Bitcoin Forum

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 Why do you need an app when there is a web page?  People get carried away with this App shit.
It adds another level or five of security risk.  Don't do it.

Apps for this forum are currently hard to do. I wrote a basic one for the forum: https://github.com/achow101/BitcointalkForum but I have since stopped working on it. If anyone wants to continue work on that, then feel free.

The issue with writing apps for the forum is the lack of an API. Right now everything must be done by scraping HTML and then figuring out the correct HTTP requests in order to post. This takes a lot of time and it isn't optimal. When the new forum comes out, it should be mobile friendly and have an API so apps will be easier to write.

A bitcointalk app would be of great interest to me!  There are many times when I am away from my computer (stuck in line, eating lunch by myself, out of town ("Where can I find a BTC ATM in this town?"), etc.) when I could be posting here...

Even now the internet has been down at home for two weeks, grr....  I would then be able to post here via my mobile.

achow101, I hope that your plans re the forum having an API work out and that app writers get on this.

 What?  Your mobile doesn't have a browser?
I must be missing something about Apps!
Would sombody enlighten me on the benefits of this App over this site on the web browser?

I am also thinking to have a bitcointalk forum app so that I will be reachable from my phone by just one click from the screen of my mobile phone. But because of the security problem I do not like to have that from a weaker developer or from a private person. I like the Bitcointalk team to create and launch an app for their forum with strong security features.

Isn't a bit counterproductive to create BitcoinTalk Apps for current - quite outdated forum?
I know that new forum software is in testing or quite some time. Will that new forum version support API?

what's its status? is it in any way approved by the staff here? seems like a very easy way to harvest login details to me.

I access it via my browser on mobile. works fine for me. I don't really get apps that are just another way of accessing a website. I want to control how much data is being used up. I can do that via the right browser.

I also would be interssted in an App. I downloaded it in the playstore some time ago but it isnt good enough to use it acutally.

An app is essentially static while this website is dynamic.  The entire site could be changed without your knowledge and you would find out next time you opened it in your browser... the app would need to be upgraded and downloaded and installed and available for all different oper8ing systems.

 Can any of the pro app people explain how an app for this website would be of ANY value to anyone...please?

Uhh. No, that is not how apps work. Apps are not limited to local stuff. They can access the internet too. An App for this forum would fetch data from forum's servers, not have the content hard coded into the app.

An app would make it easier to browse the forum on mobile. On small devices, the forum can be fairly hard to read, with the text being small and requiring zoom. However this leads to having to scroll side to side to read the content. Additionally clicking links and buttons can also be hard to do on small devices as these links are also fairly small and also require zooming. An app would just make the site a lot more readable on mobile devices. This would also be fixed if there were a mobile version of Bitcointalk.

After scrapping bunch of pages from my sublime text while trying to figure out the most appropriate way to make a RESTful API,I finally gave up.Not that it's not possible but one doesn't need an app because pretty much your brower does everything you intend to do with an app.
Here's a tip if someone still wants to make one for themselves : Use Cordova framework along with Achow's code to make it mobile first.

Only if we had a clue when is that happening.

Real time notifications if someone replies to your post or the posts you're watching ? Could be customized according to your needs maybe.

Okay... but we already have notifications via email right?
In my mind there is no convincing argument for an app to access a forum.

I don't think creating an app without the API will merely be same as using the website in mobile browser, Only a very little feature can be added in mobile app.

No response, notification or callback can be done without using heavy resource by pinging the servers with HTTP headers in frequent intervals, so that the app can be nearly useful. But i think a mobile friendly design could be useful.

Great to hear there is an app, did not know that. I also would be interested in a more robust app for android.  I would be around the forums a lot more through the day if I could access through my phone.

You can achieve this by adding a site bookmark of bitcointalk on your phone's homepage.
Other than the zooming problem, i think it is better to stick to using the online version of the forum than using an unofficial app.

I could log me into my account here but I think the app is not very good so let's start the developement of a better BitcoinTalk app the app in question happens to be an effort from someone and it should be appreciated not to just condemn, the app in question is alright provided we can check our pm and other stuff though i agreed that there is room for advancement on the current app but your choice of words could discourage any other person with such a dream.

That app is already long existing there but I never tried downloading it. The web version on my mobile phone is alread enough. Be careful in using a third party app to log in with your details though, I never heard that the actual forum supported that app.

Good quality apps are very helpful in.some situation. Bitcointalk app for mobile could aprove visibility, maybe add some new features for easier navigation but in bitcointalk case web version on mobile phone is just fine so this is not necessary.

I think people should not spend time and effort to make a mobile app since it requires too much work and still will not be stable because there isn't a good API to scrap data as achow101 said.

I think every modern website has app to use it in smartphone and why do you ask that? If there isn't need of app for smartphone than other companies are doing silly things when they put money on developing website's app. As I know bitcointalk don't has even mobile version (I can't use it and have never seen). With mobile we can save mobile data, functions will be better and easy to use but I agree someone who posted here that it's hard to build and intagrate api for this cms of forum.

The admins and developers are building a new design with new layout and structures... hopefully the new bitcointalk will be mobile friendly.
this version is not mobile friendly because it is quite old and it is in Bbcode..
but I never faced any problem while navigating bitcointalk from mobile. in google chrome android it works very perfect and smooth.

I think i like this old version one since it was fully easy tp understand even for those newbies who starting up to learn to used this furom, but if admins will push the upgrade well let them be aslong as we cannot get compromise by their project and make it more beatiful and appealing well theirs no doubt that we will adjust for it. But anyways my deepest goodluck fpr this future development.

this is not an official app ,right?

-sf-

I agree in some cases of other sites but bitcointalk site is a different story. Doesn't even need a mobile version since everything is light.

I never experienced having a slow loading page in these site (except only if my connection is slow or the site itself has a problem) so it's not necessary for a bitcointalk app.

Honestly, about data consumption it doesn't eat too much as far as my data allocation is concerned although Im not monitoring my consumption.  In my mobile it has a 1gb data weekly allowance,  the average page visit Im doing here in this forum, I guess is around 100-200 pages weekly. At the same time Im playing 2 online games for about 5-6 hours everyday plus miscellenaeous browsing but the consumption average is just less than 400-500mb per week.

What we really need is a better "mobile" theme for the forum, one easier to read and use.
Most will not use an app.

Why would somebody give your app his user and password? Can you prove that you don't want to do something odd (from reading PM to selling) with the accounts (whether hard or unlikely would that be)?
I know, your idea is to put a few banners here and there to earn a little and you will not harm the account. But then.. people are fed up already with signature campaigns. What makes you think they'd like your app and its banners?

This is a good idea. Currently with SMF it requires web scraping to scrape posts and then dump them into the page with their formatting still intact. Not the simplest thing in the world. I hope with the new forum there will be an app.

Id love to start working on a project with someone in this.


Agghhhhh it's all Java... Too verbose for me :P

maybe  we need new service or promotion to the forum , eg,charge our online time (on this forum) into bitcoin or altcoin as reward  :D

than APP maybe a good alternative or plus :D

Lol people already get paid to be here with signature campaigns. The admins aren't going to pay you to be here. Or are you saying we get charged for using bitcointalk? Either way it's a terrible idea.

I hope the new forum at least has a mobile friendly website. I always have to zoom in to see the teeny little letters. Maybe I'm just missing something on android 6.0 haha.

The new design what they're building is mobile friendly and completely Ajax based. So it would be fine with web forum itself. But the actual problem is they're building that stuff for looooooooong time. Like from the stone age.

Seriously???
If this is not an official app from bitcointalk then would it be safe?? Anyway i posted this post from my smartphone, i access this forum through chrome, so far i don't have any problem like accessed the forum from your pc.