# Off-Topic Discussion > Artists' Corner > Art Design >  >  Forum Layout

## Xei

...is hideous.

We've had this 'temporary' default skin for the new forum system for about half a year now, it's driving me insane. It was always meant to be changed but unfortunately the Art Team got deleted after the software switch.

I've got quite a bit of experience with sorting out forums so I'll get to work on some icons and things if that's okay.

But yeah, the banner and everything just looks completely unprofessional and a bit of a mess at the current time.

So I'll start working on the design now I've got some time, I think. If anybody wants to make any suggestions then just post below.  ::D:

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## Keeper

clouds would be nice  :smiley:

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## Xei

Sure. I could do different times of day if that sounds nice.  :smiley:

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## Keeper

it does  :smiley: 

I'm wondering though ... Blue is my favourit colour, but is it possably to get swerly animations and such in different colours?

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## Karillion

I have only ever seen this skin on the forums but I must admit I kinda like it....don't hurt me!

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## Xei

When icedawg was still around we did experiment with animations, but in the end it was just a bit of a pain trying to integrate Flash into the forum software.

At the above; sure, we could always have several skins available, this being one of them.  :smiley:

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## Keeper

*Keeper shifts into a WCIII Lich*

"BURN!"

*Lich shoots Ice*

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## Burns

I like our banner  :Sad: 

But the old forum skin was awesome, well 2 software switches back now... I'd love to see some different skins you come up with, Xei  :smiley:

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## indescribable

I like the current layout a LOT, and I like the current skin too (it's pretty simple and I like that), but I would still like to see some others as this one is getting a little... old. (Okay not really, I just get bored of things pretty quickly.)  ::D: 
But I do not like the idea of animation.

I do like the banner, though I'm not sure I like the way the text is on it and I don't think it _really_ matches the rest of the forum layout as well as it could.  ::?:

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## iLight

I was playing with my skin today and heres what i formed :


Im very experienced in Vb and got lots of sites which  i host. 
Click here  

If you need help please pm me  :smiley:

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## Karillion

Wow that is really nice. I take back my original comment...I want that skin now! Gief!  :wink2:

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## DeadDollKitty

i like the blue stuff. but, i think just a little more color would be nice! a skin would be wonderful too. But not too much color, thatd just confuse everything. Mabey some purple. The cloud idea sounds good

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## indescribable

That skin is pretty impressive. I like it. I wonder if the Art Design Team (or someone else) will end up making a new banner to go with it?

Purple is nice, but would it really suit this forum?

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## tyrantt23

I also like the skin very much.... but....

The feel of it isn't very dream-like in my opinion. It's a bit more to a technological side. However, I do agree that it looks more professional than the current skin, and if nothing else, it would be a nice addition to the available choices of skins.

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## Burns

Very cool, born 2 kill!  ::goodjob2::  Nice work.

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## Umbrasquall

Looks good Born, and I agree, tyrant, that it would be a good addition to the skin selection.

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## °¨¨°LucidDreama°¨¨°

> ...is hideous.
> 
> We've had this 'temporary' default skin for the new forum system for about half a year now, it's driving me insane. It was always meant to be changed but unfortunately the Art Team got deleted after the software switch.
> 
> I've got quite a bit of experience with sorting out forums so I'll get to work on some icons and things if that's okay.
> 
> But yeah, the banner and everything just looks completely unprofessional and a bit of a mess at the current time.
> 
> So I'll start working on the design now I've got some time, I think. If anybody wants to make any suggestions then just post below.



you know what ill give it a try! ive alredy got perfec clouds. ill write back soon with the banner i just need help with the width and height of the banner, it would help. kk. cyaz

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## Sugarglider11

can somebody just change and see if it looks good, this skin sucks

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## °¨¨°LucidDreama°¨¨°

> ...is hideous.
> 
> We've had this 'temporary' default skin for the new forum system for about half a year now, it's driving me insane. It was always meant to be changed but unfortunately the Art Team got deleted after the software switch.
> 
> I've got quite a bit of experience with sorting out forums so I'll get to work on some icons and things if that's okay.
> 
> But yeah, the banner and everything just looks completely unprofessional and a bit of a mess at the current time.
> 
> So I'll start working on the design now I've got some time, I think. If anybody wants to make any suggestions then just post below.



ive had a go at the banner and came up with this, tell me if you like it or if i should change a few things, and if you have adobe photoshop i can give the original (with layers) to you if you want to edit it. hopefully its attached.

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## wasup

If anyone still has the old banner, please post it.  The old theme was amazing and the old banner fit perfectly.  I've always thought the current banner is very unprofessional.  Crap font, intense blue colors... just not great looking.

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## Oneironaught

> I was playing with my skin today and heres what i formed :
> 
> 
> Im very experienced in Vb and got lots of sites which i host. 
> Click here 
> 
> If you need help please pm me



Not to be rude but, I don't like it. I don't want DV looking like every other forum out there. Let's just keep the current look.





> ive had a go at the banner and came up with this, tell me if you like it or if i should change a few things, and if you have adobe photoshop i can give the original (with layers) to you if you want to edit it. hopefully its attached.



Sorry, I really don't like that one. It looks like some [email protected] ad for some [email protected] travel agency.

The current banner isn't "too" bad. It looks bad, however because it doesn't stretch far enough. Shortly after we changed over to vBulletin, some one posted a really cool animated night/day banner that I thought fit the forum perfectly. That's what I'd like to see being used.

*EDIT:* ...and I really, really hate that black look of the "keybase" forum. Really, really dislike when forums use that color scheme.

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## Soul_Sleeper

Hey,

I agree with the statment that its too much "techy" and not enough "dreamy"

But its WAY better than the crap we have now, and I love the banner and slogan that we have now. So why dont we just take a few hours an post the layout that Born 2 kill made up? i mean, it is better than what we have. It may not be "dreamy" but at least it's not "crappy".

 ::bowdown::  ::bowdown:: Born 2 kill

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## Adrenaline Junkie

Haha, i thought that since everyone was making new site thingys i'd give it a go since i got Photoshop yesterday, its really awesome, btw this is not complete, its just in the works, i can change anything anyone wants, just let me know, i'd fancy a challenge  ::D: 

Here it is so far, i don't agree with the moon next to the "D" and the mountains look a bit off to me but i'm open to improvements! I don't like it that much but i'm open to suggestions.

EDIT: Sorry for the overly sizedness of it, i maybe made it too big, bare in mind i made this in the last half hour or so, sorry.

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## Merlock

born_2_kill's skin has a good style but it isn't saturated enough, I would say.
Too gloomy, in other words, for the generic feel of Dream Views.

Unfortuantely, I don't deal with forums as much as I would like (read: I'm lazy), so I can't provide anything more than an icon set or banner if one is needed. And, since a new banner is needed, I'll try to find the time soon to put one together. I can already feel the amount of colourising and fading it'll take to get the Dream Views "dreamy" feel, heh.

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## iLight

Heres a small update  :wink2: 

Logo : 


Demo :

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## tyrantt23

> Heres a small update 
> 
> Logo : 
> 
> 
> Demo :



 ::shock:: 
Holy damn!

I want to have intercourse with that banner, but I don't how I could possibly do that until it's officially implemented. Really... the logo is amazing! 9.5/10! (there's always room for improvement, but in that case, I honestly have no idea how it could be improved) Anyway, it looks great with the theme you have there, it matches. It might look weird if it was implemented on the current theme though... the darker blue wouldn't match as much with the lighter blue of the current theme. 

As far as the rest, here is my personal opinion
*Title bars* (don't know what's called, but the places where it says "keybase general forums" and "keybase transaction"):
It does look very nice, but still has a bit of techy-feeling to it. Don't know what causes that... maybe the edgy and sudden contrast of "cylinders" near the edges, where the circle is, and where the darker blue meets the lighter blue, if that makes any sense. Maybe a smoother transition would make it a bit more dream-like, but don't take my word for it.  :smiley: 

*Forum title icons* (icons for "keybase news," "weekly updates" etc)
Also looks very nice, but could use some improvement to make it a bit more dream-like as well. It might be very hard to make something so simple as an icon appear dream-like or surreal though.

Nonetheless, like I previously said... the theme might not be very dreamlike, but its still much more appealing than the current theme. As far as the new logo you made... BRAVO! It looks amazing...  ::goodjob2::

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## Merlock

Well, with or without more saturation, the skin is good.
Though the banner isn't. Stretched and blurred, bad quality. The text doesn't cut it either.

I've been trying to find a good background to start on a banner with but not much luck on something really "fitting". Once I do find something, I'll make a version with the same colour tint as the skin above. There's always room for selectable skins on a forum.

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## Oneironaught

*Why* are we not using Tornado Joe's cool animated banners? WHY???  WHY??? The night one is awesome!

Feast your peepers upon these.

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## Sugarglider11

what about these by tornado joe

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...6&postcount=75

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## Keeper

Is any of this going to be official? I hope so ...

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## Goldney

I like Tornado Joe's banners apart from a few things:

1. Why is part of Dream hidden behind a mountain? Bring it to the forefront.
2. Too much of a space between Dream and Views.
3. The way the text appears on the banners is a bit... tacky
4. Same for the stars on the Night banner.

Time based Banners are the way to go in my humble opinion.

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## Tornado Joe

Hey, thanks for the props guys - but those banners are a bit outdated. I designed those back under the old administration and had the old banner graphic. Some of the direction came from the Icedawg, so I'm not sure we'd continue on that path now. Guess we should ask Asher if he has any specs for a new design.

Looking back at those I'd definitely change a few things, including some of those pointed out by goldney.

Keep the designs coming. The more ideas come in, the better the final result could end up! With a little direction I'd mock up some more. But so far there hasn't been an official "hey, we need a new banner soon" request, so...

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## Soul_Sleeper

ZOMG

Those banners (both the animated and non animated) are amazing. why dont we use  ::bowdown:: tornado joes banners and  ::bowdown:: born 2 kills layout.

C'mon lets do it now! right now!  ::banana:: 

if people dont like it we can always fix it or take it down. but i  dont see how someone wouldn't like those. ::?:

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## arby

I always wanted to learn how to use the displacement map filter....

clicky clicky

Put your mouse over it. Possible effects for the banner? =O

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## DeadDollKitty

I'm going to be able to do this stuff by june. i know thats forever away, but im excited. Maybe, if we dont have a new skin by then, I can help! Hopefully itll be sooner then that, but seeing as I dont control the class....

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## Oneironaught

> I always wanted to learn how to use the displacement map filter....
> 
> clicky clicky
> 
> Put your mouse over it. Possible effects for the banner? =O



I love the effect!

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## wasup

Agreed... I love that banner, but the text has GOT to be fixed.  Drop Shadow?  Embossed?  Italicized?  Not the greatest design.  Get a bunch of banners with the same background, different font.  It's important for the banner to match the color scheme of the forum, and your banner and color scheme match up very nicely, so I like it.  With the little funky effect, I think it would be pretty nifty.

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## iLight

i made that banner just to test the new photoshop which i bought, i will work on a new one probably today  :smiley:  and spend more time doing it

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## The Question

Tornado joes banners are amazing....wow great work!!! Born_2_kill i love the layout man great work!

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## iLight

Heres a new update : 


I changed the logo and added more contrast to it  :smiley:  im still developing it so this one is a preview



Edit : Removed the person + added a new backround

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## wasup

I don't like the person, and I think the font needs more contrast to the rest of the banner.  Also, a "lucid dreaming forum" subtitle below it could add some more interest, think about that.  That is what we used to have.

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## The Question

Ya the person isnt a good idea other than that i really like the new banner!

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## iLight

Fix up : 


Please rate my previous post  :smiley:

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## wasup

Naw, that background is no good.  For reasons other than "cuz"...

1)  One important thing in a design scheme is to repeat colors throughout.  That orange and purple (especially the orange) is so like "wtf why is that there."  It doesn't fit in , at all.  Even without it though, I really prefer the other picture.  The reason being it fits the color scheme very well.  There are the whites, to the light blues, to the navy on the left and right sides of the bar things.  But the text still needs work, for mroe contrast.

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## Adam

> I always wanted to learn how to use the displacement map filter....
> 
> clicky clicky
> 
> Put your mouse over it. Possible effects for the banner? =O



To be honest, I think just a normal banner would look good, I think the effect is cheap looking?





> Fix up : 
> 
> 
> Please rate my previous post



I think this looks too much like a computer forum? Like it belongs on a techy site?I still love this site  ::D:  http://www.dreamviews.com/oldforum/index.php

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## Adrenaline Junkie

I want the forum design back that was here when i first joined, i liked the user profile aswell, how you could view them, see who viewed your profile, have a cool looking buddy list, it was awesome, can hardly remember what it looked like but i liked it. Bring back the old design and skin!

In terms of a new banner/logo type thing, i think that it should be kept basic, keep it basic but make it look stylish aswell, too many things in a banner can make it look crowded, basic but stylish would look good, just my views on it.

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## arby

> To be honest, I think just a normal banner would look good, I think the effect is cheap looking?



Yeah, first try with displacement map. Didn't turn out as nice as i'd hoped. Probably because I just spammed movie clips with random alpha to make the map. XD

I toned it down a little and set it to auto-wander (just C&Ped my sig code to use as example). This way its more of a recessive effect and makes the banner seem a little dreamier. Here

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## Tornado Joe

Hey, you know what *Arby*, I like that better. Only one little knit-pick and I'd vouch for it - have the effect wash over at random intervals in a ration of about 10 to 1. I just think it would have much more impact if the person loaded the page, started reading a thread, then all of a sudden (after a couple seconds or more) this weird ripple appeared in the masthead - then just vanish!

Leave the reader goin "uh, what the fuck was that?"  ::wtf:: 

*Adam* - I believe that site was the product of a different software package we were trying out at one time. If someone could translate that look and graphics into the type of system we have now, I don't think you'd get much resistance (I like that look too). Maybe with just a few tweaks so it doesn't look so... rigid or mechanical.

nice work all  ::goodjob2::

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## Adam

Lucid Seeker, check my post there is a link to the old forum there.

Joe I know what you mean, I am working on a design for the new forum, trying to replicate the old one, but making it newer if that makes sense?

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## arby

I like the way you think Joe =)

Here ya go

No where near perfect (Probably best to reduce the ripple radius and tweak some other stuff) but its decent.

[EDIT] Just fooling around a little. got this.

and, that with delay intervals.. this

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## Adam

Thats better Arby - did you do all this in flash?

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## arby

Yeah, all in flash 8. (I couldn't for the life of me get the filter to apply in AS3) I can send you the .fla if you're interested.

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## Tornado Joe

Yah, that might not be a bad idea - this way folks can submit their own backgrounds incorporating the effect all in one submission. Maybe even add their own spin on the effect.

FYI, I think I like the second one you did better. It's smoother cuz it effects the entire banner, rather than just a small piece. Still- I think the "suprise" factor probably works better with the first one. Oh heck, I dunno which!

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## Adrenaline Junkie

> Lucid Seeker, check my post there is a link to the old forum there.
> 
> Joe I know what you mean, I am working on a design for the new forum, trying to replicate the old one, but making it newer if that makes sense?



Adam, i have seen the old forum design, it was not that design that i was talking about, it was another one that looked similar, it was the skin we had before this one, i wish i could describe it better. Just to remind any of you who know what i mean, you could look at someones profile and it would have a column on the right with pictures of other users who recently viewed the profile. Thats the design/layout i'm talking about.

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## Oneironaught

> Adam, i have seen the old forum design, it was not that design that i was talking about, it was another one that looked similar, it was the skin we had before this one, i wish i could describe it better. Just to remind any of you who know what i mean, you could look at someones profile and it would have a column on the right with pictures of other users who recently viewed the profile. Thats the design/layout i'm talking about.



...and there was the right-hand column where people could leave comments on your profile page. Yes. That was the old software though. To get all that stuff back we'd have to revert to the old forum software. (before vBulletin).

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## arby

> ...and there was the right-hand column where people could leave comments on your profile page. Yes. That was the old software though. To get all that stuff back we'd have to revert to the old forum software. (before vBulletin).



Yeah, the would move the forum forwards backwards even more.

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## Oneironaught

> Yeah, the would move the forum forwards backwards even more.



I agree with your hint. I really liked the look and interface of that software. It somehow felt like candy for the eyes and soul. But I really like the increased functionality of vBulletin. If only we could magically merge the best of both.

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## arby

You know what I just realized is ironic? Why ado we have to worry about design when these are the people who allegedly bought us?

http://www.topcola.com/

PS. Was that website made by Malac?

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## Tornado Joe

> You know what I just realized is ironic? Why ado we have to worry about design when these are the people who allegedly bought us?
> 
> http://www.topcola.com/



*WTF!!*  ::lolxtreme::   ::rolllaugh::   :Clap:   :Clap:   :Clap:   :Clap:   :Clap:   :Clap:  

How the hell did that happen - I mean, no re-direct or anything?? And I make fun of a buddy of mine who's had a "coming soon..." website up for 5 years now!!  ::chuckle:: 

(well at least there's some explanation for it.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Cola )

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## Oneironaught

Haha, so those of us who thought Top Cola IS asher were right  ::D: 

I've seen the Top Cola page before. But not that Wiki page.

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## Mes Tarrant

> *WTF!!*         
> 
> How the hell did that happen - I mean, no re-direct or anything?? And I make fun of a buddy of mine who's had a "coming soon..." website up for 5 years now!! 
> 
> (well at least there's some explanation for it.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Cola )



I feel vaguely star struck.

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## wasup

I am very confused.  What is going on.

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## Goldney

Ooh we have learnt the identity of the mysterious Asher.

/me wondered what the name meant

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## tyrantt23

> /me wondered what the name meant



One who ashes.

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## Sugarglider11

why dont we just use the skin from the old forum and banner if possible, I like it very much and is more original that this one.

Here is a link to view it http://www.dreamviews.com/oldforum/

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## zoo york is cool

> why dont we just use the skin from the old forum and banner if possible, I like it very much and is more original that this one.
> 
> Here is a link to view it http://www.dreamviews.com/oldforum/



Wow, I like the old forum layout much better than our current one.

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## ClouD

I don't really like the old banner, though the whole table effect works good.

I think that incorporating the current head menu, into the old design would look cool.

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## Sugarglider11

I really like the way the old forums buttons on the top look.

IMO, I think the old forum looks much like the home page, and it looks really cool ::D:

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## Burns

I also loved the old forum. But it was phpBB and this is vBulletin, so I'm not sure what would be involved in creating a skin that is similar since the software is different. That would be a better question for asher.

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## Sugarglider11

There probably is a program that could convert the skin from that forum to something this could use, but I dont know. I also looked around that forum a lot and I like a lot of the things that had that we dont, like the moving new thread windows, the lucid skill option, the country flag, and buttons on the top that this one does not have.

edit: I looked at both manuals and their skins, I'm pretty sure both are the same, so you should be able to use the old one here.

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## iLight

can someone link me to the old forum please? 

im currently developing my custom skin, i would like to make one for dv

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## Sugarglider11

http://www.dreamviews.com/oldforum/

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## Namaste

The old forum looks so sophisticated - i had forgotten what it looked like!

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## bro

Indeed..it looked a bit more..well I don't know, yeah, sophisticated..but the new one is easier to navigate I think...more simple looking..not bad, just easier.

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