The Sims Wiki:New skin

It's official: we have only until the new skin (nicknamed Oasis) will be mandatory. This page exists to coordinate the efforts of as we transition into the new skin. This page (and its associated discussion page) does not exist to complain about these changes, to suggest moving off Wikia, or to suggest ideas for circumventing the new skin.

About the switch
Over the summer of 2010, Wikia began discussing "the future of Wikia," indicating the likelihood that Monaco - the current design of most wikis on the network - was going to be dropped, in exchange for a new design and layout. In late summer, the first plans of "Oasis" (otherwise referred to as the New Skin) were revealed and the first version of Oasis went into closed beta testing. At the end of September, the timeline for moving out of Monaco was announced.

Public beta (open to all registered Wikia users) began on October 7, 2010; on November 3, 2010, the option to use Monaco will be removed for all users. Wikia has offered assistance to wikis, users and administrators as countless wikis prepare to make the transition into Oasis.

Details

 * Oasis features a fixed content width of 660 pixels, regardless of screen resolution - this differs from Monaco, which is variable depending on the resolution of the monitor used to view it.
 * Oasis removes the left-side menus and navigation, in exchange for a smaller drop-down navigation menu at the top and a new "sidebar" on the right.
 * Oasis implements a number of changes meant to improve community participation in wikis, including tools that make it more apparent to new readers that wikis can be edited by anyone.

Switching Skins
During the public beta period (until November 3), it will be possible to switch back-and-forth between Oasis and Monaco.

Switching to "Oasis" (new skin)

 * Click here to go directly to the skin preferences page

In the upper-right corner of your main browser window (if logged into Wikia), you will see your username, as well as links to 'My Home,' 'Talk,' 'More,' and 'Log out.' Click on 'More' and a drop-down menu will appear - select Preferences. Once the preferences page opens, select the 'Skin' tab. There will be three bullets available - select the one named 'New Wikia Look' and click 'Save'.

Switching to Monaco (old skin)

 * Click here to go directly to the skin preferences page

Your username and avatar will appear in the upper-right corner of your browser window, on the right side of the large green 'Wikia' bar. Holding your cursor over your username (but not clicking) will give you a drop-down menu - select 'Preferences' from the drop-down menu. Once in preferences, select the 'Skin' tab. There will be three bullets available - select the one named 'Monaco' and click 'Save'.

Initiatives
This page will take a communication-based, administration-guided approach to revising nearly all pages on the wiki. Our initiatives will fall into a few main categories:

If you have used the new skin at all, and have looked at many of our articles, you have likely noticed the decrease in space for article content. In articles which contain infoboxes - a lot of them do - this decrease in room is even more apparent. As a community, we need to decide what to do with these infoboxes, or how we can more naturally place the information to fit the reduced space. This portion should be fully discussed before any implementation is carried out. A topic will be open on the discussion page for full discussion.
 * Revision of article style

When using the new skin, you will notice that the sidebar navigation - those pop-out menus located on the left side of all pages - are no longer there. Instead, four drop-down menus have been placed at the top of pages. Those menus are each limited to seven items, meaning that it is difficult to determine what things from the sidebar nav were carried over, and which ones had to go. You can weigh in on your ideas for navigation on the discussion page.
 * Navigation

Bleeh and a handful of other administrators have been tinkering with the appearance of under the new skin. In order to perfect the new theme, feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 * Themes and styles

Under the new skin, there are minor issues regarding aesthetics on the main page. Aside from this, it is likely that with the reduced navigation capabilities of the top-menu over the sidenav, we are going to need to add more navigability to the main page, so that it links to many other places. Please chime in with any suggestions you may have.
 * Main Page

News and Blogs
The staff here at have been trying to keep the community as up-to-date as possible on the transition into the new skin. There are a few blogs written specifically to discuss this subject - they are listed below, from newest (top) to oldest (bottom):

  The Sims Wiki News box date Blog posts/New Skin more...

More postings will likely be added to this list as we progress towards the new skin. Additionally, our staff may be unable to provide the most current or most complete news possible. In these cases, Wikia Staff Blogs should have the proper information; many of the blogs located in Wikia's Staff Blog relate directly to the new skin, and to the transition process.

Questions, Issues and Concerns
Again, this page is meant to distribute information, not serve as a basis for complaining about the new skin or to plan a move from Wikia - if you are so inclined to do that, please limit it to the the Community Portal discussion page. However, if you have questions or issues with the new skin, your messages on The Sims Wiki talk:New skin are appreciated, and we will try to respond as best as possible. Unfortunately, staff do not have all the answers, and we may be too unfamiliar with a particular issue or problem to be much help to you. In those cases, we will likely refer you to the Community Central Forum, or will advise you to Contact Wikia Staff directly in order to address a technical problem regarding your use of the wiki.