This update concerns the Main Page and the Wikia fluid layout. The Main Page update has already applied (you've likely seen it by now), while the fluid layout will apply on December 4.
Whoa, the Main Page!
Yep! I've been talking and talking about it, and finally I've worked to give our Main Page a much-needed refresh. While at its core it hasn't changed all that much, on the outside it definitely has improved. For those of you who are suckers for before-and-after shots (I'm guilty of that), here's a before and after:
Before: http://www.pixenli.com/images/1384/1384847022030197000.jpg
After: http://www.pixenli.com/images/1384/1384847035092562700.jpg
Here's the important stuff:
Main Page Poll
There is a new poll on the right-hand side! I will put up a new poll every Monday, and the previous week's results will be displayed below. The poll could be about anything, and this week it's about your favorite superweapon. If you have any suggestions, I'll happily take any, but I've definitely got a few ideas. :)
Ace Combat Infinity Announcements
This section will stay there for a while, depending on how much post-launch support Infinity will receive. Any relevant announcements about the game will be posted here for everyone to see as soon as they log in, so that people don't keep asking over and over and over about what's going on.
Twitter Updates
A new widget has replaced the broken-for-a-very-long-time-now Twitter module that was on the home page. This widget is taken from a custom timeline that I run, where I will drag in any important tweets made by @PROJECT_ACES or @kazutoki. Since I run @AceCombatQuotes and I usually post English "translations" of important tweets, I'll also drag some of those in when necessary.
What's next?
This isn't the end of updates to the Main Page, not by a long shot! My next target are the remaining articles in the Acepedia namespace (the ones that still stand after my sniping campaign against some of those articles along with the numerous ones in the Electrosphere namespace), so we can get some updated and easier-to-understand policies and editing criteria in place for all of our articles. I'm also still thinking about ideas for a new logo for Acepedia, and possibly a banner version to put on the Main Page as well. I also really want to replace those category buttons with more up-to-date examples.
Of course, I am still open to suggestions, so please comment on this blog post or leave me a message on my message wall if you want to suggest something! Or if you want to just give feedback on this update in general. I'd like to know what you guys think about it. :D
Fluid layout?
For those of you who really dislike the fact that the Wikia skin is always bunched up and we can't do anything about it... fear no longer! Wikia has been testing the new fluid layout for a few months now, and the new layout will go live across all of Wikia on December 4!
So what does fluid layout mean? Acepedia will detect what resolution you're on and will resize the content area to match your screen. Some screens will decrease a little in size, but most (especially desktops of 1920x1080 res or higher) will see a major increase. This will be especially helpful in stopping those infoboxes from cutting so far into the content of each of the articles.
It's not too major of an update, to be honest, but it's major enough that it needs mentioning. For more information, check out the blog post here: http://community.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:BertH/Fluid_layout_is_arriving_on_December_4