#Some history

#What I don't like

###Banner

###Sidebar

###Side colors

###Slartibotfast and Pandora

#In summary

Some history

What I don't like

Banner

Sidebar

Side colors

Slartibotfast and Pandora

In summary

Then the site design process started, and the ensuing weeks were absolutely wild. We have graphic designers and artists and skilled artists in the house, and I think people applied their skills and imaginations to create some awesome things. You know how the banner of our site has that futuristic city in the distance, and mountains to the left? That was made by a user, DaaaahWhoosh. The idea of having a planet for an icon even came from multiple people (1, 2). Most of all, though, I think we all knew that whimsy was going to have to play a part in things.

Right now, with the proposed changes, it feels like ~90% of the design is squeezed into the banner . . . which is much, much smaller than it currently is, and much smaller than it should be. I know this is something that would affect all the sites, and I know it's probably too late to write it up as an answer on Meta Stack Exchange, but still. . . I wish we could have more room for the banner - and especially the site name. I feel like it's trapped.

I know that it's going to be a couple weeks before the new design gets applied to Worldbuilding. I know that there will be a time and a place for voicing these concerns. I also know that some/most of the things I talked about here can't be implemented. So this is all wishful thinking. But can we at the very, very least - if we're gonna lose a lot of things that make our site what it is - for the sake of Glarnak keep Slaritbotfast and Pandora?

Then the site design process started, and the ensuing weeks were absolutely wild. We have graphic designers and artists and skilled illustrators in the house, and I think people applied their skills and imaginations to create some awesome things. You know how the banner of our site has that futuristic city in the distance, and mountains to the left? That was made by a user, DaaaahWhoosh. The idea of having a planet for an icon even came from multiple people (1, 2). Most of all, though, I think we all knew that whimsy was going to have to play a part in things.

Right now, with the proposed changes, it feels like ~90% of the design and personality is squeezed into the banner . . . which is much, much smaller than it currently is, and much smaller than it should be. I know this is something that would affect all the sites, and I know it's probably too late to write it up as an answer on Meta Stack Exchange, but still. . . I wish we could have more room for the banner - and especially the site name. I feel like it's trapped.

I know that it's going to be a couple weeks before the new design gets applied to Worldbuilding. I know that there will be a time and a place for voicing these concerns. I also know that some/most of the things I talked about here can't be implemented. So this is all wishful thinking. But can we at the very, very least - if we're gonna lose a lot of things that make our site what it is - for the sake of Glarnak keep Slartibotfast and Pandora?

Stack Overflow is kind of a polar opposite. It's a community of both programmers who have been working for decades and are older than many modern languages, as well as novices who might just be here for a single semester of an intro CD class. There are plenty of people who sometimes program for the fun of it (Hi there!), but many, many people need to get something done, often for work. The no-nonsense, even minimalist design - and here I'm talking about the site art - works well there. For me, when I pop over, that's great. I'm getting a job done, and it could be important for what work I'm doing, and I don't need or want fun or whimsy.

Stack Overflow is kind of a polar opposite. It's a community of both programmers who have been working for decades and are older than many modern languages and novices who might just be here for a single semester of an intro CS class. There are plenty of people who sometimes program for the fun of it (Hi there!), but many, many people need to get something done, often for work. The no-nonsense, even minimalist design - and here I'm talking about the site art - works well there. For me, when I pop over, that's great. I'm getting a job done, and it could be important for what work I'm doing, and I don't need or want fun or whimsy.