Gilbola

That's odd. i can scroll down PMs by using my finger swipe. I'm using an iphone 4s running ios7.x. What about you guys?

that being said, the app is definitely not ideal and it has flaws but it gets you most of the way there usually.

I can imagine that'd be annoying but it would be a really big task to sync up what you've read via the site with what you've read on the app and to do it seamlessly; it would have to work both ways.

On my app i see an icon that says "last unread" which takes me pretty close to the end; is that not working for you?

The B Aa and emoticon tabs are there for your convenience; i'm not sure where else they'd go and still be useful but i agree it's not ideal.

Thanks again for the feedback. If there are real bugs like the app crashing or things not working properly then please let me know. We don't have a plan to make big enhancements to the app at this time but if things are broken we can definitely try to fix them. I do recommend that everyone update their OS and the app since we did recently push a few updates to it.

Chilly Bear

After the update the search, subscribed and top buttons don't work. IOS7.

Gilbola

Sorry you are having that issue Chilly Bear; i can't replicate this one. I just updated the IOS to the latest version of 7 last night and those buttons are working for me. Are other links or buttons working on the app but just not the bottom row? Worth a try: log out, log back in and see if you are still having the same issue.

CaptainCarl

I just did the update to iOS 7.0.4 last night, as well. No change in the problems I was already experiencing with the most recent APF Mobile app update.

List of noticeable problems:

1. None of the bottom buttons work in the following places:
- On the home screen: Newest, Top, Subscribed, and the little search magnifying glass. No response whatsoever.
- Within a forum: Reload, Subscribe, and Search. No response whatsoever.
- Within a thread: Reload, Subscribe, Search, and Last Post (one of my favorite functions). No response whatsoever.
- Within a post: Report, Reply, Quote. No response whatsoever.

2. Private Messages: None of the bottom row buttons work. Reply to message never quotes the message, that is a much needed function when trying to reference the PM one is responding to.

3. No Community anywhere in the app.

4. Profile doesn't have the option of seeing previous posts by a specific user.

I like the fact that y'all optimized the app for the iPhone 5's taller screen, but losing functionality is unacceptable.

TonyC

There doesn't appear to be a fear of "rather large change" in other areas of the website, beginning with the masthead and working on down. APC is using vBulletin v.3.8.6. Another aviation website for Pro Pilots uses vBulletin v.4.1.2. More functional, and more aesthetically pleasing.

I, too, wish you'd get over your squabble with Tapatalk already, but I realize this site has morphed from a labor of love into a commercial enterprise, and common sense now takes a back seat to dollars and cents.


But could you fix the dang clock? DST is over now.






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Chilly Bear

Cannot reply or quote. Can only use quick reply.

Log out doesn't fix anything.

Gilbola

Thanks for the detailed feedback, that helps a lot. I was able to replicate the bugs in #1 and #2 above and have reported that with urgency to the tech team. #4 is more of a feature request and that will be reviewed to see if we can include that in the feature roadmap. Stay tuned.

Regarding #3, not entirely sure there's a quick remedy to that perception. APC is still best experienced through the browser version rather than an app, and I think that's true of most communities (e.g. facebook, linkedin, etc.). The mobile app was designed to be a useful way to access the information on the go and not a replacement for the browser version but it looks like the bugs are definitely hindering that for you all and that's something we're working on. I do appreciate your patience with this.

CaptainCarl

Cool, thanks for the quick response.

I agree that the Community feature is extra stuff, so no worries there.

Gilbola

TonyC, I'm glad you're in favor of upgrading to vb4, that's a good endorsement. However, updating the site header or "masthead" is not that disruptive or complex compared to an upgrade to vb4. It's like comparing a paint job to a full transmission replacement; different order of magnitude. If the rest of the community is on board, we can definitely upgrade and you're right, it will noticeably improve the interface and some features. There are some subtle changes though and changing the way people use a product like the forum is not to be taken lightly. The upside for you mobile users is that going to vb4 will allow us to fix some of the issues with the app that we may not be able to do staying on v3.8. I do anticipate though that many of you will say that we are fixing something that isn't broken and grumble about a myriad of annoyances that the change has brought.

Lastly, you are correct that this is being run as a business, but that actually keeps us aligned because if you're not happy with our product and the way we run things then we're not doing a good job of running a business. Although dollars and cents are important, we actually focus more on supporting this community and not forcing tech changes for our own benefit unless absolutely necessary (e.g. the airline profiles). Every product and business decision we make boils down to this question: is this something good for the community and will it increase engagement? If you think we have fallen short of the mark please let me know. Ultimately, you are the judge.

TonyC

And my question is this. How can someone who is not part of a community presume to know what is good for that community? What are your pilot credentials?

I didn't intend to engage beyond my first comment, but your response reeks of disingenuity, dishonesty, insincerity, or hypocrisy -- I'm not sure which, but none are good.


So let's just skip the big words and say, that's not true.

Tapatalk is something that "is good for the community and it will increase engagement."

When a participant at the other Pro Pilot forum approached the Administrator with the idea of installing the Tapatalk plugin so users could use the app, it was installed the very same day. That Forum runs on the latest version of vBulletin and the latest version of Tapatalk, and the result is more people have more access to the Forums, and there's no thread where people complain about the limited or broken features of a home-built smartphone app.

Same thing happened with ForumRunner. User asks, Administrator responds. (Bonus: Starting with vBulletin 4.1.12, ForumRunner is built in.)

The thing is, the decision to not use Tapatalk here has nothing to do with what "is good for the community and will increase engagement." It has to do with the fact that Internet Brands now OWNS ForumRunner, so it would be a conflict of BUSINESS interest to run a competing app on an Internet Brands Forum.

The first sentence of the first post of this thread exclaims, "Whatever the reason for not using tap talk it's not good enough." You've conveniently failed to address that issue, and instead made excuses for why the current app falls short. That's a dollars and cents decision that makes NO common sense, and it has nothing to do with what "is good for the community and it will increase engagement."

That's just the truth.


Finally, and I'll hush.

If you were a part of the community, or knew anything about it, you would know that pilots always complain. It's part of our DNA. If pilots grumbling will keep you from making improvements, there will never be any.


Upgrade vBulletin, install Tapatalk, pilots will whine, and then they'll be happy again.

Or not.





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