of your signatures was applied to what post. I don't think this facility exists in any modern board software - though of course I could be wrong.

I recall there being rotating sigs at the old boards too.

 

[kelmo]

Please make this post sticky so when my paypal is updated I can find it and other people who might be interested can see.

Good call... *winks*

 

[Flutter]

Good call... *winks*

Are you making fun of me kelmo?

 

[Petra Fyde]

I recall there being rotating sigs at the old boards too.

Then my memory is faulty and I apologise for the misinformation.

 

[Basara]

Just an FYI - if you do have Stratics Plus, you can upload an image to your blog, then copy its location and use it as your signature pic.

 

[Flutter]

*pokes petra* Make this sticky I had to go search for it!!

 

[NuSair]

No one who was involved in the old Stratics Pro is still with us. The boards don't even have the same owner.

That doesn't matter in terms of responsibility. It it was the company, it's the company that is responsible. It doesn't matter if it changes owners or if no one who was involved is left.

 

[NuSair]

There have never, to my knowledge, been rotating signatures on the boards. UBB boards did allow for multiple signatures to be uploaded, it was then possible to select which of your signatures was applied to what post. I don't think this facility exists in any modern board software - though of course I could be wrong.

There are a couple that offer it. There is a hack for vBulletin that allows for it.

 

[MadMartyr]

That doesn't matter in terms of responsibility. It it was the company, it's the company that is responsible. It doesn't matter if it changes owners or if no one who was involved is left.

The problem may be that there are no records left from that time.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I wasn't trying to abdicate responsibility, only offer assurance that it's not going to happen again - though I have no input or access to any finance information so maybe I shouldn't have.

 

[NuSair]

I am not EXPECTING anything, just making a statement. If the old pro-stratics went away with people still owed service time or whatever, then regardless of if the owners are still the same or if the people who ran it are still around- the company (stratics) is responsible for those accounts.

I would HOPE that Stratics would step up, figure out who had accounts then and toss them a carrot.

 

[Taylor]

I am not EXPECTING anything, just making a statement. If the old pro-stratics went away with people still owed service time or whatever, then regardless of if the owners are still the same or if the people who ran it are still around- the company (stratics) is responsible for those accounts.

I would HOPE that Stratics would step up, figure out who had accounts then and toss them a carrot.

Stratics is only us--volunteers. That's all of Stratics. No the owners, no the beneficiaries. Every person involved with Stratics is a volunteer. I can't right all of the old wrongs and I can't force TGN to do anything. All I can offer was noted in my post above. If that doesn't appeal to you, then you will not be appealed to. I literally can do nothing else.

You may submit further concerns here: [email protected].

 

[MadMartyr]

I think it's simply in poor taste to request a refund after how many years. I mean, at what point do you cross the threshold? It's not like you lost the use of Stratics, either, just a couple of features...maybe I should shut up. I completely forgot what point I was going to make.

THE END

 

[FrejaSP]

I like most of it and may choose to pay as I did to old forum.
I do not like:

• 8x Larger Avatar Size (Up to 400 kb)

I fear it will be to much.

 

[Taylor]

I like most of it and may choose to pay as I did to old forum.
I do not like:

• 8x Larger Avatar Size (Up to 400 kb)

I fear it will be to much.

This applies to the file size, not the actual dimensions. Avatar dimensions are automatically adjusted to the same size, but the larger file size allows folks to have animated or higher picture quality avatars.

 

[Saphireena]

Not quite sure where to say this, so since this thread is talking about Stratics, I'll post it here: As much as I love the color black - it really bothers me as a background color for a forum. Not only is it a strain on my old weary eyes but it also brings down the atmosphere. It feels somehow desolate, cold and uninviting now. I liked it more when there was the light beige, which was in general more suited to the Ultima look and feel.

 

[Taylor]

Not quite sure where to say this, so since this thread is talking about Stratics, I'll post it here: As much as I love the color black - it really bothers me as a background color for a forum. Not only is it a strain on my old weary eyes but it also brings down the atmosphere. It feels somehow desolate, cold and uninviting now. I liked it more when there was the light beige, which was in general more suited to the Ultima look and feel.

Understood. Here are some instructions for changing themes: How to Change Themes | Stratics Forums

There are several guides stickied here to help you adjust to XenForo: Suggestions and Bug Reports | Stratics Forums

 

[Saphireena]

Understood. Here are some instructions for changing themes: How to Change Themes | Stratics Forums
There are several guides stickied here to help you adjust to XenForo: Suggestions and Bug Reports | Stratics Forums

Thanks for the info, but for me to personalize my Stratics experience - well it solves my problem with it, but it doesn't solve it for anyone else. And my concern here is with the UO community in general. One of the "glues" of keeping the UO community alive and thriving has always been the Stratics forums. Community alive = UO alive.

The thing is that with the mere choice of fonts, font colors and background colors, you have the daunting power to either promote community by making people feel cozy and comfy and user friendly by helping them actually read the stuff, or you have the power to push them away with a somber and serious atmosphere and give those with bad eyes headaches as they try to see the text.

White text against a black background is an age old famous "beginners mistake" in the world of user interface and web design. And hell yeah, I've made the same mistake myself - even my UO website is pretty bad in that respect and I really should fix the old weary thing! However Stratics is much more important and significant than my old site.

Googling the phrase:
Why light text on dark background is a bad idea

or...

Why white text on black background is bad design

will yield dozens upon dozens of design guides which explain exactly why this is.

If a website has primarily other content such as photos, video etc etc. It's fine. but if the primary content is text, as it is in a forum. Bad bad bad.

Then again who knows, perhaps I'm completely alone in my opinion. But if you're really insistent on keeping it this way as the default scheme, I'd recommend at least setting up a poll and asking how people feel .

 

[Taylor]

I'm aware that lighter themes are in vogue. We are working to have themes developed specifically for us. I'm just having trouble getting enough cash to do the project properly. When these are launched, there will be both a light version and a dark version, and the lighter version will be the default.

For the time being, though, the Animate theme is the most modern looking theme that we have in our arsenal, which is why it is the default. The UO Classic theme looks more dated than even the black color scheme. Please bear with us during the transition.

 

[Saphireena]

Dated, outdated, modern, old. I really don't care as long as I can read the text and feel emotionally cozy (cozy is not so important in a forum where non-cozy topics are being discussed, but I think cozy is pretty important within the UO community. For instance, I think there was always something very cozy and "ultima" about the old old old UO site. Here's a shot grabbed from the wayback machine.

Thanks for being a trooper and being so patient with my rant and know-it-all attitude. If in reality, you actually had steam pouring out of your ears when responding, I'd have never noticed. *chuckles*

Great to hear that the default will be light at some point! Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Taylor]

In terms of technical capability, XenForo is the best forum software on the market. The problem is that, because it is so new, there aren't many users creating themes for it. The themes that have been created, both light and dark, are almost exclusively ugly as sin. However, I will look this weekend into adding more light options, with an eye toward possibly changing the default.

For the custom skin, designers want $500 per skin (one light, one dark). I just can't do it quite yet.

 

[Cirno]

There really is more to Stratics than just UO, though, so the default theme of the forums needs to be targetted to more than just the UO community.
The option exists to change the theme to one that's more subjectively preferable, which is the best that can be offered at the time.

The UO theme just isn't going to suit the other communities we're growing, such as Combat Arms, League of Legends, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, EVE: Online and so on. So the default has to be generically appropriate as possible.

 

[Taylor]

Aye, I'll definitely keep an eye to that as well. UO Stratics may always be our largest community and we'll always provide support for the UO section, but we really are trying to grow other areas as well.

 

[Saphireena]

There really is more to Stratics than just UO, though, so the default theme of the forums needs to be targetted to more than just the UO community.
The option exists to change the theme to one that's more subjectively preferable, which is the best that can be offered at the time.
The UO theme just isn't going to suit the other communities we're growing, such as Combat Arms, League of Legends, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, EVE: Online and so on. So the default has to be generically appropriate as possible.

Oh it's the one and same theme throughout? Well that certainly changes things! Definitely needs to be more neutral then, agreed! Didn't stratics used to have completely different themes for each of the MMOs back in the old days? I only visit the UO one so I hadn't realized that had changed.

Syrus as for buying those themes, well I don't know just how many images are involved in making a theme for a forum since I've never done it. But I'd be happy to make one for free if it's not too much work. My summer holiday is starting after next week. All I'd basically need is to get a package of the art assets used in this current theme, then I could sort them out in Photoshop and create new versions over top. I assume the file names should also remain the same. I can't promise yet, I'd have to see just how much work is involved, but if it were say a day's worth of work, I'd be happy to do it. Send me a PM if interested. If you need reference of my art skills go to andrea.net

 

[Taylor]

Oh it's the one and same theme throughout? Well that certainly changes things! Definitely needs to be more neutral then, agreed! Didn't stratics used to have completely different themes for each of the MMOs back in the old days? I only visit the UO one so I hadn't realized that had changed.

We can still do this. I've let each ME know that they can set what theme shows within their category. So far, no one's requested to change it from the Animate theme.

Syrus as for buying those themes, well I don't know just how many images are involved in making a theme for a forum since I've never done it. But I'd be happy to make one for free if it's not too much work. My summer holiday is starting after next week. All I'd basically need is to get a package of the art assets used in this current theme, then I could sort them out in Photoshop and create new versions over top. I assume the file names should also remain the same. I can't promise yet, I'd have to see just how much work is involved, but if it were say a day's worth of work, I'd be happy to do it. Send me a PM if interested. If you need reference of my art skills go to andrea.net

Sure, I'll PM you this weekend sometime. I have a sandbox form you could toy with, which would help you assess how much work is involved.

 

[Saphireena]

Excellent!

 

[Varrius]

...

 

[Basara]

This is in response to one of the things brought up 3 or so months ago.

One thing to consider about the previous iteration of Stratics Plus from years ago - the persons in charge then stopped offering it (but left parts of it active for the people who already had it), even removed the links to it, and closed their account with the vendor handling the transactions. But, that vendor kept charging people renewal fees for over a year, pocketing the money.

That's why some people claim that Stratics owed them money or services, because they were getting ripped off by that vendor. I was a forum mod at the time, and even I was getting done that way (and being staff, got to see what was going on from both sides of the issue).

 

[Taylor]

PayPal is now our "vendor." Any unauthorized charge can be disputed to PayPal. Additionally, the system is now fully automatized and does not depend on a human to add or remove people.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

This is the first I have heard of Stratics + since the old days. I attach no blame to the people running the site now for the sins of the past. All I lost was my post count . I had hopes a pro or plus version would come out. I notice no one has posted here since August 2012. How is the program going?

 

[azmodanb]

My thoughts exactly ^^

 

[Taylor]

Participation remains low. I do have plans for adding new features, but we need to upgrade our software first and create a new default theme.

 

[Taylor]

Updated with expanded signature privileges and an easier way to submit your channels for streaming on Stratics.

http://stratics.com/community/pages/pro/