[Suggestion] Add JavaScript, Free CSS

Posted 2 years, 10 months ago (Edited 2 years, 10 months ago) by JustAnAuthor

This might be a bit of an odd suggest, it might not be feasible, it might even be implemented later anyways, but here goes.

CSS is pretty neat. It makes sites look neat, it makes code look neat, and it's the clothes that HTML wears that makes it look fabulous.

I get that CSS is premium only in order to incentivize people into buying premium, but I think that JavaScript would be better suited for that.

Right now, we have HTML code that makes great looking custom designs already for characters, but these are kind of limited. For one, what CSS can do in a couple lines, pure HTML requires a lot of code in comparison. Try making faux tabs in HTML, then compare how simple it is to make actual tabs in CSS. Much simpler, much easier. Moreover, there are no tutorials and source codes online whatsoever on how to make these fake tabs via HTML, simply because CSS and JS do it much easier and much better, meaning that if you want to try your hand at it, you're gonna have to dissect the code of other users to figure it out. Simple enough for some, not so simple for others (not to mention the fact that it appears as if the html code used here is only really on this site, meaning that the reason nobody sees it anywhere else is because it relies on some kind of css or js code on this site, which is ironic, for me at least).

CSS can be used to make these things much easier, and with less spaghetti code that ends up offering more readability and user-friendliness than pure HTML does, which is something JavaScript cannot do, I will admit, but I'll get to that later. It is quick and simple, and offers a lot of options for the masses.

JavaScript will be a bit tricky to justify, considering that a lot of what JavaScript does or can do CSS, such as animation, can do with more cross-compatibility, less lag, and whatnot, as well as being harder to understand than CSS, but it is still useful. JS allows people do make complex, dynamic stuff. What this means in less Buffy Speak terms, is that with JavaScript, you can make much more interactive pages. You can create interactive maps if you want people to see, say, what a character's house looks like in an appealing, intuitive, and eye-catching way. You can make little effects that happen when someone hovers their mouse over some element, like a button or image, such as producing music notes, making it change size, etc. It can even be used to dynamically draw and animate something instead of it being premade and constantly animating! Maybe you want to make a clock that shows your time on your profile, so that people know what time it is on your part of the world. This can be added with a schedule of sorts, such as text that says "I check this site on XX:XX - XX:XX" in order to let people figure out when they can expect the user to be active.

JavaScript's dynamic nature means that there's a lot of neat things you can do with it to make something beautiful and pleasing to the eye, not to mention it can dynamically affect HTML and CSS. This allows JavaScript users to make dynamic character sheets, that can change once they click a button. CSS may be used to make your pages look nice, but JavaScript can be used to make your pages work nice.

Of course, this would mean that you would need to know JavaScript in order to make use of it, and not a lot of people are willing to put in that effort, but if you have experience coding websites, you should have a basic understanding of how JavaScript works. There are also tons of websites that has templates for a bunch of JS coded items, meaning that you can just find one of those, and then implement it into your character design if you don't know JS well.


In conclusion, free CSS, give the people JS. I want my tabs, dammit.

Avistella

-1

As you said, CSS is Premium only to incentivize people. What TH offers free users with only HTML coding is already more than enough, and CSS is a great way to try to convince people if they still want more, in my opinion. If you want tabs, you can already make them as a free user without CSS since TH uses Bootstrap.  If  you want to style the tabs further, sure, it might add more lines of coding in terms of HTML, and your styling might be more limited, but that's exactly why CSS is there as an incentive. I don't see much that JavaScript has to offer that can't be done with CSS.

And this is a much more personal reason, but I simply don't trust TH users with the freedom that JavaScript would allow. There are already users who are using HTML and/ or CSS to make their pages contain heavy eyestrain and/ or inaccessible to others. Allowing more people even more freedom with that is just off-putting for me.

In addition to that, TH is primarily a character storage site; it's not necessarily made with the intention of showcasing characters/ information but rather allows the option to do so.

TyrianCallows

-1 for everything Avistella mentions and only for the fact that we still currently have CSS blocker issues through the site making some CSS still appear to users who have it turned off, I dread to know what people would do with Java.

8aroque

-1, for reasons listed above. There are also multiple resources in this very site teaching you how to make HTML tabs.

And also, people already put eyestrainy backgrounds with the HTML, I've seen premium users with seizure-inducing CSS, if people really, truly need to use javascript then at this point why not just go offsite and host things there?

I feel like this site is already being very generous regarding customization of profiles, it's enough. Besides, Worlds already have the free CSS. It's enough.

Jade-Everstone

-1

ditto to what other users have said. Especially in regards to people abusing CCS & HTML already, last thing people want is more ways to make profiles an inaccessible mess.

+ Considering other options out there, Toyhouse already has way more (free) customisaton than other art & OC hosting sites & even w/o premium you can still do a lot with HTML. If people wanted to go all out they'd build their own page elsewhere

CanineKing

-1

pretty much on the same boat as everyone else, but i especially wouldn't want it if it can cause security issues. we have one mod to manage +1000 users, having JS in the wrong hands can hinder the mod even more with it. i'd even rather have a bigger mod team first than do whatever suggestion was posted on here, even the best ones

(and even then, i still wouldn't want it either way in the end for same reasons above lol)

edit: whoops someone already mentioned the situation w/ mods already, but yeah point still stands and that's the biggest issue i see w/ it