New Layout Being Tested Out Temporarily

As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a new layout currently up and running. This was created in response to the frequent complaints that I was receiving about the white text on black being abrasive and hard on the eyes. This is my attempt to make things a bit more comfortable for everyone that was complaining. Please keep in mind that this is only a test run, so before you decide to sacrifice me to the lions and send me 10,000 emails about how I’m the most useless human being on the planet because I changed a theme, take a deep breath, calm down, and read the rest of the post!

If you absolutely hate it, please leave a comment on this post letting me know in a polite fashion. If you like it, but would prefer a specific tweak to the color scheme, feel free to suggest that as well. If you prefer this to the older theme, that is also something that I would like to hear about.

There are a couple things to note about this theme:

• It is what you could call ‘responsive’ – it will automatically resize the site based on the size of the browser accessing it. So if you make your browser window smaller or, for example, visit through a phone or a tablet or whatnot, the site should be displaying proportionally to your screen. This way, mobile viewers can still see the various features – like popular posts and random posts – that were missing from the prior mobile theme.
• The header image can easily be changed and we can even set it up to rotate through various images. The one up there right now is pretty much just a placeholder. If you guys decide that you’d prefer this theme, I’m not opposed to having reader-created headers up there! If it’s decided that we’re sticking with this theme, I may even run a contest related to the header.
• The color scheme CAN be changed. So if you prefer this theme but with the old, darker color scheme, that is something worth telling me.

Now, before it’s suggested, unfortunately I have yet to find a ‘theme switcher’ plugin that actually works for our purposes. Most of them are either hopelessly outdated or have specific requirements (will only work on certain themes or will only display the theme switcher for admins) that make them out of the question. So for now, we have to make a choice.

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing your polite opinions.

EDIT 10/5: Since most of the comments seemed to favor at least trying out the new layout with a darker color scheme, here it is. Let me know what you think! It’s light gray on dark gray this time, so here’s hoping that such a combination will be easier to deal with for those with sensitive eyes.

Also, the pumpkin ratings are just a cute thing since it’s October – don’t freak out if you dislike them, we’ll go back to the dark stars once Halloween is over. I just really like Holiday themed stuff, deal!

Also, in bold and reiterated since quite a few of you clearly either didn’t read or didn’t understand the first time: we HAVE to choose one theme or the other. Theme switcher capabilities CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED right now. Suggest it until you’re blue in the face, but I can’t do it! Trust me, if it was an option, we’d be using it already.