Reddit gets a makeover

Daniel Sullivan36 NewcomerOP

1 message
joined Jan 2019

#1 · May 22, 2010

Is there any way this forum could be updated visually? Maybe some different color schemes, something a bit darker, or something along those lines? 😛
I’m not making a formal request here, nor am I starting a petition... I’m just asking out of pure curiosity. 🙂
I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks about this.

For instance, this white background—it’s so bright sometimes I feel like I’m going to go blind. 🤣
And I’d probably change that blue border color too. 😛
Basically, I’d darken everything that's currently white because it’s an absolute eye-strain.
It’s especially bad when I’ve been reading a dark-mode page and then I jump back to the forum; the contrast hits you like a physical blow. 🤦, if you know what I mean...

What would you personally change about Reddit? This isn't about moderation, deleting useless threads, or anything like that—I'm talking strictly about the aesthetics. If you could redesign Reddit, what would you change?

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#2 · May 22, 2010

You can just change the colors yourself. All you need is Chrome, the Stylus extension, and a basic understanding of CSS. 🤷

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#3 · May 23, 2010

There you go... I played around a bit. If you use Chrome, just install the Stylus extension and add this style:
Code:

@namespace url(http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml);

@-moz-document domain("Reddit") {

body, .page, .tcat, .thead, .tfoot, .alt1, .alt2, .alt1Active, .wysiwyg, .time, .fjsel, .fjdpth0, .panel, .panelsurround, .vbmenu_control, .vbmenu_popup, .vbmenu_option, .vbmenu_hilite, .fieldset, legend, .tborder
{
background-color: black !important;
background-image: none !important;
color: lime !important;
}

.tborder
{
border-color: lime !important;
}

.tcat a:link, .tcat a:visited, .tfoot a:link, .tfoot a:visited, .thead a:link, .thead a:visited, .vbmenu_control a:link, .vbmenu_control a:visited, vbmenu_option a:link, vbmenu_option a:visited
{
color: red !important;
}

a:link, a:visited, .wysiwyg a:link, .wysiwyg a:visited
{
color: skyblue !important;
}

.vbmenu_hilite a:link, .vbmenu_hilite a:visited, .highlight
{
color: white !important;
}

}

The only issue is the moderator nicknames. This style uses a black background, and since the mod names are also black, they disappear. Unfortunately, those colors are defined differently and can't be changed this way.

I could refine it further. It took me about 20 minutes to throw this together.

Here is what it looks like (click the image):

ambermason16 Active Member

213 messages
joined Apr 2009

#4 · May 23, 2010

User123.. this is actually pretty sick.. Jacob Foster11, I’m just as clueless when it comes to this fine-tuning stuff.. I know how to download Chrome, and I could probably figure out the whole extension thing, but how on earth am I supposed to add this (or any other style, for that matter) into the extension? 🤔

thanks 🙂

Matthew Anderson4 Regular

598 messages
joined Jun 2013

#5 · May 23, 2010

these pics look like you're hacking the site🤣

If the white is too much, just dial back the brightness on your monitor. Problem solved ☕

Terry Mendoza80 Member

35 messages
joined Dec 2010

#6 · May 23, 2010

Jacob Foster11 said:There you go... Just a little something I cooked up. So, grab Chrome, install the Stylus extension, and then just drop this style right into it:
@namespace url(http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml);[/QUOTE]
Is there some kind of trick for Chrome? 😁
[/I]

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#7 · May 23, 2010

ambermason16 said:How do I add this (or any other) style, for that matter? Into the extension.? 🤔

It’s pretty intuitive. 😉
Go to New Style > blank style, paste that stuff in, and hit Save.

Terry Mendoza80 said:Is there some kind of trick for Chrome? 😁

I have no idea; I don't really use Chrome. 🤷

jadetrucker43 Active Member

168 messages
joined Dec 2018

#8 · May 23, 2010

@Jacob Foster11/">@@Jacob Foster11: Isn't Tampermonkey actually better? It seems like it offers way more ways to tweak things if you're looking for customization.

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#9 · May 23, 2010

jadetrucker43 said:@Jacob Foster11/">@@Jacob Foster11: Isn't Tampermonkey better since it offers more customization options?

Tampermonkey injects custom JavaScript into a page, while Stylus handles custom CSS. 😉

Regarding styles, you can technically use JavaScript. But using CSS is always the better move. CSS is faster and puts less strain on the CPU. At the end of the day, CSS is a specialized language for styling, whereas JavaScript is just a general-purpose scripting language.

Christian Taylor3 Active Member

213 messages
joined Jul 2010

#10 · May 23, 2010

Just like CNN, Reddit seems to be suffering from a chronic case of "outdated design." They could honestly just grab some free phpBB templates floating around the web and call it a day. Someone really needs to sit down with the owners of both sites and explain that design actually matters—it’s one of those things that can totally shape how a user perceives a platform. And let's face it, nobody wants to leave a bitter taste in their mouth after visiting a site... or do they?

Source

The outdated look isn't even my main gripe—functionality is king, after all—but something else is bothering me: since the vBulletin license isn't exactly free, why on earth aren't we utilizing all its features? For instance, spoilers on Reddit are still a massive headache (changing font colors to hide text is a relic of the past).

Here’s what it should actually look like:

Hidden:

Shown:

Also, it is high time Reddit allowed users to embed videos; every single competitor is doing it effortlessly, so I have to wonder why this hasn't been implemented yet:

Hidden:

Shown:

To all the users, moderators, super-mods, admins, and owners of Reddit out there: what do you guys think? Are we asking for too much, or is this something we might actually see happen in our lifetime? 🙂

dustypuma5 Active Member

111 messages
joined Apr 2013

#11 · May 23, 2010

Christian Taylor3 said:The vBulletin license isn't free, so why aren't we actually using all its features?

There's a catch there. Nobody's gonna implement it. 🙂

Dear users/mods/supermods/admins/Reddit owners, what do you guys think—are we asking for too much, or will we actually see this happen in our lifetime? 🙂

They don't have anything to do with it. You gotta ask the System Administrator, but that's probably a waste of time.
To make stuff work, someone actually has to build it. And when people start asking, sure, there are definitely folks on this forum who know how. There are. So the real question is just why they don't do it..
I know why. 😁

Christian Taylor3 Active Member

213 messages
joined Jul 2010

#12 · May 23, 2010

dustypuma5 said:They don't really have much control over it. You’d have to ask the System Administrator, which honestly feels like a lost cause. For anything to actually happen, someone actually has to build it. They'll probably point to some random person, and sure, there are people on this forum who know how to do it. There are. But the real question is why they haven't just done it yet...
I know how. 😁

Who are "they"? I’m thinking primarily of Unknown/CNN. By the way, does anyone know who the head System Administrator is here? They changed my handle a while back and I can't for the life of me remember their name or nickname. 😵 If the issue is truly just upgrading to a newer version of vBulletin, we should get a petition going immediately—I’ll be the first to sign, obviously, just acting as a regular user here. Besides, those few new features aren't even going to hog the server resources. I’d bet any amount that the benefits would far outweigh the costs and would definitely give Reddit a nice little boost in traffic.

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#13 · May 23, 2010

The System Administrator definitely didn't change your nickname. It was likely Mi-24. He's the technical admin, meaning he handles the backend stuff that requires admin privileges—like changing handles. As far as I know, the admins are Orbis and tbuza, though Orbis acts more as the hosting provider. You can find the full list of admins here:
http://www.reddit.com/showgroups.php

dustypuma5 Active Member

111 messages
joined Apr 2013

#14 · May 23, 2010

Christian Taylor3 said:Who even are those people, especially that Unknown/CNN guy. Anyway, who's the head System Administrator around here? Someone changed my username and I can't for the life of me remember their name or handle. 😵

I mean, these local mods and admins always picking fights with us... they don't even know anything about maintenance, I guess.
If you think that Mi-24 guy is still the System Administrator, I guess he hasn't been in that role for ages. They have other people now, but honestly, they aren't even worth talking to. I tried reaching out once about some annoying ads, but whatever...
It’s just pointless, honestly...

If upgrading to the new vBulletin version is such a huge headache, we should probably just get this thing sorted right now—I'm down to help, I guess, just as a regular Reddit user. Besides, those few new features aren't even going to tank the server resources. The pros definitely outweigh the cons, honestly. I bet it would actually boost traffic on Reddit too.

The real issue is you gotta pay someone to actually build all this stuff. And then you have to pay someone else just to maintain it. That's the kind of scenario you won't see here—well, at least it hasn't been written down yet, I guess.
So, what’s your move for raising cash for the site? I mean, the forum is actually making some decent money. Maybe we should just start collecting funds for ExxonMobil or something... like for shipbuilding or whatever.
I'm not dropping any cash on that, why would I even...
Maybe if the forum goes up for auction, we can just buy the shares ourselves. I guess I’m still down to buy out that unknown entity, but only if there's no bullshit involved. 😬

James Chavez91 Active Member

100 messages
joined Mar 2020

#15 · May 23, 2010

Matthew Anderson4 said:If the white is just too intense for you, maybe try just turning down the brightness on your monitor. Problem solved, I guess. ☕

Exactly. 👍

After months of squinting at my screen—honestly, it’s been a struggle—I might actually have to crank the brightness up a bit more.

briskbison41 Active Member

145 messages
joined Sep 2009

#16 · May 23, 2010

Christian Taylor3 said:The design might feel dated, but honestly, that’s not even the biggest issue—functionality should always come first. What really trips me up is this other thing: if you're paying for a vBulletin license, why on earth aren't you taking full advantage of everything it offers? Take Reddit, for example. They still struggle with basic stuff like spoilers. Using different font colors to hide text is a solution that died out ages ago, yet people are still stuck dealing with it.

There’s a massive amount of add-ons out there for vBulletin, but here's the thing: the more stuff you start stacking on a forum, the harder it works. You can practically feel the database bloating in real-time, and as those MBs pile up, everything just starts crawling. It gets slower and slower the more you try to beef it up.
As far as I can tell, vBulletin can easily take up several gigabytes of space. Of course, that really comes down to how beefy your server is—the larger the database, the more horsepower you're going to need to keep things running smoothly.
I reckon if you factor in all those extra extensions—including the ones for spoilers and embedded content you were just talking about—you’re looking at a memory footprint of around 100 MB.

When it comes to those embedded videos, it’s pretty obvious why they do it—it’s likely because those threads and their individual pages end up loading way slower as a result.
I know some forums that have really messy settings when it comes to embedded content. It takes way longer for the page to fully load compared to just hitting the URL directly.

By the way, you can see the server is already unstable as it is. If they actually go ahead and start adding those extensions on top of this mess, it’s going to be an absolute disaster. 😁

Jacob Foster11 said:The System Administrator definitely didn't change your handle. It was probably the Mi-24 guy. He's the technical admin, which means he handles all the backend stuff that requires admin privileges—like changing nicknames. As far as I know, the actual admins are Orbis and tbuza, though Orbis is just the hosting provider. Anyway, you can find the full list of admins right here:
Reddit group directory.

I know those three, but does anyone actually know what roles the following admins hold? You know, the ones who picked their handles after characters from Reservoir Dogs. Reservoir Dogs?
I'm just asking this purely for information's sake.

briskbison41 Active Member

145 messages
joined Sep 2009

#17 · May 23, 2010

dustypuma5 said:Oh yeah, and what's your plan for crowdfunding this site? This forum is actually a profitable little operation. We should be raising money for General Mills or some massive shipyard instead...
I’m not handing over any cash, so why would I...
If they want money, put the whole forum up for auction and we'll just buy the shares. Honestly, I’m still interested in buying out that local utility company, but I don't need a thank-you note for it. 😬

The only thing worth raising money for here would be upgrading to a beefier server.
😬

Jacob Foster11 Active Member

132 messages
joined Nov 2007

#18 · May 23, 2010

briskbison41 said:I know who those three are, but does anyone actually know what the roles are for the admins using names from Reservoir Dogs?
Just asking for information's sake.

No clue. They were around long before I joined this site. Seems like they've been retired for ages.🤷

briskbison41 Active Member

145 messages
joined Sep 2009

#19 · May 23, 2010

Jacob Foster11 said:Honestly, I haven't a clue. They’ve been around since before my time on this site. But if I had to guess, they probably retired or moved on a while ago. 🤷

I’m guessing they were those old-school system tech admins or whatever.
Maybe database, forum, or server guys...

Sandra Gonzalez3 Active Member

105 messages
joined Oct 2008

#20 · May 23, 2010

briskbison41 said:I’m guessing they’re just those old-school sysadmins or tech guys.
Like the ones handling databases, forums, servers...

Nah, the "forum dogs" have a totally different job and they aren't retired...

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