[geeklog-devel] CSS-Layout possible!

[=MF=Geiss]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time contributor. Go easy! :-)

It sounds like the real question is, does one bite the bullet now or 
later? Personally, I would like to see now. XHTML and CSS layouts are 
the way to go IMHO. The landscape is changing rapidly, and I know 
everyone hates to hear it, but GL's layout shows its age more and more 
every day. If the steps aren't taken now, then when? If one waits 2-3 
releases, they are very realistically talking about year(s) until a 
layout revisit.

I have some ideas for a new default theme, basically a Frankenstein of 
the existing Refresh_F theme (re-worked colors, etc.) and the header 
background at http://www.bartelme.at. I also think the main site needs 
to be re-designed to be more "surfer" friendly. Let me explain. Like 
others have said before, the average joe coming to gl.net to check it 
out will get their first impression (like it or not) from the way the 
site looks. Too much info (especially text-based stuff) on the main page 
is overwhelming. There are ways to still incorporate a lot of info, but 
let the user experience it at their own pace. For example, I like the 
Extras tab toward the bottom of http://complementaryduo.com/ that 
expands and repositions itself at the top of the page. Something similar 
could be tied into the static pages in that when you set a static page 
to be the Extras section, its content would appear in the slide-down 
box. Almost like a "featured" static page. Also, more block real estate 
could be saved by moving login/my account info into a slide-down header 
similar to http://www.builtbybuffalo.com. I would be willing to proceed 
with work on a new theme, and gl.net re-layout, if of course I have the 
blessing of the core team and the help of all the wonderful people here. 
:-) My goal is to make GL eye catching and interesting. Yes, some of the 
javascript I mentioned above is eye-candy, but there needs to be a 
certain amount of it, if gl is going to appeal to a wider base of users.

GL does a lot of things right, I think a theme's functions.php file 
should be put to more use with regards to selecting column layout, etc. 
The person who converted the GL layout to transitional XHTML already put 
forth a lot of effort that would be a great place to start, and it 
sounds like Oliver is willing to put forth additional backend effort to 
make it a reality. I see a need for a developer road map, as 
organization of teams and a clear vision for the future of GL are 
lacking. But other than that, it sounds like there are those willing to 
make it happen. They're just waiting for a green light from... somebody.

What time frame are we shooting for the 1.5 release? Like I said, I am 
willing to put in some significant hours, but I don't want to see things 
drag on forever. Again, I think a clear road map and timetable would be 
beneficial to help everyone focus and prioritize. GL has a great core, a 
great forum, and a great media gallery. Now it needs a great look. 
...maybe a new name and tagline... gl - the cms for the rest of us. :-)

Respectfully,

Eric aka "Geiss" Warren

Oliver Spiesshofer wrote:
> Here is the current state of affairs regarding the layout:
>
> It would be quite easy to do CSS-only layouts, as I found out now. 
> Only very minor changes are necessary to create a center-left-right 
> HTML/CSS, one of them being to add a right_blocks_in_footer config to 
> the left_blocks_in_footer, and the other a flag to COM_showBlocks that 
> makes the function simply return if there are left or right blocks in 
> the layout and therefore assign different classes to elements in 
> either footer or header.
>
> Now the problem: If we want a layout that has the center in the html 
> before the left and right blocks, we cannot have a footer anymore that 
> spans the whole page as far as I could find out. The ideal layout for 
> center-first HTML is described here: http://glish.com/css/7.asp If 
> anyone manages to put a footer there, please tell me how. The footer 
> would have only the width of the story, if the left/right blocks are 
> shorter, there will be a blank space.
>
> So the only thing left over, if we want a footer, is to have a left, 
> right, center, footer order in HTML and float everything to the left 
> (http://css.maxdesign.com.au/floatutorial/tutorial0916.htm). This 
> would require to display all blocks in the header, I do not really 
> know however what those left_blocks_in_footer are doing in the config 
> in the first place, this should be set only in the theme.... well, in 
> an ideal world this would not be necessary anyhow since all elements 
> would be joined together in one central function.
>
> So here is my proposal:
> 1. modify COM_siteHeader and COM_siteFooter so that either of them can 
> display right and left blocks (for the left blocks, that is already 
> the case, so why not for both?) This is to allow theme authors to 
> really do what they want and not be forced to a certain order of the 
> main 3 elements. This would be obsolete once we introduce step 5.
> 2. Add an option to simply tell if blocks are there to COM_showBlocks, 
> so that in the header and footer, layouts of elements can differ 
> depending on the existence of left and right blocks.
> 3. Use a table-free layout for the professional theme with 
> left-right-center floated.
> 4. (draft) Introduce a minimal-layout where the CSS only is changed to 
> display the center first. I am not sure how to make mobile devices to 
> choose this by default, and how this will look like, but I will try to 
> find a proper solution before introducing any of this.
> 5. (draft) Create a new function that creates all elements in one go 
> and replaces the COM_siteHeader + center + COM_siteFooter. Both ways 
> will be available but the aforementioned will be deprecated and 
> removed 3-4 (?) versions later.
>
> comments, suggestions, flying axes?
>
> Oliver