More convenient access to the old version of the Mobile site
Title
More convenient access to the old version of the Mobile site
Short, concise description of the idea
I would like to have more convenient access to the old version of the Mobile site (http://www.livejournal.com/mobile/index.bml) on LiveJournal, either via a prominent URL on the main page of the new Mobile site (http://m.livejournal.com), or by providing an account setting that allows the user to choose which Mobile site version they prefer to use.
Full description of the idea
Ever since Code Release #63 was pushed live today, http://www.livejournal.com/mobile now redirects to http://m.livejournal.com, which is the new version of the Mobile site. Although it's still possible to access the old version of the Mobile site (http://www.livejournal.com/mobile/index.bml), one has to visit it directly; there is no convenient way to navigate to it.
Because there are a myriad of things I dislike about the new Mobile site, particularly that many aspects of it are now rendered unusable to me regardless of whether I access it via PC or BlackBerry, those are best left to address as separate Suggestions entries. For the time being, I just want to be able to use the old Mobile site as it is, since even though it wasn't perfect, it's infinitely more usable (at least to me).
I can think of two ways to accomplish this while allowing users who prefer the new Mobile site to use it:
1. Add a prominent link on the main page of the new Mobile site that goes to http://www.livejournal.com/mobile/index.bml, OR
2. Create an account setting (perhaps under Account->Mobile, http://www.livejournal.com/manage/settings/?cat=mobile) that gives users the choice between the old and the new Mobile sites.
Ideally, both alternatives could be implemented simultaneously (I don't think they would conflict with each other in any way), although I don't know how feasible that would be from a developer's standpoint.
An ordered list of benefits
- Better functionality for users who have far less difficulty with the old Mobile site than the new one
- More convenience for those who prefer to use the old Mobile site
- A choice between which version of the Mobile site the user wants to use
- As always, the time and trouble to code this
- Though still available to use, the old version of the Mobile site may no longer be actively supported or developed; suggestions for improvement or technical support requests may be met with instructions to use the new Mobile site instead
- A new account setting (if this alternative is considered) may add extra complexity to the database and possibly more confusion to the users
- If the alternative to create an account setting is implemented, the default page displayed to a logged-out user will likely be that of the new Mobile site (having the URL to the old Mobile site on the new Mobile site's main page would mitigate this a little)
- And possibly others I'm not thinking of, as always