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NOTICE: These guidelines are now outdated. Please refer to our updated guidelines. Thanks!--
There have been some questions recently regarding the approval of themes submitted to the
Theme Site, but many of them have a few issues within them and I though we should share.
Here are a few guidelines that themes must follow before we can approve them.
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No Hard coded strings in the templates, and English strings/buttons must be provided by defaultAll text must be in the language files. If your theme uses new strings not provided by default in SMF then, create a ./languages
/ThemeStrings.language.php file (or create your own ./languages
/ThemeStrings.language.php.) An English version of any new strings must be provided, but you can include other languages as well if you wish.
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Themes must not violate copyrightsAuthors of themes that make use of resources created by others need to make sure they are respecting the license of those items. If a license for an item you want to use is not posted, you must contact the creator and obtain permission. If a copyright violation is reported about a theme you have posted, the theme will be removed until you fix the infringement. Repeated instances may result in a permanent ban from posting themes.
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Use of Simple Machines default artworkYou have permission to use the artwork that is bundled with SMF for use in custom themes for the system. Use of the artwork in other software must be approved by Simple Machines LLC.
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Templates must contain valid HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.0 TransitionalTemplate files must be valid to HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.0 Transitional. Tags must be in lowercase, and line breaks (<br>) must be closed (<br />), for more information
this should help for XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
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Only include the edited filesThere is no need to include all the template and language files if they have not been edited, SMF will automatically call for the default template if the template is not present in your theme. The same for language files, the only language file that is required is Settings.language.php
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Easy Readability For Quick EditingThemes must have readable code and conform to SMF coding guidelines as much as possible. For example you shouldn't have a whole stylesheet class on one line.
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Theme descriptions must be in English:For a vast majority of users, English is the first language spoken and in most cases the only language spoken. For this reason, the English description must be listed first. However, other languages may be provided below, and must be labeled to which language it is.
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Valid Version TagThe version tag in the theme_info.xml MUST be represent the version of SMF that the theme is for.
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VariationsFor themes with multiple colour variations, they should all be within the same theme entry. Multiple packages are okay, though all variants in one package using a multi-colour dropdown or click boxes is preferred.
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If you're contacted about any of the above points:If you get contacted about any of the above points from the Customize Team, then your response must be in English. If it is NOT in English, you
may be contacted again for an English translation. Contact the local moderator of your language for a translation if you need help. Also please be aware that all non-English replies will place your theme at the end of the approval list.
NOTE: It has also come to attention that some members have been contacting team members to get their theme approved quicker. When you do this, we will move your theme to the end of the list of themes awaiting approval. If the theme hasn't been approved for two weeks, you are welcome to make a post about it without any consequences.
Thanks
Tema Kabul Şartları (Turkish)Vodic za odobrenje Teme (Serbian)Pedoman Persetujuan Tema (Indonesian)Auteurs de Thèmes: Directives d'approbation des Thèmes (French)Linee guida per l' approvazione dei temi (Italian)Autores de Temas: Regras para Aprovação pelo SMF (Portuguese) Temadesigners: Riktlinjer för godkänning av teman (Swedish/Danish/Norwegian)Theme Autoren: Richtlinien für Theme Freigaben (German)