Forum:Oasis Skin to replace Monaco
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Beta Oasis Logged In Example
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Beta Oasis Logged Out Example
Wikia has decided to move to a new custom skin this fall that will replace Monaco as the default skin for most Wikia wikis. Monaco will be supported for a time but will eventually be phased out completely. Monobook (which many ACCW readers use) will continue to be supported however there is no promise that it too will not be removed at some point. While the new skin is still being actively developed, you can get a first look here. If you would like to help beta test the skin and influence the final result you can apply here. There is also a FAQ that is being updated with user questions about the new skin.
Unfortunately I suppose this presents another inflection point in the history of our wiki where as a community we'll need to decide on what to do. Since the final version of Oasis isn't complete yet it's hard to know to what extent we'll be impacted, but it's probably prudent to start examining our different options now. If you manage to get into the beta please share your impressions/concerns with us (if allowed to do so, I don't know yet if there are restrictions on accepted testers). I believe they plan to open it to public testing soon as well. --Tlosk talk contr 10:50, August 30, 2010 (UTC)
I will probably continue to use Monaco as I like how it functions, but if Oasis is going to be the default skin we'll need to support it.
Without knowing anything about the new skin other than that one screenshot, my concerns are this:- our content will no longer display correctly.
- We will have to maintain multiple tools for multiple skins. For example, I update MediaWiki:Monaco-sidebar with new patches. I don't use Monobook so I don't know if it's drop down menu was ever restored, but if it was I'd assume someone maintains that menu as well. And the Oasis skin looks like it has site-wide drop down menus at the top (the ones that say trees, vines, bushes, transplanted).
And my wild concerns are that this redesign is more focused on giving wikia a spiffier look and incorperating social-networking garbage that does not actually improve the wiki's function, and potentially slows it down with all this extra fluff running in the background. On the blog page one user, Pcj, posted: "I just hope that stupid stuff like quiz games, picture games, or user poking (a la Facebook) are not implemented." with those links directing to, I assume, the source files for wikia's code.--An Adventurer 22:50, August 30, 2010 (UTC)