What about a new banner?
 

Ok, I'm a bit tired of the current banner, tbh.
So I made something to replace it and I want you to tell me what you think about the idea. I know they are not great, but it's a bit difficult to do something quick without using TJ or SR pics (I wanted to avoid displeasing nu-Ringo fans, Ukigumo fans, and all those usual things, etc etc) and keeping the current forum theme colors.

Well, here are the 2 options I made. I'll try to make some others later.
Also, if anyone wishes to contribute with more banners, I would be very glad (even tho I don't know if Glath wants the banner to be changed in the first place ahah).

Unfortunately for the unstimulated eyeballs roaming this community, I am not much of a template tweaker. I am much more of an exploit discoverer. I didn't so much choose one specialty over the other - I just have an extraordinary affinity with how people maneuver through the official and unofficial permissions of a system, whether it's a strategy/roleplaying game, a messageboard, a market, a political hierarchy, or an OS.

I'll admit I like the look of your suggestion, but there's two problems with it:

Your banner is fixed-width. Where is the stretch supposed to be coming from, for different users with monitors set to different resolutions? (I'm running 1600x1200 myself)

One other problem is that when we upgrade vBulletin, we might have to abandon this template and start over from scratch, or with a different custom template premade specifically for a later version of vBulletin. It's technically possible to make our existing 3.6.5 template conform to 3.8.0, but there's an intimidating amount of steps you must take along the way. I don't think even our former template-developing co-admin (in an alternate universe where he's still an admin) would be up to the task, so that means nobody else would deal with it either.

It's not a good idea to change vBulletin versions just yet. The software developers have constantly been releasing security patches for their updates (so like you install 3.6.8, then it turns out to have a big hole and you then download a patch specifically for the hole in 3.6.8, then they have another patch for 3.6.8, but you're still using what is technically "3.6.8", and the numbers only go up when more features are added). The last thing we want is someone performing an SQL injection on Electric Mole.

We should wait for a vBulletin version that goes on for at least one season without ever getting patched before the next numbered version comes out. Then we upgrade to what has just become the second-newest version after we think it's safe. At that time we'll pretty much have to change templates, which also involves changing banners.

In the second suggestion, it's actually a 500x166 image in the middle of the current two 400x166 and 300x166 pictures in the sides.
In the first suggestion it's a bit bigger, but that could be solved as well, cutting it into 3 pics or something like that.

But well, if vBulletin is going to be updated sometime in the future, then I agree that it's better to change banners by then.
Anyway, it's not that I think we should fill EMF with all kinds of graphical gimmicks, I like things simple and clean, it's just that changing the banner once in a while keeps things looking fresh~

No arguments from me there. B)

A random banner that changes between 2 images on the left side isn't necessarily the same thing~

i like the one with the electric mole dvd artwork. the current one with the members looks higgle piggledy and hence i prefer leaving tj alone.

featuring sr alone on banners might work better though.

and maybe changing that font for the word 'forums' in your sample banners - looks kinda odd next to the cursive font.

I actually like the font for "forums", wth ;_;
It's supposed to look like it was "added" to the "Electric Mole" official logo/font.
Anyway, I was going to try more options, but not anymore since it's not worth it right now. But thanks for the opinions!

Yeah, I like those banners but I agree with sardonic, the font for 'Forums' doesn't look right.

replace the band with EMFers

I love what you did, and Jihad's idea is awesome.

I told him to do that a few days ago!! have a whole bunch of EMF members standing there Reservoir Dogs style :lol: that's the aesthetic we should be going for.

I did that exact thing with my signature once, but with Jihen members. Photoshopped them Reservoir Dogs style. Did the same for Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Oh and Lord of the Rings. They were on my broken HDD though :(

And a slogan "Don't register if you like Variety!" :D

xDD. Do it. Seriously D:.

HAHAHA! So that'd scare away like, what? 3% of the new registrers?

what would the other frilly jpop sites think of us then!? :rolleyes:

so were doing the EMFers banner, right?
Everyone start submitting pics!

According to what Glath said, no :x

Who died and made Glath king?? :hmph:

...ohh riight

Actually, now that you mention it... I never knew who was the admin/owner/etc of the forum. According to this, Glath isn't in any of the groups, so maybe he isn't the one supposed to decide if we should have a new banner...? Who should be the one responsible for that matter? frecklegirl? x_X

If the people want a new banner, give them a new banner!

Change the image. I always cringe to see HZM checking out Ringo's ass or the alternate image where Izawa has an afro and a Zoolander expression.

In Jihen's first televised performance since "the announcement," the Meet the World Beat live. Theres a point where it's almost undeniable that HZM is gaging the lay of the land, so to speak. Or maybe I'm just a pervert, but it totally looked like he was checking her out at one point. Rewind the tape.

I'd check her out all the time too :\

I am Glathannus the White, or any color I choose.

Can you be more specific?

It's a hat =P

Glathannus the Grey was dragged into the abyss, and was brought back into the world as Glathannus the White. You know him as a wanderer without rank, consulting with world leaders in dark times much as he did as Glathannus the Grey. Locals in remote corners of the world know him only as an old man with a walking stick.

Is he the Glathannus that forced the Battle of Five Armies?

I thought Glathannus was a gladiator ? the name always made me think of battles in the arena!!

Ok, forget the banner change.

It's not like I'm declaring from a throne that people aren't permitted to change the banner right now. I'm simply stating the reality that nobody with the power to change it, is both capable and willing to do something about it yet. If one of the admins wants to put time into it despite the fact that later we'd have to start over, they don't need anyone's permission to go ahead. What they need is their own test install of vBulletin to play around with, and lots of spare time - neither of which they have.

When I start vetoing anything beyond how I utilize my own spare time, that's when something's very wrong.

I like the new banner. I just don't really know how to implement it? I wasn't the one who changed the layout when we first got the forum so I haven't poked around there yet. I'd be open to putting it up though as long as the stretch issues Glath mentioned are resolved. And I also don't like the "forums" font (maybe the Yves Saint-Laurent Adult font instead, if you can find it?). So after all that is resolved I'll look into putting it up. I agree, this current banner looks kinda weird, even though I appreciate Glath for throwing up SOMETHING there instead of just letting it be blank.