# SS.org mobile phone app



## PetrucciVai

Good news, an SS.org android app is currently in progress! 

I've always wanted a mobile app to browse SS.org and I started learning android development back in the spring and a few weeks ago I decided to take a stab at making a SS.org app of my own, kind of just as a proof of concept type of thing. So far everything I have tried to implement is working as far as I can tell and I plan on fully implementing it as a complete app, unless I run into any problems. Just wanna let the community know in case anyone was in my shoes and wanted a SS.org app to use! 

*MODS: if this is against any forum policies or anything please let me know. obviously I haven't released anything for anyone else to use because its just a prototype at this point, but I don't wanna piss anyone off!*

If anyone is interested in helping me design the app and has any UI design or photoshop/fireworks/etc experience PM me! I could use some help making it look sleek and sexy.

Also, for those of you wondering, if I can complete the android version as a 100% fully working app I do plan on making an iPhone version, possibly a windows phone version as well if there is any interest.


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## djpharoah

At this point in smart phones with androids having larger and larger screens what benefits would an app have over a browser (chrome) on android?


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## MaxOfMetal

Glad to see someone actually doing something, not just demanding it. 

Though, I think before you move any further you should talk to the site's owner and admin. Here's his profile, though I suggest also e-mailing him. 

Sevenstring.org - View Profile: Alex


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## Stealthdjentstic

Awesome. 90% of my posting is done with my phone and it would be very nice having an app. Thanks dude


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## BlackMastodon

Much appreciated man. An iPhone app would be kickass though .


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## TimSE

Nice! Iv asked about this before.

Il be sure to keep an eye out for it


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## Leuchty

Praise the lord!

You deserve a free t-shirt.


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## MFB

djpharoah said:


> At this point in smart phones with androids having larger and larger screens what benefits would an app have over a browser (chrome) on android?



Ease of use mainly. I for one have fat, stupid fingers and things like using Safari are tiny vs. say, Tapatalk/WAP sites where you can browse by section and the title doesnt require me to zoom in 1000x _is_ a world of difference. Plus, have you ever not zoomed in when try to change the page on your phones browser and hit the "view like" button over, and over, and over, AND OVER? It's awful.

There's a reason apps like Tapatalk, ForumRunner, etc... were made - to make browsing forums easier. So why not use them?


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## Stealthdjentstic

djpharoah said:


> At this point in smart phones with androids having larger and larger screens what benefits would an app have over a browser (chrome) on android?



So jaat.


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## ZEBOV

CYBERSYN said:


> Praise the lord!



....... But who is your lord?



It will be great to have this. Typing any post on this is a pain in the ass, especially if I need to just click on where I want to type. It highlights an entire word instead. And hopefully this will make it easier to keep up with the PBL.


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## MetalDaze

+1 iPhone


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## djpharoah

MFB said:


> Ease of use mainly. I for one have fat, stupid fingers and things like using Safari are tiny vs. say, Tapatalk/WAP sites where you can browse by section and the title doesnt require me to zoom in 1000x _is_ a world of difference. Plus, have you ever not zoomed in when try to change the page on your phones browser and hit the "view like" button over, and over, and over, AND OVER? It's awful.
> 
> There's a reason apps like Tapatalk, ForumRunner, etc... were made - to make browsing forums easier. So why not use them?



Ah you poor iPhone saps and that 3.5" screen


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## Sephael

lol don't need to see/ touch a screen to type, I can just tell Siri to tell you to get lost.


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## MFB

djpharoah said:


> Ah you poor iPhone saps and that 3.5" screen



Eh, I'll take an aesthetically pleasing and easy to use OS at the cost of a slightly smaller screen  Although I'll probably switch when it's time to upgrade just to see what's out there or if there isn't anything, then I'll stick with it.


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## Aftermath1

Samsung Galaxy Note - 5.3" screen, come at me bro!


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## metal_sam14

Galaxy SIII, 4.8" screen, works great for web browsing 

I would be all over an app though, I practically live on this forum


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## BlackMastodon

^Been eying the SIII's and the new RAZR's. Once my contract is up in a year and a half I'm ditching this iPhone and trying out an android. I like my iPhone but there are a bunch of stupid little bugs that go on randomly and some things just bug me about it. And I feel like a pretentious douche.


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## Valennic

BlackMastodon said:


> ^Been eying the SIII's and the new RAZR's. Once my contract is up in a year and a half I'm ditching this iPhone and trying out an android. I like my iPhone but there are a bunch of stupid little bugs that go on randomly and some things just bug me about it. And I feel like a pretentious douche.



Droid RAZR is the shit. I've got one, love the hell out of it. I do recommend going for the MAXX variation, its a bit thicker, but that extra battery life is needed.

OT: Can't wait for this, navigating this site can be a slight pain at times


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## PetrucciVai

Thanks for the support everyone! I'm not working on it 24/7 or anything close to that, at this point its still just a side project or hobby I guess. But if I can get a  from the site owner and everything I plan on making a kick ass mobile app (iPhone version included).




MFB said:


> Ease of use mainly. I for one have fat, stupid fingers and things like using Safari are tiny vs. say, Tapatalk/WAP sites where you can browse by section and the title doesnt require me to zoom in 1000x _is_ a world of difference. Plus, have you ever not zoomed in when try to change the page on your phones browser and hit the "view like" button over, and over, and over, AND OVER? It's awful.
> 
> There's a reason apps like Tapatalk, ForumRunner, etc... were made - to make browsing forums easier. So why not use them?



My thoughts exactly. Sure you can go into a native phone browser and get the job done just fine, but IMHO a phone app tailored to show you what you want in a clean easy to use interface is much, much more convenient to use. Plus I'm trying to learn all I can about mobile apps so why not!


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## Valennic

Whether its a full time project or not, kudos to you sir for undertaking it.


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## JosephAOI

for doing this.

I for one have a hard time navagating the site on my iPhone. Mostly with liking posts or searching. For some reason, whenever I try to search, I type in one letter and it throws me to the top left corner of the page 

Anyway, can't wait to see how this turns out!


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## Leuchty

I am here for moral support!

Go mate!

Did you get the basket of muffins I sent you PetrucciVai?


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## Leuchty

ZEBOV said:


> ....... But who is your lord?



The one they call ZEBOV!


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## skeels

CYBERSYN said:


> The one they call ZEBOV!



ZEBOV likes this.


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## FireInside

Great news, hope it sees the light of day. 

Galaxy SIII = FTW! Love my new phone.


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## troyguitar

iphone is borderline too big already, anything bigger than that I do not want to buy - thus forum apps >> using a regular browser

I would purchase an ss.org iphone app or perhaps help code it but I don't have time to write it from scratch myself, it would be done in 2020 if I were the sole developer


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## signalgrey

check out they did the Reddit App. Thats a great way to handle it


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## Sephael

JosephAOI said:


> for doing this.
> 
> I for one have a hard time navagating the site on my iPhone. Mostly with liking posts or searching. For some reason, whenever I try to search, I type in one letter and it throws me to the top left corner of the page
> 
> Anyway, can't wait to see how this turns out!


Hold down and just open in a new window


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## slowro

+1 for the iphone app
this will kill the 56k jokes to be replaced with (no 3g no pix brah!)


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## PetrucciVai

CYBERSYN said:


> I am here for moral support!
> 
> Go mate!
> 
> Did you get the basket of muffins I sent you PetrucciVai?



 I'll be looking for them in the mail!



No response from the site owner yet, but hopefully he'll give me a  sooner or later. Working on finalizing the UI currently, eventually I'll post some mock-ups and get everyone's opinion on how it looks. I want as much input from you guys as possible so I can make an app that people actually WANT to use. 

I also plan on setting up a beta tester system (but that'll be a while from now) and will need lots of testers with lots of different types of phones to ensure this thing runs smoothly on as many devices as possible


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## renzoip

I would highly suggest to have ss.org, on Tapatalk, I think it's a great way to view forums, and the layout is very clean and orgainzed. Not to mention that is cross platform! 

Tapatalk Forum App - Empowering Forum Junkies on-the-go


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## ElRay

MFB said:


> Eh, I'll take an aesthetically pleasing and easy to use OS at the cost of a slightly smaller screen


I went Android on my last phone "upgrade". I use my iPod Touch whenever possible over the Android. The android is "so close, yet frustratingly far" in comparison.

Ray


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## nojyeloot

OP:

HERE IS ONE MASSIVE VOTE FOR A WINDOWS PHONE 7 APP

Thanks for doing this


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## PetrucciVai

renzoip said:


> I would highly suggest to have ss.org, on Tapatalk, I think it's a great way to view forums, and the layout is very clean and orgainzed. Not to mention that is cross platform!
> 
> Tapatalk Forum App - Empowering Forum Junkies on-the-go



It might be a handy way to get a forum app up and running quickly, but (like its been said on a LOT of other threads here) tapatalk presents lots of security issues for the site/admin. I'm not sure what those are, but all I know is that people have requested adding tapatalk support to ss.org and the idea has been turned down many a time...


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## Stealthdjentstic

Yeah and independant app seems like the only way to go.


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## renzoip

PetrucciVai said:


> It might be a handy way to get a forum app up and running quickly, but (like its been said on a LOT of other threads here) tapatalk presents lots of security issues for the site/admin. I'm not sure what those are, but all I know is that people have requested adding tapatalk support to ss.org and the idea has been turned down many a time...



Ah, well, idk much about the technical side of things, but if this is the case, then yeah, an official ss.org app would be nice still. Even with a fast browser and a 4.5" screen, I'm not very fond of all the pinch zooming and accidentally tapping on things I don't want to touch.


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## PetrucciVai

renzoip said:


> Ah, well, idk much about the technical side of things, but if this is the case, then yeah, an official ss.org app would be nice still. Even with a fast browser and a 4.5" screen, I'm not very fond of all the pinch zooming and accidentally tapping on things I don't want to touch.



Yeah I completely agree. That's where I come in! I'd love an app to browse with myself so I can't wait to get it fully working, its gonna be tasty


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## PetrucciVai

nojyeloot said:


> OP:
> 
> HERE IS ONE MASSIVE VOTE FOR A WINDOWS PHONE 7 APP
> 
> Thanks for doing this



haha! I don't know a damn thing about windows phone AT ALL, but I'd love to try and learn it. Why not??


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## nojyeloot

^






EDIT: I'll be your alpha/beta testor. Dead SRS.


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## PetrucciVai

Anyone have another way to contact Alex the site owner other than a PM/the "Contact Us" page? haven't heard anything back yet...


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## Stealthdjentstic

I would ask one of the mods to get a hold of him. Or post on MLP


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## PetrucciVai

Oh okay I'll do that. Whats MLP?


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## MFB

Mylespaul.com


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## PetrucciVai

Hey guys, just a quick update for ya:

I finally got in touch with the site owner, Alex, and he didn't seem to have a problem with me making an SS.org app which is cool, but he basically said "no login functionality", which I think mostly defeats the purpose. Sure I can make an easy to use "reader" type app but if you can't reply/post things the functionality is pretty limited... 

So at this point development has slowed down quite a bit. I've been toying with some iPhone development here and there so an iPhone version is definitely do-able alongside the android version, but if there's little to no interest in an app without login functionality I don't see a point in finishing 

What do you all think? I'm open to any/all ideas at this point. If anyone wants to try and get in touch with Alex further regarding including the ability to log-in in my app go for it, but I have yet to hear back to him... (clearly a busy dude  )


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## BIG ND SWEATY

why did he say no login function?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> why did he say no login function?



This. I can read like this just fine in this format, but typing is a bitch.


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## PetrucciVai

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> why did he say no login function?



You know... I wish I knew. He's real hard to get a hold of. I asked him myself (because the method I have in place now logs the user in the exact same way as the browser does, I can't see why it would be a problem) but he has yet to get back to me


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## MFB

Didn't I see a few posts of yours that were sent from the prototype version of this? If so, then how did YOU login to post them?

I know I definitely saw someones post saying "Sent from Sevenstring.org App for Android"


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## PetrucciVai

MFB said:


> Didn't I see a few posts of yours that were sent from the prototype version of this? If so, then how did YOU login to post them?
> 
> I know I definitely saw someones post saying "Sent from Sevenstring.org App for Android"



I'm not sure where you saw that signature in a post... I've definitely never seen it before 

But I do have a prototype version of the app running on my personal phone that DOES have log-in functionality. The question here is whether or not the site owner (Alex) would approve of me releasing an app that has said functionality. The option is there and works though.... 

Maybe if I get a 100% working beta version and make a video showing off the app the community can convince Alex to let me release it as the official SS.org app


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## Sephael

Security concerns over harvesting user IDs and passwords would be my guess as to why he wouldn't want an app having log in function.


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## Robrecht

A dedicated SSO app would be the best, and it's very cool to hear that you already have a functioning beta. I do, however, understand the site owner's reluctance to give a third party access to member data, especially on a forum of this size -- just imagine the potential privacy disaster. You'd have to come to some kind of agreement, I guess.

Another possibility might be for someone to create a mobile template for the forum that kicks in automatically when a mobile browser is detected. It could have larger navigation controls and other small screen optimisations; it wouldn't be as good as an app, but there would be no security concerns.


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## PetrucciVai

Robrecht said:


> A dedicated SSO app would be the best, and it's very cool to hear that you already have a functioning beta. I do, however, understand the site owner's reluctance to give a third party access to member data, especially on a forum of this size -- just imagine the potential privacy disaster. You'd have to come to some kind of agreement, I guess.
> 
> Another possibility might be for someone to create a mobile template for the forum that kicks in automatically when a mobile browser is detected. It could have larger navigation controls and other small screen optimisations; it wouldn't be as good as an app, but there would be no security concerns.




Yeah, security concerns are obviously a huge risk for the site (hence why theres no mobile app running with Tapatalk as of yet) but the thing is that because I don't have access to the SS.org servers in any way (and no VBulletin API to access) I'm forced to browse the site with basic HTTP requests and sort through the HTML to get the data I want: aka exactly how a normal internet browser accesses the SS.org site  Obviously not the best way to go about it, but technically I'm not doing anything more than a web browser does, so hopefully this will help Alex realize there's no reason to restrict me from having log-in functionality.

Meaning I can get the app done faster and released to you guys!


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## Sephael

Not having access to server side data doesn't prevent logging and harvesting of user names / passwords from people using the app, ala key loggers etc, that is the concern


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## PetrucciVai

Sephael said:


> Not having access to server side data doesn't prevent logging and harvesting of user names / passwords from people using the app, ala key loggers etc, that is the concern



Ah, right, very true. I hadn't even thought of that. I wonder what would be the best way to go about that? I mean I suppose there's always a slight threat of that happening with any app that requires a login/password to use, unless you can prove it to not to be true somehow. Maybe releasing the source code would do the trick? 

Very important thing to consider, thanks for that


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## MFB

PetrucciVai said:


> I'm not sure where you saw that signature in a post... I've definitely never seen it before
> 
> But I do have a prototype version of the app running on my personal phone that DOES have log-in functionality. The question here is whether or not the site owner (Alex) would approve of me releasing an app that has said functionality. The option is there and works though....
> 
> Maybe if I get a 100% working beta version and make a video showing off the app the community can convince Alex to let me release it as the official SS.org app



Found the post I was referencing before, it was the very first post on page 20 of the Jackson X Series thread, here's how it looked :



> Wow thats a beauty that is
> 
> 
> Posted from Sevenstring.org App for Android


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## PetrucciVai

MFB said:


> Found the post I was referencing before, it was the very first post on page 20 of the Jackson X Series thread, here's how it looked :



Interesting... Turns out this is from another app in the Play Store (not mine) with only 10+ downloads. Originally I searched for an SS.org app before I started mine (or at least I thought I did) but never found anything. 

That's cool that someone already made one I guess... but (no offense to the developer) it needs some work. Searching for the dev in the google store you can see the exact same app adapted to work for a few hundred other forum sites. I'd rather create an app that's a bit more tailored to ss.org itself, as well as follow the android design guidelines a little closer. Nice to know there's some competition out there though 

As far as I can tell (fingers crossed) there is no iOS equivalent out there, either. So that might give me a leg up as well


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## FireInside

I saw that sig as well. I just figured someone was messing around.


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## PetrucciVai

Hey guys, just stopping in for a quick update on the progress of this bad boy. 

Development slowed to a halt once school/work kicked in, but I've recently picked up on the progress and now have the time to put steady work into the app.  I made a picture album of some screenshots to show off, just because I don't have any sort of demo video (and haven't set up a system for beta testers or anything like that). I plan to do both of those things eventually! Just not in the middle of my studying tonight. 

I also will probably make a new thread for future updates/requests once I can release a beta copy for people to play around with, but as of now I haven't quite got replies working 100% (so I don't think there's a reason to release a beta if you can't reply to any threads!)

Check out the pictures here. Also please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments you have. I'm making this app for you guys (besides my own personal use of course) so if you've got input, let me know! I tried to stick with the general color scheme of the site, as well as follow as many android design guidelines as possible (the final colors/design might change a bit, we'll see). I also decided on the side/scroll-out menu for the main navigation throughout the app (and its got a sweet fade-out effect that looks sexy).

*Also (this is important): * if you have any desire to be a beta tester (aka get a copy of this sweet app before I release it for real) please email me at [email protected] and tell me. Once I get some more stuff set up you'll be the first ones to get a copy to play with


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## JosephAOI

Search function? Can you give likes and rep easily? What about quoting posts, ect.?

Looks really good so far man!


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## Sofos

Have you talked with Alex about logging in with the app?

also, instead of the android logo, you should put the 777 logo, or find some way to implement the site logo.


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## PetrucciVai

JosephAOI said:


> Search function? Can you give likes and rep easily? What about quoting posts, ect.?
> 
> Looks really good so far man!



Ah, yeah sorry about that. I meant to add that I will compile a full list of features (completed and to be finished later) once I have everything laid out. All the obvious ones will definitely be included though (search, User CP related things, quoting in replies, picture viewing, etc). There are some "smaller" features that I'm not sure would be worth implementing, and thats what I plan on asking for feedback on  

I'll post more details about new features as I get them completed!


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## PetrucciVai

SoldiersOfFilth said:


> Have you talked with Alex about logging in with the app?
> 
> also, instead of the android logo, you should put the 777 logo, or find some way to implement the site logo.




I sent him a few more messages about it, as far as I can tell he doesn't want to reply because I have yet to receive a response. But I have logging in currently working.... we'll see what happens.


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## PetrucciVai

SoldiersOfFilth said:


> Have you talked with Alex about logging in with the app?
> 
> also, instead of the android logo, you should put the 777 logo, or find some way to implement the site logo.



I actually had the same idea. I'm saving any icons/logos/final UI touching up until all the core functionality is complete. Definitely making the app icon a 777 logo for sure though.


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## PetrucciVai

test


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## ZEBOV

PetrucciVai said:


> test



Not successful. Try again.


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## PetrucciVai

First post sent right from the app, get excited!


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## Leuchty

Keen. As. Fuck.


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## BIG ND SWEATY

iv noticed alot of posts saying "sent from the sevenstring.org app for andriod" lately


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## PetrucciVai

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> iv noticed alot of posts saying "sent from the sevenstring.org app for andriod" lately



Yeah, apparently there already exists a "forum reader" app for SS.org made by this other dude, but IMO its pretty terrible and not that user-friendly. You can check it out here, and more importantly, if you look at the other apps offered by that same developer, they are all identical to this one but adapted to work with various other online forums. AKA he's copy/pasting this one app and changing a few URL's here and there and offering them as separate apps 

Once I get my Play Store account set up and my beta version up for download, I'll post it here (and link this thread within the Play Store) to clear up any confusion


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## tripguitar

ya i downloaded the one thats available on the play store today and messed with it... it sucks.


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## PetrucciVai

tripguitar said:


> ya i downloaded the one thats available on the play store today and messed with it... it sucks.



Well said! That's why I'm trying to alleviate that feeling with a seamless, intuitive, straight-forward version myself


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## Leuchty

Bump for updates...

???


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## PetrucciVai

CYBERSYN said:


> Bump for updates...
> 
> ???



Sorry for the delay guys, The last 3 or 4 weeks of school pretty much halted all progress on the app due to my studying for finals and what not. 

I know its been a while since I've had any update but the good news is the app is ALMOST ready to be released for beta testing. There are a few small things to wrap up before that happens, but trust me its very close. the bad news (which is actually good news, IMO) is that I'm in the process of taking the back-end code that gathers the threads and posts and pulls them from the site and moving it to a separate server, instead of processing on the phone. What does that mean to you? It mostly means that this is will save on processing/loading times and speed up the app (not that it really needed it, but faster loading times are always nice). The more important thing is that doing this will streamline the development of the iOS version of the app that I plan on making sometime next year (after the android version is done). That just saves me the extra step of converting the back-end processes from the android version to the iOS version, as the stuff coming from the server is the same for both apps. 

For those of you still waiting on an ss.org iOS app, sit tight. I wont start working on it for a few months, but moving the back-end code to a separate server is a huge step forward.

As for those of you wanting to use the android version, be sure to send me a PM letting me know if you haven't already. I'm not releasing the app to the Android Market right now, at least not until its mostly feature-complete (to avoid negative reviews and ratings from people with random issues, freezes, force closes, etc) but I will distribute it individually to people who want to test it out. Send me your personal email, name, username on the site, and whatever android devices you own/are willing to use to test the app (phones AND tablets included). Expect some more news in January


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## PetrucciVai

Just a quick update because I literally just now got the back-end server stuff up and running.... HOLY BALLS ITS SO MUCH FASTER 

I mean the app wasn't _slow_ before by any means, but shit now its loading threads/posts almost instantly. Super happy about this performance, very much worth all the work it took to convert it 

(I can't attest to how this will run on older (1.5-2 years older or more) android phones, because I'm running it on my new Nexus 4 and my semi-old LG G2X, but I assume it will still be faster due to the server doing the heavy processing instead of the phone.  aka you most likely have nothing to worry about, unless you are running a 4 year old phone that will likely die on you soon


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## PetrucciVai

Here are some more screenshots for you guys, just because I changed a lot of UI stuff from the original screenshots I uploaded. I think it looks at lot nicer now. These images are gigantic, I don't know how to make 'em smaller


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## Phrygian

That looks good dude!


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## matt397

So stoked, looks real good man, can't wait to test it out.


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## Galius

Looking pretty rad. Cant wait until release!


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## Fiction

Fuck that looks awesome.


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## Leuchty

Very nice!


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## renzoip

Wow, this is looking great. Can't wait to download it and start using it! \m/


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## PetrucciVai

god that thing looks awesome.


^^that was me testing the new posting method 


Just a heads up/update for you guys, things have inevitably slowed down a bit now that I'm in school again  I'm still making progress though, don't worry I haven't forgotten about this! But taking 16 hours of classes and working part time keeps me pretty busy so I only have a few hours a week to work on this project. I'm close to finishing the app in its most basic form though, and then I can release it for testing and you guys to use and what not. In the initial release, You'll only be able to view posts and log in and reply to stuff. That seems pretty bare bones (because it totally is) but unfortunately a lot of the time so far was spent setting up the back-end to do everything I want so that implementing new features (like a user profile page, basic & advance searching, uploading pics, etc) will be less of a hassle down the road. Even though I would LOVE to work on this full time and knock it out in like 4-6 weeks, unfortunately this is the best I can do so bear with me from here on out. I'll be emailing out the initial release version (it won't be in the marketplace for quite some time, I have a previous post detailing that I believe) so be on the look out for emails from me and PM me if you haven't already and want to get a beta copy. Can't wait to get this thing up and running for real.

*ALSO! This is important!

For anyone interested in the iPhone version (cause I'm sure a ton of people reading this will be) I'm going to make a separate thread later on for that. I have an extremely basic prototype for iOS right now and its nowhere near complete, so just keep your eyes open for an iPhone-specific thread later on. From here on out this thread will be for current bugs/updates to the Android version.*

If that makes you mad, well sorry... I'm just one dude doing this on my own as a side-project so I can only do so much  be patient and good things will come.


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## PetrucciVai

get pumped guys, this thing is just about feature complete and I'm just ironing out some last few bugs! should be good to go very soon!


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## PetrucciVai

PetrucciVai said:


> get pumped guys, this thing is just about feature complete and I'm just ironing out some last few bugs! should be good to go very soon!



Having some trouble with the server-side stuff unfortunately.... (aka everything broke and the company is fixing things ) I was hoping to release this week but the app won't work at all if the server is down... Hopefully I can get SOMETHING to work soon. shouldn't be long!


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## matt397

So any good news yet ?! I can't wait to test it out, middle of the month I'm getting the S4 if it comes out as scheduled so I'll have a brand new android phone to test it out on


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## PetrucciVai

matt397 said:


> So any good news yet ?! I can't wait to test it out, middle of the month I'm getting the S4 if it comes out as scheduled so I'll have a brand new android phone to test it out on



Man, I wish I could've made more progress by now but handling this project during school just doesn't leave me with much time to work on this at the end of the day  (working 10 hrs/week doesn't help either...) I only get like maybe 2 hours a week to finish features on this initial app release.

However there is good news!! The following week is my school's spring break and because I got shafted and have jury duty next tuesday I had to bail on a week long beach trip, so I have a ton of time coming up to knock out everything and get the app released. All the features are there (at least the initial ones I planned) I just have shitty annoying bugs to fix. I plan on hammering it out next week and getting it released 

I can't promise anything obviously, but I will DEFINITELY make a crap ton of progress over the next 10 days or so. I'm also gonna make a separate thread for the iPhone version and hopefully get that started. I'll link to it in this thread as well.

And again i'll remind everyone reading this, *if you want to test the app before its initial app store release* (which won't be for some time): please email me at [email protected] and let me know so I can keep track of everyone testing. 


Thanks for waiting dudes, I know it seems like I am dragging this out longer than ever... but I'm working hard to get this done! If I could work on it 8 hours a day I totally would!! Bear with me


*EDIT: * I can't edit my original post (thought that was a thing but apparently not lol) so here is the link to the thread about the iPhone version. Any information in _this_ thread is ANDROID-specific ONLY


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## PetrucciVai

PetrucciVai said:


> However there is good news!!




Good news indeed! I've made a ton of progress this week. I've got some updated screenshots for your viewing pleasure just to show off that actual progress IS being made . Here are a few pics:










































The images are pretty random, I just went through and tried to find screenshots that show off random things that are working now so you can get a feel for how the app looks viewing various threads with different kinds of content. 

There are no drastic changes, however I have quotes, browser links, bold/italic/etc formatting AND smilies working now. The smilies aren't animated however.... apparently GIF's don't work properly right out of the box  I'm gonna have to go the custom animation route and I'll be fixing that later but for now its fine. Quotes are currently just turquoise'd on the background because I didn't have time to mock-up any fancy drawings for the background, I'll get to that later as well. I kinda like the turquoise though, originally it was a cop out cause I needed a way to show that it was a quote but I think it fits nicely with the theme of the app.

There is some sort of html encoding issue with certain special characters though. Quotations show up as '& quot ;' instead of actually formatting a quote mark, and I'll get to that after the initial release as well. All of these random bugs don't really affect functionality so I didn't worry about spending more time fixing them, I'd rather just get the app out ASAP.

The only thing I have to finish is getting an image viewer working so you can actually look at pictures instead of that white placeholder image you see right now, and that shouldn't take long at all. Then its release time and *hopefully* there are no major issues causing the app to be unusable or anything. I've been using it here and there and I have to say, it seems pretty smooth and fluid so far. Real, real happy with the app right now so I just wanted to update you guys since I haven't posted screenshots in a while. Enjoy 

OH! and embedded youtube videos are broken too  so if you get an "error loading frowny face" screen then its probably because the server is down (<1% of the time) or because there is a youtube video embedded in the thread. I'll fix it soon!


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## MFB

Is this available on the Play Store yet? I looked for it but nothing came up for it.


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## PetrucciVai

unfortunately not yet. I'm holding off on submitting to the play store before its a more feature-complete to avoid any negative reviews from random crashes that I haven't found/fixed yet or from people too dumb to know what "beta" means (I can't even search this app sucks, 1star needs more features, etc) Those reviews kill the overall rating and I cant really do anything about it.

if you want to get a copy of the beta version in the future send me a PM or an email


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## JPMike

In any case, are you willing to make one for iPhones too?


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## flint757

I believe he is, there is another thread about it.


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## PetrucciVai

JPMike said:


> In any case, are you willing to make one for iPhones too?



Yep, I'll be making a similar app for iOS in the future. Check the progress in this thread here


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## PetrucciVai

Still getting raped by school guys  sorry I haven't had any updates yet....


Big things coming soon though! very very very soon


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## PetrucciVai

Hey guys, just a quick update (and a small request I ask of you all):

As I'm wrapping things up before the initial beta release, I ask all of you (if you haven't done so already) to go ahead and join Google Plus. I believe at this point everyone who has a google/gmail/youtube account already has a Google+ account as well, but I could be wrong so please be sure you are able to go to http://plus.google.com and sign in to your account. 

A new beta testing program was recently announced at Google I/O a few weeks ago that allows me to go ahead and submit the app to the Play Store and only distribute it to select members of a beta-testing group. I can easily just add all of your email addresses within the Play Store, but it will be much easier for me to communicate to every one who is using the beta versions of this app, as well as let new beta testers join, if we are all using Google+. I will make a G+ Community page solely for the distribution of the app and if you don't join G+ and/or don't join the community page, you won't be able to download the app from the Play Store. You will also be able to post reviews and give me direct feedback on the Play Store, as well as posting any questions about upcoming features/bug fixes/etc within that community page. So please make sure you're on G+ and I'll be posting a link to the community page very soon!



*TL;DR - If you want to make my life easier, make sure you have a Google+ account, I'll post more details in the coming weeks.*


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## Sofos

G+ left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth when I tried using it (more than a few times). It's interface is so bad, I just stopped even trying. It's like it takes the worst of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and shoves em all into one website.


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## PetrucciVai

SoldiersOfFilth said:


> G+ left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth when I tried using it (more than a few times). It's interface is so bad, I just stopped even trying. It's like it takes the worst of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and shoves em all into one website.



I agree, I was never a fan and didn't really use it much, but they've updated the entire interface and UX since Google I/O (they claim that they added 41 new features) and I think it looks pretty slick nowadays. Especially the communities pages.

Either way, you wouldn't have to use it more than once every now and then (if you don't want to report any bugs/discuss any feature requests or anything like that). The important thing is that you would go and click the "Join community" button initally so that your google account shows up on my beta tester list and you give yourself access to the app within the Play Store. Otherwise, you'll search for SS.org and won't find anything in the store and think I'm a bit fat phony, which isn't cool


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## MetalBuddah

edit: WRONG THREAD


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## PetrucciVai

quick update dudes (so you don't think I'm leaving you out to dry here):

I have been actively working on getting this thing done and it is taking FOREVER. I've had issues after issues after issues come up the past few weeks and I feel like I make one step forward and three steps back. I've had to switch to a new server (aka a better one with more features), re-implement the image fetching with a new library so that both embedded pictures work as well as the ones in the "Attached Thumbnails" box thing work, that one took a while to figure out, I've switched over to the new "official" side navigation drawer pattern since its release at Google I/O this month, and just a ton of other crap that keeps slowing me down. 

There were also a few minor site changes in the backend/layout of things that caused a lot of my custom server stuff to break so random threads wouldn't load and I've been ironing out those issues for the past week or so. Of course I only have so much time to fix stuff when I get home from work, and I code all day long so sometimes I'm just too beat to do anything on this project, but I _am_ making awewsome progress and wanna get this out for you guys to use AND so I can quit fixing all this stupid crap and start implementing new features that I haven't even started on yet (user CP, search, new threads, adding UI animations/gestures, etc). 

I have a ton of ideas and an always-increasing google task list of things to fix and ideas for new stuff so I'm not stopping any time soon, I'm getting dangerously close to releasing this thing. Just thought I would update because I'm sure some people think I'm slowing down with the lack of posts/info. 

Also, this is random, but if you have any questions about the app or anything (and please refrain from any "ZOMG WHEN IS IT GONNA BE RELEASED" questions ) send me an email or hit me up on twitter @erawhctim, I check those the most. 





SOON.


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## aWoodenShip

Words can't describe how excited I am to finally see this happening.


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## PetrucciVai

Made a ton of progress on the app, trying to get it released (hopefully) this week. Currently waiting on the support team at StackMob (the company hosting the backend servers that power the app) but I have one small thing to fix before its good to go, so I went ahead and created a Google+ community page. Check it out here and go ahead and join it! https://plus.google.com/communities/104636300891840587722

There is an "announcements" section on the community page and I will post there (as well as on this thread) when the app is up and running on the Play Store. 



*REMEMBER! You must be a member of the community (signed into Google+ with the same account you use on your phone) to get access to the app.*
If you don't join the group then no matter how hard you search for it, you will never get access to the app via the Play Store, which is super lame. Cause this app rules. So go join, and I'll let you know real soon when its up and running


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## Sofos

I joined. I recommend everyone else does too.

Otherwise, couldn't you just supply us with the .apk?


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## PetrucciVai

SoldiersOfFilth said:


> I joined. I recommend everyone else does too.
> 
> Otherwise, couldn't you just supply us with the .apk?



I definitely could just send out the .apk, sure. But its easier for me to manage everything through the play store as well as the community page. Its easier to have all the comments/feature requests/questions/bugs/etc on the community page all in one place, instead of scattered about on this thread. Plus its easier for you guys to get updates once they are pushed directly to the Play Store instead of me having to upload .apk's somewhere else and juggle different versions being uploaded (if need be). The Play Store method just makes it easier all around I think.


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## Robrecht

PetrucciVai said:


> I definitely could just send out the .apk, sure. But its easier for me to manage everything through the play store as well as the community page. Its easier to have all the comments/feature requests/questions/bugs/etc on the community page all in one place, instead of scattered about on this thread. Plus its easier for you guys to get updates once they are pushed directly to the Play Store instead of me having to upload .apk's somewhere else and juggle different versions being uploaded (if need be). The Play Store method just makes it easier all around I think.


Yep, I think you're right using the correct beta testing method provided by Google. Looking forward to trying this!


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## Sofos

testing quick reply

EDIT: hmm no signature showed up.


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## stuglue

Has this been released?


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## PetrucciVai

stuglue said:


> Has this been released?



Currently in the Play Store, but as a beta version so you have to join the Google+ community and "opt-in" before you're able to download it. See my earlier posts in this thread about how to do so


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## Robrecht

I'm in the beta group and I think the app is very, very well made. If you find the time to integrate the User CP and, hopefully, the New Posts feature, it'll be the perfect way to use the forum.


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## AxeHappy

Don't know if it has been added yet, but some way to use the "like" function would be pretty key to me.


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## crg123

I really love this app. I just started and I'm typing from it now. I agree a new posts would be a great addition sinces that's primarily how I figure out where to travel on the forum.


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## Iron Beard

is the iphone ver up yet? I cant find it in the app store


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## lukeshallperish

i can't find this in the google play store. Did it get removed?


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## JoshuaVonFlash

lukeshallperish said:


> i can't find this in the google play store. Did it get removed?


Me either.


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## dedsouth333

I've been looking for it since I first signed up and haven't found it yet.


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## lukeshallperish

I even joined the SS.org group on google+, got accepted to the group, and tried the links to the play store, but it says that nothing is found.


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## Alex Kenivel

PetrucciVai said:


> Currently in the Play Store, but as a beta version so you have to join the Google+ community and "opt-in" before you're able to download it. See my earlier posts in this thread about how to do so



Does it djent?


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## PetrucciVai

Sorry for any trouble you guys are having getting the app downloaded. Its still in the Play Store and hasn't been removed! But it won't show up in your search results unless you are *both* a member of the G+ community *and* have cliked the "opt-in to be a beta tester" link on the G+ page. Sometimes it even takes a few minutes for the changes to reflect in the Play Store search results.

If you still can't get the app, try removing yourself from the community and requesting to join again. If that still doesn't work shoot me a PM and I'll get it sorted out for you.


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## axemanrio

Really great what you're doing on your own time man. I've just requested to join the G+ community. Would love to help beta test the app on multiple devices and help with the UI too, if required.


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## tommychains

Any updates?


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## HurrDurr

Yeah, I'd like some info on this as well. I haven't joined anything, I'm just interested in when it'll be fully released. Also, has *Alex* OK'd everything?


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## Koloss85

Would like ios version too! I know prolly a Lotta work tho.


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