My two cents...
A standard set of css variables may make sense as long as they are named and used based on intent i.e. __black__ is meaningless for somebody who changes it to a new color. __body_text_color__ on the other hand describes the intent of the variable. This usually means a few more variables, but makes changing a look much easier. Thus we would need variables that are common in most templates and should be documented as required for templates and available for plugin developers: __body_text_color__ __body_bg_color__ __link_color__ __link_color_visited__ __link_color_hover__ __link_color_active__ __header_bg_color__ __header_text_color__ __footer_text_color__ ...
Its just a matter of defining what variables are critical. This should make it easier for plugin developers too to keep with the intent of the template developer...martin -- DokuWiki mailing list - more info at http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:mailinglist