Plain text theme for MeFi

October 17, 2002 5:19 PM

Plain text theme for MetaFilter:


Now available on the customize page.
posted by mathowie (staff) to Feature Requests at 5:19 PM (39 comments total)

Cool.
posted by timeistight at 5:22 PM on October 17, 2002

Checked it out.. nice feature, but not for me. But now I can't switch back! Please hope me!
posted by Hildago at 5:26 PM on October 17, 2002

I can't switch back either. Too much white! Remind me of building railroad!
posted by Stan Chin at 5:29 PM on October 17, 2002

Well, I made it blue again but without the header graphics. My page for some reason now starts with "Recent Comments" albeit with the blue format.
posted by Stan Chin at 5:33 PM on October 17, 2002

Yeah, I fell into the same trap. After changing my settings back to default, I still get plain text after moving from Metatalk back into Metafilter (although on first load Metafilter is ok). What lemmings we are.
posted by eddydamascene at 5:33 PM on October 17, 2002

Nevermind, its not doing it anymore. Speedy fix administrator, impressive.
posted by Stan Chin at 5:34 PM on October 17, 2002

I think it's fixed now.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:34 PM on October 17, 2002

I like this version a lot better.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 5:36 PM on October 17, 2002

I'll build this feature into metatalk soon.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:39 PM on October 17, 2002

Cowabunga.
posted by holloway at 6:01 PM on October 17, 2002

Matt, is this what you were talking about here?
posted by PrinceValium at 6:08 PM on October 17, 2002

Great idea, but it looks somehow well, naked without the blue background. Back to the blue for me.
posted by dg at 6:21 PM on October 17, 2002

Can you make it so that I (and only I) can click on the logo and go to the homepage?
posted by holloway at 6:29 PM on October 17, 2002

Can you make it so that, when I click on the logo, a pancake comes out of my CD drive?
posted by dg at 7:39 PM on October 17, 2002

thanks matt!

one problem i've got is that user pages use a light grey text which is very difficult to read against the off-white background of the plain text theme.
posted by moz at 7:45 PM on October 17, 2002

I like it....I really really like it.
posted by mkelley at 7:53 PM on October 17, 2002

I also like the new fonts on the "sort by" categories. Unless they aren't and they just seem different, that is...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:53 PM on October 17, 2002

Great stuff, thanks Matt!
posted by riffola at 8:10 PM on October 17, 2002

Sweet, now I can browse from work with no worries :)
posted by jnthnjng at 8:37 PM on October 17, 2002

one little thing. when you mouse-over the menu list in the plain text version (the links you can see on the little picture above) they disappear.
posted by jnthnjng at 8:41 PM on October 17, 2002

What would be perfect is if MeFi could be set up to use the CSS of our employers Web site, for that extra camouflage.

Great work, mathowie :-)
posted by dg at 8:57 PM on October 17, 2002

Sweet! Thank you so much Matt!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 9:05 PM on October 17, 2002

"What would be perfect is if MeFi could be set up to use the CSS of our employers Web site, for that extra camouflage.
"
I just finished a couple of templates for my work's site and they're not quite the same blue, but close enough. :)
posted by mkelley at 9:09 PM on October 17, 2002

Stan Chin: the slow-motion booty-slap description made me snort coffee out my nose, that was painful, but forgivable. Now you've done it a second time. If my keyboard gets ruined, you will be billed. You have been warned.

It looks great, Matt, thanks!

And Miguel, I see new fonts too (walking around like regular fonts...).
posted by biscotti at 9:18 PM on October 17, 2002

Hey, did anybody else notice from his screenshot that Matt ignored all of the "price is right" links except the "Barker's Beauties"? ;-)

(Thanks for the theme option mathowie, and please don't ban me ...)
posted by Wulfgar! at 9:49 PM on October 17, 2002

Very cool, Matt. Thanks (like everyone else has said). Something else you may want to look at is the trackbacks in the new version. They're pretty tough to read, as the font and the box color are very similar.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:04 PM on October 17, 2002

Very cool, Matt.

If you want to take this a step further, Alltheweb.com now lets you skin their site by pointing at a CSS file hosted on some other server. I know design is your thing, so you might not want to have a bunch of people running around creating their own MeFis, but it might be something to play around with if you're interested in allowing that level of flexibility.
posted by willnot at 10:35 PM on October 17, 2002

I just finished a couple of templates for my work's site and they're not quite the same blue, but close enough.

Hmmm.
*starts hatching plan to have work site re-designed to look exactly like MeFi* :-)
posted by dg at 12:03 AM on October 18, 2002

Know what I just realized?

There are no taglines! This, I think, is a fatal flaw, if only because the people who read plaintext won't remember to submitfunny ones.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:56 AM on October 18, 2002

Any chance of a relative font sizing option? I develop in a range of resolutions, and it's always handy to be able to control font size with a flick of the mouse wheel...
posted by monkey closet at 2:36 AM on October 18, 2002

utterly cool!
posted by quonsar at 4:19 AM on October 18, 2002

16698 members | You are logged in as: mathowie / logout
There has been 1 link and 61 comments posted since your last visit

I think I'll just leave that screen up for a while.
posted by yhbc at 9:03 AM on October 18, 2002

I kind of like willnot's idea. I love the plaintext version. But it would be even cooler to be able to control more of the colors -- I like the dark text on a white background of plaintext, but if I had control I might make the link color show up more or make the overall background of the page some kind of light gray or blueish gray.

I don't know how easy this would be to do or if Matt is considering it, but a greater degree of color control would be really neat.
posted by puffin at 9:08 AM on October 18, 2002

Yay -- MeFi, lynx-compatible.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 9:36 AM on October 18, 2002

Now I am as happy as a little girl.
posted by briank at 12:23 PM on October 18, 2002

YES!. so happy.
posted by fishfucker at 12:47 PM on October 18, 2002

I worship the plain text theme.
posted by xyzzy at 4:34 PM on October 18, 2002

I like "plain text." It is easier for me to read. Well done!
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:44 PM on October 18, 2002

As a dialup user, I am loving it. I miss the blue and yellow, but I have to accept certain things.

Thanks Matt. Good on ya!


posted by lampshade at 8:26 AM on October 20, 2002