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04:59, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

mobile site / stylesheet.

Posted by derfinsterling
derfinsterling
member, 11 posts
Wed 27 Aug 2014
at 07:55
  • msg #1

mobile site / stylesheet

I find myself using my phone or tablet more and more to access rpol.
It would be great, if there was a mobile site with limited functionality, but optimized for mobile devices.

I'm thinking: browse your games only (no searching for new games) for example.

I'm typing this on my phone right now and the size works... But a mobile site would enhance the experience even more.
bigbadron
moderator, 14644 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 27 Aug 2014
at 08:23

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

m.rpol.net might be what you are looking for, and already exists.
derfinsterling
member, 12 posts
Wed 27 Aug 2014
at 08:59
  • msg #3

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

m.rpol.net loads no differently than plan rpol.net on my phones.
DarkLightHitomi
member, 693 posts
Thu 28 Aug 2014
at 15:07
  • msg #4

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

For my phones I can set the settings to load webpages in a number of ways including mobile, desktop, etc. You might try checking and changing that setting.
derfinsterling
member, 13 posts
Thu 28 Aug 2014
at 17:46
  • msg #5

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

I did a few more tests.
I tried three different browsers on two phones (both android). Two of the browsers were clean installs.
Chrome, Dolphin and Firefox.
Regardless of what I put in front of "rpol.net", it always loads the full desktop site.
I tried:
m.rpol.net
mobile.rpol.net
I even tried "derfinsterling.rpol.net"
All of those las the standard web site.

To me, it looks as if the redirect doesn't work.
DarkLightHitomi
member, 699 posts
Thu 28 Aug 2014
at 19:37
  • msg #6

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

You have to check the settings of the browser.

For example, Dolphin,
I go to settings and select "User Agent" and in there I can select
Android,
Desktop,
iPhone,
iPad, and
Custom.

I have no idea what Custom is for but if I select Desktop, the browser will always try to grab the desktop site instead of the mobile site.

Firefox has a checkbox "Always show desktop site."

So check your settings.
derfinsterling
member, 14 posts
Fri 29 Aug 2014
at 06:47
  • msg #7

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

Thanks, but I tried that already. I also just re-installed Dolphin again and went through all the user agents, including custom: mobile.

Same difference.
locojedi
member, 32 posts
Fri 29 Aug 2014
at 15:10
  • msg #8

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

I strongly support a look at modifying the m.rpol.net stylesheet and/or layout. I've posted the following here before somewhere, and with the huge surge in the number of folks accessing the web with mobile devices, I think a few tweaks could really tighten up the site.

locojedi:
I have a suggestion/feature request involving the layout. It seems to me that there is wasted space on a small screen (mobile devices), for the Game Menu screens.

I wonder how difficult it might be for the m.rpol.net domain to have the "Latest Comment" column swapped with the "Author" column?

So then the Game Menu screen would look something like the following:
Topic | Latest Comment | Replies | Author

-or-

Topic | Latest Comment | Author | Replies

Either way, with limited screen real estate, having the pertinent info (that is, after all, the whole reason we want a mobile app) quickly and easily viewable, much more desirable.  Here's why:  For many people using the unofficial rpol mobile app (Awesome btw on Android), they use it as an alert for updates. If the columns were layed out as I propose, it would me much easier for a person to look at the screen and see which threads had new comments, and who made them and how long ago... this would be especially useful for folks who use both the regular website as well as the mobile version and play in several games.

Consider this: If we are already in a game, we don't need to be reminded who the author is all the time, so that info should go at the end (far right) on the mobile version of the site. The regular site could change or stay the same, doesn't matter because on a full screen (ie laptop) you can see the entire menu, which is not so much the case with a smartphone...  Clear as mud? ;-) Thanks for the consideration.


After thinking about this more, I would ask you to consider removing the "Author" column entirely from the Game Menu screen. I doubt any of us really need to be constantly reminded who it was that created all the game threads. I would say in most circumstances here on rpol those will always be GM/DM/LM/LL/ST/ETC. I think it's repetitive and unnecessary because we really don't need that bit of info.

So I guess, for my humble suggestion, I would like the Game Menu screen to look like the following, doing away with the "Author" column:
Topic | Latest Comments | Replies


@derfinsterling - You might consider using the unofficial rpol app for getting your updates. I've found it very helpful.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 15:51, Fri 29 Aug 2014.
cruinne
moderator, 6532 posts
what DO you do with
a drunken sailor?
Fri 29 Aug 2014
at 15:41

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

A site suitable for mobile really is quite a bit more than removing a column here and changing a width there.  It takes a structural re-design of all the possible pages RPoL produces.

So: it's not that we don't know it's difficult on mobile devices right now.  The current layout was never, ever designed with anything but desktops in mind, and is from an era where IE 5 and 6 were the very-vast bulk of the browsing traffic.

I can say that work toward a mobile-appropriate layout is in consideration, but it is taking and will take some time further to come to any acceptable conclusion.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:43, Fri 29 Aug 2014.
steelsmiter
member, 1161 posts
GURPS, FFd6, Pathfinder
NO FREEFORM!
Fri 29 Aug 2014
at 17:17
  • msg #10

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

In reply to cruinne (msg # 9):

If it's any consolation, RPoL is the only site on my tablet that continually works right (minor font related issues aside) Mind you, I have a keyboard dock.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:18, Fri 29 Aug 2014.
LoreGuard
member, 561 posts
Sat 30 Aug 2014
at 00:38
  • msg #11

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

I agree... that likely... a good mobile implementation would be more than moving a few things around.  It would likely involve taking portions of existing pages, and making them sub-options or sub-pages of existing ones.

Many items on the top might be gotten to by following a link on the top for 'navigation'

Rather than having
Author block | Message block

I imagine it might end up being something more like
Author block
------------
Message block

Although if the mobile site presumed some higher degree of javascript, you might be able to do something to have the layout change if you change from landscape to portrait.  That might be a really nice feature.
locojedi
member, 33 posts
Sat 30 Aug 2014
at 05:58
  • msg #12

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

cruinne:
A site suitable for mobile really is quite a bit more than removing a column here and changing a width there.  It takes a structural re-design of all the possible pages RPoL produces.

Yes, I totally understand that, but... between some future point when Jase and the gang have the time, money and energy to revamp a new-true mobile version, switching those columns for the m.rpol.net domain shouldn't be too hard, and it would help those of us who use small screens...

And really, is there a demand for having the thread author on that page? My guess is that is a hold-over relic from the long past when forums were invented. I'd love to know the reasoning behind why that's still around, seems redundant/superfluous to me...

I'm not passing off a true mobile version of the site as a trivial thing, just trying to point out a simple, relatively easy step in that direction which might help at least a little until such a day as the real mobile site becomes something more than a myth and a rumor... ;-) Bless you all who work on this site, and please take this as only constructively offered.
LoreGuard
member, 562 posts
Sat 30 Aug 2014
at 14:28
  • msg #13

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

In reply to locojedi (msg # 12):

In one GM games... yes, that field probably has less meaning... but in multi-gm games, it might be very relevant.  In forums, it also would like have good value.  At present, I think the design is to treat them pretty much the same.  However, if redesigned, it might be something to look at for games.
cruinne
moderator, 6534 posts
what DO you do with
a drunken sailor?
Sat 30 Aug 2014
at 14:39

Re: mobile site / stylesheet

In reply to locojedi (msg # 12):

Relative ease is in the eye of the beholder (and usually one that doesn't know the code base or have access to it, or have truly any idea how trivial any change really is).

I can say that if I were jase, I'd rather not make adjustments here and there but get it all done at once, especially since I wasn't being paid and there's only so much time that the limited amount of it is better spent working on a permanent fix rather than a short term one that's only going to fix the layout for a small portion of users on mobile devices over a certain size.

But that's just what I think :-P  He mau feel different.
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