Are changes to the template necessary to make a complete mod?

[Sarge]

I'm finishing a conversion of Shared Forum Mod to SMF and SMF+TinyPortal. Basically, this mod provides multiple forums based on one database, one install and one set of users.

In SMF, a series of buttons/links  for each (sub)forum need to be added to the homepage. If SMF has the TinyPortal mod installed, the FORUM button added by TP will also be removed/modified.

Should I make my mod add those buttons to the template, to make it complete and ready for approval? Or could I just let the admin install those buttons/links themselves?

If my mod should add those buttons, what is the best way to do that? I'm thinking of converting the FORUM button to a two-tier suckerfish horizontal drop-down menu, with each subforum name in the submenu. Or is there an acceptable (perhaps easier) alternative?

Here are some examples of the horizontal suckerfish menu I'm talking about:
http://www.zeriyt.com/ (hold your mouse over Joomla's Forum menu to see the horizontal submenu)
http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=48739.0
http://weblens.org/templates/sample_menu.html
http://mondaybynoon.com/examples/suckerfish_hoverlightbox_redux/
http://demo.rockettheme.com/jul06/index.php (choose Lime in Variation Chooser at left to show the SuperSucker menu.)

[Kindred]

just out of curiosity, why did you set up a second forum account?

[Sarge]

just out of curiosity, why did you set up a second forum account?

Because I want to use a separate support account for all my SMF mods and Joomla modules. Is it allowed?

[Sarge]

Anyone?

[Sarge]

*bump*

[Kindred]

if there are changes to the theme (like additional buttons), then yes, the template changes should be part of the mod package. (typically done for only the default theme)