Query about theme options

[Dave J]

Morning all

I have a query about the member theme options that can bee seen in Admin.

According to the list various members currently using their own options. But when I go into the database and look at the members table the ID themes for each show different numbers than shown in Admin.

Can anyone explain why please?

I ask because if no one is using a theme then I can disable or delete it. But with different readings I cannot tell who is or is not using a theme and I don't want to change members settings

Also what is theme '0'?

[Arantor]

What query did you use for the first screenshot?

[Dave J]

What query did you use for the first screenshot?

I didn't use a query Arantor that is a screengrab of the members table

[Steve]

I ask because if no one is using a theme then I can disable or delete it. But with different readings I cannot tell who is or is not using a theme and I don't want to change members settings

Maybe I'm not understanding but if you go to your own profile -> look and layout -> change, besides each theme's name is the the number of member's using it.

That doesn't take into account those of us who like to switch themes occasionally.

[Arantor]

Well, the picture on the right isn't telling you how many people are currently using the theme. That's literally not what it's telling you.

It's telling you that, at some point, some people used those other themes and while using them, set some preferences.

You could, if you could be bothered, sit and work out "well, this person is using theme x now but previously used themes y and z because they have preferences set for them" but in practice this is largely a waste of everyone's time.

What's relevant is not how many people have *preferences* set, but simply how many people are using what theme right now.

SELECT id_theme, COUNT(id_theme) FROM smf_members GROUP BY id_theme

0 for id_theme means whatever the forum default is set to. Themes no-one is using will have a 0 in the count column, unless that happens to be the theme set as default.

You may decide that a theme used by sufficiently few people is also grounds for deletion; you are providing a space and a service, you do not need to offer every possible choice.

[Dave J]

I ask because if no one is using a theme then I can disable or delete it. But with different readings I cannot tell who is or is not using a theme and I don't want to change members settings

Maybe I'm not understanding but if you go to your own profile -> look and layout -> change, besides each theme's name is the the number of member's using it.

That doesn't take into account those of us who like to switch themes occasionally.

Thanks Steve, I've never noticed that before and it does match what is in the members table.

==============

Arantor,

I thing I understand what your saying but to go a step further, if I have understood you correctly; what's the point of knowing what someone did rather than what they're doing now?

[Arantor]

That's my point: you're looking at a screen that *can only ever tell you vague data*.

It's not telling you how many users are using those themes, merely "some users have preferences in these themes" - the leap of "the numbers don't match up" is not one SMF is making, it's giving you two basically unrelated data points. Any inferences drawn on these are, well, inferences and about as accurate.

[Dave J]

That's my point: you're looking at a screen that *can only ever tell you vague data*.

It's not telling you how many users are using those themes, merely "some users have preferences in these themes" - the leap of "the numbers don't match up" is not one SMF is making, it's giving you two basically unrelated data points. Any inferences drawn on these are, well, inferences and about as accurate.

Thanks Arantor