I have created a dedicated Emoncms category with some sub-categories of installation etc.
I’ve also created an Integrations and Applications category.
@Paul that’s strange. The Logo looks fine on my mobile, just like @pb66 screen grabs.
With regard to what view we make as default, how about a compromise: We make the landing home page the category view to help new users but make the top logo click link to /latest? This will allow users to return to the latest page when browsing.
Over the last month or so, I’ve noticed more comments like"information overload" or “I’m lost in the sea of info here.” i.e. users trying to say they’re overwhelmed by the sheer amount of info available on the site. This appears to be an opportunity to make the info relevant to new users easy to find, or at least easier than it was on the old Drupal site.
From what I’ve read, new users (at least at first) aren’t interested in much more than how to buy, build, and/or make an OEM system work for them. For someone just starting out, the rest of the site can be anything from a simple distraction, to overwhelming. I’ve been an Electronics Technician since 1974, and involved in the IT industry snce 1984. I remember my first experience with OEM some 3 years ago, went something like, “Hey, this is just what I’m looking for, but where the hell do I start? and where do I find the info I’m going to need?” Not the kind of thing that encourages a new user.
I can only magine what thoughts a non-Linux, non-Electronics, and in general, non-tech person, might have upon their first experience with OEM.
I think Robert said it best when he asked “have we been doing this so long that we’ve forgotten where we came from?”
I agree 100% the information needs to be made easier to navigate, that is an absolute must and I have made suggestions above about categorizing and providing better info within each category. I had set out to demonstrate my vision but the “test_categories” I started to create this morning have been deleted.
I would like to see many more categories and a lot more guidance for both new and novice users, we cannot assume all new users will be novices, I hope we also attract experienced and knowledgeable new users to the forum too.
And for the record I have been hanging around this project for a while now too and I still struggle to navigate the information.
Unfortunately we cannot get all information for all user groups all on one page and to try will end up in a mess. the landing page is about both novice and experienced first time visitors finding the forum friendly, active and appealing enough to come back and also for the regular visitors to get a quick update. it is not just about the novice users.
First impressions are the most important, the one thing all user groups navigating to a forum will have in common is a desire to find a forum that is current and popular. The latest page does this without being too technical for the novice first time visitors or too basic for the more advanced first time vistors,
I just thought an interesting feed of posts was far more appealing than a reference book style index of contents, especially to novice users and new visitors alike.
Plus let us not slip into believing a user with no technical interest or ability is likely to stick around or progress very far with this stuff unless they are willing to roll up their sleeves and/or learn a bit, there are very few items that fall into the “just add batteries” and “simply plug and play” categories here and for many people we are quite a stretch from that.
I have the latest page bookmarked so I’m all set, plus I have already formed an opinion so where I land really isn’t important, my comment were solely aimed at optimizing the landing page, the purpose of which is to entice users of all types to stay.
I see the change has already been implemented so I guess we shall get to see how it pans out !!
Hopefully the new User Guide I’ve been working on will help with creating a distinction between development topics and user guide. I’ve just made a post about it:
@glyn.hudson I’ve just cleared my phone’s cache, and I still get the same - screenshot below.
I’m using a HTC One M8 running Android 6, and a default screen resolution of 1080 x 1920.
Anyone else seeing this?
I also notice that @pb66 screenshot above does not show the menu links like mine either…
No my phone works fine, I recognized your symptoms as it is a browser feature I use regularly since many mobile sites do not allow zooming, so ironically switching to a desktop site will allow me to zoom into a page that I cannot see on my mobile due to being on a mobile specific site.
It looks very much like the server is not serving you the mobile version for one reason or other.
Have you tried setting “request desktop site” and then deselecting it in case it is confused? or try viewing via incognito to avoid any account settings? Does that setting make any impact at all?
Have you installed any hackery to fool other servers eg your browser is identifying itself as a desktop to get around the sky go app’s restriction on hdmi output from a mobile (makes the sky app think it is on a laptop)?
Does the native android internet app give a different result?
No idea, but let’s see if I can trump your weird browser behavior, whilst replying to your issue I have noticed something bizarre happening on my laptop.
If I scroll down the page a relatively small amount, I see no odd behavior and it will sit there happily all night
It’s difficult to know where that point is as it seems to trigger a ~10s delay, I can literally scroll down, stop and count to 10 if it doesn’t disappear at that point it will stay for good, but is uncanny how frequently it just disappears at 10s on the dot. if it is going to do it also seems to depend on the distance scrolled too.
@pb66 that’s very odd behaviour. I can’t replicate your mobile browser or your desktop browser issue.
What version Chrome are you using? My Chrome version is 50.
I think @discourse might be interested to hear about your mobile browser issue. It sounds like the HTC chrome browser is behaving slightly differently that on stock Android. Discourse should run fine on Android 4.3+ and Chrome desktop 23+
@glyn.hudson I don’t have a mobile browser issue, my mobile is fine. I can however replicate the symptoms @Paul is seeing with his mobile browser issue by using “request desktop site”.
My chrome version was “49.0.2623.112” but as I checked it it started an update so I will recheck if it will still do it.
…as a side issue… when scrolling down, the ‘Openenegymonitor’ logo changes to ‘Oem’ which is really insignificant.
Should this be resized to have more of a presence?
I don’t seem to be able to recreate the odd (laptop) browser behavior now that chrome has updated and chrome was restarted. Although I originally saw it many times it was in a single session so perhaps a glitch, I will keep an eye on it.
Well if nothing else, these issues are familiarising us with the new forum… I’m starting to get the hang of it now.
PS - good to see @pb66 as a moderator
