Open Source of Open Thoughts

Good afternoon everyone,

The first thing I will say about OpenThource is that it's far from finished. It has been about 4 months since I last posted this up for critique and took a lot from it.

I wanted to post this for some feedback as for a couple of months I have been working away on it through my 'rose coloured' glasses and I wanted to make sure I wasn't straying into a horrible territory. This is my "project" site and is completely for me and like minded people so I want it to be as best it can be -- it is always evolving.

Basically what I am seeking is feedback on the overall design and layout and concept.

I had a problem previously as I was using a javascript API but I decided that the download overhead was too great and have created my own scripts from scratch. My aim was graceful degredation so anyone without javascript can get the most from the site as well.

The space that is currently wasted at the bottom of the page I plan to use shortly for a user interaction addition.

I have made quite a use of ajax on the site that will save user state throughout the site. This includes remembering menu states as they toggle things on and off. In the display of each board I also have used ajax to enable previewing of threads and the display of child boards.

I don't expect you to critique the PHP side of things because 1) you can't see it and 2) if you can see the site then PHP is working fine! I am also pleased to announce that I rank number one for my targeted search phrases "open thoughts" and "source of thoughts" with >12 million results.. It doesn't mean much because it's not a hotly contested phrase but hopefully will catch the audience I'm after.

I have created a testing account with username and password both feedback

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Looks very cute mate :d
I never saw any website being develop like this before, I mean the sliding content things.. Cool!

• For now, your site looks dull, lots of text but less graphic.
• Menu text is too small to read.
• Color is too bright. You need to put in some nice good contrast color!
• I like the flying bird effect
• My FireBug reported some js error

For your personal use, they are great!

Thanks monie.

That's not a bad idea -- I should get some inline images to spice up the content a little. Obviously the site will revolve around its textual content but images to break it up a bit would be good.

I have changed the text size on the menu... Thanks for pointing that out, I like smaller text but some people can't see it when it's so small.

The JS errors come from the ajax on the site, occasionally there will be a connection error and FF will report an exception.

When you say it is too bright, what do you mean? The colours are quite mellow, they aren't fluro or anthing. I have gone for the complimenting colour palette with some black trimmings to break it up.

Thanks for having a look.

You are my GURU, so it's time for me to do something as a pay back for your helps :d

OK, you have lite blue, lighter blue, lite purple, lighter purple. They are not a good contrast color.
But when I scroll down further, combining the green grass and tree, they looks great. When you scroll up, all you can see is just a dull blue.. Do you get what I mean?

I get what you mean, but as I said I like the complimenting colours.. What would you suggest to break it up? I think when I add some ambient images it may assist...

I assume you are talking about the display of each thread because these are the only long pages. On the other ones you can see the grass straight away.....

What colour should I use and what part would you suggest I change? As I said, I think the colours are okay but it is my site so I am biased...

Cheers again.

Well, I am not very professional in choosing what color should looks nice. I am having the same problem as well in determining what complimentary color to use for may page! Its been 6 month and I haven't I decided what color to use :d

Maybe if you put in some graphic, or put a zebra color effect in your thread post, or I don't know... you try and see them.