I currently only own a smartphone and I have found most of the advice given on how to solve website issues (about 90%) fails to work with today’s modern smartphones.
They just don’t have any similarities to a desktop or laptop (regardless) and the solutions to problems are extremely different.
For example; The posting of photos on this site with a smartphone creates a astronomical problem because when you try using the attachment buttons it takes you to a mobile page that simply will not work at all, with a few minor exceptions. Then, you go to; view full computer site and it gets even crazier, where you spend 3 hours uploading photos with errors, malfunctions and rerun screens, etc. only to have another complete failure.
Then there is the issue of trying to post photos when your albums are full. You cannot post photos on this site anywhere if your personal albums are full, as mentioned in the link you sent me by other parties.
To post further photos you must delete photos out of your albums first. I know this is true because I have had to do it several times and the administrator has backed this up in an email to me.
I no longer post photos on outside sources due to my previous issues with Photobucket’s cascade of problems with smartphones also.
I can’t find a photo posting site that is smartphone user friendly, even though they have apps. and claim to be trouble free.
We as a program are not able to afford Internet service other than what is connected to the smartphone and still offer services free of charge to kids and families.
We run WAY in the red continually and have to give up a lot of luxuries to keep going as it gets financially harder every year. So there is no other option for us unless we want to drive 30 miles to town every time we wish to visit this site.
I think there is major compatability problems between smartphone technology and this sites software.
I don’t know much about site administration but I do know the person that suggested that we post this on the Live Steam Forum has been a member here for a long time, so we didn’t think anything of it.
Another member has offered to post the photos for us if we would email them to him and we have done so, as of today.
I want you to understand something; we are not here to create problems, we are here to promote G scale to the community as we have been doing for 28 years now. The reasons we chose this site to do it had to do with community suggestions, manufacturer input, accessibility, popularity of the site, links, and general program interactive ideas as well as other G scale modelers that use this site and like it’s professionalism and the help and information they are able to obtain and/or offer.
There are additional posting issues in regards to double posts, once again off of smartphones, plus new posts and/or replies automatically posting without knowledge of the user or posting automatically upon leaving the page (without touching the post button) for link additions or further information to add to the post.
These are both new problems I’ve personally encountered many times with different smartphones here.
Another example; Once, some time back, I hadn’t even typed more than one word, and a title and it posted the whole thing even after I cancelled the new post completely.
All I could do is go back to edit, then delete the text and add something I had no intention of placing on the site in the first place.
We would like to keep our program information on this site but I am not sure it’s working out so well as we can’t seem to get things to operate in a manner that is satisfactory or acceptable to the system. I don’t know if this has anything to do with smartphone incompatibility, service area problems, site issues or a combination of all of these but we want the same thing for the community as any other member as well as the owners and administrators of the site. This is simply to have a place where the garden scale community can share ideas, get help, post advise, photos and videos, promote the hobby and engage with others in conversations about G scale trains.
I get calls from train many manufacturers every week who tell me they have checked us and the site out and are impressed.
Once again we have no ill intentions or desire to commercialize the site or use it for any personal gain other than promotion of the hobby to kids and their families as well as offer what advice, if any, we have that might have that may help someone else out.
We just want to help were we can and try our best to share the garden scale railroading hobby with the public to keep the hobby alive in this electronic media world.
Apologize for the long post but we have to feel out the way members react so we don’t make anyone feel taken for granted, insulted, angered or unhappy.
Appreciate the use of the site and I guess the future will tell.
All the best!
Thanks!
Ken c/o Imagination Station Kids On Track Model Railroad And Train Safety Program TM
E. Helena, MT
