Mobile only content August 3, 2013 8:59 PM Subscribe
So this seems potentially problematic: Sorry, but the media gallery you are trying to load is not compatible with your device. Apple iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) or Android OS are required - how do we feel about that?
I feel sort of hungry, now that you mention it.
posted by killdevil at 9:04 PM on August 3, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by killdevil at 9:04 PM on August 3, 2013 [7 favorites]
If you're using Chrome you can search for the "User Agent Switcher" Chrome extension to work around this issue.
posted by killdevil at 9:07 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by killdevil at 9:07 PM on August 3, 2013
Whenever I link to a computer game that only has Windows executables, people are up in arms unless I note it in the FPP. And over time, I've come to agree with them. Also, some time ago I linked to an iOS version of Dominion and it was deleted, because it was iOS only, even though it was free.
This works both ways. Mobile-only content is stupid unless there's a very good reason for it, and an image gallery is not such a reason.
posted by JHarris at 9:07 PM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]
This works both ways. Mobile-only content is stupid unless there's a very good reason for it, and an image gallery is not such a reason.
posted by JHarris at 9:07 PM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]
There's a desktop link now, so the situation is not all that bad - they just elect to show an error message instead of redirecting.
posted by Artw at 9:11 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by Artw at 9:11 PM on August 3, 2013
I swapped out the link for the desktop one. In general a broken-for-many-people link is a bad option when there is a functionally identical not-broken-for-many-people link.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:12 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:12 PM on August 3, 2013
I've got a big banner with <HTML> on it, ready to storm the barricades. We have to fight those who threaten our open systems. Throw our glowing code disks against the big mobile controlled programs everybody's been talking about.
WE FIGHT FOR THE USERS!
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:14 PM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]
WE FIGHT FOR THE USERS!
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:14 PM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]
I'll bring up the rear with my little drum and my </html> flag.
posted by introp at 10:33 PM on August 3, 2013 [37 favorites]
posted by introp at 10:33 PM on August 3, 2013 [37 favorites]
This web wasn't built on conformance you know - maybe I should round up some irregulars and follow after the closing </html>.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:02 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:02 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
You don't even need to </html> nowadays - HTML5 is profoundly relaxed about closing all sorts of tags.
I find this disturbing, and will follow introp with a little drum and a flag featuring a lengthy footnote about the HTML 5.1 Nightly draft.
posted by jack_mo at 11:45 PM on August 3, 2013
I find this disturbing, and will follow introp with a little drum and a flag featuring a lengthy footnote about the HTML 5.1 Nightly draft.
posted by jack_mo at 11:45 PM on August 3, 2013
A link is no good if the majority of users can't read/access it. We have the same guidelines about links that go behind paywalls. If the intention is that everyone can read and comment on your links, then restricting your catchment area is self defeating.
posted by arcticseal at 12:09 AM on August 4, 2013
posted by arcticseal at 12:09 AM on August 4, 2013
...with a little drum...
Is the optional fife deprecated these days?
posted by Segundus at 3:01 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Is the optional fife deprecated these days?
posted by Segundus at 3:01 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
We have the same guidelines about links that go behind paywalls.
How about links that require free registration? Same thing I suppose,not encouraged and certainly not as the main link.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:07 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
How about links that require free registration? Same thing I suppose,not encouraged and certainly not as the main link.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:07 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Apple iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) or Android OS are required - how do we feel about that?
I used to surf MetaFilter and the web with a Palm VII - in those days, you couldn't bookmark links in the blue by favoring them, graphics were monochromatic stills on the device, and scrolling had to be done with a plastic stylus. Considering the score of changes and options that have emerged as HTML, tabbed browsing, online communities and mobile computing evolved, I'm more than happy to view my current cyberdeck for what it's become for me - a reference interface and time management tool.
The next turnarounds in viewing and interacting are going to occur at an even faster rate, as there's still enough room for breakthroughs in power conservation, multitasking and bandwidth. I can say I can't wait for that on account of what I can do with the available technology at hand.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:36 AM on August 4, 2013
I used to surf MetaFilter and the web with a Palm VII - in those days, you couldn't bookmark links in the blue by favoring them, graphics were monochromatic stills on the device, and scrolling had to be done with a plastic stylus. Considering the score of changes and options that have emerged as HTML, tabbed browsing, online communities and mobile computing evolved, I'm more than happy to view my current cyberdeck for what it's become for me - a reference interface and time management tool.
The next turnarounds in viewing and interacting are going to occur at an even faster rate, as there's still enough room for breakthroughs in power conservation, multitasking and bandwidth. I can say I can't wait for that on account of what I can do with the available technology at hand.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:36 AM on August 4, 2013
Seems unfortunate, in retrospect, that a link glitch that could have been fixed inline by a quick mod message has instead resulted in NINE comments at the top of the thread relating to the link problem, which seems to have had the effect of killing the thread stone dead before it started.
posted by emilyw at 3:39 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by emilyw at 3:39 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
i used to surf metafilter with a tin can, a piece of string and a mirror
you kids don't know how easy you have it
posted by pyramid termite at 6:53 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
you kids don't know how easy you have it
posted by pyramid termite at 6:53 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
i used to surf metafilter with a tin can, a piece of string and a mirror
Is that back when it used to be called yeoldmetafilter, and new posts were tacked to the town church door?
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:57 AM on August 4, 2013
Is that back when it used to be called yeoldmetafilter, and new posts were tacked to the town church door?
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:57 AM on August 4, 2013
MetaFilter hasn't been the same since they stopped typesetting in cuneiform.
posted by arcticseal at 7:24 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by arcticseal at 7:24 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Moveable type? You kids today with your newfangled second millennium A.D. gadgets and whooziwhatzits.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:52 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:52 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
I remember when it used to be MudFilter and they could barely keep up with making clay tablets for comments-- shameful, lazy youth these days!*
*no but seriously I am a youth on a I-device, and I would feel bad if I put a non-accessible link up!
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:53 AM on August 4, 2013
*no but seriously I am a youth on a I-device, and I would feel bad if I put a non-accessible link up!
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:53 AM on August 4, 2013
wait what - I can't read this, need to first warm up the external hard diesel
posted by Namlit at 8:18 AM on August 4, 2013
posted by Namlit at 8:18 AM on August 4, 2013
I remember when to submit a post or comment you had to physically mail a letter to Mathowie. He would collate them all, and then each edition of Metafilter would be printed off every month on parchment and posted in the village square. We townsfolk would gather to gasp in amazement at the latest news and nod sagely at the most sensible comments. Then we would do one of our traditional folk-dances and all hurry home before nightfall, when the monsters were said to come out.
Later it turned out that we'd been living in an M. Night Shyamalan movie, which is why we had really shitty mobile phone reception.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:26 AM on August 4, 2013 [7 favorites]
Later it turned out that we'd been living in an M. Night Shyamalan movie, which is why we had really shitty mobile phone reception.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:26 AM on August 4, 2013 [7 favorites]
We townsfolk would gather to gasp in amazement at the latest news and nod sagely at the most sensible comments. Then we would do one of our traditional folk-dances and all hurry home before nightfall, when the monsters were said to come out.
You forgot about the lotteries.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:28 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
You forgot about the lotteries.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:28 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
how do we feel about that?
We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!
posted by grouse at 8:42 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!
posted by grouse at 8:42 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
I just finally was able to sell my canoe which I had before there was a contact form to get in touch with the mods.
posted by Namlit at 8:48 AM on August 4, 2013
posted by Namlit at 8:48 AM on August 4, 2013
The fact that Focus Features, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is in turn a subsidiary of Comcast, can't be bothered to redirect a non-mobile device to the non-mobile site -- or, at the very least, include a link to it on the mobile version -- is appalling.
The unrelated fact that YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, can't be bothered either: Even more appalling.
What the fuck, internet.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:58 AM on August 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
The unrelated fact that YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, can't be bothered either: Even more appalling.
What the fuck, internet.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:58 AM on August 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
(I mean, seriously, if they can put up a message telling us it's incompatible with our device, then surely...?)
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've had a lot of trouble on mobile. I live in DC where the blackberry and its real keyboard are still a presence. My main issue is when I do want to link, the link dialog box does not allow for pasting.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:05 AM on August 4, 2013
posted by Ironmouth at 10:05 AM on August 4, 2013
A good half the links posted have some kind of issue on the iPad. I mean as in crash safari on the iPad 1.
I don't wanna be one of those "No Mac version" people so I look at them on a WP8 emulator running in a Windows 8 VM on my Windows 7 laptop.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:15 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't wanna be one of those "No Mac version" people so I look at them on a WP8 emulator running in a Windows 8 VM on my Windows 7 laptop.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:15 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
The fact that [X major site] can't be bothered to redirect a non-mobile device to the non-mobile site...is appalling.
A-fucking-men. I get that the pinched mobile experience is sadly the future of browsing but why on earth wouldn't you redirect to a richer version of your site when, say, a laptop user clicks through to your mobile site? I just laugh when it happens now.
posted by mediareport at 5:04 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
A-fucking-men. I get that the pinched mobile experience is sadly the future of browsing but why on earth wouldn't you redirect to a richer version of your site when, say, a laptop user clicks through to your mobile site? I just laugh when it happens now.
posted by mediareport at 5:04 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
(I mean, seriously, if they can put up a message telling us it's incompatible with our device, then surely...?)
"Listen! I don't have much time..."
posted by ODiV at 11:25 PM on August 4, 2013
"Listen! I don't have much time..."
posted by ODiV at 11:25 PM on August 4, 2013
why on earth wouldn't you redirect to a richer version of your site
Some people (myself included) don't like this kind of automatic redirect: it ignores the user's request, effectively hiding the real problem (why are you giving the mobile url to people who are not on a mobile device?) in an attempt to Do What I Mean. What about people who actually really want the mobile version on their device for whatever reason, even though your server thinks they are on a non-mobile device? This is just more work for everybody everywhere, to save one person 30 seconds of thinking about what they are doing just once. Having an obvious link to the non-mobile version (and vice versa) is the Right Way to go about this in my book.
Also this thread needs a Stuck Inside of Mobile parody.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:53 PM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
Some people (myself included) don't like this kind of automatic redirect: it ignores the user's request, effectively hiding the real problem (why are you giving the mobile url to people who are not on a mobile device?) in an attempt to Do What I Mean. What about people who actually really want the mobile version on their device for whatever reason, even though your server thinks they are on a non-mobile device? This is just more work for everybody everywhere, to save one person 30 seconds of thinking about what they are doing just once. Having an obvious link to the non-mobile version (and vice versa) is the Right Way to go about this in my book.
Also this thread needs a Stuck Inside of Mobile parody.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:53 PM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
I just visited the desktop link on my phone and just got a "this requires flash" error, couldn't see a link to a mobile version or anything. That sucks.
posted by jacalata at 2:27 AM on August 5, 2013
posted by jacalata at 2:27 AM on August 5, 2013
> I remember when to submit a post or comment you had to physically mail a letter to Mathowie. He would collate them all, and then each edition of Metafilter would be printed off every month on parchment
You can laugh, but this is how people internetted for decades before there was an internet to do it on. And yes I just verbed "internet" to use it in an inappropriate way. I don't care.
posted by ardgedee at 5:19 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
You can laugh, but this is how people internetted for decades before there was an internet to do it on. And yes I just verbed "internet" to use it in an inappropriate way. I don't care.
posted by ardgedee at 5:19 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Is there where I can complain about posts with YouTube videos that don't allow mobile access?
posted by octothorpe at 6:49 AM on August 5, 2013
posted by octothorpe at 6:49 AM on August 5, 2013
why on earth wouldn't you redirect to a richer version of your site
For many sites, I greatly prefer the mobile version even when on desktop. If I know that what I'm looking for exists on the mobile site, it usually loads quicker and has a cleaner interface.
Sites that don't allow me to do this make me sad.
I understand the temptation to assume the user wants the desktop site when they request the mobile version from a desktop browser, but it's definitely not always the case.
And yes: Making your desktop site good enough that the user would *never* prefer the mobile site would be a dandy solution to this, but that is probably much less likely.
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:35 AM on August 5, 2013
For many sites, I greatly prefer the mobile version even when on desktop. If I know that what I'm looking for exists on the mobile site, it usually loads quicker and has a cleaner interface.
Sites that don't allow me to do this make me sad.
I understand the temptation to assume the user wants the desktop site when they request the mobile version from a desktop browser, but it's definitely not always the case.
And yes: Making your desktop site good enough that the user would *never* prefer the mobile site would be a dandy solution to this, but that is probably much less likely.
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:35 AM on August 5, 2013
I can't stand, and will immediately close, websites that direct me to their app rather than just giving me a mobile-ready version of their site.
And the mobile-ready site better give me an option for the desktop version, or they're out too.
posted by disclaimer at 10:11 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
And the mobile-ready site better give me an option for the desktop version, or they're out too.
posted by disclaimer at 10:11 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
can't be bothered to redirect a non-mobile device to the non-mobile site... The unrelated fact that YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, can't be bothered either: Even more appalling.
Er, what? If I go to a m.youtube.com link it takes me to www.youtube.com on my desktop(s).
Where are you seeing this behavior?
posted by wildcrdj at 1:21 PM on August 5, 2013
Er, what? If I go to a m.youtube.com link it takes me to www.youtube.com on my desktop(s).
Where are you seeing this behavior?
posted by wildcrdj at 1:21 PM on August 5, 2013
IIRC, YouTube video links always redirect, but playlists and searches don't always.
posted by kagredon at 3:58 PM on August 5, 2013
posted by kagredon at 3:58 PM on August 5, 2013
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posted by Floydd at 9:03 PM on August 3, 2013 [7 favorites]