Lots of ideas in here, lots of fighting too. In some ways, it's almost like the Fwoosh Forums never left, eh? 😋 

I'm going to preface this with a simple truth about me: I know less about web design than I do rocketships. And brotha, I don't know dick about rocketships...

What I do know, though, is that browsing the new forums on my iPhone is a nightmare. Which sucks, because I'm on my desktop and my laptop so much during the day for work that when I am home (or on weekends), it is extremely rare for me to sit at another desktop or a laptop. I tend to use my phone for everything when chilling on the couch, relaxing in bed, or sitting on the can (c'mon, you do it too you dirty SOB's...).  The ads tend to r*pe you in the face, and as others have stated it does seem like parts of the page load before others. Trying to create or reply to posts is hard, and honestly not much fun. This will lead to far less engagement from me in my spare time, although whether that is a good thing or a bad thing probably depends on who you are and whether we have fought in the past 🤣  I will be on this board far less than before, where I used to access this place at least every 30 minutes through Tapatalk (which I also pay for, but Fwoosh wasn't my only forum on the app). 

This has been my favorite board since I discovered it 2+ years ago, and it sucks now that my engagement will mostly be limited to work breaks where it is easier to access everything on a laptop instead of accessing it constantly throughout the day. However, I also recognize that Robo isn't getting paid to run this place, and none of us are being charged to be here, so we pretty much have to accept what we're given and hope for some bugs to work through. 

Having said that, and again - no web design here...how difficult would it be to implement a desktop version of the site and a mobile version of the site? Many websites differentiate the two, and it inevitably makes things easier on mobile. Does that create the same issue Robo mentioned of having to maintain two separate databases? Or is it simply a UI difference that recognizes the device you're using? 

Further, if it became an option in the future, would anyone be willing to pay for access to the forums if it meant a better end-user experience? I could absolutely see tossing in $5/month to access Fwoosh if it meant a better website. I dunno, again it's just a bunch of talk from a guy who "doesn't know a thing" about web design. 

I'm happy to be back, in whatever limited capacity that entails. Limited access to Fwoosh is better than no access to Fwoosh. I'm grateful to Robo and whoever his elves are that got everything up and running so we can all argue once again! haha 

Agreed about the smartphone user experience, Joel and Real Smallville. It used to be so easy and streamlined using Fwoosh via Tapatalk on a smart phone. Easy to fit Fwoosh into my lifestyle—Fwoosh from the train to work, while on the couch while my kids monopolize the TV. etc.

But now it is a more frustrating experience. Slow load times that load at different rates, ads, having to click on threads/reply buttons at least three times before it works, uses up my battery super fast, and getting logged out all of the time, etc. I hope there is a way to make the forum work significantly better on mobile than it is now. 

I downloaded an ad blocker app for Safari. That makes the forum marginally better on my iPhone for the time being. Not a perfect solution. 

Are people on computers having these same issues? Or just on mobile? 

Some of the ads extend to where the poster typed in a reply and its hard to read whats in there sometimes. Id hit close then the same sized google bix remains asking how do i want the ads dealt with. 

akat, may i ask does the ad blocker work for both phone and laptop?

Posted by: @akatsuki

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Are people on computers having these same issues? Or just on mobile? 

I personally haven't encountered any of these issues on my desktop (Windows/Chrome browser). I do have an ad blocker on by default, so maybe that's mitigating a potential problem. Hoping something can be figured out for mobile users.

Thanks to Robo et al for getting the forum back up - such a good source of information and, normally, a good place for discussion.

@ajax I downloaded AdBlock Pro for Safari form the App Store on my iPhone. You have to be careful to not select any of the extra features which cost money. The basic free version seems to make Fwoosh run a little better on my iPhone. I haven’t tried on a laptop or anything else beside the phone. Good luck!

I use Ghostery ad blocker on my Laptop. runs smoother. i dont use my phone for toy forums, i use IG for toy stuff on my phone. I use Fwoosh forums on my Laptop only.

Another pet peeve—my normal way to use Fwoosh is to read a thread and then go and lookup the characters that other people are talking about or to go lookup artwork of characters that I want to write about and then go back to Fwoosh. 

But now when I open another tab in Safari to lookup characters or art, when I switch back to the Fwoosh tab, I am usually auto-logged out, and the post I was writing has been erased. I kept getting logged out of the Hulk thread mid-post. It ended up being 6 rounds of captchas just to make one post. 

I am sure how to avoid this scenario. I always click the “stay logged in” button. Any ideas? 

I miss being able to jump to the last and most recent post.

I liked it before without the "I am human" and captcha stuff.

Posted by: @protozoalord

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Posted by: @tsi

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This isn't how it appears on my end. I see a list of the subforums and that's it. Receiving a notification for every post in a thread you started is one of the worst features of the new site. Figuring out how to turn it off would greatly improve my experience.

Huh? That's strange, for me it's right under that subforum list. I don't know how it'd be different between users.

 

I can confirm I do not see anything but the broadest of forum categories with no subjects to check on or off at all.

Is there a Buy/sell/trade section or do we need to have a certain amount of posts to access like in the old forum?  

Testing, testing...

Does anyone else's posts all get held "Awaiting moderation?" Super frustrating having to wait hours and hours for your part of the discussion to be posted.

I didn't read all 17 pages, but does anyone know if it's possible well get the subscribed thread option back? That was a really nice QoL feature. 

Either way I am happy this place is back in whatever form it takes. Thanks for your efforts Robo!

@retrovintage might be due to you being brand new, if you were here before you wont get that message