h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Will this feature be available at some point in skins other than brunel?

Traveller in Time on top
"Perhaps in a future skin, not in any of the older ones.

The site started in Classic Goo and was futher developed via Alabaster to Brunel. Currently the official skin is brunel, Perhaps in the future a new skin (with sound and video integrated) will emerge. "

So are there publically available figures on how many hootooers use brunel? I think the new feature is a great addition to the site I'm just concerned that there will be significant numbers of people that won't use it, and given the current push to get more people involved in the EG it seems counter productive to not have other skins supported. Or are there not that many people using the others now?

There are many people using other skins, and although I use brunel, I think this new feature should be available in alabaster and goo, too. Maybe Jim Lynn will add it once there is enough feedback?

*puts hand up*
I'd like it in Goo too please

TiT, how difficult is it to put the feature in all skins? Is adding it to one skin much work or time or is it relatively straightforward? Is adding it to all just as easy as adding to one, or is adding to all 3 times the amount of work, time etc?

Traveller in Time with no exact data
"All I can say is introducing any feature in an old skin will be more then just adding a few lines of code. Most probably it means rewriting half the source for the skin to make it work without too many 'unknown errors'.

'Only adding' a feature also involves testing if it does not break any other feature involved. "

I like the new feature, but I don't know if I could get used to using Brunel (even though I finally Brunel more aethetically pleasing, I prefer to navigate the site using Frames). I think it's great, though- there are at least a dozen people to whose entries I'd love to subscribe, were this feature available in Alabaster or Goo... (or if Frames were available with Brunel ).

Traveller in Time on all skins
"You can make your shortcuts skin dependant, using < <./>MAS194479?skin=brunel</.> > you will find the new entries by your favourite writers "

What?

I understood that! (I think)

Alabaster/Goo/Plain users can add a Brunel-only shortcut (to their PS, say) to use this feature. Good thinking,

Icy

Can you explain that a bit more?

Well, If I'm an Alabaster user and want to use this feature from my PS, then I just add a link as per TiT's suggestion. Of course the page it calls will be Brunel, but it saves me having to use Brunel for other things.

I haven't tried it yet, though

OK, but you also need to get into brunel to subscribe each time you come across someone whose entries you like, which is cumbersome.

Right now, there's no plans to add the feature to the older skins. We're extremely limited in the amount of skin development work we can do right now, as we're missing our skin developer. I had to do all the coding for the skin*, so to get it out at all, I concentrated on brunel. This is effectively a beta test, so it's easier if any changes that come out of the way it's used only have to be done once, for now.


* This would explain the number of bugs...

Ok, thanks for the explanation Jim.

Special request for 'Emmily'
< <./>MAS190758?skin=brunel</.> >

Do you mean Me!

Excuse me, I made no such request

that link goes to Brunel

Even the link I used to get to this page forced me into Brunel (Further aggravated by also being in IE, Hate that too, there's no pleasing some people )

Ok, I'll attempt to be serious, just attempt mind

Not everyone appreciates the bright colours of Brunel , it gives me a headache in a fairly short space of time, so I simply don't use it unless I really, really feel I need to for a few minutes.

While I'm on the subject of Brunel I don't find it a practical skin to use, especially for my PS. I have various useful links at the top of my PS, the logical place to have them, but with Brunel there are at the bottom of my PS.

None of this is about the new feature, as due to my skin preference I'm unable to use it, but as someone mentioned my name, I took the opportunity to have a whinge about Brunel

Oh, and I have this affliction, that I can't type Brunel without the

Emmily

I've never understood why brunel is the default skin. Anyone know?

Because it conforms to Beeb guidelines afaik, and that's the way these things work - a redesign becomes default. A lot of websites get rid of old designs, so we're lucky on h2g2, even if the old ones don't get the upgrades.