Migration complete. Please let us know if issues! Thank you,

[Krash]

There are three ads, wider than original ads, that's why they're wrapping.  On pc they're three across, but on mobile they're two over one, and third one is wrapping over header content.  I'll make the ad space bigger, so they'll all be above board header either way.

I'm surprised ads are being blocked, they're being served directly by forum code, so blocker should see them as legit content.  Used to use adblock plus, but it got to be a bloated pos, so switched to IE tracking protection, which is just as effective without the overhead.  Pretty much all ads contain trackers, so they're all blocked.  I do see the ads on this forum.

Tapatalk has not been reinstalled.  I'll take this up with Phil when we get around to it, but it has caused serious security problems on SMF installs, and I'll advise against it.  Would be helpful if I knew which functionality you're missing, there may be alternates.

[richard5933]

...Tapatalk has not been reinstalled.  I'll take this up with Phil when we get around to it, but it has caused serious security problems on SMF installs, and I'll advise against it.  Would be helpful if I knew which functionality you're missing, there may be alternates.

What functionality is missing? That's an easy answer - all of it that makes use on a small screen practical and possible on an ongoing basis.

1. Tapatalk has a layout designed for the small screen. Tapping on links/content is easy. Viewing content on the forum through a smartphone browser is annoying at best, tortuous at worst. When viewing the forum through a smartphone browser it's nearly impossible to accurately tap on text links, requiring me to zoom in the screen each time I want to tap into a thread or post. Then I have to zoom out so that the content fits on the screen. Just not practical or enjoyable.

2. Tapatalk makes adding photos nearly instant since it will take a photo directly from the camera and automatically resize them. Through the browser interface I've got to save the photo to the storage area, find the photo through the reply screen using buttons too small to tap without zooming in, and then the reply gets zapped because the photo is too large. Then I remember that without Tapatalk there is no way to upload a photo from my smartphone and I have to wait till I get home and can find time to resize the photo to something that the forum will accept, since my phone doesn't take photos through the normal camera app that will upload (even with the new upload size limits). This makes it impossible to easily upload photos directly from where I work on the bus, a big negative when I'm trying to post something in the middle of a project.

3. Tapatalk is just plain easier to use and more smartphone friendly. I can view all the different forums I read regularly through a single app with a single interface.

PLEASE bring back Tapatalk functionality!

[eagle19952]

What functionality is missing? That's an easy answer - all of it that makes use on a small screen practical and possible on an ongoing basis.

1. Tapatalk has a layout designed for the small screen. Tapping on links/content is easy. Viewing content on the forum through a smartphone browser is annoying at best, tortuous at worst. When viewing the forum through a smartphone browser it's nearly impossible to accurately tap on text links, requiring me to zoom in the screen each time I want to tap into a thread or post. Then I have to zoom out so that the content fits on the screen. Just not practical or enjoyable.

2. Tapatalk makes adding photos nearly instant since it will take a photo directly from the camera and automatically resize them. Through the browser interface I've got to save the photo to the storage area, find the photo through the reply screen using buttons too small to tap without zooming in, and then the reply gets zapped because the photo is too large. Then I remember that without Tapatalk there is no way to upload a photo from my smartphone and I have to wait till I get home and can find time to resize the photo to something that the forum will accept, since my phone doesn't take photos through the normal camera app that will upload (even with the new upload size limits). This makes it impossible to easily upload photos directly from where I work on the bus, a big negative when I'm trying to post something in the middle of a project.

3. Tapatalk is just plain easier to use and more smartphone friendly. I can view all the different forums I read regularly through a single app with a single interface.

PLEASE bring back Tapatalk functionality!

but, why ?
imo (in my opinion )
surfing the internet on 6.8 sq.in. is ....
myphone

[richard5933]

but, why ?
imo (in my opinion )
surfing the internet on 6.8 sq.in. is ....
myphone

Precisely - even though I have lots more screen real estate than you do, I would rather use an app designed specifically for access forums than trying to surf on a mobile browser. Tapatalk is the app that I had been using to access the BCM forum until the update.

Here's a screen shot of what the Bus Grease Monkey site looks like when I view it through Tapatalk. It's not at all like trying to surf on a tiny screen, rather it's easy to use and a very handy way to access BCM without having to wait till I get home - especially for asking questions or posting photos while on the road.

[eagle19952]

rather it's easy to use and a very handy way to access BCM without having to wait till I get home - especially for asking questions or posting photos while on the road.

a 7 inch tablet fits in my pocket many can be had for $20.00

[richard5933]

a 7 inch tablet fits in my pocket many can be had for $20.00

Not sure that's the best solution. Buy another device, pay for another data plan, and use it just to access the BCM forum? My smartphone does all that easily and is already bought and paid for. It worked on the BCM forum through Tapatalk until the update. Seems like I'm not the only one using the app based on comments.

[Dave5Cs]

Got to agree with you Richard. I have TAPATALK to  for forums and easy to read when I am waiting for wife at Doctors appointments. And can get it anywhere there is phone service or internet. Pictures are easy to take and then post right to the board. And its free to use the APP. , we never use a browser on the smart phone just to painful and aggravating. Really nice when someone asks about the Bus this or that and you can just go out with Smart phone take the picture of what they want to know and post it imediately to them or to a site forum or text with TAPATALK, no resizing it does that for you.
Dave5Cs

[brmax]

I thought initially the main go to for tapatalk was the photo upload and auto resize ability. Im always learning something new here
I did understand a bit that the phones generally ran in a different and smaller/compact computer code. This was a step to change in desktop code so to speak so more or better multi access could happen.



Floyd

[richard5933]

Floyd - You're correct that photo handling is a primary benefit of using an app like Tapatalk instead of accessing the forum through a browser. There are others besides the sheer convenience as well, like the much smaller data footprint used by an app vs a browser. When in an area with only 3G service, trying to use the forum through a browser can be painful, but through the app it's tolerable.

[lvmci]

Hi Phil, tried to post 4 pictures in Chessie's mister post, wouldn't take even 1, lvmci...

[GnarlyBus]

I've really appreciated (and have been "struggling" without) the Tapatalk compatibility. Everything Richard said was spot on. It's about easily accessing the forum from a mobile device. It makes participation in this forum much easier for me. The website is designed for desktop use and just doesn't function as well on mobile.

Here's a few advantages of accessing through Tapatalk that are a big deal to my experience with this forum.

-Youtube links are automatically embedded instead of clicking and opening another page.
-Typing responses is much less glitchy.
-When a thread is tapped on, it automatically loads at the responses I've yet to read.
-The font is scaled so the user doesn't have to constantly zoom in and out.
-Notifications of messages and updated posts.

Thanks for all the work on the forum. I'm really glad this place exists. I've learned a lot from the people on here!

[Krash]

Ok, I'll make some inquiries in SMF support and see if there are some remedies for Tapatalk security issues.  I believe some of it can be addressed by properly configuring the app, which it often isn't.  Some of the features mentioned can be accomplished with forum mods.  I have one running on one of my forums that auto-resizes attachments, so members don't have to, and there are several mods that embed youtube vids in posts.   The responsive curve mod I installed a day or two ago should have addressed some of the complaints about browsing on phones, but apparently no one's noticed any major difference.  Don't use a phone, so there's no way for me to check these things.

[richard5933]

Ok, I'll make some inquiries in SMF support and see if there are some remedies for Tapatalk security issues.  I believe some of it can be addressed by properly configuring the app, which it often isn't.  Some of the features mentioned can be accomplished with forum mods.  I have one running on one of my forums that auto-resizes attachments, so members don't have to, and there are several mods that embed youtube vids in posts.   The responsive curve mod I installed a day or two ago should have addressed some of the complaints about browsing on phones, but apparently no one's noticed any major difference.  Don't use a phone, so there's no way for me to check these things.

Here's what the forum looks like using Chrome on my Android smartphone (Galaxy Note . The individual posts are not so hard to open, but the text size on the different threads (and everything else) is still really tiny and nearly impossible to tap with accuracy. Nothing as simple or clean as Tapatalk. Also, still requires a browser and the accompanying higher data use.

While I appreciate the efforts to get the functionality of Tapatalk through the browser, it really seems like lots of extra work just to duplicate what's already available. Hopefully there are ways to deal with the security issues - I did a quick search and it looks like they've updated their software a recently in response to some security issues so maybe they've addressed the problems.

[brmax]

Its been a week since i looked at the laptop and running chrome, although this iPhone here i believe is safari an looks the same.  I really havent seen a loading issue at different establishments, if they have wifi i cannot see a difference.

I can totally understand and see how tapatalk with its page looks as earlier posted could load faster and various graphics not loaded could be helpfull on data usage. This can be very important if running on cellular most of the time.

I dont understand it, in code.  But its not the first time i have heard trusted pros say there are security issues with it and or a nightmare for the code writers trying to multitask it in desktop type code. Maybe i will ask my niece someday she's a code writer.

I pay for photo storage and still i dont have a great method to transfer my phone pics to there, resize and or fix for thumbnail and then upload to the forums.
But the storage is the priority and the work is not, so Im happy admiring others pics.

Floyd

[lvmci]

5 replys ago I relayed about no pictures being accepted, any response?.