Forum:Custom workaround for Monobook as default skin for wiki site

I have to believe that some fan of the Monobook skin has figured out what to paste into the style sheet at http:// WIKINAME .wikia.com/wiki/MediaWiki:Monaco.css to faithfully emulate the Monobook skin and so allow that to be specified as the site default skin via:


 * Admin Options
 * Set the default theme for this wiki: Custom


 * For custom themes, select the "custom" option in the menu above and specify custom CSS in MediaWiki:Monaco.css.

I have read Help:Customizing_skins and none of the advice or examples at Help:Customizing Monaco or Help:Examples of customized Monobook skins provided this seemingly obvious workaround.


 * If you have successfully used this workaround then please share that style sheet inside ..  tags here.
 * If you've tried this workaround and it went SNAFU then please advise.

Najevi 18:24, 21 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If you want monobook as the default skin for a wiki, edit MediaWiki:AdminSkin and change the text of that page to monobook. GHe (Talk) 21:00, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. That worked like a charm!
 * Najevi 23:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Affirmative. ;-) Are there more fancy MediaWiki:SomeThing pages that allow to change features and looks? --w-sky 00:21, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, quite a lot of them. See Special:Allmessages for a listing. -- Skiz zerz  00:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

This workaround is a bug, not a feature, and is likely to be fixed soon. We aren't offering monobook as a default skin for most wikis at the moment. The MediaWiki:AdminSkin workaround relies on the system not recognising the skin name, and so falling back to an internal default. Once that's fixed, it will fall back to Monaco rather than Monobook. -- sannse (talk) 14:09, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Well okay, or not. What do you recommend then to do for changing the default skin of a wiki? If I (as wiki administrator) change the skin in preferences, it will only be effective while I am logged in. Not logged in users will still see Monaco, which I don't like, because the Google ads are too obtrusive on top of the page, and not clearly seperated from the wiki content. --w-sky 15:42, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * That is a bit false. On the old Wikia Monobook, the adds are even more "obstrusives" because they reserve an entire column from the top to the bottom of the page while using only a few inches from the top and the rest of the column is lost space. — TulipVorlax


 * Well yes and no, that is true also. But I was talking about my impression. ;-) Concerning the first impression I get when opening a Wikia wiki page, the banner at the top is at most flashy - in an annoying way, because it looks a bit like a headline for the whole page. About the lost column: I don't miss the space, even though I still use a 4:3 display. It is easier to read lines that are not so very long, anyway!
 * But the main question still is, how to set the default skin (any skin) for a wiki, when not using the feature bug? --w-sky 23:36, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * To set defaut skin, on any wikia wikis where you are sysop, you go to the preference > skin and use the select defaut skin combobox at the bottom.
 * Oh, THAT! I was quite confused about that. It was not clear to me that all the selections above (with radio buttons) are correctly affecting my personal preferences only.
 * But at the combobox, I cannot select any other skin than Monaco. The choices are: "Monaco", all 7 color schemes for Monaco & "Custom" (color scheme), and "Default" (which is Monaco Sapphire). --w-sky 14:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Addendum: It still does not work as expected. When I select a color scheme at the combobox, my selection with the radio buttons is ineffective even when I am logged in. I always get Monaco with the chosen default color. --w-sky 14:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
 * And before you ask, recently created wikis dont have the Monobook option and it's normal. Monobook is like, say, Win98; it's old. We could even say that it should not be used anymore. But, like with old Windows version, if an user want to continue using it, he can. He can select Monobook in his preferences.
 * By the way, i have an 1440x900 screen but i set browsers windows to be around 1024 wide. I too find too long lines difficult to read. But i know that many users dont have that problem. My friend has a bigger screen than me and he use all software in full screen...
 * So i understand well that thoses are a matter of preferences. But there's nothing more that can be done. Wikia has develop Quartz, many people complained. So Wikia response was Monaco, people still complain. Complaining is our right, but our right end where the rights of our fellow citizen begin...
 * I hope i dont shock you... — TulipVorlax 02:11, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
 * No, that was not shocking yet. I just did not know that Monaco is not just preset, but specification for the public view of a wiki. I would like to have more freedom, like creating a custom skin, not just skin color (if one can (I can't)), use the "original" (boring but serious) Wikipedia skin - or moving the Google ad to the bottom. ;-)
 * I understand now that there are reasons to put a banner at the top rather than at the side, other than to make it most noticable. How about two versions of the skin, Monaco A with a top banner and Monaco B with a side banner? --w-sky 14:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)