Am I just not finding the area where you can go and read  all the new posts?  Or do you now have to click into each one from that "new" button at the top to read each one?

I think the issue is that you can not just click onto the site and see the new posts.  You have to log on.  This may discourage lurkers or  even members who want to take a quick look at the site without signing on.  Also when I sign on it takes me to the forum page not the home page where there is a nice new longer list of posts.  The home page is very nice, it just is more work to get there.

After making my comment I went and chose the theme manually. I like it, but have to get used to the toolbars, which I normally don't like. My one thought is that it would be handy to have a link to the main forum page (not the home page) once logged in, in the top toolbar. So if I am at the bottom of the page, I don't have to scroll up to go and browse other areas.

Thanks guys for all the great feedback!

Am I just not finding the area where you can go and read  all the new posts?  Or do you now have to click into each one from that "new" button at the top to read each one?

I think maybe you and others are talking about this page: http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php?action=recent It shows all the new post but not in the context of the thread the belong to. The link does show up under the "New" drop down once the all the new ones have been read. I was kind of trying to make it less available because I think often folks read the post that way and miss what was said in the thread by others.  \  Have to give that one some thought.

I think the issue is that you can not just click onto the site and see the new posts.  You have to log on.  This may discourage lurkers or  even members who want to take a quick look at the site without signing on.  Also when I sign on it takes me to the forum page not the home page where there is a nice new longer list of posts.  The home page is very nice, it just is more work to get there.

Good point. I was planning on adding the same 25 list to the home page for guest but had not gotten to it yet. I'll need to check the redirect thing. It should take you back to what ever page you are on when you log in. The Home page is kind of outside the normal realm of the system so that may be why you don't end up back there when logging in from that page. I'll see if I can get the Home page to be the default.

Everything is in such small print that it makes a lot of work to find things.  I'll give it a shot but I really think for a puppet site it should be bolder and more exciting.  Why would you delete the logo?

Font size should be about the same except for the user bar itself. May I ask what you are viewing the site on? I will say that to take full advantage of the "look" of the site you should use something other then Internet Explorer to view it.  I am taking full advantage of the newer standards for CSS and HTML5 but unfortunately I.E. feels they don't need to follow them the same as everyone else. You'll miss out on some gradient backgrounds and shading of stuff. You also don't get rounded corners. If you are using I.E., do make sure it is up to date.

The logo is still there, it is just at the bottom of the page and should be fixed just like the top user bar. Now in a mobile device or iPad this does not work and it gets tossed all the way to the bottom of the page. I may end up moving it back to the top.

Another quick note about mobile devices, pads and touch screen interfaces. The whole fixed user bar and scrolling of smaller areas with extra content does not work so well. My next step is to work on that. Kind of really need to flip the switch on this though to fully debug and work on that.

My one thought is that it would be handy to have a link to the main forum page (not the home page) once logged in, in the top toolbar. So if I am at the bottom of the page, I don't have to scroll up to go and browse other areas.

I am actually thinking about making all the main navigation buttons fixed the same as the user bar. Like you I get irritated at times that I have to scroll back up to the top of the page to get to them.

Oh yes the Who is online is still there. It is at the bottom of the page with the logo! It is in white letters and if you click on it a box pops up with the list of who is on-line.

Na,
Well making the top menu bar fixed so it stayed with the user bar did not work out to well. So I went with a compromise or sorts. The bottom logo image will pop you back to the top of the page if you click on it now.   One way or another is should always be available at the bottom of the page. This is new code uploaded so you might have to clear your browser cache so you get the new code. 

Na,
Well making the top menu bar fixed so it stayed with the user bar did not work out to well. So I went with a compromise or sorts. The bottom logo image will pop you back to the top of the page if you click on it now.   One way or another is should always be available at the bottom of the page. This is new code uploaded so you might have to clear your browser cache so you get the new code. 

Great - may I suggest one minor change? A pointer instead of a normal cursor, when hovering over the logo. I doubt people will work out it's a link otherwise.

Oh, PS. Great work on this new template. I do like it!

Input from an IPad user, These are not problems just observations:
To fully see the text I must turn the IPad sideways so the longest screen area runs horizontally.
I'm assuming from your comments, Shawn, that no logo at the bottom is also an IPad thing.

Top bar: logo with P&S name as well as repeating circles (I'm assuming New Year's fireworks), seem fine, but circles are a bit distracting.

Second line: just as you described. Up until today the drop down menu for the "New" post didn't do anything. Probably user error.  everything else on that line seems to be working fine except the boxes extend over the words Puppets and Stuff

Online users and guest appear above the search bar in black box w/white letters only.

The one thing that I used frequently that I haven't located yet is there used to be a drop down menu under each persons avatar that had their website, email, PM etc...is that gone or am I missing where that is?

Overall it looks lovely.  I haven't spent much time with the new design yet, but look good.  I do like the longer list of new postings, sometimes if I don't check in for a day or two I can really miss alot.

Julie

Looking good.

Julie,
Yes iPad needs some work.   Hmmm... not sure why you are seeing circles in the User bar. Better haul out my iPad and check that out. Dang! I moved the Online box to the right for normal browsers and I guess it messed things up for iPad.

The drop down for more information about the users is now a mouse over attached to the avatar itself. That could be an issue with iPad since there is no mouse over. Normally the effect is simply activated when you click on the object though instead. Let me check that one also.