A KoL Wiki:VectorUpdate
Two years ago, we implemented a second skin for TheKoLWiki, Vector. Vector is the current skin utilized by many major wikis, including Wikipedia. We did this to future-proof the website, to allow for greater flexibility and to enhance the wiki experience for the end user. About a month ago we swapped the wiki's default skin settings from the old skin, MonoBook, to Vector. Following this phase-in period, we have now disabled monobook entirely. There are several reasons for disabling monobook, some of which are as follows:
- MonoBook is old, outdated, and does not have the flexibility of Vector, so it is harder to customize with new features such as SphinxSearch, the new search feature that many people have already commented is greatly improved over the old search. Many other extensions only function with Vector.
- MonoBook is ancient and support for the skin is poor to nonexistent at this point, so any issues that exist will continue to exacerbate with time.
- Vector was designed for and works well in modern browsers, and MonoBook does not. Maintaining MonoBook as a legacy skin would double the work required from the volunteer individuals who maintain the wiki's backend and code.
For these and other reasons, using MonoBook is no longer an option. We apologize to those who were in love with the old skin, but we think that you will love Vector. If you don't, as an added bonus, you can change the way that Vector looks - it's highly customizable. To do so, you will need a KoLWiki account. Don't worry - it's free!
To customize your Vector wiki apperance:
- Log in to your KoLWiki account
- Go to your User CSS page: http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Special:MyPage/vector.css
- If the page does not exist, simply create it by clicking on the "Start this page" link.
- From here, you can use CSS to tinker with the way the wiki looks to your heart's content. The wiki's display will only change for you, so feel free to play around and use this as a sandbox!
- No CSS expertise? Confused by code? Many of our users have already begun customizing their own pages, with discussion in this forum thread and on the Discussion page. Take a look!
We understand that change is hard, and that the transition may not be easy - we're still working out the kinks and changing things to find what best suits our users. If you have suggestions or concerns, please feel free to voice them in either the forum thread or discussion venues linked above.
We're excited to bring the next phase of TheKoLWiki to you. Hold on, be patient, and we'll do our best to continue to maintain the high standards you've come to expect from us.
-TheKoLWiki & Coldfront management team
