Am I the only who thinks that having an empty closets app for phones and tablets would be pretty cool. It would make this forum even more well known and introduce potentially allot of members that need help or advice. I know that the process of making an app would be long and kinda costly but even if there was only an app that redirected people to this site. I just think it would be a big step (&&&) Thoughts?
This topic actually comes up quite frequently. This thread pretty much covers the current staff views on it.
How many people would want an app that say 'empty closets' on their phone? It's perhaps the worst way to be outed as people rarely log out of apps. There's also the question of cost or time, you could pay a dev. to make it but there are obvious security concerns and making an app takes a lot of time. Given it takes 4 weeks to get approved as a full member I don't think time is a luxury here. All you need is a mobile optimised site, vBulletin has that capability but it's a pretty old version this site runs on, so again, money. Though I have been led to believe a mobile site is happening this year?
it seemed like a really good idea... that is until you take a step back and look at it properly. oh well a mobile optimized version would definitely be the next best thing!
A mobile optimized version *is* part of the new platform we are switching to. It's pretty nifty. It's still a ways out, but we're working on it.
I agree with this guy, i don't my friend to be borrowing my phone or something for him to find an app "Empty Closets".
For what it's worth, I'm in the apple developer program... although I've uninstalled XCode (development software). I wrote an app for a therapist I know, although they never ended up using it... it was just something that displayed information on his unique form of therapy. If someone would like me to give it a shot, please send me a message. Granted I could use it on a resume, I would do it for no-charge... Unless you are able to FedEx me a kangaroo joey.
I have an iPhone and I'm on my parents iCloud. Not sure if they would be happy seeing "a community for gay, lesbian...etc." on their app description. It would also get annoying because if I visited through the site, Apple would constantly bug me to get the app, like it does for other web sites. I think a mobile version of the site would be awesome however!!! Will it include the EC chat room?
The EC chatroom seems to be in Flash... iOS doesn't "work with" Flash. Depending on how it works (I have no idea), it could be possible to have something implemented. I understand the concern about an iPhone app if parents are to see it, something I guess admins here would need to take into consideration.
^ Thankfully, our current Chat Room software will be getting a much deserved kick into the gutter. The new chat room should. It's certainly advertised as being optimised to also work on mobile devices, but I haven't tested it yet to see just how well it works. Either way, it'll be a gazillion times better than the current janky software we use.
Just to address those who may be interested in an app: It certainly isn't something that has been ruled out. At present, we are primarily focused on a mobile version which allows mobile users to easily navigate and use all aspects of the site. This will, at least in the short-term, appeal to all users interested in accessing EC via their mobile devices. Once we've nailed that, we can certainly look into app development and see what our options are. There's more privacy sensitivities to take into account there, as alluded to above, but these shouldn't be impossible to address. At the very least, if somebody is not in a position to be able to privately download the app, at least they won't be disadvantaged from using the website, as they can just access the mobile skin directly in their phone's browser. However, for those who would like an app, it is certainly worth considering.
Flash doesn't work on iphones without downloading additional software. And even then.. it doesn't work particularly well on either platform. As Martin's said, our chat software is a complete turd, so there will be no love lost when we retire it.
Can it please not be forced? I hate mobile sites. A lot of sites are forcing me to use the mobile version even though I ask for the full version.
