Mobile pony re: sidebars

January 2, 2010 11:45 AM

A tiny mobile pony: the sidebar of each subsite as an option in the menu?

I really like the sidebars in the subsites, but I can't get to em in the mobile CSS without flipping to the normal site view. Could they be added as an option in the menu?

Also, glad to hear Matt's healthy, super glad to have the oughts behind me, and happy goddamn new year &c. & so forth.

posted by disclaimer to Feature Requests at 11:45 AM (7 comments total)

mobile viewports are by definition smaller, much smaller than a desktop computer monitor, and while infinite scrolling is possible in the vertical, horizontal space is at a premium. I believe I first started hiding sidebars for mobile stylesheets in 2003 or 2004, because it used to take up over half of my cellphone's screen the few times I tested it loading MeFi.

Given that we're going for maximum compatibility, speedy downloads, and tiny screens, I don't think we'll be adding sidebars back in any time soon. Flipping to the full version sounds like a good alternative for now.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:01 PM on January 2, 2010

I would just like to note that I'd really like a tiny mobile pony.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 12:50 PM on January 2, 2010 [2 favorites]

But I think what disclaimer is asking for is not an actual sidebar in the mobile site, but a menu item that would link to the sidebar content. I found myself wishing for the same thing recently when someone mentioned the sidebar; I scrolled to the bottom on my iPhone hoping there was a link that said "Sidebar", but alas. Such a link would not hurt compatibility, download speed or usability.
posted by bwanabetty at 7:47 PM on January 2, 2010

Bwanabetty, you just said it a whole lot more clearly than I did! I would love to see sidebar items, and I agree with you Matt, there's no way you could shoehorn it onto the existing mobile screen with the other content.

But I can be content with switching to the regular view, too. It really is a very tiny pony. :)
posted by disclaimer at 7:58 PM on January 2, 2010

You could bookmark this page. It's not pretty, but you'd get the sideblog that way without switching back to standard mode.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:30 PM on January 2, 2010

Hey, that page is just fine, thanks PB.

No pony for me! (no need pony!)
posted by disclaimer at 7:49 PM on January 3, 2010

Late to the party, but the site where the sidebar is important is MetaTalk, as that's really the most efficient way to get to the meetup listings. I've tried bookmarking the Chicago tag, but sometimes people forget to add the tag.
posted by eamondaly at 6:09 PM on January 6, 2010