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Introducing the future of Android discussion - Channels!

Phases

NO LONGER ADMIN
Sep 9, 2008
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Nashville, TN
Hey all!

We are very excited to announce the first public build of a pretty incredible new app Neverstill has been developing. It's called Channels, and while it might not look like a much right now, I can tell you this is going to be gold. And what better way to get there than to get some good use/data flowing so we can make better development decisions faster.

Allow me to explain. Context is good, am I right? ;)

So, over time we have grown to a point of difficult proportions. We have thousands of forums, literally, and it is getting a little too difficult to expect users to enjoy having to navigate. Not only that, but the landscape itself has changed, and we are seeing less and less people looking for a place to go on the web, and more and more people looking for answers, and fun, on their Android devices.

This has presented both a challenge and an opportunity that we are now building on.

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Introducing Channels Beta. Channels is an application that allows people to revolve their Android needs around what matters most to them. Their devices, carriers, and applications. Currently we are working on the applications portion of the content. Channels detects the applications on your phone, and creates (if needed) and joins you to a "channel" for each app. All users with a particular app will be members of its channel. Will it be treated more like a forum, or more like a chat room? Well - that's up you. We'll see!

We will all be members of the "Channels" channel. That will be a great place (as well as this thread) to provide feedback. I bet I see a few of you in the Pokémon GO, Pandora, and EarlyBird channels as well. :D

Note: As far as web/androidforums.com goes - all app-channel created content will reside here in the application forum, with the apps icon and name attached to corresponding threads.

In the near future carrier and device detection will begin to roll out (should it stay on the roadmap assuming we deem it is a desired feature) - so all of you lucky enough to have a Note 4 can join me in that channel. With carrier and device support, the intent is to tie it into AF forums. That is a big challenge, and it is hard to explain why, but we'll get there. Perhaps we will entertain incorporating the Lounge and other general areas into the application as well. Heck, in the end this could, should it be proven as awesome as we expect, replace our current AF application altogether.

We have plans and ideas, but we also have ears and nothing is set in stone, so give it a shot, and let us know your thoughts and ideas as you go! Don't be shy - it will feel a little sparse, people have to have the same apps and want to talk about/in the same apps/channels to end up connecting, so be patient and keep checking!

If you have any trouble getting it going, reply here. @stevealbright will be able to help with that. You shouldn't have any trouble though, provided your AF associated email is the same gmail you have linked to your device.

Download Channels!
 
problem signing in:

no Submit button after username and password.

all I see is "Done" and that is where it stays... on the Connect accounts page.

You try closing the app out of 'recent apps' screen and reopening? Could be it just got stuck, and just restarting doens't clear apps out of memory (sometimes, think that depends on the app)
 
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@stevealbright any chance Channels could preserve a user's current view when rotating between portrait/landscape orientation? When scrolling through the (loooooong) list of available channels, it's a bit disorienting/frustrating to accidentally tip the phone too far and have it reset to the top of the list when the screen rotates.

Pretty please?
 
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@stevealbright any chance Channels could preserve a user's current view when rotating between portrait/landscape orientation? When scrolling through the (loooooong) list of available channels, it's a bit disorienting/frustrating to accidentally tip the phone too far and have it reset to the top of the list when the screen rotates.

Pretty please?

Only for a 5 star rating or at least using the app Channels to make the request ;)
 
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So far I am enjoying the app and looking forward to seeing it grow.

Wish I could directly reply to posts though

How would you want to see replies implemented? Quoted text, mentions, or nested? We plan on implementing this but just are focusing on the core functionality first. Curious of your thoughts.
 
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How would you want to see replies implemented? Quoted text, mentions, or nested? We plan on implementing this but just are focusing on the core functionality first. Curious of your thoughts.

Quoted text makes it easier to follow context while still maintaining chronology of the thread.

Nested is great if you're after a bunch of off-topic discussions (a la Reddit).

So the best choice kind of depends on which direction The Powers That Be wish to take this thing.

I'd prefer for the forum to function like a forum, but I'm also old and crotchety.


--
Sent from my Nexus 6P using the Android Forums app to aggravate @stevealbright
 
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How would you want to see replies implemented? Quoted text, mentions, or nested? We plan on implementing this but just are focusing on the core functionality first. Curious of your thoughts.

Being an old school forum guy, I prefer quoted text. Though since there is no 'jump to last read' oprion, meaning you essentially scroll threw entire thread each time, I think nested makes more sense.

That way there can be separate discussion (if need be) within a given thread/topic
 
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