Mobile Devices and MyBB

[Bowser]

I had a look at this site with my Android phone, the two didn't blend well.  Having been working with phpBB, one of my main concerns was making my forum/site compatible with mobile devices.  What are your future plans if any?  Is there a patch that you can use to make SciVillage more  compatible with mobile devices?  The issue seems important these days, since everyone has his/her face in their phone. 

[stryder]

I've slowly been building a Responsive theme for just such an occasion. Unfortunately it's no where near ready yet and there is no real ETA.

The design I have been working on is suppose to be easier to use, however it's trying to actually make sure that the script's used are compatible with phones etc.

[stryder]

Okay I've setup something that "might" do the job (although it doesn't have all the functionality of the normal site). It's a little different from a theme method of handling it, so there isn't any way to pick if you want to use it.

Feedback on if it works and how well would be greatly appreciated. (I'll still work on a responsive design in the background, just in case this solution fails.)

Incidentally if it doesn't automatically find itself in the mobile format, the mobile address is http://mobile.scivillage.com

[Bowser]

I just came home from work but will give it a look later

[elte]

I guess I have been doing better in regard to viewing on my hand held device since I use an eight inch tablet, the relatively larger size of which, seems to help the regular non-mobile aspect of the site work well on the Android 4 (something) on this tablet.  I use my tablet for browsing forums, always connected to the power supply, to lessen wear on my relatively pricey desktop PC, which I use almost exclusively for running free analog electronics circuit design software (LTspice program).

[Secular Sanity]

It looks like the two most important items are missing.  How do you join?  How do you find the most recent posts?  Access to the most recent posts needs to be on the opening page and in plain sight.  It’s way too time consuming to sift through all the categories.  The desktop style option is nice, though.  I would put the login, join, and most recent posts where the index is, with each having their own link, not hidden within the index. 

BTW, Bowser.  It takes a lot effort and time to create content.  C C has done a wonderful job here.  How about giving Stryder’s forum a try and sticking around here for a while?  This forum seems to have everything that you’ve been looking for and he seems like a pretty easy going guy.

[C C]

I use my tablet for browsing forums, always connected to the power supply, to lessen wear on my relatively pricey desktop PC, which I use almost exclusively for running free analog electronics circuit design software (LTspice program).

Price is one reason why we switched to refurbished desktops (and laptops) / monitors. Every one that we've got looks and performs like it's brand new, though I know it depends on what company / refurbisher they come from. A few individuals do wind-up with stinkers, but they can usually be returned. We got a super-cheap 21-inch refurbished Acer monitor recently that many recipients were posting negative comments about, but discovered that the washed-out colors were the result of them not adjusting the brightness and contrast down to much lower levels. After adjustments the image quality is great (definitely not a monitor to accept the default or out of the box settings on).

---

It looks like the two most important items are missing.  How do you join?  How do you find the most recent posts?  Access to the most recent posts needs to be on the opening page and in plain sight.  It’s way too time consuming to sift through all the categories.  The desktop style option is nice, though.  I would put the login, join, and most recent posts where the index is, with each having their own link, not hidden within the index. 

Egads. The basic mobile template that MyBB Groups provides (before owner modifications) looks like a return to the stone-age of the internet. I'd almost suggest still making the desktop version the default for mobile users, with the mobile version a very prominently displayed option for phone users to switch to (if that's possible to include via the desktop mode). I waited for a PC just to return and make these posts.

[stryder]

The main problem of course in regards to design is trying to cater not just to different platforms but how those platforms are applied.

For instance if you are visiting via phone, but aren't using a wifi hotspot, then the site could cost a lot of money if the theme is too heavily coded or contains too many images (suggests using a barebones template). If you are using a hotspot then that isn't the issue (responsive design) and then of course if you are on a tablet or desktop the standard design (or responsive design) should be able to handle it.

The best answer will likely therefore be two or three different themes rather than forcing one catch all for mobiles (which this is currently being tested, although I don't think it's the best solution)

[Bowser]

The best answer will likely therefore be two or three different themes rather than forcing one catch all for mobiles (which this is currently being tested, although I don't think it's the best solution)

I just gave it a look on my Android phone...looks really good. I did notice that the videos don't reduce to fit within the screen. I ran into this problem with phpBB. I found some code on one of their community support forums that fixed the problem.

In the long run, I doubt many would want to post from their phone and would probably just use it to look at current posts. Regarding the themes, does php really generate that much data?

[stryder]

The best answer will likely therefore be two or three different themes rather than forcing one catch all for mobiles (which this is currently being tested, although I don't think it's the best solution)

I just gave it a look on my Android phone...looks really good.  I did notice that the videos don't reduce to fit within the screen.  I ran into this problem with phpBB.  I found some code on one of their community support forums that fixed the problem.

In the long run, I doubt many would want to post from their phone and would probably just use it to look at current posts.  Regarding the themes, does php really generate that much data?

It works out the page loads between 0.5mb and 1mb, so data plans could be effected with prolific surfing.