Tapatalk and Forum Runner
- Thread starter Summit
- Start date
Renegade
Well-known member
Are those users important to you? Will they go to a competing forum for ease of use via tapatalk?
Unfortunately Tapatalk is more convenient than any other way to access forums on the mobile. I say unfortunately coz I do not want to install something I have no control over. But I have and I use the app myself. Simply coz browsing through the responsive skin is not as convenient for me
Unfortunately Tapatalk is more convenient than any other way to access forums on the mobile. I say unfortunately coz I do not want to install something I have no control over. But I have and I use the app myself. Simply coz browsing through the responsive skin is not as convenient for me
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petertdavis
Well-known member
I'd say forget Forum Runner, I used to be a big fan of theirs till Internet Brands/vBulletin bought it out. Responsive design for mobile browsers is a good idea whether or not you use TapaTalk (or any other app). There are upsides and downsides that go along with TapaTalk, and it's in your best interest to understand what you're getting into before you install it. It does some things I don't like, such as the popup that advertises the TapaTalk app when people browse your site in mobile. I do recognize that TapaTalk is making an effort to work with us forum owners though, for example in the latest TapaTalk release for XF they've included an option to turn off those popup ads. I'd rather have it an opt-in instead of an opt-out, but giving the option is a step in the right direction (we had to edit their templates in the past to prevent it).
Summit
Active member
It was more of a suggestion and I really haven't used it so thought I would ask.
So this is to everyone, would you say put it in, or just leave it out?
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Mr Lucky
Well-known member
I left it out after converting from vB. I had one or two whingers, but I suggested they give the responsive design a chance and they seemed happy enough.
Tapatalk is just one complication too much and vey much more difficult to style if you want to have some kind of unique identity to the way your forum looks.
I did a little bit of customising to add a new posts link more obvious for mobiles, which made the mobile users happy.
Chimpie
Well-known member
If you're referring to the site in your signature, it looks good on my Samsung Galaxy S3. It takes a little bit to load, but it's not too bad.
We're having the same debate on whether to install TT when we convert to XF this weekend. We have SO MANY users access our forum now using TT, and they also use TT to access other forums. If we didn't install it we might lose their interest.
Floyd R Turbo
Well-known member
I have a hard time understanding the "despise the responsive design" argument. I just don't get it. TT is handy when you want to pop back and forth between multiple forums and get push alerts. For that reason, for me personally, it's hard to give up. But on here, where it's not available, I do just fine.
tommydamic68
Well-known member
The majority of my users use - love Tapatalk, its a must for mobile users, people on the fly (isn't that everybody at this point in time in the world?) Responsive style is not a replacement at all, not even close. I myself cannot stand Tapatalk as a user, as an admin, it has never really given me a problem.
The bottom line is, mobile is where the world is, especially in the internet world and social media which forums pretty much are now a days, its not who you have now currently on your forum who use Tapatalk or do not use it, its future members who will use your site because you do offer an effective mobile solution, responsive is not the answer.
Yes, you will get your commandos here complaining about Tapatalk and how horrible it is, thats fine, thats there decision to limit their forum growth, just my honest opinion.
The bottom line is, mobile is where the world is, especially in the internet world and social media which forums pretty much are now a days, its not who you have now currently on your forum who use Tapatalk or do not use it, its future members who will use your site because you do offer an effective mobile solution, responsive is not the answer.
Yes, you will get your commandos here complaining about Tapatalk and how horrible it is, thats fine, thats there decision to limit their forum growth, just my honest opinion.
TPerry
Well-known member
There have been many a problem with Tapatalk - some of which were major (they are getting better with their responsiveness now), but on of the other issues is the monetization method if you don't have a branded app from them. If you site depends on ads, then the more Tapatalk users you have the bigger your ding will be in comparison to responsive access.
tommydamic68
Well-known member
Yes- that is true.
Ingenious
Well-known member
I'm still a bit unclear as to what you get when you have a branded app (assume this is "build your own" where you pay a monthly fee for Android and iOS?) over the stock one. I'd still want to give the app free to users and have advertisers shoulder the cost. Does it mean I can customise the look with my own logo and colours? What about adding in my own proprietary banner adverts (I sell direct in my niche and never use a third party ad service)?
For me so far my objections to TT:
1. Don't like, and little control over the stock look.
2. Possibility of 3rd party adverts - none of which are of interest in my specialist niche and all of which lessen the impact of my own advertisers who don't appear in TT.
3. Poor/no response to threads in the official support forums.
4. Lack of trust in the product, thanks to 3. above and occasional security issues.
But I agree that an app-based solution, alongside responsive, is the best of both worlds.
For me so far my objections to TT:
1. Don't like, and little control over the stock look.
2. Possibility of 3rd party adverts - none of which are of interest in my specialist niche and all of which lessen the impact of my own advertisers who don't appear in TT.
3. Poor/no response to threads in the official support forums.
4. Lack of trust in the product, thanks to 3. above and occasional security issues.
But I agree that an app-based solution, alongside responsive, is the best of both worlds.
shawn
Well-known member
The responsive style means you don't have to zoom and pan, but you gain that ability at the expense of not being able to see a lot of other useful information. That's why they don't like it.
Go to the "Have You Seen?" forum on your phone. Tell me who was the last person to reply to the "More Moderator Tools" thread, or at what time they replied to it.
Martok
Well-known member
Indeed that is hidden in responsive. However, I'd rather have that than not be able to see font styling (font type, colours, size, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough etc) as well as the myriad of other functionality (especially those of add-ons) that Tapatalk doesn't provide.
shawn
Well-known member
It's not a binary choice. You can turn off responsive styling, which is what we ended up doing.
Yeah, I tried that. It ended in heartache and tears. Who has time for that nonsense?
Is there a "how to fix the default responsive layout" tutorial? If not, there should be.
