Anyone using custom styles per forum?

I'm looking to do some custom styles for certain forums.

I noticed that the Forum Manager, under Style Options, shows the dropdown to select whichever skin/style you've selected. Then, you click on 'override user's style choice' to avoid them from changing it out. Then, the final piece is the status icons. I guess you would only change this if the new style has different images than your default one, right?

I'm thinking of using this setup for advertisers that are sponsoring certain forums. Now, I just need to create some custom skins and need to research how to do that.

Does anyone else have custom styles based on the forum itself? How has that worked for you, advertisers and your members? Do they like the customized setup?

 

I have also considered doing this on several boards I have managed. I not so brash example of this is how they have executed your suggested system over at Gamebattles.com

They have what I'd consider to be their default skin, they use it across the generalized boards and it features all the important site wide links. They then add to the skin for the different game forums found on the boards. For a direct comparison, see:

GameBattles Forums

Oppose to:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Xbox 360 (Xbox360) Forum - GameBattles Forums

They have added an extra header including a graphic and links important only really to members viewing that specific forum. I feel it's really well executed and helps greatly, if you have a board covering many topics, to really personalize each forum and gives a specialized feeling the forum your viewing.

You can obviously expand on this more and I will admit, I've never thought of having sponsored forums like you proposed. I think that would work really well.

 

I haven't done this yet myself, but plan to if I go through with making a private forum for the elite users; it would be good for them to have a visual cue as to where they're posting.

 

No, I do not do this. And it messes me up when forum owners do set certain forum sections to a certain theme. I do not like to go from one color to another - it makes me think I left the site and went to another forum.

 

I have never done this but I think it has potential to make specific niche websites really unique. It would take more work to make each skin for the forum, but in I think the outcome would be quite nice.

 

We have a different style in a couple of our private forums so that users are immediately aware of what forum they are in. I modified my header, however, to just add the other stylesheet so that it doesn't cause problems when a user tries to use the mobile style (the mobile style is selectable, not automatic).

 

I did have this before my site got hacked, I have two major competitions on my website and all forums looked the same until you clicked into either of those competitions then the style would change to one for that competition.

It looked good and increased productivity and feedback, however when we got hacked we lost it all and we are concentrating on improving the main sites forums style before we think about any other styles.

 

No, though the idea sounds cool.

I know of a forum that does and members tend to like it; it reminds them of the forum they're in.