Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » An app for rpr

I use rpr on my iPad since I don't have access to a laptop or anythig like that. So ot would be very convenient for me and other people to actually use an app.

You know I've thought about posting this here before, and now that someone actually has said it, I'll give my thoughts. I have been really expectant on an app, so that it would be a bit easier to navigate, the site on Chrome is already easy to navigate on a tablet and phone but getting real-time notifications would be real handy. As well as giving the mobile users a way to upload pictures from their gallery instead of tracing the picture from the HTML to here, I don't disagree with this though either. I have always thought since I joined to myself that 'After a while they'll make an app, if they have time' That thought had been wiped away and replaced with a big maybe ever since I found on that the site was managed by one person. I don't think that it would be impossible for Kim given that she may or may not be swamped by many things on the site. It may happen but I don't have an exactly concrete feeling that it'll happen, though Kim probably has something opposite to say from my opinion.

By the way before I go, if you do reply to this thread then I say, You're awesome Kim!!! You too GeniuslyGenius!!!

I'm honestly willing to wait for the app if it is possible. I really think it is— though it will take time. An app would REALLY help me to do things easier and I strongly agree with your suggestion of uploading a picture rather than getting an html. Its really difficult for me since I am using an iOS device and I have to upload my picture somewhere before I can actually use it here.

You're awesome too man!

Every time the subject has come up, the stance has been that Kim will continue to make the site mobile-friendly, but has no plans to ever make an app. It's not just that an app would take a long time to build (nevermind maintaining to keep it safe and fully functional), especially trying to account even for only the most commonly used device/system combos, but also that that would take time away from developing and maintaining other things around the site.

Mobile users presently can do almost every single thing that a desktop or laptop user can though, including uploading images to profiles. Mostly, things just get moved around a little, or how something is achieved might differ slightly. If there's something in particular you feel unable to do, you should ask about how to achieve that thing, or report a bug if that's what's messing you up.

Unfortunately, as was pointed out earlier, we don't have a staff of programmers. It's just me, who creates and maintains all the site features out of love (not paid) and a team of volunteer moderators.

It's hard enough for one person to create and maintain a site of this size when there's just one version, but to create and maintain 2-3 different app versions (android, apple, windows metro phones) is just not possible right now.

Here's a few forum topics where this suggestion is discussed, also:

http://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=16646
http://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=12133
http://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=5623
http://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=8350
http://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=25426


Please look at this: http://www.rprepository.com/help/push-notifications

Desktop users would love to have this too! The reason we don't have this feature is that that hosting all the zillions of images for characters and groups is one of the main reasons I keep having to upgrading the server. Image hosting is an expense, and there are many sites out there whose entire business model is based on providing such hosting. Rather than devote our limited resources (and incur more cost for the site in the long run from hosting all those extra images...) to developing such a feature, I prefer to let other sites whose entire point is hosting images do it. It adds some steps and inconvenience, it's true. But it's also healthiest for the site. This is why only epic members get access to more gallery images. Even if we had an app, this would not change.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't think it's going to happen. I barely keep up with the needs of the site without adding the extra versions. That's why I'm working very hard to make the site as mobile friendly as possible, and why we added push notifications for android devices earlier this year, to make the existing version of the site as app-like as possible without actually making an app. I will continue to improve and tweak the site to be ever more convenient for small screen devices (group editing is my next target for these types of upgrades), but it is enormously unlikely I will duplicate the site in an app.

Thanks.

I can't believe I never saw this in the settings! Thanks, Kim.