seems that this whole "custom skin" feature is a big let down




I did sort of expect it to be a sort of out of the box feature

at the very least thought would have one alternative skin

instead it looks like that to get any use of this feature
you need to spend time hunting down various posts, css files and such and then make your own themes

and then when have mastered it, you will then need to pass on the info to your members


sorry but I paid money for this software

can we please have a official guide, official docs and at very least a decent quality official second skin

well, if we cannot, at least they can have more furious customers...

soon

I don't want to seem 'anti-IPS' (I've invested a lot of money over the years and am quite happy) but I can't understand how on earth the blog got through the beta and release candidates and then got released with no documentation! Or how the fact that the upgrader doesn't upgrade the Pro skin and any child skins as was my case was never identified in the QA stages? Sometime I guess things slip through the net, IPS have confirmed the issue and have been kind enough to start fixing it on my site over the holiday weekend.

The main issues that need some feedback from IPS staff then, would seem to be:

1. Where is the documentation for Blog v1.4.0 that explains for we Admins and our members, how to make use of the new members theming ability? Its been left for one member (not me!) to try and answer other customers posts about how it all works. We should never have been left to just try and figure it all out on a paid for product.
2. We need a proper CSS guide that shows our members and us which CSS elements effect which parts of the Blog like this for the full skin.
3. Members whould be able to link to or upload a new header image and choose how it is aligned, repeated etc possibly also the tile image or gradient too.
4. I'd like to know if Moderators require their themes to be approved by Admins also which is a bit overkill.
5. We need e-mail and AdminCP notification that themes are waiting approval.
6. I think we should be able to enable or disable approval requirement for new skins if we are prepared to accept the consequences. Only established members can have a blog on my site for example, so I already trust their not hackers. You'd have to pretty daft to allow new members to have Blogs with no or just a few posts anyway!
7. Some reassurance from IPS staff that they are dealing with the issues and documentation. Despite the topics in the Peer to peer Blog forum about the themes and css confusion, there is a distinct lack of staff reassurance.

IPS are a proven company, I'm sure this Blog release is just a slip up and they will be back on form soon!


EDIT: I haven't been getting email notifications so I missed this, but documentation would seem to be on its way - thanks IPS!
http://forums.invisionpower.com/index.php?showtopic=272160

Keeping in mind that we have never had any blog documentation, you have to remember the Blog documentation had to be written entirely from the ground up, which is no easy task. Further to that, while the documentation was being written, we began work on 1.4.0 which has new features. From my understanding, the documentation is nearly complete, it just hasn't been delivered yet. We are working on getting it the door ASAP (and we are indeed working on getting documentation for Gallery and Download Manager too, neither of which have any documentation either).

Documentation has been a weak point, but one that we are actively working on correcting.

I will see if Rikki can come up with something.

This is a feature we are considering for 2.0. We had time constraints for this release, and we attempted to add as much in as possible, while still retaining stability. Unfortunately this particular feature did not make the cut for 1.4.0, but is still in play for inclusion in the future.

Just as admins do. We will be fleshing out the themes feature over the next few Blog releases, but we wanted to start small, with maximum possible security in mind. If an admin needs to approve every theme submission, it is harder for "bad stuff" to get through than if moderators can approve them, or if the themes can auto-approve in some circumstances.

Still, we have (and continue to) listen to feedback on this and have ideas for the future.

Not a bad idea...though it seems kind of off topic for this thread?

You are not the first person to request this. I am very very much against anyone even remotely considering this option...it becomes a HUGE whole in the security of your website, and it is beyond me why anyone would want to introduce such a whole, whether you trust your members or not (what if one of them got their login info stolen, or used a public computer which kept them logged in, or any other number of possibilities, even if they aren't malicious?).

Nevertheless, I don't run your site. This is likely to be a feature introduced in the future, regardless of the security or not. The problem then becomes, when people get hacked (and people WILL get hacked if they allow raw CSS through like that), it ends up falling on our shoulders. People won't know how they were hacked, or will blame it on security issues in blog, and so on. It's a catch-22, and it's hard to see any benefit on our part to adding such a feature....

We just don't have time to respond to every topic. They are read, and the themes feature will be enhanced over time

The bug you linked to is not regarding the upgrader, but rather if you reimport the Pro skin after the blog is installed.
It is the tool in the ACP to rebuild the blog master templates, it does not rebuild the Pro skin.

I can assure you that during QA, the blog was tested to ensure the Pro skin is updated -- and it is.

The lack of documentation was discussed here: http://forums.invisionpower.com/index.php?showtopic=272160

It was an issue we recognized.

We've uploaded some documentation on the classnames used in the blog skin, so that people can visually find the classname they need in order to style a particular part of the page. You can find it at http://invisionpower.com/files/blog_theme_guide/

Thanks for the replies to these points, very much appreciated. I know you are busy.




Thanks (and Rikki!). It will help a lot.




Thanks that's good news and I'm sure it will be a much welcomed addition to the theme tools.










Thanks, I was aware of the security issues with CSS but since you explain it like that obviously not that aware! Well put and totally true.





Thanks Keith, I'm not sure I understand the reasons behind it, but my board's Blog was affected and Jason has been doing a wonderful job sorting it out.
It now transpires the Gallery was effected too but he's on the job!



Bonus! Thanks for your hard work!

IP.Blog Documentation for 1.4.x series has been posted, and may be found near the bottom of this page:

http://www.invisionpower.com/community/boa...umentation.html