Next simple question: If not Lumiere and chromotophore, then what template is the best one for being "rock solid" stable. No eccomerce.

...i still am here. Someone got advice other than "hire it done"?

OBVIOUSLY, we have some dissension amongst the ranks. So I'm going to speak out for the proud and the many who are complaing and I'm going to try to be logical and non-emotional about the whole thing. I type like I speak, with CAPS for emphasis, not yelling. I'll happily give praise where it's due. But I'll also be honest when I see something wrong so don't get all EMO on me over my thoughts.

Oh Great RT God of the sky, you need to put your ego on the back burner, grab a cup of coffee and listen to one of your most loyal and ardent fans. Gantry 5 is a miss! At least as it stands. I would liken this to a Ford Edsel moment.

I may not be the world's best coder, but I've been in this particular business for some time now. I've been connecting people on the internet since the INFANCY of the internet... before there were services available to the public, before there was Qlink, which became PClink, which became AOL... and well... enough about history. You get my drift. I'm 60 years old and lived Corporate America for 23 years with cherry positions during most of that time. Then I flew the coop, went solo and I've done pretty well for myself in the hardware/software world. Couple that with my tenure around here (since RT was a baby) and maybe you will believe I am qualified to offer this assessment.

All companies roll out products thinking they are the latest, greatest and most improved. They may well be, but there's this problem. It's call USABILITY for the ***masses***. While the inventor gets "IT", you better be sure the USER does. If you want to call it functionality for idiots, go ahead. SOME TIMES, you gotta' back up and bring that puppy back home. Revise, restructure or do whatever you have to do, and THEN reintroduce it when it really IS ***easier*** and more improved instead of a hot mess for the majority. Can you say, "Korean Instructions translated to English" (Dear God, please don't anyone take offense to that... it really is a good example.)

In short, I think RT may wish to consider ***seriously*** contemplating the negative feedback and perhaps you will come to the conclusion you may have a misfire. We, the ***AVERAGE end users*** are not happy with Gantry 5. Maybe an elite few, but that's not your bread and butter and we aren't here to learn code. Try as you may, the majority of your users don't want to know any more than they have to. There ARE more important things than a template to deal with in life. PRESSING things! We shouldn't need CLE on a monthly basis to accomplish that.

We are here to get a functional template up and running. If WE, after YEARS of experience with you, can't fathom this complex beast you created, what in the heck do you think we are going to do with our clients? How many novice users do you think will STICK with it now? If you don't know the answer, I can give you some insight. The honest answer is, you are going to lose business, many members and a good deal of referrals if seasoned developers are having trouble with it.

It would be one thing if Gantry 5 offered us everything we had in Gantry 4 ***out of the box*** but it didn't. And that PageBuilder, while it's cool, was invented a couple years ago by a competitor. We HAD ONE in Gantry 4 that was BETTER. You've mixed, matched, moved around and pieced together what ONCE was a great (and logical) framework for the ***AVERAGE end user*** and this monster has become so complex it will, in FACT, require a seasoned developer(/designer/whatever you want to call yourself) to get it up, running, funtioning and customized ***properly***! If you are worried about being "proprietary**** be my guest. You got it, I don't want it, and you won't have to worry about me.

Now then, if your desire is to hit only the Developer/Designer market, state it. If not, realize you are no longer catering to or respecting the people who, like I did, come here to grab a professional looking template for their site, install and go. You are the team we pay to meet OUR needs. And yes, it's a team effort. But you have an obligation to keep your expectations focused on the consumers. US.... the club members.... WE are the consumers. Do we get a say in what we are paying for? At least a little smidgen? I think we are being overlooked and you are not hearing us.

While RT is a great place to learn, the professed theory of RT from the start was to make it easy for the ***AVERAGE end user*** and it's gone way beyond that realm now. When I found Joomla, I remember what it was like to grasp the languages, theory, and interelated systems. I came here to avoid having to build a template from scratch for Joomla (which didn't go well in the first year). I found an entire team of professionals who have helped nurse me, guide me and lead me to the vast knowledge base I have today. You made me WANT to learn more. But not all your users have the deep seeded desire to know the HOW. They just want to USE.

The ***BEST thing*** RT did for me beyond all else was deliver peace of mind in knowing I didn't have to reinvent the wheel to get a polished site up and running in minutes.... not hours.... not days... not weeks... MINUTES. I've made money on RT because my clients could USE IT.... and here we go again *** OUT...OF...THE...BOX*** I don't EVEN want to think of trying to train an inexperienced admin on Gantry 5. OMG! The thought is worse than a paper cut to the eyeball!

Your new invention is failing miserably based simply on ease of use and you've created something that even confuses your staff. Point blank, this is the most illogical step I've seen you ever take and I am quickly tiring of the lack of logic in this new framework. I can only imagine some very creepy scenarios if I keep it coupled with Joomla for any length of time on a busy multi-user site. I have truly had one or two (for real) nightmares during this process. If required, I could write a small book on the hows and whys this is a monster for end users and developers alike. Consider this my first of many installments until the dust settles or you at least LEARN TO BLOG!

I say, take that poor sick baby back to the hospital, perform the necessary surgeries, and keep Gantry 5 on the drawing board until it is more ***AVERAGE*** user friendly. Focus on what WORKED (Gantry 4). As to me, all I can see is spending all my time learning MORE language and codes than necessary. Then there's the teaching, administering to, commiserating and otherwise pulling my hair out with clients over any Gantry 5 template at this point.

You've seen an outpouring of posts in many of the forums, you've seen the grief, you've seen others ATTEMPTING to overcome the shortcomings of this release. Need I say it? "You broke a perfectly good wheel, Daddy."

I want Gantry 4 for now and I'd like to see the team "I" rely on focus on keeping Gantry 4 and giving us the quality along with ease of use we are accustomed to.

Those who agree, feel free to chime in any time here.

and one last thing.... learn to BLOG to your paid members. We deserve at least that much. Self-imposed or not, you've set a standard of service meeting deadlines with very little exception. If you expect us to accept a lower standard, what are YOU going to give up? We all know the calendar and what day of the week it is. Businesses are expected to operate within reasonable hours, global or not. Friday or Monday... doesn't make a difference on a release date. Friday is better anyway. We have time to practice over the weekend. Holidays. We get it. Vacations coming up? Sounds like scheduling, organization... those are merely a matter of planning and are required of any business. So adapt and get back on schedule. And if you can't make a deadline, don't hide in the corner.....

BLOG when you KNOW you are falling short of said "self-imposed" deadlines. Not a post in a forum which may or may not be noticed. BLOG! BLOG! Do you hear me? .... and once more for good measure..... YOU HAVE JOOMLA! soooooooooo............


Thank you all, and have a grrrrrrrrrrrrrr8 day! I'm outta' here to go play today. For the first time in years, RT wore me out! TGIF!

The preceeding information was provided as is, with no warranties, express or implied, based upon 4+ decades in corporate America and the following statement expressed by members of SHARK TANK weekly: If you need an infomercial, your product isn't ready for prime time.

Interested to know what you people tell your Gantry 5 customers when they realize their brand new website doesn't work on their older smartphone.

I have a win 10 tablet too and no issues ... for me Gantry5 works awesome on all relevant browsers.
I suggest to create a post in the suppoer forum if you have an issue.

www.sitepoint.com/browser-trends-march-2...ng-system-surprises/

Don't forget: The default browser on old androids won't get fixes anymore. It's insecure and buggy. You need to use Chrome.
Safari 5 win is dead. Safari 6 is old now. Safari latest is 9.

More or less you should follow google guidlines for supported browsers.

support.google.com/mail/answer/6557?hl=en