Mobile Skin for Forums

[mtruman]

Now that I've had a smartphone for a while I'm really beginning to appreciate the sites that have mobile versions. I use the OBS mobile site all the time and it's great. It would be nice if we had a mobile version of the forums as well. There are many, many mobile skins available for vBulletin. I'm not sure which vBulletin version is running here so I couldn't really check for specific ones that would work. The ones that I like the best are those that provide complete navigation and display of forum posts with text wrapped to the width of the mobile device screen so that no horizontal scrolling is necessary. Many provide the ability to post and reply as well along with search, PM, etc. I.e., the most commonly used features.

There seem to be two methods for using these - allowing the user to select a specific styleid to switch to the mobile skin or auto-detect methods (there are several) the detect the mobile device and switch to the appropriate skin automatically.

One option that looks quite good is: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=174375 but there are tons of others. For mobile users out there you can see this skin in action at http://www.byggahus.se/forum?styleid=17. Unfortunately this site is not in English but it was the best working example I could find. You'll get the idea anyway.

[Snow Miser]

This is a great idea Mark. A mobile version would be nice to use. The full site renders okay on my Treo, but I do loose some functionality such as using the emoticons. I will be picking up the Palm Pre Plus on the Jan 25th from Verizon and will have to see how the full site works on that browser. Either way, it is nice to have a mobile version and full version to choose from. I find that I use both for the Obs. Here's a nice mobile site from NOAA that works great in case anyone's interested. I seem to recall you saying that you recently got the Droid Eris. How do you like it?

A little side thing that would improve the forum too has to do with getting email notifications of subscribed thread updates. I use this a lot when I am not browsing the forums, but want to stay informed in case I want to log in and reply. It would be great if when I subscribe to a thread, I would get every update members make, and not just the last one after I have viewed the thread. Not sure if something like this is built-in to the program or not.

[Bill O]

This would be a nice option. How much work is involved in setting this up?

I have an iPhone so full webpages render perfectly, but there are sites where a mobile version is nicer and faster.

[mtruman]

I think we'd need to get someone who was involved with the setup of the forums the check it out (whoever did the vBulletin install). From what I've seen looking at the info on the vBulletin suppport forums installing skins appears to be pretty easy.

[hobbes]

This has been brought to the attention of the powers that be at the Obs, and I'm sure it will be getting discussed soon...

[hobbes]

A mobile style is now available for the MWO Forums on an experimental (for now) basis. You can switch to the Mobile style using the Style drop-down menu at the bottom left of the page, or access it directly by visiting http://www.mountwashington.org/forum....php?styleid=2.

The links on the Obs' mobile web site have been revised, and now include a link to the forums.

Should you find yourself in the mobile style and want to switch back to the default (full) style, click on the "Display Full Mode" link atop the mobile forums page.

Enjoy!

[Snow Miser]

Thanks Hobbes!!! I am testing it out on my Treo, and it's working great. Now the forums will be much easier and faster to keep up with on-the-go.

[hobbes]

Thanks Hobbes!!! I am testing it out on my Treo, and it's working great. Now the forums will be much easier and faster to keep up with on-the-go.

Just remember - don't drive/hike/ski & (web) surf!

[Snow Miser]

Just remember - don't drive/hike/ski & (web) surf!

Wise advice, I won't. I'll keep my eyes on the road, trail, or downhill trail and off the screen. Thanks to the powers that be at the Obs, and Mark Truman too for suggesting this.

[BlueDog]

FWIW.. Here's what it looks like on an iPhone. Does the format use its own CSS? If so, I'd suggest bumping font sizes up and adding some padding. Options run together in the top bar and things like pagination for long posts make it difficult to navigate.