Question There is only one endorsed and supported Kunena template

There is only one template that is currently supported by the developers: the default_ex template. This may not seem like important news to the veteran users of www.kunena.com but I think this is important enough to make the point in a separate discussion topic. In fact, I think this is important enough to make into a sticky topic because of the number of problems that arise from new users' ignorance of the major trap that they continue to fall into.

The other templates (default, default_gray, default_green and default_red) were developed for older versions of Kunena and Fireboard. They are defective and have not kept pace with the rapid development of Kunena. It's not sufficient to say "you are strongly advised against using any of these old templates" ... do not use the other templates at all!

You will find a number of user contributions in the Templates and Design category . Some of these are really great, too! Some of them may work for you and some of them may not. There are no guarantees. You might even like to develop your own template. Please do and let's see your work! Please remember, though, before posting questions to the forum: if you have a problem with Kunena, make sure you have confirmed that the problem exists with a template that has been endorsed for K 1.5.4.

In future releases of Kunena there will be a major overhaul of the entire templating system and, in the next release, the defective default_gray, default_green and default_red templates will not be included with the installation kit.

Cheers

sozz

I see that xillibit has posted a sticky topic entitled Use template default_ex for decrease the problems with Kunena . I always appreciate the efforts of the moderators at www.kunena.com , but I think this topic deserves more discussion than that. :)

The sticky post that xillibit has made gives the impression that users may never experience problems with the alternative templates (i.e default, default_gray, default_green and default_red) and therefore it's safe for them to be used. I have to question the judgement of that advice.

xillibit wrote:

Some problems with Kunena can be simply corrected in choose the template default_ex and the image set default_ex in the Kunena configuration panel.

In the past two weeks I counted 27 examples, all of which were corrected by changing to the default_ex template. To say that "some" problems can be corrected could be construed as something of an understatement!

xillibit wrote:

The templates default, default_gray, default_green and default_red can be used if you are sure that you haven't any problems, but these templates will be removed in the kunena 1.6 and are now deprecated in kunena 1.5.

This is where I disagree with him. It's not a case of saying that users can use the "deprecated" templates, I'm going further and saying that people should categorically not use those defective templates. We can dispute whether the defective templates work or not, but if you run into problems what kind of support (or sympathy) can people expect to receive if we know for a fact that these things actually cause problems? That's like saying, you can point a loaded gun at your head ... go ahead, do it and pull the trigger. OK, so maybe it's quite that melodramatic! :laugh:

In every other respect, I agree with what xillbit wrote. We're all entitled to our different opinions which is why I would like to see this discussion topic remain open.

I have edited the post now, I hope that it's more clear now and must be helpful for the users.

Thanks, xillibit, but I still believe your advice is confusing (at best) and misleading (at worst).

Your amended statement reads:

In small number of cases the problems with Kunena can be simply corrected in choose the template default_ex and the image set default_ex in the Kunena configuration panel.

While it's true to say that a small number of problems actually exist with Kunena, or are caused by defective Kunena software - there are far more problems caused by users' own tinkering with the default settings - I don't think it's fair to say that the use of templates other than default_ex accounts for a small percentage of the cases that we see at www.kunena.com .

You state, in your last edited version,

The templates default, default_gray, default_green and default_red can be used ...

I have a problem with the word "can": the facts simply do not support that conclusion. That is my point. I feel that it is important to state clearly and unambiguously that those templates should not be used at all.

This isn't just my opinion, by the way. Read #20092 and #16688 . It doesn't get much clearer than that.

I think that it's important not to dance around with words. If something is broken then say "it's broken". If you know it's going to cause problems then say "do not use it - it causes problems." Let's not confuse novice/beginner users with words like "you can try it" when we all know that there's no support for it. OK?

I realise that this may only be my opinion but I still think that this discussion topic is better to have as a sticky than the other one. My advice is clear, it's unambiguous and it might stop people shooting themselves in the foot.

Thank you, xillibit, for making the changes to the sticky topic, however I still have a problem with the topic's title - I'm sorry to seem to be so argumentative about this, but here's why I would like it changed.

The sticky subject is "Use template default_ex for decrease the problems with Kunena". This wording suggests that using the other templates may not cause problems or, at the very least, you can minimise those problems by using the default_ex template.

That's not the message I am trying to send. I want a simple message: a clear message, a message that novice/beginner users can easily understand (although we may have to repeat it a lot :laugh:). That message is: There is only one endorsed and supported Kunena template. What is wrong with that message? What is wrong with making this topic as the "sticky"? And, I'm sorry, but I fail to see why sticky subjects have to be locked. :S

I'm not saying you should use the default_ex template because it will decrease problems. That is your message. I'm saying people should use the default_ex template because that's the one that is supported by the Kunena development team.

So, you see, we are in agreement with everything except the topic's title. And, because the sticky topic says nothing different to what this topic does (except for the title), why have the other topic at all?

Cheers and thanks.

Hi sozzled,

That message is: There is only one endorsed and supported Kunena template. What is wrong with that message? What is wrong with making this topic as the "sticky"? And, I'm sorry, but I fail to see why sticky subjects have to be locked.

Nothing wrong with your title, this is our way to moderate this forum, the sticky is maded only from MODs or DEVs, please no discussions about this!

In future releases of Kunena there will be a major overhaul of the entire templating system and, in the next release, the defective default_gray, default_green and default_red templates will not be included with the installation kit.

From version 1.6.

It's not sufficient to say "you are strongly advised against using any of these old templates" ... do not use the other templates at all!

User can use this template but is not recommended to use. With modification this template can work in K 1.5.4. Well, for me "decrease" the problem is OK.

>> moved to appropriate forum

Regards