This is getting annoying: going to SDMB on my iPhone will randomly result in a redirect to the Apple App Store application.
Do the people running this site realize how bad an experience this is?
I could look the other way with the idiotic ads that are allowed to appear (which I don’t see on my laptop thanks to AdBlock), but a popup that redirects me away from the website without any control by me is just too much.
Between this and what seems like a smaller population on here, I’m getting a little concerned that I’m seeing an inevitable decline in the website.
Oh well. I just deleted the book marks from my phone.
I’m not a moderator but I’m pretty sure that it is completely dependent on what iPhone app you are using to access it. I use Tapatalkand haven’t noticed any increase in ad redirects. Regardless, I don’t believe it has anything to do with anything done by the website operators. Some smartphone apps (especially free ones) are just much more ad driven than others.
But besides that I just tried the SDMB via safari and it is, as you say, unusable. Besides the App store link to Tapatalk (which solves all the issues BTW), adds pop up and displace the SDMB page completely, no back, no other tab, it’s gone completely and has to be reentered or googled to get back. It ends with a web page trying to sell me on Uber.
With that said many such web sites are way to pushy with ads, particular popovers and boxes that scroll open blocking content, sometimes you just have to X them out and walk away.
I tried Tapatalk in the past (even buying a version). They seemed to change the app often, with the result usually being a worse product. So I stopped using it and won’t go back.
There are plenty of other forums out there running on vBulletin where I’m not having this issue.
I’m curious if the powers that be at the SDMB realize what’s going on?
This place also seems to get less traffic than years before (I judge this based on seeing the turn-over rate of the threads). It just seems like this place is losing regular users. Of course, I could be wrong, but that’s what it seems like.
If you’re not mobile friendly, you die.
SDMB is not mobile friendly.
Edit: and expecting a visitor to use a third party app to access your site is ridiculous. Tapatalk can go rot.
Just a thought: [del]sometimes[/del] often a program/app that was wonky at some point gets improved and problems get fixed. You might consider trying it again.
Disclaimer: I don’t use it, as I access the SDMB on my kindle when I’m not on my computer. I’m also annoyed by the ubiquity of mobile friendliness.
Tapatalk may work for you, but as already stated, I will not use Tapatalk due to the very poor experience I have had with it in the past (and the waste of money).
How many people get directed here by Google searches, but then can’t access the site due to being redirected to the App Store?
And btw, who the hell would ever actually purchase an app that you get redirected to. Lately it’s to Uber. Guess what Uber, I’ll never use you app due to this. I can’t recall who the previous app were (I seem to recall some really crappy games).
I’m not interested in Tapatalk. I’ve tried it in the past and it’s not a good solution for me. The SDMB used to be perfectly functional on my phone. Now it is unusable. That is the #1 reason I rarely post here these days and I bet I’m not the only one. They need to fix this.
It does the same thing on Android, by the way. I don’t use Tapatalk because I’m using my phone’s browse same as I’d use my home computer browser: couple tabs, reading different sites, etc. Having a separate app for one site that otherwise hijacks me defeats my goal.
I have seen this since they went pay a few years ago, it seems like the SDMB never fully recovered from that and lost quite a lot of quality posters. It’s still good but a shadow of what it once was.
Some Google Play site. I never bother waiting to see what app it’s for; when it happens I just close the tab and read some other site instead. If SDMB wants to send me elsewhere, I’ll go elsewhere.
I’m getting redirected a lot too, on Android. Today it was an Uber ad, mostly it’s the google play store for some game. The back button doesn’t work, and I have to restart the browser to get out of it. Massively annoying. I tried tapatalk in the past and didn’t like it, but may try again. Although I really spend too much time here, anyway. Should cut back.
When I say “Android”, by the way, I mean my phone. My Android tablet doesn’t have the same issue, presumably because the browser is set to “desktop”, not “mobile”.
Here’s a recent thread about a similar issue. it’s apparently a bug in Safari that’s triggered by a script on SDMB. The thread provides some advice that may be useful.
