Topic: smartphone-compatable themes

[青山 素子]

Because we are open source and do not purchase mods...

I think the thought was that it would be purchased for ownership by the organization and would be subsequently included in the software and licensed the same. Basically, an acquisition.

[NHWD]

I'm glad I helped bring up this subject up, by posting on wedge, because i've always thought SMF's mobile versions were really terrible and i have used SMF from the user side for over 4 years and admin side for over 3.

[Akyhne]

I am hoping we'll see a smartphone-friendly theme in future versions of SMF. Dragooon's mobile theme is a great start in my opinion, but it's something we definitely need to focus on for 2.1 in my opinion.

That's already done with my Curve Smart theme.

[Bloc]

I am hoping we'll see a smartphone-friendly theme in future versions of SMF. Dragooon's mobile theme is a great start in my opinion, but it's something we definitely need to focus on for 2.1 in my opinion.

That's already done with my Curve Smart theme.

I think it requires a bit more than that, to make a useful smartphone theme/version of Curve.They deserve special attention, otherwise you just keep the default templates anyway, they scale well enough.

[Akyhne]

A mobile theme shouldn't scale at all.

[Bloc]

I didn't say they should, I said you might as well, since they cope if you haven't made a theme suited for their medium.

Point is..using the same basic layout as Curve itself, which is built upon having enough screen real estate and certainly not touch-based, is a poor solution.

[青山 素子]

A mobile theme shouldn't scale at all.

No, they should.

I hate when I try to browse a "mobile" website on my phone and it's small because they designed for an iPhone resolution, and I can't zoom because the idiots locked out the zoom option (meta content with initial-scale, maximum-scale, and user-scalable). It makes it very difficult to read the site and I usually blacklist it in my mind. This is especially nasty on my tablet, since I then get a thin bar in the center of the screen. Usually these same jokers don't provide an option to go to the "desktop" site and lock out the mobile redirect.

[Akyhne]

Made correctly, you don't need scaling.

[Paracelsus]

You should inspire on Tapatalk, since many of our users use it to access the forum on their mobiles... and they never get tired to tell me how much they love Tapatalk, they feel really happy to be able to browse and post throughout the forum using this app (so they must be doing something right).

[Joshua Dickerson]

Made correctly, you don't need scaling.

That's why there are so many sites that look terrible on smaller screens... people don't understand that isn't just a different device, it is a different media. I don't want to see all of the details of a post on my phone. I want to see what matters. I am not going to try to moderate a forum on a 4" screen while on a train but I might want to read what my friends are talking about.

[Akyhne]

@Paracelsus:
I would never force my visitors to pay to use my site.

@JD:
Then use WAP2. I need to be able to moderate my forums from a phone.

[Paracelsus]

@Paracelsus:
I would never force my visitors to pay to use my site.

I wasn't talking about the paying part, just on the layout and functionality it offers.

[Akyhne]

I've never used that software, but I've seen snapshots of it. It doesn't bring anything a wap version would/could.
My theme is made for those who want it all, and I've proved it works.

[Bloc]

That's why there are so many sites that look terrible on smaller screens... people don't understand that isn't just a different device, it is a different media. I don't want to see all of the details of a post on my phone. I want to see what matters. I am not going to try to moderate a forum on a 4" screen while on a train but I might want to read what my friends are talking about.

...to use a popular term: *this*

That is indeed the essence of making a *real* smartphone theme, understanding the medium..or at least trying to. It might even be less awkard to moderate on it then, if done correctly.

[Akyhne]

Did any of you guys even try my theme?

[Bloc]

Of course.

There are several things that I see as failures in it: 1) links are simple text links, making touching them harder than if their "hit" areas were larger and 2) some of the items are floated, just as in Curve original, but it makes it very tight in some areas. It could be done better as vertically laid out instead. And 3) what are topic icons doing there, really? Its taking up a 1/5 of the width, if not more.

That, and the fact you have the theme running with TP on the outer sides, makes it a tight squeeze on a phone..

I am sorry, but the reason tapatalk or Dragooon themes are better, are the consideration of these things. Its not a "second-hand" medium and deserves to look as great as it does on computers.

[Akyhne]

TP? What site are you on?

[Akyhne]

Let me demonstrate how it works:

http://www.worldofgt.com/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=item;id=1630

[adamgilchrist2012]

Dragoon's cellular mod does that. Better to also modify the markup as depending just on css changes isn't really the best choice.