Seeing many crowded threads in the development and hacking forum get overrun by people asking the same question over and over again, not to mention the ones that will never get it to work right because they don't read that certain programs are not fully functional or still being worked on. I have come up with a new idea to ease the pain on developers and make certain areas less crowded.
I was thinking that there should be two areas in development and hacking, one is the pre-release/beta software that is work in progress. And the other is the released software that is fully functional not counting occasional updates.
Both forums could have the first post as a type of 'sticky' that is viewable if you are just on page 1, or all the way on page 552, with an option to hide it to save screen space.
Also the released software (and maybe even beta) should have a sort of, formatting guideline enforced by a moderator of that forum.
Something along the lines of;
_____________
Name:
Version:
Description:
[Screenshot(s)]
Current bugs/known issues:
Known working devices: (if applicable)
__________________
You get the general idea, of course it could vary slightly depending on the application.
Of course it is all based on theory and could be changed depending on the needs of the moderators or developers. But I do believe that it could help cut down on the amount of useless question posts, and also help organization and make it easier to find and search for.
Edit:
Another off the wall idea is another subforum just for requests and dev ideas. Could help clean up those posts/threads too.
problems with this is that PEOPLE DON't READ, its a good idea but would require a lot of time from moderators and admin.
No matter how well orginized something is though people are just lazy sometimes, everything you have requested people already put in the first post describing the program.
Yes, that is true. But sometimes it helps cut down on what i like to call 'stupid posting' where all they read is the title. And they will tell you even in marketing, people don't read. So there really is no getting past that. Just ways to make the skimmers and question happy people take a second thought to reading the first post, and only if the first post has enough useful information in it.
Personally I don't know what the solution is to this. But one thing I've found a number of times elsewhere and on XDA-developers is that if someone starts a thread that breaks online etiquette by either:
1) Not searching before hand
2) starting a thread that has already been started
3) posted in the wrong forum.
Moderators jump on it with posts about why the thread was bad. Maybe this is not an issue with the last point but sometimes you get people responding with "use the search". Problem with that is, I do use search, and when I do I get lots of threads telling me to use the search! Its actually quite difficult to know what to search for some times to even if people provided terms to search for that would help.
I don't have any present examples of this behaviour (apart from the third, which was annoying but there were genuine answers after the first page of arguments) so maybe xda-developers is better then most sites, but I thought I'd raise this issue... if it hasn't been raised already...
A quick point in addition to Mike's wonderful comments.
Most of the time I've seen people been told (and yes I do tell people too ) to use the search is when the answer is either well known to the current user base or it's easily available in the stickies or has been answered a 100 times before.
When you first come to xda the forums seem very daunting (there are still some forums I get lost / confused in i.e. the Dream) but taking your time to read throgh the stickies and wiki pages can get you setup.
Dave
i tend to read more than id like to anyay due to no social life
so i dont really tend to search
in fact ill read forums for devices i have no imntemtion of buying just out of curiosity
I USE the search function! Promise. I recall my first time here. It took me 3 different visits just to figure what phone I purchased!!
Those that have used this forum for years don't understand the sheer volume of information that is presented here. It is daunting, to say the least.
In all actuality we understand the amount of info here. Since the Kaiser the amount of phones and users on this board has grown exponentially. There are 4 regular Touch phones, the Touch Pro, Touch Hd, Dream, Diamond and however many smartphones that have hit the market in 2 years and all are supported here. The fact this place isn't a chaotic mess is due to Flar, the mods, the Wikis and THE SEARCH ENGINE. Had to do it.
Peace.
What is going on with the moderation in the Dream forums? I have been coming here for quite a few years now, though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.
In the past on the other subforums locking a thread was fairly rare and moderation more in tune with keeping it civil than anything. Moderators kept the peace but left topics and threads to being mostly self-governing. Occasionally a thread would get moved to off topic or the rebellious user warned but nothing like this. About a dozen threads in the last week, six in the last two days alone.
It seems any thread that the moderators feel is a repeat or not needed is locked. There is no warning or explanation by the moderators, just a lock. Instead of educating the user, search first with a link to what the user should have looked for as an example, the discussion is left in limbo. This is making the forum more of a moderated police state than a area for open conversation on topics. This detracts from the ability to have open discussions and the enjoyment of trying to help others.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
I am not active in the Dream forum, but I will add my thoughts here.
Certain sections of XDA's forums are subject to stricter moderation then others due to the sheer volume of active members in them. For example, the Raphael has seen a US release on all three nationwide carriers, whereas the prior models only saw release on one carrier. This led to more people buying the Raphael, and a large influx of members in the related forums. Due to that influx, we moderators needed to step up our monitoring of those forums in order to keeping them as clean and concise as possible.
This same example applies to the Dream due to it being the first Android phone released.
While I agree with you that a moderator should always leave a quick note as the final post in a closed thread, I also support closing down redundant threads in order to help keep all relevant information in an existing thread; not spread across 5 or 6 different ones.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
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NotATreoFan said:
While I agree with you that a moderator should always leave a quick note as the final post in a closed thread, I also support closing down redundant threads in order to help keep all relevant information in an existing thread; not spread across 5 or 6 different ones.
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Just thought I would add my two cents in here ( like anyone cares ) because I too have been irritated once or twice by over zealous moderation. Once by a moderator from the Dream forum who came over to the Kaiser forum to delete a whole conversation, because he " thought " we were getting too heated in our debate over M$ supposed actions . There was no flamebaiting, He just thought.
And several times by threads ( not mine ) that were closed without warning or stated reason. I know this is a huge site with a lot of heavy traffic and the Mods are " overworked and under paid " . I also realize that Mods are from around the world, and Moderation style is subject to differing personalities, social and interpersonal customs from different countries. But common courtesy is universal. While many people don't deserve it, please take the time to include a note on why, the thread requires moderation. If you don't have the time , then maybe you should pass the job on to someone who can take the time.
Also in my 1 1/2 years on this site, ( six mo lurking and 1 yr member ) I have PM'd three mods, asking them to please explain their actions in moderating a thread I was posting in, and in all three cases, received nothing, not even an acknowledgement.
This is not a criticism, just my two cents, should someone read this. I have my favorite mods, (natf is one ) Dave and Josh are excellent in the Kaiser forums, mostly because they adhere to the basic tenet, " Moderation in Moderation. "
mikechannon said:
I realise you are being modest there, and the truth is we do care what members think and voicing concern in a calm fashion is appreciated and this kind of feedback is what moderates the Moderators. This is what makes us a community and avoids an "us and them" situation developing.
I don't have anything of value to add to NotATreoFan's comments which match my own feelings on the matter and IMHO reflect the kind of balance we need between being tolerant, courteous and yet maintaining a degree of organisation.
Mike
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Thanks for taking that in the context that it was meant, I know that Admin and Mods do care what membership thinks.
denco7 said:
Thanks for taking that in the context that it was meant, I know that Admin and Mods do care what membership thinks.
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AND they are simply men and women They could make mistakes, they act differently in the same situation. Suggestions and opinions are always welcome!
i reckon there should be a new button next to the report post button that serves as an appeal button if someone thinks that a tread has been closed for no reason the the button should allow for appeal. a box is filled n explaining the thread and why there was no reason to delete it this is then pmd to the closer of the thread then negotaiations will start
Please do not take my original post too harshly. I do appreciate the mods here on XDA-developers and think that they do a great job. But at the same time when the mods get a little over zealous this seemed the best way to bring up my protest. (I could not PM the moderator in question because I do not know who was closing the threads.)
So thanks again for making this a great place to come back to over the years and keep up the good work.
JanetPanic said:
What is going on with the moderation in the Dream forums? I have been coming here for quite a few years now, though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.
In the past on the other subforums locking a thread was fairly rare and moderation more in tune with keeping it civil than anything. Moderators kept the peace but left topics and threads to being mostly self-governing. Occasionally a thread would get moved to off topic or the rebellious user warned but nothing like this. About a dozen threads in the last week, six in the last two days alone.
It seems any thread that the moderators feel is a repeat or not needed is locked. There is no warning or explanation by the moderators, just a lock. Instead of educating the user, search first with a link to what the user should have looked for as an example, the discussion is left in limbo. This is making the forum more of a moderated police state than a area for open conversation on topics. This detracts from the ability to have open discussions and the enjoyment of trying to help others.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
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If you ask me there aren't enough locked threads in the dream section. There are over 80 different threads for the new haykuro build there, 80!!! Probably more because i stopped counting at page 20. I also might add that the main haykuro thread has over 6000 posts and counting. The dream section is out of control and needs serious moderator intervention. One moderator simply cannot do all this himself. I know the dream mod, or at least the only active mod there that i can see and he is excellent at not only helping people but moderating in general. Let a thread be self governed? That's a very scary though!!! I am a moderator at another site and i can say it is not a moderators job to be a friend, be respectful or give you an explaination as to why he or she did what they did. Yes i do give an explaination and most mods on here do as well but they are here to maintain the rules of the forum and the upkeep of the forum in general. If threads were locked its more than likely because you or others got off topic, double posted or started a new thread when another about the exact same thing already existed. Case in point, there is a section for members to post questions to mods about anything already and you opened a new thread on the subject.
Ha I couldn't agree MORE with Ryanmo. There should be tighter and more rigid controls there. In fact I don't think it's (currently) possible for there to be moderation there at the moment...too many new bodies added to the fray. And we all know most of them are not reading the Sticky posted at top saying "Must read before you post". I don't have any problem with xda mods enacting 1-3 day temp bans on some of the frequent offenders.
knight4linux said:
Ha I couldn't agree MORE with Ryanmo. There should be tighter and more rigid controls there. In fact I don't think it's (currently) possible for there to be moderation there at the moment...too many new bodies added to the fray. And we all know most of them are not reading the Sticky posted at top saying "Must read before you post". I don't have any problem with xda mods enacting 1-3 day temp bans on some of the frequent offenders.
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Haha yeah the sticky at the top about the rules says a little over 23,000 views. The hacking thread has been viewed over 300,000 times, go figure. I probably report 15 posts a day to try and help but your right its outta control.
Hello Friends,
Well i have seen these site and i am quite surprise here that though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.As i am not a active member but ya i will add my though if any and will discuss So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason. Thanx
can someone please unlock this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429808&page=22
It is not that rules and regulations are not in place in this site. They are posted all over the place. In fact, if you look at my sig, I have them there as a hyperlink (many other members do the same). Why do threads and posts get locked, moved, or otherwise deleted left and right? It is because lots of users (particularly new ones but seasoned users also) do not read these rules. They do not know that they should search before posting or opening new threads; they do not know that there are sections to ask questions that are not relevant to the section they posted at; they do not know that profanity shouldn't be used around here due to a large young crowd; they do not know that flaming (particularly for no apparent reason) is strictly prohibited....
Moderators have little time to be messing around with people who simply do not understand that there are rules that must be followed (or read for that matter). Hence, they close the threads with no previous notice and at times, leave no excuse behind. They don't do it out of the content of their hearts, and they are definitely not watching over every single thread at all times. If you see a thread being closed, it is normally due to someone complaining about it, and more often than not, mods will analyze the trend of the thread and if necessary either warn users to stop, or just flat out close it (normally they warn unless the thread itself is breaking the rules... think of posting warez for instance).
I have yet to see abuse of power by a mod in this forum. And I am pretty sure that if there happens to be a mod that does abuse his/her God-given powers.... let's just say that they will be judged by a higher power
My 2 cents!
Although some moderators try and go out of their way to leave a message as to why they lock a thread, that is not their job. Our job is to make sure people are following the rules.
Here is a little scenario, i log on at night and jump over to the D&H section.... there i find 10 new threads asking questions.
A) I can delete the threads
B) I can close the threads by simply going through and checking every thread and then closing.
C) i can individually open each thread and leave a message for each person
D) i can wait for another moderator to do it
E) move the thread for them
Well i cant delete them or people will think their thread never got posted and just post it AGAIN. If you move peoples threads for them they think they can post anywhere and it will just be moved where it needs to go. I dont have time to open every thread and leave a message for every person everytime, and if i leave it for another moderator, it might not get done.
Really i am only left with checking all of the threads and closing them. if you have a question you can READ the rules, as it is your resonsibilty as a member, and find the answer. (Or of course you can pm a mod)
You guys have to remember that there are over 1,537,526 members on this site and around 66 mods and admin. We do our best to help you guys but we dont always have the time to write a personal letter for everyone of your and put it in you lunch box.
I agree (not that it matters). Mods have absolutely NO responsibility to post why they closed a thread...Why? Because they already are posted...in the rules up top. Its you, the new users that have the resposibility. That responsibility to read the rules before you post (RTFM). It even says at the bottom (of the rules) what will happen if they are not followed.
And by allowing multiple threads of the SAME simple questions (Especially in a phones development section) this completely ruins development and progress, not to mention this is a free and public forum. That means its hosted on servers, and these duplicate threads/posts start to add up.
Trust me. Frequent the forums for more than a few months and it'll start to wear on you too, almost as much as it does to the mods.
UPDATE:
As of late, there seems to be a lot of issues with the dream section, many many topics on bricked phones, new OS releases, old releases, random topics, and other posts. The title of the forum is Dream android 'development', and its actually hard now to find 'development' scattered in many of the different types of topics in there.
SUGGESTION/RECOMMENDATION:
Make a sub-forum of the development forum (or of the whole dream forum like the current 5 main sub-forums), named something like troubleshooting, or repair, or something like that. That way, anyone with a broken phone can post in there maybe. It might be a bad suggestion simply because the 'helpers' may not check there...but I cant think of a better way to keep the 5 different topics a day saying "I have a different brick problem" organized so actual development [important] topics can stay up top, where they should be.
Anyone with a better idea, express it so something can be done, its quite a mess right now.
[Oh and maybe a description under the android dev. forum something in capital letters saying: be careful, and read everything before taking action!!!, because I think some people end up with bricks because of anticipation and possibly dont read. Just as a [duh] advisory, ya know?]
/rant
Thanks [btw not bashing the mods, its just a bit hectic it seems right now, many things going on there]
theslam08 said:
UPDATE:
As of late, there seems to be a lot of issues with the dream section, many many topics on bricked phones, new OS releases, old releases, random topics, and other posts. The title of the forum is Dream android 'development', and its actually hard now to find 'development' scattered in many of the different types of topics in there.
SUGGESTION/RECOMMENDATION:
Make a sub-forum of the development forum (or of the whole dream forum like the current 5 main sub-forums), named something like troubleshooting, or repair, or something like that. That way, anyone with a broken phone can post in there maybe. It might be a bad suggestion simply because the 'helpers' may not check there...but I cant think of a better way to keep the 5 different topics a day saying "I have a different brick problem" organized so actual development [important] topics can stay up top, where they should be.
Anyone with a better idea, express it so something can be done, its quite a mess right now.
[Oh and maybe a description under the android dev. forum something in capital letters saying: be careful, and read everything before taking action!!!, because I think some people end up with bricks because of anticipation and possibly dont read. Just as a [duh] advisory, ya know?]
/rant
Thanks [btw not bashing the mods, its just a bit hectic it seems right now, many things going on there]
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That has been added as a suggestion and I will push for it again in the mod section.
BTW I am a Dream mod and I am usually the one that closes threads or deletes them. I don't always leave a message because it is more time consuming. I can have an unclean section with everyone getting a response and therefore getting their locked post bumped. Or I can have a cleaner (it will never be clean) section with angry users who didn't search in the first place.
I chose the later by the way.
neoobs said:
That has been added as a suggestion and I will push for it again in the mod section.
BTW I am a Dream mod and I am usually the one that closes threads or deletes them. I don't always leave a message because it is more time consuming. I can have an unclean section with everyone getting a response and therefore getting their locked post bumped. Or I can have a cleaner (it will never be clean) section with angry users who didn't search in the first place.
I chose the later by the way.
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Mhm, and you do what you can, I notice somethings being done by you, which is good that something is being done. I used to mod/administrate big places so I know what its like, its a pain when people cant search, or arent sure of where to post so they post anywhere (sometimes in the effort of 'just getting an answer').
This causes the clutter, especially when there are multiple 'different but very similar' type topics being created, and its tricky to know which to close and which not to close. Thats why I think maybe a separate forum 'might' be the best solution, because as of right now, bricks are happening pretty quickly and thats not good (no one to blame, just the anticipation again).
I appreciate the backing, hope 'something' can be done, its just really crowded right now (making the 'new' browsers get lost [causing the multiple similar topic issue], and your job harder).
One problem is the sticky's need to be updated by the people who started them. Many are older and with 5 different roms available to flash now they simply don't meet the demand for all these different roms. The rom developers need to do a better job of explaining how to flash their roms. The newest one tried to get a little too cute and force a new apps2sd method on users and the result was a lot of looped (not bricked) g1's. The sub forum could consist of how to's and guide's. I'm not sure a sub forum is the best way to go though, There are already 5 and most phones on here don't even have 4. Xda simply need more help with this section, neoobs has been cleaning house and i thank you but you can't do it all lol. I am a moderator on another site, not here but will do what i can to report posts as much as possible to help the mods.
Ryanmo5 said:
One problem is the sticky's need to be updated by the people who started them. Many are older and with 5 different roms available to flash now they simply don't meet the demand for all these different roms. The rom developers need to do a better job of explaining how to flash their roms. The newest one tried to get a little too cute and force a new apps2sd method on users and the result was a lot of looped (not bricked) g1's. The sub forum could consist of how to's and guide's. I'm not sure a sub forum is the best way to go though, There are already 5 and most phones on here don't even have 4. Xda simply need more help with this section, neoobs has been cleaning house and i thank you but you can't do it all lol. I am a moderator on another site, not here but will do what i can to report posts as much as possible to help the mods.
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Agreed 100%, it seems there are alot of stickies there, maybe redundant on some, but are necessary on others. There should be a way to make it distinguishable between information/guides, developments, and problems. They do need to be updated as well.
I agree, a forum might not be the best way because there might be 'lost' posts which would not work either (like the new magic thread that showed up, though I dont dissagree with that simply because the OP is correct, android is android, and the magic needs some help, maybe because we stole quite a bit from it too? lol. but still posting to 'get help' anywhere).
Is there a modification for vb that makes stickies different color than the regular topics? I never administrated vb only ipb and smf so I dont know. But that would be a big help there, then the new comers can instantly see which are informal.
Im trying to report, to help you so you dont need to spend as much time 'looking' as doing the task. Its not 'too' bad right now, when I first posted though omg it was disaster. Once the new rom comes out though....thennn its gonna be biig trouble again.
Update: I was looking at something...the first forum, named Dream. That I was actually looking at for the first time, it seems pretty useless really. A lot of the topics in there could definitely go into the development thread...OR that forum could get changed to something else and cleaned up. There arent many 'general' topics for the phone I dont think, whats general for the phone? What is the g1? Maybe but useless indeed. So maybe instead of MAKING a new forum, just change that one and clean it up. Make it a troubleshooting forum, or a tutorial section, or just updates, or something I dont know. But maybe just better use of it I think.
Now that I have a Galaxy Nexus and I'm looking threw to see what's out there to flash. I get to my favorite community here and find out that for whatever reason GSM and LTE models are mixed together in one big cluster f**k that can potentially brick my phone if I don't read the fine print. This is insanely dumb, it poses a potential risk for me even tho I feel I'm a seasoned veteran of the Android flashing community, and to anyone that is completely new to this and doesn't understand the subtle differences of CDMA and GSM. So here I am typing this out trying my damnedest to wrap my mind around WHY XDA DOESN'T CREATE SUB FORUMS FOR EACH TYPE. A lot of other sites do, and it makes the search 1000000x easier to navigate.
So please could some moderator explain to me the reasoning behind having one giant pool of ROMS and mods that are completely different from one another? Is it really that hard to create a sub forum to take you to either the CDMA or GSM version?
I'd like to get some feed back here or am I the only one that is slightly frustrated about this? I mean its completely unorganized and the whole forum just feels really sloppy already.
You're not the first to mention this and, if you searched (cause you're a vet with 47 posts), you'd know the Mods are looking into it
But in essence I agree, or you just hope the threads are labelled correctly (LTE/GSM)
Dude if you used XDA as much as you say you do then you would have done a search on this topic and realized that there are already 2 threads in the last week on this subject.
Mods can we please merge all "Separate GSM/LTE forums" posts.
yeah I did try searching for it, thanks for the most obvious response
but ya know what its hard to find something when I don't know what to call it....
you'll notice that I never used the word separate which is the key word I was missing
so thanks for the ****-ish way you gave me that info it was slightly helpful i guess...
Just for the record I agree with the op. However I'm not too worried about it. This site has given me so much and asked for very little in return. I'm just greatful to have access to all this great info.
robby88 said:
yeah I did try searching for it, thanks for the most obvious response
but ya know what its hard to find something when I don't know what to call it....
you'll notice that I never used the word separate which is the key word I was missing
so thanks for the ****-ish way you gave me that info it was slightly helpful i guess...
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Some veteran. You really can't just look at the title of the thread to see if it says "LTE" or not? The only important threads that should be looked through are on the first two or three pages. Not that hard.
If you seriously brick your phone because you can't figure out whether something is LTE or GSM, you are a bit slow IMO. So far we only have one page of relevant ROMS and mods in dev section and you're already complaining about having trouble finding things when search isn't even necessary. Come on...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
It's because this site is a joke. There are so many things wrong with the way XDA structures and manages these forums. Look at rootzwiki...or even droid forums. The mods actually do their jobs there and make it EASIER for devs to post their work and manage their users problems by preventing/deleting/combining duplicate threads. Both of those forums even provide sub-forums for popular devs to let them manage it as well. And a simple thing like separating the LTE and GSM versions into their own forum was a non-issue at rootzwiki...yet here at XDA it seems we're asking the admins to split the atom.
That's why devs are/have moved to rootzwiki to post their work. Sure they'll copy and paste their topics over here eventually, but the difference is that if you want your post to be read by someone at the developer level, you're probably at the wrong forum. You should have seen the XDA droid bionic forums before everyone packed up and went onto rootz...LOL, it was like the wild west.
mb02 said:
Some veteran. You really can't just look at the title of the thread to see if it says "LTE" or not? The only important threads that should be looked through are on the first two or three pages. Not that hard.
If you seriously brick your phone because you can't figure out whether something is LTE or GSM, you are a bit slow IMO. So far we only have one page of relevant ROMS and mods in dev section and you're already complaining about having trouble finding things when search isn't even necessary. Come on...
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I wasn't talking about myself jackass, there are tons of people out there that have never flashed a phone before and not knowing the difference between GSM and CDMA can be a confusing concept for most. So thanks for trying to make me out to be the jackass when you've accomplished that all on your own.
I'm not having trouble finding anything considering there are only 2-3 ROMs for LTE, but in a month there's going to be 50 pages of crap to sift threw. So that's the problem I see, and the fact that if it was just broken down in to 2 different sub forums from the start would of been something very simple and I just don't see why it wasn't/hasn't been done.
quentin0 said:
It's because this site is a joke. There are so many things wrong with the way XDA structures and manages these forums. Look at rootzwiki...or even droid forums. The mods actually do their jobs there and make it EASIER for devs to post their work and manage their users problems by preventing/deleting/combining duplicate threads. Both of those forums even provide sub-forums for popular devs to let them manage it as well. And a simple thing like separating the LTE and GSM versions into their own forum was a non-issue at rootzwiki...yet here at XDA it seems we're asking the admins to split the atom.
That's why devs are/have moved to rootzwiki to post their work. Sure they'll copy and paste their topics over here eventually, but the difference is that if you want your post to be read by someone at the developer level, you're probably at the wrong forum. You should have seen the XDA droid bionic forums before everyone packed up and went onto rootz...LOL, it was like the wild west.
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It may be disorganized and full of duplicate threads, but it is an excellent resource. I have been here since Windows mobile 6, The G1, and a whole slew in android phones... and it is the same story. The devs move to some other site. You get a new phone and everyone comes back to XDA. If more people kept their mouth shut the site would be easier to navigate. I could care less, as I mostly lurk and find what I am looking for. No need to comment in every thread, because it probably wouldn't contribute much.
XDA is a great resource, if you don't like it go to another site and browse their forums.
axion68 said:
It may be disorganized and full of duplicate threads, but it is an excellent resource. I have been here since Windows mobile 6, The G1, and a whole slew in android phones... and it is the same story. The devs move to some other site. You get a new phone and everyone comes back to XDA. If more people kept their mouth shut the site would be easier to navigate. I could care less, as I mostly lurk and find what I am looking for. No need to comment in every thread, because it probably wouldn't contribute much.
XDA is a great resource, if you don't like it go to another site and browse their forums.
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I completely agree, I started flashing my first droid and found everything I needed right here with super helpful devs and a mostly wonderful community that would aid you. I personally don't care what gets posted in General though. I think only dev's should be able to post in the development forum to keep things to a minimum, but if a topic needs to be brought up multiple times to get it done then so be it. That's how things get done if a topic is shoved back into the darkness then it needs to be brought to light over and over til something gets done.
I agree totally, I started using rootz instead because they seperated the 2 devices. Also it should be GSM or CDMA. LTE is GSM. Lots of confusion can happen here.
Okay, I'm looking for a new phone. I've been on this site (maybe not having an active account but using it at least) since I got my first Android phone. This site has been a beacon or at least a jumping off point to anyone who has wanted to get into customizing and modding their phones for YEARS.
This gave me the idea of why not have the forum statistics posted in an easily viewable format? I figure the phone with the most activity should be the most developer friendly phone (or the most popular one anyway, and I know just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good.) Still I believe phones with more activity are probably more friendly to devs than those with less activity, because they're in the hands of more people looking for exploits/vulnerabilties to make the phone do what they want it to do (and then hopefully patch those as well.)
Now indeed there are a LOT of spam posts as well, I see them when I get nostalgic and visit the Atrix 4G forums. Maybe you can filter out all the 1 or 2 post accounts/anything that has gotten banned from those metrix somehow?
it would be good idea, but at the same time, not good idea.
imagine how much that would make this forum even messier?
how search engine will handle such tasks?
popularity quickly changes, and there are no way to determine what is popular or not.
if post is getting a lot of views, is that indicator?
a lot of downloads? what if he post download on third party website?
and, when devs release ROM, mod, they go silent for some time, so they can develop more ..
as, indicator can't be what is viewed mostly, and what is downloaded mostly.
think of something that will make it do automatically, to determine what is popular or not.
as computer algorithm can mark some old phone dev friendly, because it have a lot of views, or posts, and when you look at those posts, you see it don't make sense, posts are about "how to unlock this unlockable phone".
TL; DR
there's no way to instruct it properly (machine), and it will clutter forum and forum search even more,
but we can make separate section which is maintaned by all moderators, so one person don't have to handle all., and that section can be properly handled by search engine in forum.