Related
To the Mods,
I know I am just a junior member so please don't rip me a new one if you don't like my suggestion.
I'm wondering if you think it might be a good idea to creat a sub-forum inside Development and Hacking for all of the Skins and Customizations such as Mobile Shell skins and mods for s2u2.
I know that a sticky was started by TheChampJT for skins but in my opinion taking a step further and creating a sub-forum and moving the sticky into it would be even better.
I know it's odd coming from a member with such a low post count, in fact this is my way of trying to contribute since all of the tech. stuff is so far over my head.
Thanks
My post count is pretty low too... but I for one agree. It seems like the Development forum has gotten a little bogged down in themes and skins - which are really good, don't get me wrong! I just think it might help the skinners concentrate on skinning and developers concentrate on developing if the two forums were seperate.
This has been discussed a few times before now:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=395209
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=400854
I'm sure there's a third thread I can't find as well
Thanks
Dave
Not only is development and hacking clogged up by numerous threads all just regarding themes and theme issues but so are all the sub forums. So why not have a specific section just for themes? I think that this would tidy up the entire site, for example tf3d themes are now spread across quite a few forums and there are loads of wallpaper threads in every forum, development and hacking is starting to fill up with titanium themes.
So my idea is to have a new section....Themes and UIs ....everything together, multi device.
What do you think?
Not sure if im blind or just missed it...but you didnt explain where you wanted it. Im thinking your talking about the dream forum b/c I am in there a lot, but I read it and said nah b/c there is a theme forum. You have to specify where if you want some assistance .
Thanks for the reply I actually meant an entire new forum devoted to themes and UIs for any device in the main section right here at the top.
Any Mods got an opinion?...bump....this has to be the quietest place on xda devs.
You might want to consider reposting in this thread.
I agree with the skins theme forum, well, maybe not completely. A sub forum should be more than enough, not a full section dedicated to skins.
Also, what exactly do you mean by UI? If you are talking about things like M2D, PointUI, IFonz, etc... those things really are part of Dev and Hacking (more D than H), but they should be there simply because they are being developed/ported/made by other site members who rely on the feedback, knowledge, and expertise of other developers to debug and complete their apps.
Just my two cents.
I agree completely. Would help the site and the user. Users would be able to find themes more easily.
egzthunder1 said:
I agree with the skins theme forum, well, maybe not completely. A sub forum should be more than enough, not a full section dedicated to skins.
Also, what exactly do you mean by UI? If you are talking about things like M2D, PointUI, IFonz, etc... those things really are part of Dev and Hacking (more D than H), but they should be there simply because they are being developed/ported/made by other site members who rely on the feedback, knowledge, and expertise of other developers to debug and complete their apps.
Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes UI=User Interface, I know what you mean, developement does belong in D&H but it is overflowing with UI stuff at the moment, stuff like M2D would still get developed and supported, just somewhere else. I think it would be one of the busiest forums on the site and that a new forum would unburden Dev and Hacking leaving it free for all other development.
With a dedicated themes section it would be great to have a few things like a dedicated photoshop tips and questions thread and a place where people could share all their custom graphics and knowledge in one place.
Well, not a lot of votes, but there does seem to be a bit of a swing.
Please if you do view this thread you might as well vote, it does not take very long.
Vote added...nice thread.
+1. Perhaps a sub-forum of Dev & Hacking would be nice, instead of a seperate section itself.
I think it is a good idea
that will save time and keep out the interruption thread what take our attention if we are searching for themes and UIs only
Makes the site more arranged
you have my voice
Connect the Devs
Thanks to everyone who has voted so far.
Another point that occurred to me which I have not put too clearly to date, is that not only would all the themes be in one place, but so would all the theme developers! Which to me seems possibly like the biggest advantage of all, to help connect all the theme developers from across all the boards, now that would be good to do.
good idea...clearly people like this and it should be implemented into the website
now we should vote on where in the forums it should be.
New section or under dev/hacks or somethin?
vote added.. separate section would clear up Themes/Skin Developments frm Software Developments and make navigation easy!
Good idea !!! I'm for it.
Windows Phone 6.5
Windows Phone 6.5 themes are where it's at now; are you planning on heading that direction?
@ Black C5, yes definitely wm 6.5 themes are huge in development and hacking right now. If I had my way there would be a sub section of the Themes and UI's section dedicated to WM 6.5 themes with a big sticky near the top linking to all available widgets and add ons etc. I think that dev and hacking is the right place for widgets since they fall into the catagory of software development but themes don't, if it's mainly graphical it should be in the hypothetical themes and ui's section.
What next?
So how many votes are needed to make this happen? and how do I/we go about making it happen?
uniqueboy said:
So how many votes are needed to make this happen? and how do I/we go about making it happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well To put it bluntly, This isn't a democracy so there is no magic number of votes that will make this happen.
this may happen if and only if the Admins decide that they want to do so.
However that's not to say this is of no use, the admins like to give the people what they want. But don't think that they will automatically create this section just because you got x amount of votes.
When the time is right, and they decide, then it will happen.
seriously, this one forum is cluttered with hundreds of threads about ROMs, Recovery, Root, Guides, and other off-the-wall stuff. Can we get subforums made specifically for ROMs, Recoveries, Root (and only Root-related discussion), and Guides? this will organize the forum more efficiently, and we won't have to sift through hundreds of threads and thousands of posts to look for what we need. thanks for the good work so far!
bump, seriously, the Evo Development forum is a mess! we really need some subforums to help keep it organized.
do u mean like this? ~> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=709267
i feel creating a entire subforum will cause more harm then good. the wikis organize things a bit and are stickied to the top of every subforum in the EVO 4G section. these wikis can be maintained and updated by all users of the forum. also it makes it possible to organize the guides and roms by type and such. i do see ur point though and that is why i created the wikis in the first place. i thought about creating a new subforum for a while, but the truth is that it will end up cluttered just the same. at least with the wiki u can look on one page and see all the roms,recoveries, and guides that relate to our device, not having to sift through the most popular to fine roms that arent. at the same time u can see that some roms are development roms and therefor still worthy of the development section. i just know from working on the Sprint HeroC that the wikis were life savers. specially months into owning the device, with old roms no longer being supported and buried by new roms. i hope this helps resolve ur issues. please PM me if u have more to add. thanx for the suggestions as ideas are always welcomed.
i just think it would make the Dev forum look a lot cleaner and organized if all the ROM threads were in a "ROMs" subforum; all the guides threads in a "Guides" subforum; all the kernel threads in a "Kernels" subforum; etc etc.
wikis are nice, and are very helpful in organizing information, but they don't make the forum look neater or any less intimidating, and the forum is where most people go for the most up-to-date information on everything.
right now, everything is just thrown into a single place. It's the equivalent of having a single forum called "HTC Phone Discussion" that is flooded with 1000s of threads related to MyTouch's, Evo's, Diamonds, Dreams, Hero's, Nexus', HD2's, etc etc. it's really inefficient and hard to sift through because everyone's threads are getting lost in the forum. albeit, on a much smaller scale, but you get the point.
agreed
Yes, def be a big help...
I feel we do need to keep better control over the threads and make a few different sections.
yeah - would definitely make things easier.
I agree. At least group some threads, such as tons and rooting guides (there's plenty of those!) This would help make other threads a little easier to find. Not everything needs a subforum, but some things would fit naturally. With evo dev so hot right now many threads are getting buried faster then you can find them.
+1 on this, the Nexus One android development forum also has the same issue, it is full of Rom's (which is great) but you cannot find the actual development threads any more..
yeah, we dont need a subforum for everything. i think 2 will suffice: "ROMs/Kernels/Recovery" and "Guides".
+1 to this suggestion for N1 too.
bump.
do the admins even read this board?
cnstarz said:
bump.
do the admins even read this board?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course we do! We'll have a resolution in the coming days. Sorry for the delay.
no worries. my thing is this:
why does xda have forums for every phone they support; why not just create a single wiki for every single phone? because having just one forum and wiki for 100 different phones is ridiculous. it'd be impossible to keep up with updates because everything would get burried. the same thing is happening to the dev forum.
Hello, my name is Shahin (pronounced Shaheen) and i want to get into deving. im already somewhat experienced with it however ive never released a rom or tweak. also i only have experience with the ZTE Warp. it would be really nice if someone could teach me the basics of android deving thanks. Also PM me if you would like to do it over Google Talk or other IM messengers
Some very good starting points provided within XDA so you can get an understanding of basics before diving head first into device specifics:
http://xda-university.com/
Android Development and Hacking
Get familiar with github and understand how to navigate it and find things within it.
And of course you can look in the device specific Development Sections. (Hint: Go to the old posts when the sections were first started and you'll find "discovery" threads. Meaning when people were figuring out how to do "x" on this phone for the first time.)
Also, get into each dev thread and read through them. Often you'll find Easter eggs of hints and tricks since sometimes info is buried.
Remember to start at the basics. Starting at the wrong point will lean you toward skipping the fundamentals and you won't know why you're running a command, you'll just know you have to.. I always like knowing the whats and why's.
It takes time. Good luck.
To answer my question; yes, I do. I always feel lost when I come here, so for this time, I want to try something new.
1) The main issue. I recognized (unlike all other forums on the Internet), it has three, distinct "layers" with a different visual appearance depending how deep you go into levels.
Level 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/
Take note of the distinct visual appearance.
Level 2: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Remember that one level up (https://forum.xda-developers.com/) you had actual descriptions of what each category is about. At this level the descriptions have disappeared (for some reason), so you always have to go a level up to figure out which category you want to enter.
Level 3: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Now this looks like your regular Internet forum. I wonder why can't Level 1. and 2. look just like Level 3. for an easy overview of navigation.
Am I the only person all these levels are not intuitive for or you as well? What forum engine XDA Forums runs on? I noted that Level 3. is fine, it looks like just any other Internet forum, but I'm puzzled and perplexed as ever about the distinct designs of Levels 1. and 2.
For a comparison of some neat and friendly forum interfaces, I encourage you to check out:
https://forums.anandtech.com/
https://arstechnica.com/civis/
+1: https://forum.f-droid.org/
Nothing special, really: just time tested, old forum interfaces that "just works" as they say. I'm not even saying they are perfect. For example, the AnandTech Forum doesn't have the descriptions the Ars Technica forum has, but due to the self-explanatory nature of the categories, I'm not lost while there. I understand XDA Forums have more complex topics, so descriptions are preferred.
+1: As opposed to the Ars Technica and AnandTech Forums, The F-Droid Forum uses a new school interface called Discourse. I find it effective as it has powerful features. If you ever want to upgrade XDA Forums, you might want to consider going with a next generation forum engine like Discourse.
Example: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/budget-phones-eur-usd100-worth-buying-t3433115
I simply can't believe I'm the single person on this forum interested in this question. (It's timely as ever, by the way.) I just feel other people interested in the same topic somehow never found their way to my question because they also find XDA Forums overall just too complex to get a grasp on everything happening here.
2) Has anyone ever found checking the "Q&A Thread" was useful for their thread, and didn't regret checking that box in the end? Back then when I was without a clue, I checked the box. I learned never to check it again. See my cautionary tale here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/viewing-internal-storage-generic-phone-t3429852
I never got a proper answer there, and totally by accident (by external Google search after gave up I will ever find my answer on XDA Forums), I have found what I was looking for in a 5-year old Samsung Galaxy Nexus thread which turned out to be completely device-independent stuff: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...nlock-root-t1420351/post69913460#post69913460
Now why would the author of this completely device-independent guide put the guide in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus forum section where it lied for 5 years unnoticed, but being still useful today? Probably he has never figured out where the proper place for device-independent guides on the forum is. (Where is the proper place for device independent guides on the forum really, where contributors and users alike will find it equally easily?)
My related observation to this point is that I noticed many of the juicy activity on this forum in general takes place in [insert this year's hot Android phone] categories. Hot Android phone of the day or year changes at least yearly, most users change their devices at least once in two years, so even though many device-independent advice might have been accumulated in the topics for previous year's hot phones, this knowledge seems to be lost. It's still here on the forum, just no one looks at threads of old phones popular years ago looking for device-independent advice, people can only stumble upon information from this (actually huge) section of the forum by accident.
3) Idea: how about a distinctive indicator for a project is being active, still actively maintained or developed? It can be a green sign for active projects. Projects no longer being maintained and developed on the other hand could be distinctively marked with a red sign.
Example for I mistakenly thought of an active and alive project that it was no longer maintained and developed... or not? But something like this:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71988461&postcount=17847
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72580936&postcount=17958
(Poor developer @M66B, I have no idea what negative experiences he may refer to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69284003)
Example for me being lost here 1.: This project has been abandoned for sure: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
The thread has been closed for 5 years. I have no idea whatsoever in which section should I ask about a similar project which is alive and well. (And expect for answers, which is equally important! A few paragraphs above you can see examples that even I asked the right question in the right place according to moderator, I never received any answer whatsoever, or any meaningful answer.)
Example for me being lost here 2.: I really want to ask somewhere
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/135711/is-apkmirror-com-safe
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/74618/how-safe-is-it-to-use-aptoide
Example 2, for not finding my way around XDA Forums. I noticed there are many worthy, distinctive projects that seem to be abandoned by their developers: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
It seems to be pretty abandoned; the thread has been closed for 5 years.
Aren't just too many separate categories? I just never was able to figure out the "overview" of XDA Forums the way I had no problem to overview AnandTech Forums and the Ars Technica forums. Even if you say there are exactly as many forum categories as needed, I can accept that. But sure, you could do more to make it visually intuitive - just like most other forums on the Internet are. Thanks!
Update. Another case in point: https://www.xda-developers.com/goog...-with-root-and-android-pay-in-the-xda-forums/
Poor Google engineer @jasondclinton_google has some good, general info on rooting vs. Android Pay (Google Pay?) security but why he had to post it in an obscured thread under xda-developers > Google Nexus 5 > Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting > Android Pay and Custom ROM instead of a forum topic of more general interest is beyond me.
Anyone?
Theres quite a few threads on this subject, perhaps people dont feel the need to contribute to another one?
magicphone said:
To answer my question; yes, I do. I always feel lost when I come here, so for this time, I want to try something new.
1) The main issue. I recognized (unlike all other forums on the Internet), it has three, distinct "layers" with a different visual appearance depending how deep you go into levels.
Level 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/
Take note of the distinct visual appearance.
Level 2: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Remember that one level up (https://forum.xda-developers.com/) you had actual descriptions of what each category is about. At this level the descriptions have disappeared (for some reason), so you always have to go a level up to figure out which category you want to enter.
Level 3: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Now this looks like your regular Internet forum. I wonder why can't Level 1. and 2. look just like Level 3. for an easy overview of navigation.
Am I the only person all these levels are not intuitive for or you as well? What forum engine XDA Forums runs on? I noted that Level 3. is fine, it looks like just any other Internet forum, but I'm puzzled and perplexed as ever about the distinct designs of Levels 1. and 2.
For a comparison of some neat and friendly forum interfaces, I encourage you to check out:
https://forums.anandtech.com/
https://arstechnica.com/civis/
+1: https://forum.f-droid.org/
Nothing special, really: just time tested, old forum interfaces that "just works" as they say. I'm not even saying they are perfect. For example, the AnandTech Forum doesn't have the descriptions the Ars Technica forum has, but due to the self-explanatory nature of the categories, I'm not lost while there. I understand XDA Forums have more complex topics, so descriptions are preferred.
+1: As opposed to the Ars Technica and AnandTech Forums, The F-Droid Forum uses a new school interface called Discourse. I find it effective as it has powerful features. If you ever want to upgrade XDA Forums, you might want to consider going with a next generation forum engine like Discourse.
Example: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/budget-phones-eur-usd100-worth-buying-t3433115
I simply can't believe I'm the single person on this forum interested in this question. (It's timely as ever, by the way.) I just feel other people interested in the same topic somehow never found their way to my question because they also find XDA Forums overall just too complex to get a grasp on everything happening here.
2) Has anyone ever found checking the "Q&A Thread" was useful for their thread, and didn't regret checking that box in the end? Back then when I was without a clue, I checked the box. I learned never to check it again. See my cautionary tale here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/viewing-internal-storage-generic-phone-t3429852
I never got a proper answer there, and totally by accident (by external Google search after gave up I will ever find my answer on XDA Forums), I have found what I was looking for in a 5-year old Samsung Galaxy Nexus thread which turned out to be completely device-independent stuff: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...nlock-root-t1420351/post69913460#post69913460
Now why would the author of this completely device-independent guide put the guide in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus forum section where it lied for 5 years unnoticed, but being still useful today? Probably he has never figured out where the proper place for device-independent guides on the forum is. (Where is the proper place for device independent guides on the forum really, where contributors and users alike will find it equally easily?)
My related observation to this point is that I noticed many of the juicy activity on this forum in general takes place in [insert this year's hot Android phone] categories. Hot Android phone of the day or year changes at least yearly, most users change their devices at least once in two years, so even though many device-independent advice might have been accumulated in the topics for previous year's hot phones, this knowledge seems to be lost. It's still here on the forum, just no one looks at threads of old phones popular years ago looking for device-independent advice, people can only stumble upon information from this (actually huge) section of the forum by accident.
3) Idea: how about a distinctive indicator for a project is being active, still actively maintained or developed? It can be a green sign for active projects. Projects no longer being maintained and developed on the other hand could be distinctively marked with a red sign.
Example for I mistakenly thought of an active and alive project that it was no longer maintained and developed... or not? But something like this:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71988461&postcount=17847
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72580936&postcount=17958
(Poor developer @M66B, I have no idea what negative experiences he may refer to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69284003)
Example for me being lost here 1.: This project has been abandoned for sure: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
The thread has been closed for 5 years. I have no idea whatsoever in which section should I ask about a similar project which is alive and well. (And expect for answers, which is equally important! A few paragraphs above you can see examples that even I asked the right question in the right place according to moderator, I never received any answer whatsoever, or any meaningful answer.)
Example for me being lost here 2.: I really want to ask somewhere
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/135711/is-apkmirror-com-safe
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/74618/how-safe-is-it-to-use-aptoide
Example 2, for not finding my way around XDA Forums. I noticed there are many worthy, distinctive projects that seem to be abandoned by their developers: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
It seems to be pretty abandoned; the thread has been closed for 5 years.
Aren't just too many separate categories? I just never was able to figure out the "overview" of XDA Forums the way I had no problem to overview AnandTech Forums and the Ars Technica forums. Even if you say there are exactly as many forum categories as needed, I can accept that. But sure, you could do more to make it visually intuitive - just like most other forums on the Internet are. Thanks!
Update. Another case in point: https://www.xda-developers.com/goog...-with-root-and-android-pay-in-the-xda-forums/
Poor Google engineer @jasondclinton_google has some good, general info on rooting vs. Android Pay (Google Pay?) security but why he had to post it in an obscured thread under xda-developers > Google Nexus 5 > Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting > Android Pay and Custom ROM instead of a forum topic of more general interest is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To your first point, I actually like the separate layouts for the different layers of the forum. I love modded forums in general, and I enjoy when forums step outside of the basic forumdisplay page.
As for the other points, I agree. I've spent the past few hours searching different forums for a few topics, and a lot of "general" info is split between a myriad of specialized, nested forums. I assume this helps the admins manage topic threads more efficiently. I'm sure it just takes some getting used to. I wouldn't describe it as "complicated" or "non-intuitive," just unique to xda. I run specialized message boards myself, and some forums are born out of general discussions that need to be compartmentalized for better management.
If I understand the whole situation, it goes like this: XDA has been around before Android was a thing, but got a high popularity boost with the introduction of Google's mobile operating system.
The original motto was along the lines of 'by developers, for developers.' But then a lot of new Android people came, not just developers, users as well and XDA couldn't keep up with the surge and you guys still try to find out ever since how to best manage such a huge and diverse community with developers and users alike, how to manage projects, bug reports, while maintaining a community of users, who might as well insightful feature requests for the projects. Does this sound about right?
So. Is the motto of the forum still supposed to be something like 'by developers, for developers,' or perhaps, it has changed?
Old, clip from your YouTube channel: You are a Noob on XDA-Developers. It's your second most watched video on your channel, actually. I just wonder if it's still the dominant attitude of you guys who run this place towards users (some of whom, perhaps want to remain users, just want to get out the most of their phones) and they should piss off and better go elsewhere, or perhaps you have toned down the communication and you are in the process of figuring out how this place could be more fruitful for all?
See more at the Google search: xda site:https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/
I Google searched to find this forum because I am just trying to understand XDA's layout. I'm currently using the app, and I am always so lost here. The only way I find anything at all is through Google searches. Right now I'm trying to understand this place's layout.
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya.
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya.
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K bye!
Ciao!
It's turning into a bye bye thread
I admit my post is not helpful