MTGNexus

I find the current theme and layout of the forums very annoying to navigate; having avatars on the right instead of the left (like every other forum), buttons are difficult to see as they blend into the background. Maybe these options are already there and I missed them, but a way to edit the layout to personal preference would be great. A dark theme would also be appreciated.

Dark theme is on the agenda, but won't be for a bit. I need to get everything straightened out and set before I start a second style.

What are others opinions on the layout, left/right avatars, etc?

My gut instinct is really to prefer the avatars hard left. But I think you should let that stew for a week or two to see if we start getting used to it. I think it might be just a familiarity thing vs. an actual functional thing.

There's definitely something to be said for having the actual text you're going to be reading left-justified like that. It's where people's eyes naturally look for content.

Aye, I do want the focus to be on the content and writing.
That said, if it's majorly off putting to people, it's not hard to change at all.

That's also why the less-used buttons blend in. I don't want them to be distracting. Though, they might blend in too much? I'm all for tweeking things until they're perfect, and welcome feedback. We need a bunch of opinions to see what the consensus really is though.

I'm still trying to get used to the layout but I find myself hunting for buttons as well at times. As for the avatar and info, I agree that on the left is nice because it's what I'm used to for the last decade, but I also like that my first focus is the actual content. That said, there is an argument to make that if I want to screen my posts to know who is posting before I read it, that makes the current layout less desirable.

Have you thought about implementing different skins selectable via UCP? One could have avatars on the left while another one can have them on the right. (Dies To Removal even used to have one skin resembling the old Salvation format, for the more nostalgic ones 🤣)