[Closed] STW unusable

There has been a few threads mate. I know it is a contentious point for many members. Some seem to have more problems than others but I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of which browser might be better to use etc etc.

Genuinely not meant as a "dig" at you or anyone but the small subscription I pay as a Premium member is well worth it on a number of levels for me.

I'm not getting into the politics of subscribing or not though. I spend a lot of time on this forum so the Premium membership (to me) is really, really good value.

Hopefully you'll get some more practical help later in the thread though mate.👍

Are you logged in - anytime my device logs me out, I get issues with pop ups. Once I log in it’s problem free.

Which if the half a dozen times a day being logged out are you referring to?....

Yup logged in

Taken 3 attempts to post this

There are other browsers that don't have these issues. I use one but each time I mention it I get a row and my post edited as the name promotes what shouldn't be done - but it is a browser with better security features.

So i am pretty much problem free, this is what I do.

- Subscription
- Chrome browser
- My bookmark is to the Login page. There is no point expecting the site to remember you, it simply never does, I therefore just go direct to login page and log in each time.

This works across all platforms, Windows laptop, Apple Phone, Macbook etc etc. No pop ups, no ads, no issues.

Have you tried Firefox? The latest iOS version is really very good. Or you can change the default search in Safari to DuckDuckGo.

My bookmark is to the Login page.

My bookmark is to http://singletrackmag.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=forum/forum/off-topic - this goes to the forum if you're logged in and the login page if you aren't.

This does cause a glitch with cookies due to a bug - it reverts the two-week 'permanent' cookie to a session cookie - but Chrome does something froody with session cookies which negates the issue for me at least. Could have the opposite effect for others, YMMV.

Anecdotally from reports over the last few years, Safari does seem to be the common denominator for a large number of issues on STW. I know it's not an ideal solution but I'd honestly suggest using something that isn't Safari.

I have exactly the same setup as @Cougar above. Chrome browser and bookmark set to chat forum.

I never use singletrack on any device other than my phone - maybe opening between different browsers and devices for the same user is part of the problem? ( I have zero knowledge in this area by the way!).

It does seem to remember me, but for differing time periods. Sometimes weeks, sometimes I'll need to log in a couple of times on the same day - does seem quite random and I'm certainly not doing anything different!

I paid for a subscription recently, which I find good value for me. I enjoy most of the magazine and I've got a lot out of lurking on the forum for many years. Thought it was time to pay my dues!

When reading forum posts or articles I’m getting full page pop-ups saying congratulations I’ve won something. The only solution is to close the page. This is happening on iPhone & iPad and I’m a premium subscriber.

I know it’s not an ideal solution but I’d honestly suggest using something that isn’t doing more testing on Safari.

Fify

I know it’s not an ideal solution but I’d honestly suggest using something that isn’t doing more testing on Safari.

Fify

Hate to say it, and you know my feelings on the logout recurrence..

But this ^^

Considering a large majority of us use Safari our devices.

🤷‍♂️

a large majority of us use Safari

How would you possibly know this?

First time I've ever seen Mike make a post which doesn't suggest the best thing to do with an Apple product is to flush it away.

I've switched from Safari/with Chrome as backup, to Brave as my default browser- amongst it's other advantages, it manages to display the classifieds on here while still blocking third party ads.

User Agent is provided by your browser to STW website server, so that data returned can be tweaked to suit. Spoofing browser identity aside, it allows website owners to see the methods of access - desktop to mobile, safari to chrome to opera etc.

I find Adamant a useful extension on iOS to stop the worst of the web, and does seem to keep STW usable, save for the dreaded pause and vertical readjust, which requires a degree of patience to select a thread on the fora.

Safari is an edge case. There are more windows or Android devices.

How on earth is Safari an edge case, in either sense of the phrase?

What on earth does your second statement have to do with your first- one is about a browser, the other about operating systems.

Browser use stats:

https://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php

globally Safari is 13%. I'd imagine stw is not too far off that.

Not edge case, really.

(edited to make sense!)

globally Safari is 2.9%. I’d imagine stw is not too far off that.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't significantly higher.
Anyway, it's academic, because the target device is Drac's iPad which probably runs Safari

Anyway, it’s academic, because the target device is Drac’s iPad which probably runs Safari

And it works. 😉

What on earth does your second statement have to do with your first- one is about a browser, the other about operating systems.

It really isn't rocket surgery, Safari is no longer available on non-apple operating systems.

@nobbingsford - cookies are specific to a browser/device combination so Chrome on your home PC is different to Chrome on your work PC (shhh!) and also different to Firefox on your home PC.

Following Drac's (or Cougar's) suggestion I emailed tech with a fix for the regular two week log out. I don't know if they have implemented it (doesn't look like it) but they have implemented the simpler fix I suggested about updating the CSS (style) for links so that it wasn't the same colour as normal text.

One thing you can check is to look to see what cookies STW set whilst you are logged in. I've got 22(!) on Chrome but the important one here is called "wordpress_logged_in_" (it has a long number appended which will be unique to everyone). Look at the contents of that and it will tell you when it was created and when it expires. Note down the latter. If you get logged out (on the same machine/browser) check for the same cookie. If it's still there and it's still valid, i.e. hasn't gone past the expiry date then the problem is with STW. If the cookie isn't there then the problem is at your end. You might be deleting cookies when you shut the tab or browser for example.

Any web site that treats iphone, ipad and mac users as an "edge case" is pretty much doomed. Speaking of unusability I'm guessing the development hamsters have been let out again judging by the strange formatting in this thread (Firefox on Windows 10 in this case, but looks the same in Safari on IOS):

@whitestone: thanks for the explanation. I must admit I'm not hugely interested in the inner workings of internet / website stuff, but think I understand your point.

My earlier post was simply to say that I don't have have much of a problem myself, and am not aware of using my device or browser differently from day to day. BUT, I still do experience variability in the frequency of being logged out.

For me, the value I get out of the site (forums in particular) far outweighs the drawback of the need to log back in every now and then.

Any web site that treats iphone, ipad and mac users as an “edge case” is pretty much doomed.

TBH it looked like STW were only testing on IOS devices in the early stages when it all just worked on Drac's Ipad but nothing windows/Android.

But then again it's obviously the same all over the internet with websites falling over on certain browsers all the time 😉

The formatting thing above happens every so often, it always seems to be a particular bit of formatting/text combo that screws up the rest of the page

Safari user here on iPad, iPhone and macbook, recently had to log in everytime when swapping between devices, small gripe but still a pain in the arse. And as for not using safari?, why should this shonky website dictate what browser i use?.

iPad x2 and iPhone X 2 still don't get logged out and no pop ups.

I get the same as Donncha

Seems its fine for a few days and then get a space of them. Safari on Ipad and Iphone. Different versions of iOS on both

I know it’s not an ideal solution but I’d honestly suggest using something that isn’t doing more testing on Safari.

why should this shonky website dictate what browser i use?.

Totally agree that it should work on popular browsers and 'they' should be testing it and making it work, but here's the thing 'they' aren't (or they are without success). That means its up to you. Keep using the same browser, keep having a crappy experience, keep complaining at the wall, or, tweak your habits to make your experience more enjoyable. This has been ongoing for ages and I was certainly in the first camp at first but now I am resigned to being in the second. I have a link to STW that opens in opera, have a moderately hassle free browse, close the window. I never really use opera, it just happens to open in that.

Well just tried looking around the forums in Safari (v8.06) on iMac. Didn't log in so got the fully awful "make everything jump around" experience but no popups, no crashes, a bit slow while all the adverts load.

Logged in to STW and look at the browser bar and realise I have ABP turned on. Now I am a subscriber and logged in so what are the 16 items that adblock is blocking?

BTW I've just whitelisted STW and the notification has gone, but nothing seems different...

https://flic.kr/p/RMVzzK

BTW I’ve just whitelisted STW and the notification has gone, but nothing seems different…

I did for a bit but it's back off, I pay so it's there for when I get logged out.

Ok calling safari an edge case is not true. It not as important as your average apple users seems to think though. There is a disproportionate view of safari's importance from mostly iOS users that I've frequently come across in my professional life. E.g. we've got to have an iPhone app ignoring the fact this alienated the majority of a given site's users (just do a decent mobile site any browser can use you morons!). My view is this is because of the aspirational marketing bolox apple managed to generate around their products and the prevalence of those devices at a certain level in creative industries.

My view is this is because of the aspirational marketing bolox apple managed to generate around their products and the prevalence of those devices at a certain level in creative industries

and the relative value of their potential spend versus the bargain basement Android-using populace. It's not just about the numbers of users.

and the relative value of their potential spend versus the bargain basement Android-using populace. It’s not just about the numbers of users.

Do you want some magic beans? They cook so much better in snake oil though....

Do you want some magic beans? They cook so much better in snake oil though….

Exactly!

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-users-spend-twice-apps-vs-android-charts-2018-7?r=US&IR=T

Whether or not it's an edge case is by the by. Point is, there are options.

Should STW work flawlessly with every browser under the sun? Ideally, yes. Should you have to change browsers in order to get the best experience, or have a site "dictate" what you use? No, of course not.

However, the fact remains that rightly or wrongly Safari does seem to be (from my anecdotal experience of past user complaints on the forum) a common denominator for a lot of reported issues. So one can sit there and complain about it on every third thread whilst continuing to have a sub-optimal experience, or they can use another browser and hopefully make many problems go away.

I use any manner of websites and web-driven internal & external systems on a daily basis, and I'm forever hopping browsers. I did an online training course the other day, I wound up using Chrome (default browser) to configure my profile and set up my account, switching to Edge when Chrome wouldn't play the training videos, then later jumping to Firefox when neither Edge nor Chrome would allow me to download my completion certificate. I shouldn't have to do any of this, it should be fixed server-side,* but I can and so I did.

(* - Assuming none of the issues were of my own creation of course, which is pretty likely in the case of Chrome at least.)

and the relative value of their potential spend versus the bargain basement Android-using populace. It’s not just about the numbers of users.

While there will be some high spenders that fall for the Apple bolox (that skew the stats) there are equally those bargain basement android users (myself included who don't give a **** about the latest device as bargain device's have for the most part plenty of power) who save the pennies to spend on the stuff they really care about. I'd rather a £100 smart phone on a £10 contract with an extra £700 (over a year or so) to spend on bike parts.

nixie - I agree with you, but the numbers say that Apple users spend more, so you can understand why some companies that sell stuff want the iOS experience to be good and may prioritise it over Android development.

– I agree with you, but the numbers say that Apple users spend more, so you can understand why some companies that sell stuff want the iOS experience to be good and may prioritise it over Android development.

Your link talked about in app and app purchases - it's probably a very poor barometer of what people spend on more real and tangible products though isn't it.

Android provides clearer guidelines, more documentation, and allows more flexibility in terms of design. On top of that, Android devices accounted for more than 85% of 2017 global smartphone sales while iOS was in a distant second at 14%.

A phone is nothing more than a tool these days, that tool lets me purchase things way outside of an app store or in app purchase, thinks like train tickets, taxi rides and real goods and services - the global market for that is worth a lot more than stuff funnelled through an app store.

Apple users earn more (in Australia) too
https://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/mobile-phones/study-compares-iphone-users-with-android-users/news-story/524d4afaf7e8e0f90b6cb3764df096a0

Your link talked about in app and app purchases – it’s probably a very poor barometer of what people spend on more real and tangible products though isn’t it.

possibly, but it could also indicate a generally greater level of disposable income. It's obviously not copper bottomed evidence in itself, but does point towards certain behaviours.

Having switched to android recently, I really miss the Apple ping & ringtone.

That satisfying ping has delved deep into my psyche, the like of which Google can't touch. I suspect the profitable bastards know as much.

Sorry, what was the question?

Apple users earn more (in Australia) too

Interestingly in depth analysis for interviewing 2000 people, would be good to know if the survey was actually robust in any way though. Also looks like it's a us survey just parotted into aud for the locals.

you can understand why some companies that sell stuff want the iOS experience to be good and may prioritise it over Android development.

I'd guess that fragmentation plays a big part too.

There's four current iPhone models plus another five discontinued but still under support. I've not looked at iPads but I expect it's not a dissimilar figure. Getting figures on the number of different Android devices out there is challenging, but it appears to be in the order of tens of thousands. I'm not a developer, but one of those sounds considerably less daunting to code for than the other.

I’m not a developer, but one of those sounds considerably less daunting to code for than the other.

Probably the same as developing stuff for windows with the billions of variants out there, but that is also what guidelines and hardware acceptance is all about making a OS work over lots of different bits of hardware. Seems to work fine and there are very few IOS only apps out there so it probably means most people are not actually that scared of it. As the previous stats showed android accounts for

Android provides clearer guidelines, more documentation, and allows more flexibility in terms of design. On top of that, Android devices accounted for more than 85% of 2017 global smartphone sales while iOS was in a distant second at 14%.

the 14% need to spend a hell of a lot more to make a difference there 😉