Does Free Republic Have It’s Own App?

5/29/2021 | Nikos1121

[nikos1121]

Does it? If not can we get one?

[Pollard]

Have you seen this website?

The design hasn't changed in decades. It actually wouldn't be all that hard to at least make it responsive, that is, fit all devices and be readable with nothing flowing off the screen and without the text shrinking so much it's unreadable. Most websites are like that now so an app or mobile version isn't really needed, especially on a site that's mostly text like FR is. Text pages are very lightweight. FR is good down to an ipad 768x1024px screen. I guess some people manage to use FR with a phone by pinching, zooming in and probably turning the phone sideways or swiping around a lot.

RWD -- Responsive Web Design would make FR very usable on any device. I know the div is already used. A div is a wrapper around some content. Goes something like this.

---

Desktop version

---

Header up top

Sidebar 1 | main content | sidebar two

Footer at bottom

---

Mobile version

---

Header up top

main content
Sidebar 1
Sidebar 2

Footer

Header shrinks or converts to mobile menu with hamburger icon(3 lines). Main content shrinks in width. Both sidebars get stacked under the main content with footer below that. On some sites. the footer may have 4 blocks side by side and on mobile, those will also get stacked instead. All could be done using a css framework like Bootstrap, Foundation, Simple CSS etc. I'm not saying it would be quick and easy, FR uses html tables which are not responsive as cells in a table can't simply rearrange and stack. Everything would have to be contained in a div. All the underlying Perl code would have to be gone through and have classes added to components. Those classes would have to be named to work with the css framework being used. Every single thing needs to be in a div, even if it's just a single line of text like the title at the top of each sidebar block. They also get nested to group things. Sidebar title + sidebar content each in their own div and both go in a sidebar block div etc.

I don't know why FR hasn't been brought into the 21st century yet. Maybe they figure it keeps the young-uns out. Patriots.win which used to be a reddit sub is pretty much the younger version of FR. Pro Trump, conservative, anti-commie, pro constitution etc. That's conservatism for you. Everyone in their own little squares arguing about the little differences on our side as the Left takes over by not being fractured.

[MayflowerMadam]

I don’t have a problem reading FR on my cell. True, I do expand it to eliminate the sidebar, but it’s not a problem.

And I love that the design hasn’t changed in decades. It’s a no-frills, get-the-job-done format. It’s simple to follow conversations between/among posters.

The only thing I would possibly change is the method of posting images, but it’s do-able now.

[Openurmind]

The addition of a “Mobile/responsive” theme/template in house to this existing script would be handy for phone and tablet viewing.

[Openurmind]

Yep, a regular “App” is not needed. It is very easy to add a mobile/responsive template/theme to this existing script so that it detects tablets and mobile access and applies a different template to adapt what is here to fit and render correctly on mobile devices. :)

They even make turnkey boxed addon utilities for doing this.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

If we could only access FR through an app, I wouldn’t be able to read it. I refuse to add an app to my phone and have shut down all I can that came on it. What are those “free” apps doing with your data?

[Bloodandgravy]

[Mr. Jeeves]

The primary purpose of an app is to give veto power over your content to Apple and Google in return for minimal readability improvements on hand-held devices - which can be equally well accomplished by good web design.

[TomGuy]

GOOGLE lists many ways to turn webpages into apps:

Search: make webpage into app

[Pollard]

LOL

[nikos1121]

Would give us an option

[cartan]

any browser app, I guess

[cartan]

maybe a Facebook group as well