I'm continually working on revisions to Skinyourscreen.com behind the scenes, whether it's just backups, articles or tweaks to the template.  2009 should see some structural changes to the site, such as decreased clutter, jQuery navigation, and increased access to individual skins.  These things, however, are all from my viewpoint, as an admin, as to what SYS could benefit from.

My question, to all interested parties, is how YOU would change SYS.  Is the header too big?  The forums too confusing?  Are the colors just plain wrong?  Now is your time to chip in any suggestions.  I'll take each suggestion seriously.

Thanks!

A simple link from the forums back to the main SYS pages would be useful ( if there is one I can't find it )

That's an excellent suggestion!  There currently isn't one, but there needs to be.

I have been thinking that for YEARS now... well since SYS went back up after the attack lol

Wish granted!  Sorry 'bout the long turnaround time.  Making the final sprint to graduation and it's kept me off of SYS for too long.  TOOO LONG!

I found it! Up there in the top right! lol. Thanks mrbiotech!

And I've been thinking, I'd bring back the old feature from pre-hacked SYS where people could log in and post themes/walls and such. I think that would bring a lot of traffic back here too.

Hmmm.... interesting idea.  This would require switching to another Content Management Framework.  I switched to TextPattern after the hack due to the fact that it was light and secure.  When it comes to a pre-established open-source CMS that also permits users to make accounts and upload items it's my feeling that e107 is one of the easiest to use.  I've investigated Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, and MODx as alternatives, but none really excel at creating front-end accounts (user accounts) - they're all back-end (administrator) heavy.  The problem is that e107 is very unsecure, as we all found out.  There are still 23 security advisories out on e107, meaning that although I love the way it works and functions, I can't use it for security reasons.

That's not to say there aren't newer CMS solutions out there, however.  I've been investigating SquareSpace.com and ExpressionEngine as alternatives. Neither is free, but they are secure, and either would provide user accounts.  I'd REALLY like to get user accounts back so people could post their own materials!

Ah, I see the dilemma. Too bad good free CMS that does what you want is hard to find. =/ Don't go broke putting user accounts back on SYS though ;]

Sharp intake of breathe to go along with this one. It seems that sites offering this feature remain a big target for hackers... it happened to Skinbase a few weeks back, and they are still currently trying to salvage thousands of images that got wiped off the individual gallery pages.

I would suggest a page where thumbnails ( see Rich's excellent article on such at SkinYourScreen  ) could be posted linking to image hosting sites that have heavy security in place.

Although I'd love an independent upload option, this last suggestion might be the easiest to pull off.  Something else I'm investigating right now is using an independent form that would permit users to upload a file (or multiple), input a preview image, and a description and have it either committed to a separate MySQL database (separate for security issues) or email it to me directly for approval and submission.

I DID find a modification to my current CMS that will let users create limited CMS accounts from the front-end, but adding new themes/articles still has to occur through the back-end.  It's the back-end that I worry about... although it would be a secure system, the admin-side of things for SYS is really messy (as Haxer can vouch).  I picked a less popular CMS for security and flexibility: the trade-off was the administrator's interface.  Would take some getting used to.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm gonna try the form-based method first.  If that works, it'll just be a matter of moderation.


While we're on the topic of change, some other items on the agenda for SYS:

• Graphical design: SYS is a skinning website.  It should look like it.
• Reduce footer clutter (the 6 infinite columns at the end).
• Streamline the menu system (hint - AJAX method in the works)

The first point will be something gradually changing, although the next two will be a little more profound when added, hopefully reducing the overwhelming page length.

Should be interesting... looking forward to seeing the new stuff 

Loved the vids on the SYS page