Relate Style to Site Scheme

[msilverstar]

Title:
Relate Style to Site Scheme

Area:
UI, documentation

Summary:
The Style vs. Site Scheme division is one of the hardest to explain to new users, so the UI needs to be more helpful about it.

Description:
Knowing about the two kinds of layouts is very helpful, maybe an informative link from Select Styles and Customize Stiles to Account Settings / Display / Site Scheme would be helpful. Also the other way around.

A FAQ on Style vs. Scheme would be really nice too.

Poll #2912 Relate Style to Site Scheme

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 39

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
30 (76.9%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
0 (0.0%)

(I have no opinion)
9 (23.1%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[yhlee]

I confess I voted "no opinion" because I still don't know what style vs. site scheme even is...

[poulpette]

The style is what you choose to display your own journal in, i.e. your reading, archive, recent, tags, network, and, if applicable to your settings and account level, your entry pages.
The site scheme is the Dreamwidth pages display in (you can change it in the settings area, but I forgot in which tab the setting is) i.e. all the pages not belonging to a journal or a community. For example, the home page is displayed in the site scheme.

I think the wiki has its own style.

[msilverstar]

It is confusing! The purple swirls layout is your journal style, the site scheme is the one on your profile and other system pages.

Confusingly, some people also use it for their journal style. It's the one that you see if you view this page or community in the "original" style.

[the_shoshanna]

Style vs. site scheme vs. layout confuses me so much that I don't even understand this suggestion.

[msilverstar]

I know! Hope they have a FAQ soon.

[msilverstar]

whoops, meant to answer you. It took me ages so I like to shar

The site scheme is the look and layout of the system pages, such as the Manage Account section. This is usually red and gray.

The Style is the look and layout of your own journal and your reading pages.

Confusingly, many journals, including this one, use the site scheme for their journal page look and layout.

[nafs]

I will confess I never thought it was complicated at all but based on the comments so far, it definitely needs at least an FAQ!

[cheyinka]

Yeah, I voted no-opinion initially because I thought it was totally comprehensible now, but guess not D:

[msilverstar]

Once you understand, it makes a programmatic kind of sense. But it's not very user-friendly. I remember being completely baffled, so I'm volunteering to help write the FAQ. There should be screenshots!

[msilverstar]

I volunteer to help with it, as I still flail a bit.

[ninetydegrees]

I like the idea of linking the two things. Something like "Want to change the look of your own journal/the Dreamwidth site instead?" might be able to help indeed. And what about adding preview pics of site schemes?

[turlough]

And what about adding preview pics of site schemes?

Oh yes, please!

[starwatcher]

.
I confess, I don't know the difference. I do a whole lot of 'view in my style', but I haven't made some changes to my style that I'd like to, because I don't understand how, even with ticky-box system. (The problem is, I don't know what some of those labels mean, or what the changes will be applied to.)

Yeah, for those who don't know coding other than [b/strong], [i/em] and [a href], it's very confusing.
.

[foxfirefey]

I do recommend posting to style_system about the changes you'd like to make to your style--you can get help there about it.

[starwatcher]

.
Thank you. When school is out (time? what's that?), I'll check with them.
.

[msilverstar]

The thing you are playing with is the Style. So when there's no option to view in your style, that's the site scheme.

The site scheme is the look and layout of the system pages, such as the Manage Account section. This is usually red and gray. In the Manage Account / Display panel, you can choose purple, or a beige left bar, or the minimal Lynx.

Confusingly, many journals, including this one, use the site scheme for their journal page look and layout.