Customize Style: randomize 'featured' styles automatically

[ninetydegrees]

Title:
Customize Style: randomize 'featured' styles automatically

Area:
ui, styles

Summary:
If I'm not mistaken, the featured section was originally meant to showcase new styles. As this requires manual updates and, consequently, hasn't ever been really reliable I suggest switching to an automatically randomized selection. This way you get a diverse selection showcasing different styles, colors, etc. and there's no need to take one's precious time to do it. I also suggest restricting it to 12 styles only.

Description:
If an automatic way to select brand new styles and themes is just as easy to do as making the selection automatically random then I'm all for keeping it (or having both). I just wish this section actually served a purpose...

Poll #18014 Customize Style: randomize 'featured' styles automatically

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
14 (41.2%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
7 (20.6%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
1 (2.9%)

(I have no opinion)
12 (35.3%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[denise]

(Please note: this is an older suggestion that was just let out of queue recently.)

Theoretically, the Featured section should be "everything that was released since the last code push". Practically, afuna was the only person who updated it and when she left, none of us keep remembering to add it to the list...

Do people still find "all the new styles/themes released since the last code push" valuable? (If so, we could rename that tab to New, to be more accurate, and I could find somebody to start doing that with every code push.) Otherwise, a random selection would be fine with me...

[zaluzianskya]

Do people still find "all the new styles/themes released since the last code push" valuable?

Yes, definitely. I would love a way to easily see all the newest styles.

[juniperphoenix]

+1

[anaraine]

I find looking at "all the new styles/themes released since the last code push" fun, but I'm not so attached to it that I would hate a random selection. But I would definitely rather have one or the other, rather than both.

[mathemagicalschema]

My "with changes": I think showcasing new styles would be better than randomizing. I like this either way.

[kerravonsen]

+1

[marahmarie]

+1

[azurelunatic]

I'm okay with any of the following, or a mix:

* New
* Random
* Ones that staff particularly like
* Ones that have been default in the past (except for *that* one; I can't remember the name but I'm sure others can!)

[montuos]

+1

[brainwane]

This mix sounds good to me!

[coprime]

I do like looking at new styles when they're added, but I rarely change my journal's style so whether the selection is all the new styles or a randomized selection of styles won't really affect me personally. A randomized selection seems easier to maintain, and randomized could possibly be a good way for people customizing their journal for the first time to get a broad view of what sort of styles are available as well as dig older styles out of the back pages for more people to see.

[momijizukamori]

I don't really have anything to add but I'm filing this away in my brain for the /customize page revamp which I swear to god I am still working on.