Talk:Theme (computing)

I made the picture smaller. Anyone wants to see the gigantic picture, they can click the thumbnail. I'm on 1024 x 768 which isn't that small, and the picture screws up Wikipedia's format. 71.126.151.104 14:54, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Merge Skin (computing) and Theme (computing) articles?
Theme (computing) and Skin (computing), merging ? 16@r 23:11, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
 * As mentioned in the article, a skin is typically for an individual application or portion of the user experience, while a theme combines many skins for different areas. Some may confuse the terms, but they are not regularly used to mean the same thing in the skinning community. The picture could do with improvement, as it does not really demonstrate that there is a wide variety of applications that may be included in a single theme. GreenReaper 23:37, 7 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Weak oppose Hi. Theme and skin have an overlapping area but are not the same things. Skin is only a subset of theme that focuses on changing the user interface elements. Theme, however, applies to documents (e.g. Word 2007 themes) and workspace (e.g. Windows 98 or Notepad++ themes). So, yes, a theme may contain skins too.


 * Example: Windows 7's skin is called Aero Glass, but it should not be mistaken with its built-in themes called Architecture, Characters, Landscapes, Nature and Scenes. Also Word 2013 has three skins (White, Light Gray and Dark Gray) but a lot of themes like Facet, Ion, Integral, Banded, Basis, Berlin, etc. (Of course, in Office 2013, both of these are called "Office Themes"!) Best regards, Codename Lisa (talk) 17:30, 12 November 2013 (UTC)


 * weak oppose Yes, they're overlapping but different. Skins are applied "outside" an application and "wrap" that application in an appearance that affects most or all of it.  Themes are more like toolboxes of gadgets - they affect the internal components (such as icon or button sets) and they usally spread across a whole desktop, not just one application.
 * This is a subtle distinction and it will need sources to support any definition given, but I think there's enough distance between them to support separate articles. Viam Ferream (talk) 10:43, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

Revisit the merge
I think, years later, it's worth revisiting this. Neither article does a decent job (or any job) clarifying what the distinction between the two is supposed to be, and indeed in looking for sources it seems like themes/skins are used interchangeably (hell, both articles are using the exact same image as the lead.) The only specific places where it seems like there's a distinction are in certain specific applications, which aren't really covered by these articles anyhow. A single article covering the vernacular, while disambiguating the certain situations where themes and skins refer to different things, seems like a better option with reduced redundancy. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs talk 15:01, 19 May 2022 (UTC)


 * @David Fuchs, I wonder if we should just merge whatever is relevant in the Skin article into the Theme article, and then rewrite Skin to just be about video game cosmetics? There are a lot of sources about them and now that we're a few years from the original merge discussion, any reliable sources talking about "skins" in a computing sense are likely talking about video games. Agree that other than that particular use, I don't think the articles stand up well on their own. Alyo  (chat·edits) 19:47, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * It certainly seems like these days "skins" are much more about game cosmetics. But at that point I think it would make sense to just point the skin to skin gambling, since it doesn't seem like there would be a lot of content that can or should exist apart from the legal issues, which seem to generate the sourcing. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs  talk 20:26, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Support merge as originally proposed, of merging Theme (computing) and Skin (computing), perhaps to Theme (computing) as the broader concept. Video gaming use can be covered in another section (as it already is at Skin (computing), and that can certainly link to skin gambling. The primary reason for the merge would be overlap. Klbrain (talk) 13:45, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Support Merge per reasons above Quinnerwinner12 (talk) 09:13, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

Theme pack and Theme (computing) merging?
I don't know. --Patrick Maitland 18:47, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

"MapleStory" theme?
The article has a picture entitled "MapleStory Theme".

...looks to me like a Windows Server 2003 installation with the Watercolor visual-style (created by Microsoft in late 2000 for beta Windows XP, it was never officially released) and a MapleStory wallpaper. The icons are all stock.

I vouch replacing it with a screenshot from a "real" themed desktop, not just a changed wallpaper and first-party skin. Who remembers those cool "Desktop Themes" that came with Windows 98/Plus 98? I liked the space ones :)

W3bbo 23:13, 16 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I always liked the 16-bit chess image they had in Windows 3.0 . . . GreenReaper 23:45, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes yes yes yes yes. It seems to me that's a really lame excuse for a "theme". It make way more sense to eliminate those images, and have a photo gallery at the bottom of the page showing various themes. Themes from Windows, Linux, Mac (do they have themes?), whatever else. If no one else says no, I'll go ahead and make some changes. There's a lot of themes out there. --Tech Nerd 04:22, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Vista6000-notify.png
Image:Vista6000-notify.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

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BetacommandBot 22:03, 25 October 2007 (UTC)