SWRP chaos app suggestion/question

[Sanya Val Lerium]

it may have been suggested be for so I do apologies if it has.

as I use only mobile and tablet to do my daily role plays I find it abit of a daunting task having to constantly zoom in and out and certain things won't work because of been on a phone. I have attempted the said 'mobile friendly' version but it's so restricted it's pointless. so to make the site more appealing to the mobile users current and new, would it be possible for and app version of the site for both android and apple? not only would it make it easier for mobile users but it would also bring more attention to the site.

(not sure how this particular site works but everything is a possibly)

 

[Boethiah]

[member="Sanya Val Lerium"]

The mobile version of the website is part of the reactive framework that comes with the IP Board suite. I assume your complaint is in the limited features of the text editor? From a user-experience point of view mobile versions are not entirely ideal because of limitations on small touchscreen devices. Forums are simply not -- and never were -- optimized for smallscreen mobile devices. The mobile version of the site is as good as it'll get.

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

I do tend to use the desktop version of the site (thanks to that handy button I'm my browser settings) and I'm not really complaining, after all I've now done 354 posts with out a problem. I just think it should be something that would be worth sitting down and talking about (over Skype) between all mighty tef, founders and admins. after all it's a new path could be a good or bad thing. [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

I'd tag him but I know he isn't a fan of been tagged in these things.

 

[Boethiah]

[member="Sanya Val Lerium"]

Let me clarify: It's not really as possible as you think it is. There's a reason why all mobile versions are reactive and basic; mobile devices simply don't have the technology to operate a fully-fledged forum optimally right now. Even if it was possible, it'd be extremely time consuming to produce a mobile app that's for a small minority of the writers. I've used this website's full version on a 10-inch tablet, it's not that bad; just quirky.

Forgive me if I'm coming across bluntly but programming is not a cake walk. Modifying a web forum is one thing but making an entire application from scratch is entirely different and the mobile version cannot be extensively modified, if at all.

 

[Fatty]

Hehehe, I'm a Founder and I was just invited to a hypothetical skype chat that has something to do with Staff!

Founders are just the first people that were here, they don't have any bearing on what goes on with the site.

Anyway, I think Anja has got this one covered, sorry to say. Though that shouldn't stop staff from thinking about improving the mobile version a little bit

 

[Boethiah]

Though that shouldn't stop staff from thinking about improving the mobile version a little bit

^ This. Assuming it can be done. Don't write me off as a pessimist, though. It's just that it's really not easy.

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] don't worry your not been blunt at all I know programming is hard from personal experience, I even struggled making a tic tac toe game when I was on computer science a 2 year ago, but I also know that there is many web development kits that do have the option of making a site into an app at the click of a button (like adobe deamweaver cs6 for a lame example) and like many apps in this kind the content is still been pulled off the internet just in a better format for phones/tablets. I even asked an old tutor if it's possible and the answer was yes, as I've been thinking about this alot recently.

 

[Boethiah]

[member="Sanya Val Lerium"]

Yes, but the thing is IP Board is a proprietary software. Even if Tefka had the time to put in that much effort and knew the necessary languages (not saying he doesn't) -- or any of the admins for that matter -- they couldn't make their own runaway version of the forum suite. What you're asking for would require them to begin via scratch to develop their own framework or switch to an existing one that allows what you're asking for. It's merely unrealistic.

Edit: With that said I'm going to leave it at that, I'm sure others might have something to chime in.

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] all I know is IOS apps use -C and androids use Java, C and C++. I have attempted to research this myself but me and code are not friends.

 

[Tefka]

I'd tag him but I know he isn't a fan of been tagged in these things.

Not a fan because this kinda thread isn't a high priority - but doesn't mean I won't read it.

 

[Tefka]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] all I know is IOS apps use -C and androids use Java, C and C++. I have attempted to research this myself but me and code are not friends.

Staff manages the site, I'm in charge of the back-end and design. A few problems with this.

1. IOS & Google Developers need to pay money to even submit apps.

https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/ - $99 /year

http://developer.android.com/distribute/googleplay/start.html$25

2. SWRP makes zero money.

3. SWRP's only server admin is also it's only designer. Application development would need to be outsourced. At a minimum, average price ranges start at $500. Complex requirements such as the Character system, our page system, our menu... all of this would cost. I could easily see this going into the thousands.

4. I would need to worry about updating and maintaining the application.

5. Vbulletin offers a "mobile app" with their forum suite, but it's a sham... and costs an arm and a leg:

http://www.vbulletin.com/en/mobile/- $199

6. I understand the market for internet activity is moving towards mobile devices. It's predicted by the mid-2020's that literally everyone on Earth will have or will have had possessed a cell phone. People are always on the move. An app is a nice idea, but not our answer.

Responsive design is our answer to mobile users, and we're moving towards the goal of achieving it. It's a distant goal on our road map, but it's there.

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

[member="Tefka"] ouch that's a lot and now I see why.

Thanks for clarifying this subject for me (and others other there) and I'll look forward to this distant goal.