Yoder Smokers Community Forum

There are two observations/suggestions I would offer up.


1. Am I the only one that gets inconsistent screen rendering on the mobile site? Seems to cut off half the screen sometimes and doesn't really allow for scrolling.

2. In my experience the most successful start up forums have fewer sub-forums. One thing that makes a community like this thrive and grow is high levels of interaction amongst members. Having so many sub forums may over-compartmentalize the activity. I think to start you could have just a few sub-forums. Cookers, Recipes/Show off what you cooked, and competition results. I think it would drive activity and build the "community" feeling faster.

Just my 2 cents.

Agreed on the mobile site. I also like the idea of fewer sub forms

There isn't a separate mobile site. The forum software designers say that it isn't needed as it works well on all browsers. I have not experienced what you have described on either my android or my iPhone. Have you tried restarting the phone or clearing history, etc. to see it that makes a difference?

We struggled with what to include on the forum. We settled on what you see now, because it mirrored http://www.yodersmokers.com, with the minimal additions we felt needed to be included.

I see the problem using a mobile device, assumed is was a blackberry issue. It looks like it depends on formatting of the post. Just a guess.

I also see the point on the sub forums.

Overall the forum looks great. I love the view unread posts, view new posts and view your posts shortcuts. The ease of loading pics is also a good thing.

I don't know what an Abilene is but hope to be a Cheyenne soon.

When viewing the forum on my iphone5 some/not all of the replies are half screen, even in the same thread,that's really the only issue I have had

icestud wrote:When viewing the forum on my iphone5 some/not all of the replies are half screen, even in the same thread,that's really the only issue I have had

Yes, this. I was hypothesizing that it had to do with images or odd formatting being included in one of the posts but I didn't verify that. Perhaps if you host images on another site vs. uploading them directly here? Not sure but I've seen it way more than once.

I cleared my cache/cookies/history on my phone so I'll see if that helps but I don't have to do that for other sites.

Are you looking at the forum in portrait mode or turning your phone on its side to look at it in landscape mode?

I was using my phone in landscape mode with the cache/cookies/history cleared

I don't have a problem with the way the forum is structured. It would eventually need to be structured similarly to the same as it is now.

My issue is more one of not being able to find a New Posts button (just show me all of the posts made since I last visited the site, newest first (or sortable)). That forces me to scan every subforum to see if anything changed.

With limited activity on startup, that's not too much of a problem. When this forum gets busier, that'll be a real timewaster...and demotivator to active/regular participation.

In other words, I don't want, nor should I have to care about the structure of the forum, unless I want to start a new thread, and then it should be my responsibility to find a good home (subforum) for it.

Ozric wrote:My issue is more one of not being able to find a New Posts button (just show me all of the posts made since I last visited the site, newest first (or sortable)). That forces me to scan every subforum to see if anything changed.

With limited activity on startup, that's not too much of a problem. When this forum gets busier, that'll be a real timewaster...and demotivator to active/regular participation.

In other words, I don't want, nor should I have to care about the structure of the forum, unless I want to start a new thread, and then it should be my responsibility to find a good home (subforum) for it.

It's on the main index page under the welcome banner. Here is the link to new posts.

search.php?search_id=newposts

There is also a link for unread posts too.

search.php?search_id=unreadposts

Here is a screen shot showing the links. Also, the icons change color when there are unread entries in the sub forums.

Thanks for the photo! I was looking for something a little more obvious. Never even saw those suckers. Thanks again.

Yoder_Herb wrote:There isn't a separate mobile site. The forum software designers say that it isn't needed as it works well on all browsers.

I'm having the same issue using an iPhone 4S as mentioned by others. Specifically, in my case, I've narrowed it down to one key issue. If an individual post contains only formatted text, smilies, etc., I can see it perfectly. If there are any images or attachments, I can only see a portion of it, whether I'm using a portrait or landscape orientation. So, for example, every post by Kirby is only partially visible for me on my phone, I'm guessing because of his signature. Seems that images and attachments are causing a problem for mobile users, at least for some like me. I am using a safari browser on my iPhone. The full site works great for me on Firefox on my PC.

Hope that helps to pinpoint issue for forum software designers or to identify solution for mobile users.

Thx

TJ

I'm looking at the forum on my desktop computer but I have a hard time seeing the date and time stamp which is located on the upper left of every post. White would stand out a lot better against the dark background.

oldsteve

I am having the same only half the screen showing issue. Using an android. It is in both portrait and landscape

Please post a link to the post that you are having issues with, and I will see what I can do, if anything.

Take this thread for example.

I can only read half of Kirby's post a few up on the page...may have something to do with his large signature?

And only half of yours herb where you have the scteenshot .

Another thing to note is I cannot see the left side of the page where the posters username is shown unless I put it in landscape mode and then I lose more of the written content...

It has something to do with the rendering of the page on mobile devices...

OK, I have tested this from an android and from an IPhone...

Yes, Kirby's large signature image is a problem, it is what is causing his posts to be unreadable on mobile devices.

On my post, I can read all of the text that I posted, it is just the picture that is cut off...but that is not a picture at all, it is a thumbnail of the real picture. Tap on the thumbnail, and it will open up the full size picture, which you can zoom in and out of to see it. I guess I could change the thumbnail size, but then you would have to click on every picture to see it, even from the computer, as it would be too small to read. Thumbnails of all pictures are created automatically for all uploaded pictures.

You are correct, if you want to view the forum correctly, you MUST use landscape mode on your mobile devices. No way around this.

Hope this helps.

There is no way around this. That's funny.

let_the_smoke_roll wrote:There is no way around this. That's funny.

A cellphone screen in portrait mode is not physically large enough to display a full screen rendering of text, avatars and images, which is why portrait mode is required. We have looked into the available mobile add-ons for the forum, but all of them pose a security risk to your personal information and to the forum. We will not expose your personal information to security risks, nor weaken the forum security. It seems everyone wants avatars, rank information, etc., which adds to the complexity of the viewable screen on cellphones.

So this is "not funny" at all, but a fact of technology limitations compared to the desired user experience of the forum, with security and protection at the core and functionality limits inherent in the forum software.

Nice try. It's not possible with what you have chosen to use is all you had to say.

I'd say that your sig is an accurate description of yourself. A man's got to know his limitations...

To say that it can't be done is just inaccurate. It can't be done with the software and services they use. It is being done and has been done in lots of other websites. I was just pointing that out. No need to make up "personal info" security claims as the reason that it's impossible to do this when it is being done. No biggy either way.

It's all over my head.