The Sword and Laser discussion
My Love-Hate Relationship with the Goodreads App
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I hate the damn thing. It's that my android phone is old and its screen is so damn small or I'd be using the Goodreads webpage through my mobile browser instead. Main peeve: When you want to read new posts on a group thread you have 2 options:
1. scroll all the way through to the bottom, doing it again for every page of 50 posts till you reach the first new post.
2. Sort them by "newest comments first", which sounds like a good solution for problem 1. untill you notice that the new posts aren't marked as "new" anymore, which is annoying for older threads, and of course they're in the wrong order now.
@Kevi…I never understood having the new comments on top like they do on Twitter. I always feels like I'm reading backwards and the conversations are out of order. I don't know why it can't simply go to the first unread comment in a thread and let you scroll down from there.
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I'm not a fan of the app, either. I've always thought an app should augment/supplement a user experience, not break it. It's far better in my experience to go to the website from my phone and use the desktop interface. The mobile interface is almost as bad as the app was a year or so ago.
@Ro…I like to check up on the threads I've posted on to see if there are any replies or new thoughts on a topic, and so I'm not swamped when I get back to a computer. I'm going to try to manage this thread entirely from mobile devices, however, and see how that goes.
By the way, for those who don't know, people sometimes use the @username to reply when on mobile. Also for some reason, the app like to drop the last letter off of people's names.
So for you, would it drop off the TM? ;)
@terpkristi…Yes, it shows my name as Sean…
Some features, such as Listopia are unusable in the app. When you try to go to a poll, even the app gives up and sends you to the desktop version in the browser.
@terpkristi…Yes, it shows my name as Sean…
Some features, such as Listopia are unusable in the app. When you try to go to a poll, even the app gives up and sends you to the desktop version in the browser.
@terpkristi…Yes, it shows my name as Sean…
Some features, such as Listopia are unusable in the app. When you try to go to a poll, even the app gives up and sends you to the desktop version in the browser.
Ok adding more weirdness. It just posted the same comment three times. Going to leave it up that way because 1) it proves my point, and 2) you can't delete posts from mobile.
Yet another reason for me to stick with iOS6 until they pry my iphone 4S from my cold, dead hands. My version of the app has less functionality than the full site, but that's true of most apps I think. The iOS8 version sounds awful.
@AndyI have an iPod Touch 4 that still runs iOS6. I often use that when I'm out somewhere that has wifi. It's only a matter of time before it stops working altogether, however. The software is already unsupported even though it's only a few years old.
Sean™ wrote: "@Andy
I have an iPod Touch 4 that still runs iOS6. I often use that when I'm out somewhere that has wifi. It's only a matter of time before it stops working altogether, however. The software is alr..."
Yeah, there are already a lot of apps that my 4S (iOS6) won't support. I don't feel like upgrading my phone yet though and I've seen the havoc that upgrading the OS has wreaked on other people's older iphones, so I'm sticking with what I have.
Grumble grumble, get off my lawn, and so on...
I have an iPod Touch 4 that still runs iOS6. I often use that when I'm out somewhere that has wifi. It's only a matter of time before it stops working altogether, however. The software is alr..."
Yeah, there are already a lot of apps that my 4S (iOS6) won't support. I don't feel like upgrading my phone yet though and I've seen the havoc that upgrading the OS has wreaked on other people's older iphones, so I'm sticking with what I have.
Grumble grumble, get off my lawn, and so on...
@Andy(Yes is says Andy and not And…because the name thing comes and goes.) I've found that kind of snobbery prevalent with a lot of developers. They are often so keen on THE NEXT BIG THING, they often forget to support (or choose to forget) the people who can't afford a new device every six months or those who just don't want to change from something that is already working well. Good customer service always takes a back seat to the new shiny toy.
@ZayneSad to hear that Android is just as bad, but not surprised. The whole tapping through to the end is really annoying. Page markers or even an infinite scroll would be much better. Navigation should be the number one thing on any designers list. If you can't get to where you're going, there's no point in showing up.
A case in point. If you go to the S&L group main page on mobile, most of the folders are simply not there at all. If you were looking for something that hasn't been updated in a while, there isn't even a path to get to it except through a search. It's all very "You can't get there from here".
The iOS 8 update made the app even worse. I actually downgraded to the previous version from my computer.
Wait. I have th Android app and I don't have to scroll to the end to add a comment. There's a button labeled "Add a Comment" that floats at the bottom of the screen.I dislike not being able to show spoilers in th
I also hate that you can't edit comments like when you accidentally hit submit.It sure would be nice to be able to see all editions of a book when adding to shelves too.
@Dar…Thanks. I'm going to try that. I really don't like the new interface. In case that wasn't painfully clear.
@SandiThe no spoilers one is really annoying. Every time you run into that, you have to go look it up on the computer which completely defeats the purpose of the app. Plus you can't code spoilers (or any other effects like hyperlinks) unless you've memorized the html code. That's a complaint for the website as well. It should be much easier to add a link, as well as spoilers, images, and formatted text.
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(Yes is says Andy and not And…because the name thing comes and goes.) I've found that kind of snobbery prevalent with a lot of developers. They are often so keen on THE NEXT BIG THING, they o..."
This is likely not the case. Supporting multiple versions is often very expensive and you have to choose what's best for your business. The current version of a piece of software works for your OS, so it's not like they are breaking what you already have even if you can't upgrade to the latest and greatest.
I think it's unfair to assume it's snobbery. There is only so much time in the day, and developers can't afford not to support the new version.
The only thing I really use it for is scanning books and adding to my 'To Read' shelf. Like most phone apps, it's just a toy compared with the web version.
@RobPerhaps snobbery wasn't the right word. I was only trying to express my frustration with web integration in general, not to pick a fight with or mischaracterize any particular company or development team. I also don't want this to be simply a complaint thread for everyone to dump on the app. I hope we can have an honest discussion about its flaws.
I do realize that resources are finite. I think that Amazon/Goodreads needs to be held to a different standard than your local grocery store, however, because their business model depends entirely on their web presence. For their product to be so poor is inexcusable when they have not only the resources to be better, but also a fundamental need. The Internet is their store.
I find an analogous situation with Google Drive. Google is a software company; that is their product. When they launched an app for the service it was missing key features like folders and formatting. When they upgraded the app, it was broken into several different apps with little improvement to its functionality and no support for the previous OS. It's like buying a car and finding out wheels are an option in a future upgrade. Bugs are one thing, but an actual degrading of the functionality because of poor design in inexcusable for a company that does have the resources and the need for a strong web presence.
That being said, does anyone like the app? What are its good qualities?
@AndrewPMaybe the question we should be asking is whether the app model is even practical for something like Goodreads, or whether they should focus their resources on making their website more responsive.
Mod
That said, goodreads is free. Their app is crap, but it's not like I'm paying for it.
I use the app most of the time because I prefer reading things on my tablet when I can. It's quick and easy to click on the "unread" button and see the threads that have new comments (I usually check in a couple times a day, so these don't get out of hand), and I have no problem clicking on my menu button and switching to "newest post first" - I just glance at the number of new posts in the thread before I switch it and then scroll back that number.So, I don't hate the app. I just wish I didn't have to switch to my computer (I can use the tablet's web browser but it's very tiny to read and zooming everything is a pain) to do certain things like read spoilers, link books and vote in polls.
It's best for quick check-ins and quick comments. I don't expect an app on my phone or tablet to make using my computer obsolete, just to help out when the computer's not handy.
The spoiler thing is the most annoying part with the Android app, with having to scroll forever to see new comments coming in at a close second.
@RobIt will likely never happen, but I would pay a couple of bucks for a Goodreads app that had functionality on par with the website. I would not like to see ads though. I'm still recovering from the trauma that is EA's free Scrabble game.
@MicheleI would say 90% of the time I'm just checking in on a few threads that I'm following. One of my initial complaints is that they moved notifications off of the loading page. I also don't like how it marks all the notifications as read when you check any one of them. It does this in iPad and desktop, but not on the old iPhone version. They did fix the Badge App Icon (the little red circle that tells you how many notifications you have) which wasn't working for me.
@CaitlinI think I should start a poll to see what people dislike the most.
edit:
Poll: If you could change one thing about the Goodreads app, what would it be?
I got rid of it when I switched phones. I just use the site on chrome, now. Don't miss the app, and have no love for it. No edit. Links take you to the beginning of threads, which meant I had to flip through pages and pages of the daily deal thread every time someone posted in it. Couldn't find the hidden threads on S&L... Meh.
I only use the app to access my shelves and of course the barcode scanner is awesome. Also I'm still on iOS 5 on my iPad, ha!But I keep GR open in Safari because I like it much better there.
Tried the mobile app once, didn't work well enough even for simple stuff like marking a book as read and starting a new one and adding it to a shelf, so I uninstalled it straight away and do everything via the website.To be fair to the Goodreads team, I suppose this discussion board format is pretty tricky to get right in mobile. Do you know of any other app that works well for something similar?
I've been pretty harsh on the app before. And, I think everything said here is right on. But, I do think it would only take a couple of little tweaks to the discussion forum to make it work a lot better. I do think it should be said is one thing they do get very right is showing new posts when moving between the app and the logged into web interface. I mean the official twitter apps don't even get that right. It would just be nice (as stated above) if you could go to just those new posts.
It's pretty obvious from the new app design that groups/ and discussion are not a primary concern to Goodreads. I'm assuming that is based on usage statistics. The funny thing is for me, and I would guess many of us here, it is my only real reason for visiting on a daily basis. Reading reviews and sorting book shelves is a fun thing to do occasionally, but it's the community and discussion here that brings me back so often. Are we truly that much of a minority on this website as a whole? I would think you would want to give the heaviest users the most incentive to stick around.
I will say, I'm also thankful that Amazon hasn't just turned Goodreads into an add on for it's main site.
John wrote: "I've been pretty harsh on the app before. And, I think everything said here is right on. But, I do think it would only take a couple of little tweaks to the discussion forum to make it work a lot..."My main use of the app is quickly pulling up book reviews in a bookstore or when someone mentions a book that sounds good I whip out my phone and mark it for later.
Aaron wrote: "John wrote: "I've been pretty harsh on the app before. And, I think everything said here is right on. But, I do think it would only take a couple of little tweaks to the discussion forum to make ..."It's also good to check to see if that book is part of a larger series and if there are other books that should be read first (nothing bums me out as much as reading a great book and finding out there were several I should have read before it)
With the recent release of iOS8, I thought that we might see some new features, but instead they only shuffled everything around to make it harder to find. When you opened the app previously, it took you to an menu screen and you could decide where to go from there. Now it takes you to your updates, which if you haven't configured it to block nearly everyone, is a firehose blast of friend follows, reviews, and status updates. Not that that isn't useful information; it's just not what I want to see everytime I open up the app. I usually check the mail and notifications first, but they've been moved to the "More" section, almost as an afterthought, along with most of the buttons that used to be on the front page.
Not that the app was great to begin with, mind you. There was (and still is) a long list of basic things that you can't do on mobile, such as reply to comments or edit your profile. Plus there are the WTF problems of no folder headings, random abbreviations (...), and how images don't appear unless you turn your tablet sideways. It just seems to me that with an increasing number of people surfing (and reading) on phones and tablets, some more thought should have been put into the design.
Thanks for letting me rant. What are your experiences with the Goodreads app, and what would you change?