"Install Trouble Free Pool" popup

proavia

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Feb 6, 2015
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Chandler AZ
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@Leebo

What is this "Install Trouble Free Pool" popup I have been seeing on my Android tablet (Chrome browser) the past few days?
I also see it available on my Windows desktop in Chrome browser as a clickable link on the right side of the address bar.

If this is something "new", a heads up would have been nice.
 
This is a part of our new feature testing, specifically for something called a progressive web app (PWA). PWAs are designed to offer many features of a mobile app directly in your browser, like push notifications and a more app-like interface.

This on Android is all a user needs to do to install the app while iOS users need to include a few additional simple steps. I’m currently working on creating clear instructions for installing the PWA, as the process varies between iOS and Android devices.

I’m intentionally not making a big deal out of it at the moment. The reason is that there are still some bugs and kinks we need to work out, particularly with Android devices. My focus is on ensuring that everything runs smoothly and efficiently before we fully roll it out or publicize it extensively.
 
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It looks like a scam to me. Unexpected popups from a "trusted" site is a BIG RED FLAG - especially without the webmaster or other powers that be making a big deal out of it. In this day and age of constant scamming and browser hijacks, I've come to expect better of you and TFP.

If it's in testing, have it on your test site, not here where you are going to scare newbies and some regulars away.

And why is it being forced on us each time we visit?
Where is the opt-out option?
 
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Prompts to install Apps have been used on sites, including TFP, for some time. In all honesty, everything on the web now can be made to look like a scam so sites are in a horrid position no matter what is done.

We’ve been running this version of Xenforo for roughly 6 months now on a staging server and have fixed most errors that we’ve seen. Some errors we’ve encountered were issues with alerts not being delivered, odd redirects, and the issue we’ve seen with Google Search plugin not working right. We’ve addressed known errors on staging but the main test I’m looking at now cannot be done in private. How well does the new feature increase engagement? If it improves things a good bit, I’ll make a push to keep it as we go into the busy season. If it causes more headaches than it’s worth, I’m not gonna put up a fight to keep it around.

Lastly, why does it ask so often? Right now I’ve got this up and running by filling out roughly 6 fields.
  • Do we use it
  • Do we enable push notifications
  • Board short title
  • Description
  • Image #1 URL for icons
  • Image #2 URL for icons


This is it……nowhere do we have major control over how they operate. Right now I’m running on default settings as I wanna see what the result is. From here, we’ll make changes. What those changes include, I don’t know. We’ll find out together.
 
As a casual user of other websites, once it starts being a nuscence with pop ups, I move along to a comp site that doesn't. I can recite exactly which sites (I'm looking at YOU Leslies) that won't let me enter without first telling me about their $10 sale for new users, and I avoid them whenever possible.

A 2nd pop notification, telling me I ignored the first, is even worse.
 
First - push notifications were always an option. At least until you removed that option.
Second - this new "feature" is annoying and off putting.


I'm with Dave - less is more.
The "latest and greatest" isn't necessarily what works for this operation.
And cramming it down our collective throat is short sighted.

How about adding a spell checker that works across all platforms?
That would be a big help to many here.
 
Gene and Dave,

Gotta say guys, you are making a mountain out of mole hill. Push notifications are something as common as the rising sun nowadays on almost all systems. I for one hate the fact that I can’t get push notifications on TFP - I’m a very busy person and I don’t sit in front of my desktop all day long. I’m always on the go and the apps and site that get all of my attention are the ones that I get the most notifications from.

In this case, moving towards push isn’t “more”, it’s catching up with modern standards.

Evolve or Die, that’s the way of the tech world. If TFP takes the mindset that “less is more” then scrap all this Xenforo stuff and send TFP back to using vBulletin so it can look like the Pool Forum …
 
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Gene and Dave,

Gotta say guys, you are making a mountain out of mole hill. Push notifications are something as common as the rising sun nowadays on almost all systems. I for one hate the fact that I can’t get push notifications on TFP - I’m a very busy person and I don’t sit in front of my desktop all day long. I’m always on the go and the apps and site that get all of my attention are the ones that I get the most notifications from.

In this case, moving towards push isn’t “more”, it’s catching up with modern standards.

Evolve or Die, that’s the way of the tech world. If TFP takes the mindset that “less is more” then scrap all this Xenforo stuff and send TFP back to using vBulletin so it can look like the Pool Forum …
Then provide a way to disable them as well.

While I never used them, push notifications were already part of the forum software - at least they "were" until the link was removed in place of this new incessant and annoying popup.

I only come here when I have time to devote to TFP.
There is no TFP emergency I need push notifications for.
 
Gene,

Go to settings then to "Notifications when someone..." Then you can select which notifications you want or don't want..

Jim R.
Does that disable the annoying popup forever?

All I really need/use is the notices in the upper right (mailbox and bell).
 
Gene, @proavia

I have every notification shut off except for the mailbox and if they use my @ Name..

For me.., I'd like to see when someone is calling me, or sending me a PM.. I don't care about the other 99%

To be honest, I have no clue how they work.. I just noticed that when someone "called" me, I saw a notification on my PC..

If I had all those boxes checked, it would drive me crazy... :mrgreen:

Jim R.
 
Jim

That setting is not enabled.

Yeah, that's exactly how mine works as well.

Can we have this "Install TFP" popup at least disappear after a few seconds. Right now it's stuck new the top of the forum taking up precious real estate? It's been there for over 10 minutes while browsing thru the forum.

Screenshot_20231205-205616.jpg
 
Gene,

This is all new to me and I have nothing to do with it...

You will have to talk with Leebo as it is his baby..

Jim R.
Jim

I didn't mean to imply you did.

Unfortunately, I don't think Leo frequents the forum as much as many of us do so he doesn't get the full effect of what a pain it is.
 
I’ll play the part of Leo and reply to a few items here……..
First - push notifications were always an option. At least until you removed that option.
This statement is only partially true, but also mostly false.

For roughly 4 years now I have been working behind the scenes with a developer on creating a full fledged Native App for TFP. For years push notifications were part of this App however were ONLY a working option for the 6 users whom were on the Beta team. Everybody else that had the option enabled in their accounts were out of luck as they never actually were a working option without the Native App. This project got as far as TFP having a fully working product approved in the App Store and everything. All that was needed was for TFP to hit the “launch” button and we’d be running a fully native App right now…..including push notifications via native app. For almost a decade this has been my main goal with the software. From day 1 I’ve been mobile first, and a Native App is the gold standard in this area.

Unfortunately a few things transpired over time and the developer in charge of the project dropped interest leaving us with a product 99% finished, but not 100%. We dropped this project but was handed a gift by Apple earlier this year when they enabled push notifications inside of a PWA as a feature in WebKit. 🎉🥳 This allowed TFP to actually have the option to send notifications to users WITHOUT the need for a fully native App, something that was a requirement until 2023.

So for the TLDR version…..the setting was there as part of the native App, true. But it never actually worked for almost anybody as almost nobody had the native App. Only this year were we even able to have the discussion we’re having right now

How about adding a spell checker that works across all platforms?
I can run this by the developers at Xenforo whom created the forum software including the PWA and push notifications. I’ll see if they’re interested but will suspect it’s an uphill fight. I say that as a spell checker is already built into a massive majority of individual devices out there, but maybe we can make people actually use these features…..
Can't you just shut them off if you don't want to see them??
Over the years it’s been my goal to allow users to be able to fully customize their experience on TFP……this feature included. With the feeds feature installed a few years ago users can customize things to ONLY show what they’re interested in. Same with dark mode. I only want users to use them if they wish, otherwise just change things. Now proavia showed a screenshot that’s actually very helpful to me…..thank you @proavia! You’re right, it’s not able to be disabled like it should be. I partially wonder if it’s device dependent, but I’ll be researching the reason today.

Zooming out even more I’d like to note this seems to be a message that’s only shown on a percentage of Android and MAYBE Windows users. This means that at most only roughly 25% to 40% of the forum would see this, which is still high……but definitely not everybody. If (and I stress the word if) I’d want to show this to users I’d use the Xenforo messagings feature and notify everybody all at once, not just a small percentage of Android users.

I ask that you continue to provide these screenshots as we go as they help me see what’s actually happening on your device so we can all work together to improve the forum and the user experience. In the end there’s NO WAY I’d want the message to be persistent, especially not right there. We’ll for sure do some searching and pinpoint exactly what’s going on to get this addressed.

Lee
 
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Just a data point. I think I saw a pop up once recently on WIN11/Firefox about push notifications and said NO.

I have never seen it on my IOS/Safari devices.
 

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