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It looks like it has been broken since 4/29 at least (my logs don't go back any more than that). No one has complained. Maybe that shows how few people use the app or care and I shouldn't worry about it.

Trying to get this working seems very hard/complicated. A few things are going on that make it tricky. Google has deprecating the GCM (Google Cloud Messaging) system that I used. They want people to migrate to FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging). But, that's a little complicated. There are guides on how to do the migration, but they mostly don't apply to me because I'm using an unusual web-based framework (Ionic, Cordova/PhoneGap). Ionic itself has a new incompatible version (which was coming out last year as I did the app in the previous version), so most of the docs and support for that are for the new version which isn't what my app used.

The Phonegap notifications plugin I used may support FCM in never versious, but it also seems complicated and would require I upgrade various pieces (Cordova and related plugins for that, which Ionic V1 uses) and add CocoaPods which I've never heard of but would be required to upgrade (seems to be for ios, though).

The app dev stuff I have (e.g. Android Studio and all its pieces, including Java) is out-of-date and generally needs me to upgrade it. I did that a little, but you always get these odd issues/errors that I know nothing about that hopefully don't matter. Overall, the app was sketchy (barely got it working) in a lot of ways, so it's hard to feel confident about it. And, I haven't touched it for over a year and had moved some files on my computer. And, I just don't recall all the juggling and details I had in my head to get it out.

Anyway, I can try to see if I can redo it using Firebase FCM notifications, but it will take me some time to figure it out. I may not be able to get it working. And, I'm not sure how many people it really helps (there have never been a ton of app users).

I had been thinking that the apps might be a worth encouraging people us use since email notifications haven't been working well and continue to be a problem. So, this sucks even more, if I can't get it working again. The ios app also has that annoying $99/yr fee.

I've really been trying to scale back and simplify what I do to keep gametz going since revenue is down and I'm feeling pretty burned out in general. meh, life sucks

I would say if it's a source of stress or is overly complicated the biggest majority of us would be ok without it. The app still works it's just the push notifications?

Yes. But, notifications are kind of key... I think, many have said they use the apps just for the phone notifications.

Sorry for being whiny about it. I'll see what I can do. If I can get it working again, great. Otherwise, oh well.

I made some progress, was able to build the app on Android and test it. So, that gets me past some of the issues I was worried about. I didn't get it working with Firebase yet, but it seems remotely possible at least. Will work on it more tomorrow...

cool, notifications are pretty cool I agree. good luck!

Is there some way to force notifications to an RSS feed and have an app just check that feed?

I asked around to see how other discussion sites were handling emails for messaging. Many of the smaller forums hopped on the Tapatalk bandwagon or are migrating to Tapatalk Groups cloud hosting since it handles all notifications in their app. I'm sure it brings it's own drawbacks that either haven't come up or nobody has used long enough to determine what they are. https://www.tapatalk.com/tapatalk_groups

No on the RSS question.

I considered integrating with Tapatalk in the past, but people here didn't seem interested. It would be a lot of work to do that and I'm not up for it at this point. Maybe if the gtz website dies, it could be used as a community backstop (where survivors go to hang out or something... I don't know, don't really care about that either, would be post-bill kind of thing).

I will say that I never use the app itself -- but very much like the notifications from it.

I actually missed a PM or two for while when emails and app notifications weren't working.

It's been broken on my end for a while but I just assumed it was because I switched phones.

OK, I have a new version (0.2.8) of the Android App set to roll-out. I think it can take up to a day to trickle through their system and be available in the play store and for auto updating.

Notifications should work again with the new version. Closing the app and restarting it may be needed (though, I think installing the new version will cover that). The app needs to re-register for notifications and this happens when you sign-on (automatic when you start the app).

To get this working, I had to bump up the minimum supported Android version. It had been "Jelly Bean 4.1.x API level 16" but is now "KitKat 4.4 - 4.4.4 API level 19". Hopefully, that won't impact too many people.

Getting it working was touch-and-go for most of the day today. I almost posted a few more epic whines about all of it (how stupid and broken it all is, etc.). I re-installed Android/SDK/Gradle a couple times and Cordova and various components needed for the notifications plugin a bunch of times. Eventually, I got the right combination and it worked. There was essentially no change to my code. I just needed to hook it up to a new cloud messaging thingy (there's a key and various components needed). The whole thing is very fragile, but I think if it works it will work (crossing fingers).

I noticed the notifications were down. I just figured that was related to the email issues since I had not been receiving those either.

The update is live in the play store now. I just updated mine and tested it, the notification worked.

Here's the store page....

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....

cool!

Mine is updated but no notifications. Gonna reinstall.

maybe that will fix my notifications are working

The important thing is to sign on to the app. It should do that automatically if you close it then start it up. Check to make sure it's signed on (click person icon in top right and see your username). Make sure it says version 0.2.8 too.

Reinstalling worked.

FWIW, I remained logged in post reinstalling. Purposely logged out and back in so not sure if it was the reinstall or relog that fixed it.