How about "Standard" as the (currently default) forum theme name and leave "default" to the software hard coded.

Then it would show as (if I understood correctly)
* Default (Standard)
* Standard
* Web 2.0

Much easier to understand at a glance.
(and this coming from a developer who often has to fight to keep even some of the most basic custom UI choices in projects on the basis that many of my company's clients are even more completely computer illiterate o_O)

This seems like a decent compromise, not that I've been confused but I can see how it can be confusing.

Look - I tried to be helpful. You're being a dick. Please stop.

I'm sorry you don't like the fact that the default theme is called 'default'. I might have even been willing to change it to something less generic, but we've passed the point where I give a shit.

Time to get some real work done.

Oh please, get over yourself! The description used the word ‘default’ eleven times in various different contexts — it was practically a Monty Python sketch. If you can't see the funny side of this then maybe it's time to switch to decaf.

I'd tone it down a bit (that applies to both responses) but I agree with this. That post had a sort of... general vagueness about it that made it hard to figure out, and I did smile when I realized what was being said, and again when I realized there wasn't even a hint of sarcasm or irony to it.

What's confusing about those two names?

I suspect he's talking about this weirdness:

Yes, that's what I meant-- when someone talks about the default theme, do they mean this one or that one? I still don't know which one is even the actual default, either (or I guess I don't remember).

The first two are the same, right now - if you do not choose a theme, you'll be given the default theme (which happens, right now, to be called 'default'). If you choose a theme OTHER than the default, you can always choose the top choice to be given the default (whatever the default happens to be).

If you choose 'default' (the second choice on that list) and an admin makes a change in the forum settings, and makes 'Web 2.0' the default theme, you will still be using 'default' - because you chose it.

If you choose 'Default (default)' (the first choice on that list), and an admin makes that change, you will be switched to using Web 2.0 - because you asked to use the default theme.

Does this help?

Ack! That's a nightmare to describe!

How about "Standard" as the (currently default) forum theme name and leave "default" to the software hard coded.

Then it would show as (if I understood correctly)
* Default (Standard)
* Standard
* Web 2.0

Much easier to understand at a glance.
(and this coming from a developer who often has to fight to keep even some of the most basic custom UI choices in projects on the basis that many of my company's clients are even more completely computer illiterate o_O)

The 'Default (default)' theme is whatever theme the DBO Guardians choose to be the theme for the site. If they ever decided to switch the main theme to the 'web 2.0' theme, I imagine the top theme choice would read 'Default (web 2.0)'

At least, that's how I understood it...

Look - I tried to be helpful. You're being a dick. Please stop.

I'm sorry you don't like the fact that the default theme is called 'default'. I might have even been willing to change it to something less generic, but we've passed the point where I give a shit.

Time to get some real work done.

Oh please, get over yourself! The description used the word ‘default’ eleven times in various different contexts — it was practically a Monty Python sketch. If you can't see the funny side of this then maybe it's time to switch to decaf.

a theme where all the images were penis-themed

Ah, crap. Well nevermind then...

I'm sorry you don't like the fact that the default theme is called 'default'. I might have even been willing to change it to something less generic, but we've passed the point where I give a shit.

Time to get some real work done.

Is there any opposition to users submitting new theme packs to the admin team?

I'm just curious if this is something that would be entertained by the Guardians of DBO or if it will result in insta-bans :)

Not at all clear why there would even be a question about this - of COURSE you can submit new theme packs. :) (I won't guarantee that we'll use 'em - I'd hate to say "we'll take 'em all" and then have someone submit something really ugly, or a theme where all the images were penis-themed - but I'd LOVE it if folks submitted new ones.)

The first two are the same, right now - if you do not choose a theme, you'll be given the default theme (which happens, right now, to be called 'default'). If you choose a theme OTHER than the default, you can always choose the top choice to be given the default (whatever the default happens to be).

If you choose 'default' (the second choice on that list) and an admin makes a change in the forum settings, and makes 'Web 2.0' the default theme, you will still be using 'default' - because you chose it.

If you choose 'Default (default)' (the first choice on that list), and an admin makes that change, you will be switched to using Web 2.0 - because you asked to use the default theme.

Does this help?

I'm just curious if this is something that would be entertained by the Guardians of DBO or if it will result in insta-bans :)

What's confusing about those two names?

I suspect he's talking about this weirdness:

Yes, that's what I meant-- when someone talks about the default theme, do they mean this one or that one? I still don't know which one is even the actual default, either (or I guess I don't remember).

The first two are the same, right now - if you do not choose a theme, you'll be given the default theme (which happens, right now, to be called 'default'). If you choose a theme OTHER than the default, you can always choose the top choice to be given the default (whatever the default happens to be).

If you choose 'default' (the second choice on that list) and an admin makes a change in the forum settings, and makes 'Web 2.0' the default theme, you will still be using 'default' - because you chose it.

If you choose 'Default (default)' (the first choice on that list), and an admin makes that change, you will be switched to using Web 2.0 - because you asked to use the default theme.

Does this help?

What's confusing about those two names?

I suspect he's talking about this weirdness:

Yes, that's what I meant-- when someone talks about the default theme, do they mean this one or that one? I still don't know which one is even the actual default, either (or I guess I don't remember).

What's confusing about those two names?

I suspect he's talking about this weirdness:

Ah. Hmm. Seems pretty straightforward to me, but I guess I can see why it might bug him.

I'm not willing to make a change in how that list is built, though, for a pretty simple reason; it's designed to be usable (and readable) when it gets considerably longer than two options (with an easy way to switch back to the default, whatever that happens to be). I think that makes sense.

What's confusing about those two names?

I suspect he's talking about this weirdness:

Anyway I hope you agree they should at least rename one of them so it's less confusing.

Wait... what? What's confusing? (They're named that way because their CREATORS named them that way - 'default' is the default theme, while 'Web 2.0' is an additional theme released by someone on the mylittleforum forum.)

What's confusing about those two names?

It's kind of pretty but it's kind of not.

The only reason it exists at all is because Sorahn found it (and started using it) before I got around to deleting it; it was a random test that was supposed to be yanked before we went live, but that happened just a little too fast.

Please don't delete it! I've been using it since day 1; I much prefer it to the default colour scheme.

I think that's why he phrased it that way and didn't say anything about deleting it. Anyway I hope you agree they should at least rename one of them so it's less confusing.

It's kind of pretty but it's kind of not.

The only reason it exists at all is because Sorahn found it (and started using it) before I got around to deleting it; it was a random test that was supposed to be yanked before we went live, but that happened just a little too fast.

Please don't delete it! I've been using it since day 1; I much prefer it to the default colour scheme.

Also, I like to use Chrome on my phone, but the links to each post are all different sizes. The text for random subject lines will either be really big or really small. What is causing that?

I've seen the different sized links since day 1 when a thread gets too deep, Chrome starts to resize them (maybe to try and fit them onscreen better).

I see the same on my Windows Phone; big text for recent entries, getting smaller as posts get older. It makes sense in that it makes it easier for pudgy fingers to pick the new posts without removing them from the context of the threaded view.

-- Steve's learned to use that layout on his mobile whilst still using the fixed-size threaded view on PCs.