Now that I’ve had time to heavily modify the new theme and tinker with its innards until it bent to my will, I’ve decided I’m going to keep it.  So beta testing is over.

I’ve updated both the original theme and the current them to remove the beta test link in the sidebar.  Also, both themes will now show which façade is active (with, of all surprises, a parenthetical note beside the active theme that says “active”).

As of now, I will make no additional changes to the old theme.  It’s history as far as I’m concerned.  You can continue using it by clicking on the Imhotep theme link in the sidebar, however, and it will serve your needs just fine.  Just remember I won’t be focusing on it when it comes to content formatting.  Still, I’ve duplicated all of my formatting codes between the two, which should keep it compatible and functional… for the most part.

I plan to keep modifying the new theme because I still have a list of changes I want to make.  Most of them are minor.  In fact, some of them will be practically unnoticeable when they’re implemented, others innocuous.  Some, like changes in sidebar content, will be more obvious.  Overall, though, I’m quite happy with the current setup.

One thing I have changed on the new theme is the overall width of the screen.  It now will not reduce to sizes lower than 1,000 pixels wide.  That ensures the 1024×768 requirement for the theme (any resolutions lower than that will get a horizontal scroll bar once the browser window shrinks beyond the 1,000 pixel minimum).  For resolutions higher than 1024×768, the theme will automatically convert to a 90% width (essentially utilizing 90% of the available browser window).  That leaves the gutters on the right and left, and I like the look that creates.

Please remember I’m still tinkering with it.  That means you could load a page and get some bizarre result, or even an error.  If reloading it (give or take a few minutes) doesn’t resolve the problem, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send an e-mail.  I’ve gotten much better at testing it in several browsers (five at last count) in addition to testing both when I’m logged in and when accessing the site without credentials.  That ensures I see what you see (my regular view is a bit different because I’ve added administrative info).  But none of that means I’ll notice everything you notice.  My browsers are undoubtedly configured differently, as are my computers, so I can’t test all scenarios or environments.

Also, if you have a suggestion, even if you just think something would be better if different or is a bit difficult to read as is or anything else along those lines, don’t hesitate to speak up.  I always entertain suggestions or one-off concerns.

Once again for those who haven’t seen the recent announcements on this and are wondering what I’m talking about, look at the top of the page.  If it says “xenogere / strange behavior /” followed by a snippet about tiptoeing through life, you’re looking at the old theme (Imhotep).  You can switch to the new theme by clicking here.  If you see only the “xenogere” title, then you’re already on the new theme.  Switching between the two is as easy as clicking on a link in the sidebar (for the old theme, that’s on the right; for the new them, that section is on the left).