If there's been one thing about our move to WordPress that has irritated us the most, it's the lack of mobile options. There are several, but each comes with their drawbacks. Most recently we learned there were some issues with the mobile theme we were using. It wasn't anything major, but enough of an issue that something had to be done. An increasing amount of you are accessing this site on devices other than a desktop. This is fantastic for us, but it's important our mobile theme be as functional as possible.
Even when the mobile theme seemed to work, I much preferred to switch over to the desktop version. It wasn't difficult to do, but it made the user experience less friendly. When we learned that there were some commenting issues it was time to abandon the mobile platform we've used since our move to WordPress in early 2012. It was also time to figure out a long-term solution.
That wasn't, in our opinion, ever going to be displaying the desktop version of the site on mobile devices. Our mobile theme looked nothing like our desktop theme, which we have spent considerable time designing (probably poorly). This too was always problematic and is for many sites that use different themes.
Managing the files in one theme is difficult enough, but managing them in two themes is nearly impossible for a site like this that isn't making a huge profit. It wasn't worth our time, but since upwards of 20% of our traffic is being viewed on non-desktop devices, something had to be done. The desktop version was acceptable. This left one option: designing the mobile theme to look as close to similar to the desktop theme, but that's far too much work and it still leaves us having to maintain two separate themes.
Responsive themes have become quite popular as the number of devices grow. These themes format the content to the size of the device being used. You can use one theme for both mobile content and for those using a laptop or desktop. The theme will look the same on a smart phone, a tablet or a much larger screen. The only difference is the order in which elements of the page are displayed. Since the content is most important, it's front and center on a mobile phone while the sidebar elements are pushed to the bottom. On your mobile phone, the login module will therefore be pushed to the bottom of the page. We're looking into an alternative in which we could place it in the menu, but for now it's at the bottom on your phone and in the same place otherwise.
The site basically looks the same. If you didn't access this site on a mobile phone and I didn't write this post, you may not have noticed anything. Perhaps you'd have noticed a few styling changes or a different font being used, but you'd not have noticed anything significant. The most significant change is that there is no background on the menu.
You can now access Obstructed View from any of your devices and the content will be easily read. The comments section will be the same as the one you'd use on your desktop. There's no need to familiarize yourself with two different layouts when one will suffice. There is one exception for the time being: comment numbers. Most desktop browsers support ordered lists, but mobile devices usually don't. As a result, the numbers you see outside the comment box on your desktop won't be visible on the mobile device. We're looking into ways to number the comments so they can be seen on all devices. I don't know how much those numbers matter to you, but I very much prefer it when comments are numbered.
There could be some bugs. There may be a situation in which the theme doesn't format itself to your device. There's literally no way to have a website function the same in every browser on every phone, tablet or computer. It's just not possible without spending a lot of money that we don't have.
I've tested the site on the following browsers: Mac Safari/Firefox/Chrome, Windows 7 IE8/Firefox/Chrome, Vista IE7/1E8/Firefox/Chrome, iPhone Chrome/Safari, iPad Chrome/Safari and have been told it displays correctly on a few different Android devices. If there is a problem with a specific OS and/or browser it's almost certainly going to be IE6 or earlier. Hopefully there is not, but as long as it is in some way functional on that browser or earlier I'm not going to invest any time trying to figure it out.
One unseen consequence of switching to the responsive theme was the table layout of the forum. HTML tables and responsive themes don't work well with one another. Because of thise we've moved our forum to a new installation and there is a link on the menu in the same location. Since it's a new installation, people will have to register on the new forum. We're sorry for the invonvenience, but you can still post on our blog without being registered. The latest commented topics are on the sidebar, as well as the footer.
In the future, if you have questions, comments or complaints about something related to the layout of the site, please leave them in the forum. There is a thread already set up specifically for it.
Comments
How does this relate to me being able to find Pizza Hut MILF anal sex content?
Aisle424Quote Reply
“Pizza Hut MILF anal sex content” sounds like a mnemonic to remember a column in the periodic table, as designed by a 12-year old.
joshQuote Reply
False.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
How does it not?
MishQuote Reply
Ryan Howard has not been very good: http://t.co/YlioLWOh
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
It’s easier to search for it on your mobile phone now. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
This was the controversial call that was ruled as a hit yesterday to keep Barney’s errorless streak alive. I can see why it COULD be called an error, but I don’t think there is anything black & white about it. He managed to get in front of it, but his momentum was taking him away from the play and he probably figured he had to scoop and throw very quickly to make the play at all.
I don’t have any problem with this being ruled a hit. I had more issue with the ball he threw to third that Valbuena missed (and for which Valbuena was subsequently given the error) as being more of a gift call. The thrower usually gets the error in those situations unless it is an egregiously easy throw for the fielder to handle and Barney’s throw wasn’t.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Only $100M to go!
GBTSQuote Reply
I thought the error was correctly put on Valbuena that time. From what I’ve seen over the years, the only time the error is on the thrower when you can’t reasonably expect the other guy to catch it (way over his head, in the dirt, etc). This was a play Valbuena makes 99.9% of the time because it wasn’t particularly difficult. The ball was off the ground.
On the gif play, I don’t think it’s an error. I wouldn’t be upset if it was ruled an error, but based on how errors are usually given out, I’ve seen lots of plays similar that haven’t been called errors.
mb21Quote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/17/anthony-rizzo-has-lived-up-to-the-hype-for-the-cubs/
MishQuote Reply
Also, I’m perfectly fine with a scorer wanting to keep the streak alive. It’s not as if Sandberg wasn’t helped out by friendly scoring. Same goes for anyone who has a streak that long. You can be damn well sure there was some friendly scoring going on throughout the streak.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Mish:
Too bad Jackson and Vitters haven’t.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Mish:
I enjoyed the commenter who pointed out that Rizzo was included in the A-Gon deal, who the Red Sox just flipped in exchange for getting Crawford and Beckett the fuck outta Boston.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I don’t have a “problem” with the Valbuena call either, but I have more reason to give an error to Barney on that play than the most recent one. The other part of this streak is that Barney does have an error in there, but he happened to be playing shortstop at the time. Maybe that was a factor, maybe it wasn’t, but it was awfully fortuitous that he had his rare defensive miscue while playing a position he doesn’t normally play to keep the streak alive.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Mish wrote:
Lived up to the hype? Is he in the front running for the MVP award? Prove me wrong.
Seriously though, I was about to complain about meh numbers but when I looked at his numbers it would be more or less a 30-100, 4 WAR season if extrapolated to all year. I’ll take it.
berselius22Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
What I remember about the Valbuena play is that it hit his glove. It hits your glove on the throw, you’ll get the error called against you more often than not. Not a perfect throw, though. That play there was pretty close. Maybe he gave it a hit because Barney still kept with it and made it pretty close.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
I think the reasoning was that, if Barney made the play at all, it would not have been a routine play. He went at least 6 steps to his right, pretty much on a sprint to even get to the ball so his momentum was carrying him away pretty hard, which he had to know and figured he’d need to pick and throw quickly to make up for the sure loss of zip he’d be able to put on the ball. I think the fact that he damn near got in front of it is what makes people think it was an easy play. It wasn’t.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Technically the streak is “consecutive games at 2nd base without an error.” So there’s a qualifier in there. I would argue that an error when playing out of position is reasonable (although supposedly he’s a better short stop than 2B, so I don’t know).
joshQuote Reply
Jackson’s K% is at 43%.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Also, he had the runner blocking him. That visual distortion has to lend to the difficulty. Maybe instead of an error/not error system, it should be like the olympics, where you are judged on difficulty and execution, with 5 being the default score.
joshQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/season-in-review-ian-stewart.html
mb21Quote Reply