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shifuimam · Aug 19, 2009, 08:03 PM

With everyone and their brother (especially here) owning iPhones, what do you admins think about installing a vBulletin module that makes 'NN more mobile-friendly?

I found one from some quick googling here:

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=151186

This one seems to be more geared toward WAP phones, but it's a start. I, for one, would really like such a feature.

ghporter · Aug 19, 2009, 09:29 PM

Take a look at the iPhone forum using your iPhone. Much better than the other forums, right? Unfortunately, it was done as a test and the coder for that test is no longer with MacNN. We're working on this issue, really. But it isn't exactly trivial to keep our "look and feel" in the mobile format.

By the way, ours is customized for MacNN, in part because our version of vBulletin is itself more than a little tweaked.

shifuimam · Aug 19, 2009, 09:34 PM

Yeah, I can imagine that it's not goig to be a very easy job to do, but it's good to know that you're working on making the forum more mobile-friendly.

Incidentally, the forum's theme works perfectly well in WaMCom on OS 9, although the JavaScripty-login link doesn't work. It's still better than phpBB3 - its default theme is COMPLETELY broken in WaMCom and Netscape 7.

subego · Aug 20, 2009, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Take a look at the iPhone forum using your iPhone. Much better than the other forums, right?

Looks the same to me.

Simon · Aug 21, 2009, 05:01 AM

Originally Posted by subego

Looks the same to me.

Same here. My 3G running OS 3 Safari doesn't display that section any different than the other sections.

reader50 · Aug 21, 2009, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Take a look at the iPhone forum using your iPhone. ...

Glenn was referring to the beta test forum, rather than the live iPhone forum, sorry for the confusion. I've added shifuimam to the beta access list, so she can poke a stick at it.

It does have a generic mobile theme applied, but it's a long ways from production-ready. The complete lack of moderation controls would hamstring us with regards to spam attacks, for example. Further work on it got stalled when the person who was going to do it vanished.

The mobile theme is coming, but it looks to be awhile longer.

ghporter · Aug 21, 2009, 08:26 PM

DOH! I goofed again. Sorry.

Been too busy to look at much of anything lately, (including checking what I write about) so I'm going to sort of relax and recuperate over the weekend...

ajprice · Sep 17, 2009, 11:47 AM

A suggestion for iPhone formatted forums - Tapatalk - Online Community at your fingertips!

Another forum I go to is registered with this, and it converts the forums into iPhone format when accessed through the app and works pretty well. OK there won't be any graphics in it to look like MacNN but it carries over PM's into the apps 'Inbox', subscribed threads, new posts and writing new threads and replies. The viewer app for the iPhone is £1.79 / $2.99. The site says vBulletin 3.8 is supported, and registering the forum with Tapatalk is free, so its got to be worth a shot?

Rumor · Sep 17, 2009, 08:48 PM

Meh. Being that the iPhone has a full browser, I wouldn't pay that for an app to view it in a mobile friendly format, especially lacking the support for viewing pictures.

ghporter · Sep 17, 2009, 10:04 PM

Mobile friendly can also mean "you don't have to expand the display and look at a postage stamp-sized piece of the page at a time." I like that.

ajprice · Sep 18, 2009, 02:57 AM

It does support viewing pictures.

A list of thumbnails are displayed just like a photo album. And viewing them full screen on iPhone is as simple as tapping on the thumbnail.

Railroader · Sep 18, 2009, 07:52 AM

I can't even log into the forums with Safari on my iPhone. Just hitting the log in tab causes Safari to crash. It's the only website that causes crashing on my iPhone 3G. I have tried restoring and restarting multiple times.

I'd LOVE a mobile friendly version. Heck, even a iPhone Safari friendly version.

ghporter · Sep 18, 2009, 09:29 AM

RR, try to post while not logged in. You'll be redirected to a page that lets you log in normally-and remember to check "remember me." There's some odd bug in iPhone Safari that makes it crash with the forum's dropdown login code, but the redirected login works fine. Yes, a bug report has been filed.

Jan 5, 2011, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Rumor

Meh. Being that the iPhone has a full browser, I wouldn't pay that for an app to view it in a mobile friendly format, especially lacking the support for viewing pictures.

I would. Convenience is worth a measily one time expenditure of 3 bucks.

I realize this is an old thread, but worth resurrecting - I'd like to see Tapatalk support.

turtle777 · Jan 5, 2011, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by hayesk

I'd like to see Tapatalk support.

Seconded. What would it take for 'NN to become supported by Tapatalk ?

I assume it shoudl be far less work than creating a hole new mobile-friendly version from scratch.

-t

lpkmckenna · Jan 6, 2011, 06:28 PM

Forums everywhere look like crap on mobile phones. On the iPhone, not being about to adjust the font size independently makes many forums like Fark and Slashdot and Reddit very hard to use. I don't even bother using MacNN from my iPhone 3G anymore, just too painful.

Shaddim · May 13, 2011, 02:17 AM

Another vote for Tapatalk support. Is it possible?

Shaddim · May 21, 2011, 11:57 PM

Nothing? Is it possible?

imitchellg5 · May 22, 2011, 06:23 PM

If you believe something will happen, it will happen.
Unless it's a mobile version of MacNN.

turtle777 · May 22, 2011, 06:57 PM

Yeah, *something* always happens, but it's not what you wanted.

-t

besson3c · May 24, 2011, 02:19 PM

If it were my site I don't think I would just pass off the mobile client to Tapatalk, I think I would optimize this site for mobile devices so that all of the MacNN branding remains intact. However, I'd imagine that supporting these sorts of clients is just a matter of exposing the RSS and massaging it to suit which would probably not be hard for those that want to use these sorts of clients.

If a redesign is in the works, I'd love to ditch the table layout in the template and optimize it some more by making stuff validate so that browsers are not in quirks mode, moving stuff to external assets rather than inline assets, etc. I always find these forums pretty slow to render.

Obviously this isn't my site though (although in some ways it is), and these are just my opinions, yadda yadda, but... Just consider this my vote as your lifeblood!

Laminar · May 26, 2011, 04:26 PM

Are none of you in the secret MacNN Mobile beta?

Railroader · May 26, 2011, 06:26 PM

SHHHH!!!! www.undergroundnn.net

brassplayersrock² · May 27, 2011, 12:49 AM

^tease. That link no workie

I figured that it wouldn't

Railroader · May 28, 2011, 06:38 PM

Your doing it wrong looser.

imitchellg5 · May 28, 2011, 07:24 PM

Laminar · Jun 1, 2011, 06:29 AM

OAW · Jul 11, 2011, 12:36 PM

Count me in among those waiting on a mobile friendly version of the forums. Or a native iPhone app. Something!

OAW

shifuimam · Jul 12, 2011, 04:44 PM

There is a mobile version of the site that's in beta. It's REALLY beta, too.

I haven't touched it in awhile. Tapatalk is probably the best route to go, provided that it's free...