TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

davidm · 2005-06-20 09:21:03

jevelby, yeah there is no deadline yet (see post above, it’s mentionned in red now)

The two parts contest is a very good idea and I think we could go down that road if the contestant are fairly envenly split between the two options. Thanks for the contributions, I am starting to be optimistic about this !

thebombsite · 2005-06-20 10:06:23

I’ll get r416 packaged up then. In my ports I include all plug-ins used in the theme as part of the download so there is no need to go hunting for them. It also gives me the opportunity to explain how to install them which is useful for newbies. Anyway most plug-ins are not necessary but I find ob1_if_section indispensable as it reduces the need to create new page templates which helps to reduce the installation process. I’ll stop waffling now. :)

davidm · 2005-06-20 10:08:02

Yeah I saw your packages, that’s the way to go, bundle everyhting needed.

If you or Sivni have tips about template creation, be my guest :-)

creativesplash · 2005-06-20 16:09:24

Thought: Why dont we create one basic template (Something like CSS Zen). This will prevent authors coming up with their own names for classifing their styles. [Just a thought].

Jennifer · 2005-06-20 16:39:26

> creativesplash wrote:

> Thought: Why dont we create one basic template (Something like CSS Zen). This will prevent authors coming up with their own names for classifing their styles. [Just a thought].

I’ve been thinking of the same thing.

michaelkpate · 2005-06-20 17:11:56

> creativesplash wrote:

> Thought: Why dont we create one basic template (Something like CSS Zen). This will prevent authors coming up with their own names for classifing their styles. [Just a thought].

Neil Turner used Kubrick in restructuring IcyBlue. That makes sense, in a way, as WordPress users ended up with a lot of styles as a result of this sort of thing, but it can also be kind of limiting, as not everyone is as talented at pushing the limits as the Zen Garden guys.

Last edited by michaelkpate (2005-06-20 18:44:48)

Mary · 2005-06-20 18:11:00

Its also not efficient.

Maybe its just me, but I see this differently. I just want to preceed this with saying I’m not pointing a finger or directing this at anyone.

The purpose of this is not to show off, but offer tangible, useful content. What good is a template that depends upon plugins and advanced knowledge? Seriously, think about what that conveys. Newbs will be using them, not anyone else. Its like saying, “Oh yes, I love Textpattern, but without plugins its pretty useless.”

It makes a lot more sense to use your imagination with a pure plugin-free template. Then newbs can learn Textpattern, rather than plugins. And then we have a follow-up possiblity: how to take a basic template and extend it to your situation. Once you can see “regular” tags in use, the whole tag plugin thing makes a lot more sense to the uninitiated.

Obviously, if I’m alone in this there’s nothing I can do about it, and I won’t bitch and moan. Just wanted to make sure both sides of this are voiced. :)

davidm · 2005-06-20 18:27:36

Mary, as I said I wondered what path to take. I am open to debate, and glad to have your input on this :)

You make valid points there, a follow up possibility could take the form of a tutorial that we could bundle with the template. A showcase contest would rather be a design contest, which is not the same as a template contest, now it’s clearer for me. Some templates use plugins and are not necessarily so hard to set up. But agreed that for starters and as a complement to 1.0 release and a probable widening user base, it would be the way to go.

I’ll contradict the slight preference I displayed earlier, and agree that’s the way to go !
Any other input can add to the rule writing process that I’ll have to go through if this contest reaches 25 :-)

bizartist · 2005-06-20 22:01:24

I’ll put my vote in for no plugins. But then again, I’m a sucker for a challenge! I’d like to see how far people can push the envelope on a base install…

(going to miss glx_if tho…)

Last edited by bizartist (2005-06-20 22:03:30)

marios · 2005-06-20 23:04:09

I’d vote once again far one or two basic plugins that’ll generate the basic navigation element.It would be silly unnecessary work to harcode these.

regards, marios

kennethlove666 · 2005-06-21 00:15:11

i signed up over the weekend.
my votes go to one default markup and no plugins. it needs to be the basic markup, too, the default. that way it’s “out of the box”

bizartist · 2005-06-21 01:13:48

Kenneth, I assume you are suggesting a simple CSS showcase, ala CSS Zen Garden ?. That suits me fine (TextZen, perhaps?), but that means everyone will have all the stuff from a default install on their blogs when they use our templates (remember we are aiming at very non-technical users/writers here, the sorts of people unlikely to want to tinker with page templates right at first).

I suppose we could settle on 2 or 3 page templates as part of the deal, giving users the choice of default, or maybe 2 other page setups (which would be standardized and determined before we start our template work).

Would forms be fair game? If we’re going to do the “out of the box” thing, then we should truly do a plain vanilla install and say all we give the user is a new stylesheet to install and a couple settings to change, which would be fairly straightforward for any user to do…

What about images, should they go into TXP or stay external?

Last edited by bizartist (2005-06-21 01:29:05)

JeffClark · 2005-06-21 03:09:36

I’m in.

I also entirely agree with Kenneth. I’m wondering if we should make it strictly a CSS change though, minus the “couple of settings to change” idea. The less variables, the less chance someone could screw it up…

oduignan · 2005-06-21 04:05:36

Ive signed up :), hopefully you’ll get the 25 you want. I will also follow the trend and offer my assistance for anything that needs assisting.

mourner · 2005-06-21 07:55:25

I vote for creativesplash’ idea to create a couple of standards-compliant templates that are highly customizable through CSS. Just like CSS Zen Garden, but with more than a one page – it should draw a great attention of the CSS community. The default template is just not flexible enough.

Oh, and TextZen is a great name for the contest indeed. :-)

PS: David’s post should be crossposted in the Announcements subforum, IMHO.

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#31 2005-06-20 09:21:03

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#32 2005-06-20 10:06:23

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#33 2005-06-20 10:08:02

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#34 2005-06-20 16:09:24

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#35 2005-06-20 16:39:26

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#36 2005-06-20 17:11:56

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#37 2005-06-20 18:11:00

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#38 2005-06-20 18:27:36

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#39 2005-06-20 22:01:24

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#40 2005-06-20 23:04:09

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#41 2005-06-21 00:15:11

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#42 2005-06-21 01:13:48

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#43 2005-06-21 03:09:36

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#44 2005-06-21 04:05:36

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

#45 2005-06-21 07:55:25

Re: TXP Template Contest : Starting a Pledge ! Will you sign up ?

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