Suggestion App for ScubaBoard

[ScottishTapWater]

It would be great if there was an app for this forum (if there isn't already, I couldn't find one).

If there's an open API I could use, I'd happily make a free one if people were interested.

 

[ScottishTapWater]

Haven't been in software development for a number of years, but ongoing maintenance used to be an issue.

Would building the app include a commitment to keep it current, or is that sort of thing no longer a problem?

Looking at the docs, the API seems like a reasonably stable target. So, unless/until there's a XenForo v3, I don't anticipate there being much of maintenance burden.

Given I'd likely be doing it for free, the commitment would be "I'll do my best" rather than anything firm, but if the owner was amicable to the idea, we could just open source it then the entire burden wouldn't have to fall on me alone.

 

[Rick Brant]

I suspect that it's your preferences setting(s).

View attachment 878278

Right but I am generally not logged in when mobile. I clean cookies etc. very often and so most of the time I am not logged in. I can't imagine a new user or visitor bonding with the site given the ad bombardment.

 

[Wibble]

I block ads network wide so must say I have no idea how bad it is on mobile

On your home network maybe, but not on a mobile phone via the mobile network unless you go via a private VPN at home and through your application firewall. Aside from being extremely advanced infrastructure, this ties you to route back home for all traffic, slowing traffic and a single point of failure.

Most people use standard applications to view the site and the advert blocking features remove the more egregious advertising.

 

[Edward3c]

Haven't been in software development for a number of years, but ongoing maintenance used to be an issue.

Would building the app include a commitment to keep it current, or is that sort of thing no longer a problem?

That was the problem with the BSAC forum (OK not an app), setting up was provided free by members, but ongoing maintenance soon (within 3 years) became costly as the developers lives changed. It got to the stage BSAC needed to spend over £100k to keep it running. Not good use of member’s money considering how few members used the forum; most users where non-BSAC members.

 

[ScottishTapWater]

That was the problem with the BSAC forum (OK not an app), setting up was provided free by members, but ongoing maintenance soon (within 3 years) became costly as the developers lives changed. It got to the stage BSAC needed to spend over £100k to keep it running. Not good use of member’s money considering how few members used the forum; most users where non-BSAC members.

If you ask me it's quite straightforward. We just make clear the app is unofficial and then if it's broken and nobody fixes it, let it die and we're in no different position than we are today. I can't speak for the BSAC forums, but looking at XenForo, it looks pretty stable, so I don't anticipate that being a huge problem. Were the BSAC forums a custom job?

 

[ScottishTapWater]

On your home network maybe, but not on a mobile phone via the mobile network unless you go via a private VPN at home and through your application firewall. Aside from being extremely advanced infrastructure, this ties you to route back home for all traffic, slowing traffic and a single point of failure.

Most people use standard applications to view the site and the advert blocking features remove the more egregious advertising.

Well yes.

Although if I'm honest with you, I'm not sure we should be discussing whether we should build a new feature for a forum based on whether or not that feature facilitates you cutting off a source of revenue for said forum...

 

[Wibble]

Well yes.

Although if I'm honest with you, I'm not sure we should be discussing whether we should build a new feature for a forum based on whether or not that feature facilitates you cutting off a source of revenue for said forum...

There's the other effect of egregious advertising: people walk away from the website.

I subscribe to a couple of 'newspapers'. These have their own (cr)apps which have:

• a lousy layout, not maximising the screen space
• doesn't use common text sizing techniques
• poxy bloody crappy advertising inline with the articles
• spying on your usage
• it's a crapp so it can have access to other aspects of your platform

In short, I absolutely despise crapps as replacement for decent web and UX development.

Alternative: build a proper web page with good CSS and HTML code and lightweight JavaScript which is accessible, does work with your preferred viewing applications (we don't all use Chrome), is highly controlled with the world looking out for hacks on the applications, is basically safe. But most of all it just works in the way the site's designers meant.

On to ScubaBoard. It's using Xenforo which is a standard platform where the templates are lightly tweaked for the look & feel of the website. The pages are well developed and work with most browsers and they are accessible and adaptive to the page width and text font size (keep zooming and the site is still usable -- crapps don't work like that). More importantly, if you grab the edge of the browser and bring it in to, say, 200px, then the site goes into its narrow format using... standard CSS.

Am sorry to lay into these apps, but they have no use given how GOOD the current ScubaBoard HTML page templates are. ScubaBoard staff put a lot of effort in when they upgraded to the current version of Xenforo and the design has been evolving into the very workable format they have.

Wasn't TapaTalk an app that integrated into Xenforo? When I ran/owned/paid for UKDivers.com (now defunct) TapaTalk was a thing.

 

[ScottishTapWater]

There's the other effect of egregious advertising: people walk away from the website.

I subscribe to a couple of 'newspapers'. These have their own (cr)apps which have:

• a lousy layout, not maximising the screen space
• doesn't use common text sizing techniques
• poxy bloody crappy advertising inline with the articles
• spying on your usage
• it's a crapp so it can have access to other aspects of your platform

In short, I absolutely despise crapps as replacement for decent web and UX development.

Alternative: build a proper web page with good CSS and HTML code and lightweight JavaScript which is accessible, does work with your preferred viewing applications (we don't all use Chrome), is highly controlled with the world looking out for hacks on the applications, is basically safe. But most of all it just works in the way the site's designers meant.

On to ScubaBoard. It's using Xenforo which is a standard platform where the templates are lightly tweaked for the look & feel of the website. The pages are well developed and work with most browsers and they are accessible and adaptive to the page width and text font size (keep zooming and the site is still usable -- crapps don't work like that). More importantly, if you grab the edge of the browser and bring it in to, say, 200px, then the site goes into its narrow format using... standard CSS.

Am sorry to lay into these apps, but they have no use given how GOOD the current ScubaBoard HTML page templates are. ScubaBoard staff put a lot of effort in when they upgraded to the current version of Xenforo and the design has been evolving into the very workable format they have.

Wasn't TapaTalk an app that integrated into Xenforo? When I ran/owned/paid for UKDivers.com (now defunct) TapaTalk was a thing.

Reading that it seems like your issue isn't with apps, it's with badly made apps.

You absolutely can build apps that are reactive to text size, device size, etc. and it's quite easy using modern frameworks.

So, quite frankly, unless I'm missing your point, you're just assuming that I don't know what I'm doing.

Also, nobody is suggesting that we deprecate the mobile browsing experience and *only* have an app. It would be another choice and more choice for the end user is almost always a good thing.

I've never heard of TapaTalk, I'll take a look and see if it works.

 

[Edward3c]

If you ask me it's quite straightforward. We just make clear the app is unofficial and then if it's broken and nobody fixes it, let it die and we're in no different position than we are today. I can't speak for the BSAC forums, but looking at XenForo, it looks pretty stable, so I don't anticipate that being a huge problem. Were the BSAC forums a custom job?

The issue for BSAC (I was the IT Director at the time) was the reputational fallout. Users, by default, blamed BSAC for its demise, jumping to the conclusion we had wasted thousands of members money in its development. When in reality, it was one individual (my predecessor), who walked away from it when their interest moved on from diving. I doubt the Chairman would welcome lay users reaction when a SB App stops working.

Like SubSerface, it will one day just stop, as its being maintained by a dedicated small team, at least dive logs should be stored locally so the data isn’t lost.

 

[ScottishTapWater]

The issue for BSAC (I was the IT Director at the time) was the reputational fallout. Users, by default, blamed BSAC for its demise, jumping to the conclusion we had wasted thousands of members money in its development. When in reality, it was one individual (my predecessor), who walked away from it when their interest moved on from diving. I doubt the Chairman would welcome lay users reaction when a SB App stops working.

Like SubSerface, it will one day just stop, as its being maintained by a dedicated small team, at least dive logs should be stored locally so the data isn’t lost.

I fail to see how there would be any reputational damage from an app that is clearly marked as unofficial stopping if I’m honest with you.

It could be as clear as literally putting “(Unofficial)” in the app name.