Develop Bugs

Thread-specific moderators (for ROM threads)

Hello,
first thanks for this great place! I would have smashed my Touch HD if xda wouldnt exist
I have a suggestion regarding the ROM forums and threads:
As the cookers and chefs are mostly to busy to gather information from the thread and put them in the first(second...) post, it would be really nice if a threadstarter or moderator could assign a normal user as an "thread-specific" moderator (for only the first three posts for example). So volunteers, people very interested in this ROM, could maintain a buglist, tips and hints, fixes and other helpful stuff from the thousand and more pages and make the life for everybody easier.
Its sometimes really hard to find information in the thousand pages. I think a solution like this would help everybody and reduce the senseless spam questions in the ROM forums. All 1-2 pages new users ask the same as people before, and all are getting the answer "Read through the thread, its mentioned 10 pages before" for example.
Whats your opinion about this?

7Bit said:
Hello,
first thanks for this great place! I would have smashed my Touch HD if xda wouldnt exist
I have a suggestion regarding the ROM forums and threads:
As the cookers and chefs are mostly to busy to gather information from the thread and put them in the first(second...) post, it would be really nice if a threadstarter or moderator could assign a normal user as an "thread-specific" moderator (for only the first three posts for example). So volunteers, people very interested in this ROM, could maintain a buglist, tips and hints, fixes and other helpful stuff from the thousand and more pages and make the life for everybody easier.
Its sometimes really hard to find information in the thousand pages. I think a solution like this would help everybody and reduce the senseless spam questions in the ROM forums. All 1-2 pages new users ask the same as people before, and all are getting the answer "Read through the thread, its mentioned 10 pages before" for example.
Whats your opinion about this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
1. I don't think this is possible with the standard vB software. And I know the webmasters are adversed to applying "patches" unless they really help.
2. There is a problem of trust. Moderators are selected on here to be trustworthy, not to carry out malicious activities and to always be fair. I've seen plenty of people on here become friends and then enimies as quick as they can. Giving many users complete control over a single thread could become problematic. If you're just speaking about allowing users to edit another users thread. I can't see that been too risky - but still Impractical with the forum software.
An alternative, If the ROM cook would like someone to help manage the thread, they should arange before hand to let someone bag a few posts on the thread when it's first started (I know its not practical to existing threads). Moderators can help add posts when needed and remove any
pesky "First" messages someone might inject in the way .
Just my thoughts
Ta
Dave

Yes you are absolutly right, good idea
It would be enough if the moderators could move a post of the "Useful thread stuff Collecter / Maintainer" at the second or third position of an existing ROM thread, or if the creator already plans it when creating the thread. That would be exact the same without editing the board software or applying hacks...

7Bit said:
Yes you are absolutly right, good idea
It would be enough if the moderators could move a post of the "Useful thread stuff Collecter / Maintainer" at the second or third position of an existing ROM thread, or if the creator already plans it when creating the thread. That would be exact the same without editing the board software or applying hacks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if it's not possible to arrange this beforehand by timing a the time of thread creation, you could indeed ask on of the mods to help you out there. Don't look at me yet though, haven't figured that one out yet

Who to ask about closed thread?

Hi everybody,
I wonder why a thread of mine was closed in one of the forums and I really have no idea what I did wrong and even who to ask what and why? (The thread is in the ROM development section of the Topaz forum, concerning cooked ROMs that support handwriting).
Are there seperate admins for each sub-forum and if yes, how can I find them? Or who else can I ask?
thanks & cheers

tesla33 said:
Hi everybody,
I wonder why a thread of mine was closed in one of the forums and I really have no idea what I did wrong and even who to ask what and why? (The thread is in the ROM development section of the Topaz forum, concerning cooked ROMs that support handwriting).
Are there seperate admins for each sub-forum and if yes, how can I find them? Or who else can I ask?
thanks & cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any mod will do. You may have either posted warez, links to it/them, instructions on how to get them. Or simply posted in the wrong section altogether.

egzthunder1 said:
Any mod will do. You may have either posted warez, links to it/them, instructions on how to get them. Or simply posted in the wrong section altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the quick reply. I understand the warez rules and all. But this question... in the ROM development section:
Is there any decent cooked ROM that either supports the official HTC handwriting update for the Topaz or even has it already integrated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just dont get it
Again, thanks for the reply

tesla33 said:
Thank you for the quick reply. I understand the warez rules and all. But this question... in the ROM development section:
I just dont get it
Again, thanks for the reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe someone else asked something similar and you are getting penalized for not searching before posting. That is the only other thing that I can think of.

oh dear, if thats the reason, I'm simply to stupid for this forum I searched and poured more than 8 hours yesterday over posts, especially the ROM post, which all have well over 2000 replies. So I know that people are asking about handwriting but the question usually just goes under in the ROM threads....
Nevermind, will post it in the admin question thread where it probably belongs. Owe you a coffee though, let me fix my paypal issues first

Hi tesla33,
Which thread? I'll have a look to see if there was a "closure" reason added. It's possible it may have inadvertently been closed during Spam cleanup by a mod that had multiple browser session/tabs open.
Cheers,

Hi hilaireg,
thank you so much for looking into this. I'm feeling almost embarassed now for all the trouble but I was kinda intimidated:
The thread is:
thread

tesla33 said:
Hi hilaireg,
thank you so much for looking into this. I'm feeling almost embarassed now for all the trouble but I was kinda intimidated:
The thread is:
thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than likely it was closed because it has nothing to do with rom development. The rom development forum is not the place to ask for specific roms or features. It should have been asked in the general forum.
The Mod should have given you the courtesy of moving it for you or at the very least a short explanation. I have from day one, had a problem with the quick unexplained trigger finger of many mods on this forum. A little common courtesy would be nice.

@denco7:
Agreed. Going to "chalk" it up to an honest mistake made by the moderator who closed it (not me).
@tesla33:
I've re-opened the thread and moved it to the General section. I see no reason why the question can't be asked . The Admins are working on the Search function of late to see about improving it ... cause at the moment, I've found needles in haystacks far sooner than answers.

tesla33 said:
oh dear, if thats the reason, I'm simply to stupid for this forum I searched and poured more than 8 hours yesterday over posts, especially the ROM post, which all have well over 2000 replies. So I know that people are asking about handwriting but the question usually just goes under in the ROM threads....
Nevermind, will post it in the admin question thread where it probably belongs. Owe you a coffee though, let me fix my paypal issues first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking forward to the coffee
As far as the searching, once you are in a thread that you think may have some relevant information for you, you will see a button that reads "Search This Thread". Simply put in your search parameters and choose to get "posts" for results. This will make it a lot simpler than going through 2000+ posts.
As far as the transcriber, there are cabs out there since lots of Chefs actually leave this option out due to lack of space in the rom. Let me know if you need help finding the cab.

hilaireg said:
@denco7:
Agreed. Going to "chalk" it up to an honest mistake made by the moderator who closed it (not me).
@tesla33:
I've re-opened the thread and moved it to the General section. I see no reason why the question can't be asked . The Admins are working on the Search function of late to see about improving it ... cause at the moment, I've found needles in haystacks far sooner than answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, one of the more reasonable and nicer Mods around here.

Thank you, thank you and thank you
Again, I'm not complaining. I was actually considering where to put it and thought "hhmm, I'm asking about custom ROMs wit a certain capability, so better put it in the ROMs sections"
I understand how incredibly difficult it is to maintain a forum of this size and activity (I was once a Diablo2 Battlenet Mod ) and I appreciate the work you all put in there. I probably wouldnt have made this thread if it was my 400th post... after a while you get a feeling for where what goes and also for the search cloud and how to find stuff. But imagine if a newbie comes in here and wants to find out if his new Topaz is an ARM or a SH3 because he/she wants to download the Total Commander Beta... (ok, well maybe this is not the forum for people who dont know what hardware they are using)
I promise I'll behave in the future
Thank you again for sorting this out for me, very much appreciated
P.S.
egzthunder1 said:
Looking forward to the coffee
As far as the searching, once you are in a thread that you think may have some relevant information for you, you will see a button that reads "Search This Thread". Simply put in your search parameters and choose to get "posts" for results. This will make it a lot simpler than going through 2000+ posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understood. But with threads this big, lets assume that somebody asks in Dutty's ROM thread if it supports handwriting on page 100 something. You cant be 100% sure that if the question was answered it contains the word "handwriting" again. So you do have to read to the nect 150 pages to see if somebody actually answered the question (Nobody did, I should know)
egzthunder1 said:
As far as the transcriber, there are cabs out there since lots of Chefs actually leave this option out due to lack of space in the rom. Let me know if you need help finding the cab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The transcriber apps never seem to work as well as HTC own software. I did try some (calligrapher etc) but the results are less than I expected
Ok, I really shut up now

tesla33 said:
Thank you, thank you and thank you
Again, I'm not complaining. I was actually considering where to put it and thought "hhmm, I'm asking about custom ROMs wit a certain capability, so better put it in the ROMs sections"
I understand how incredibly difficult it is to maintain a forum of this size and activity (I was once a Diablo2 Battlenet Mod ) and I appreciate the work you all put in there. I probably wouldnt have made this thread if it was my 400th post... after a while you get a feeling for where what goes and also for the search cloud and how to find stuff. But imagine if a newbie comes in here and wants to find out if his new Topaz is an ARM or a SH3 because he/she wants to download the Total Commander Beta... (ok, well maybe this is not the forum for people who dont know what hardware they are using)
I promise I'll behave in the future
Thank you again for sorting this out for me, very much appreciated
P.S.
Understood. But with threads this big, lets assume that somebody asks in Dutty's ROM thread if it supports handwriting on page 100 something. You cant be 100% sure that if the question was answered it contains the word "handwriting" again. So you do have to read to the nect 150 pages to see if somebody actually answered the question (Nobody did, I should know)
The transcriber apps never seem to work as well as HTC own software. I did try some (calligrapher etc) but the results are less than I expected
Ok, I really shut up now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am actually talking about the transcriber itself, not calligrapher or anything else.

Good morning,
slight misunderstanding here because: dont ask me why but HTC did not include a transcriber in the Topaz ROMs

denco7 said:
FYI, one of the more reasonable and nicer Mods around here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope I also fall into that category

[FAQ] User signature?

Is there a way I can add my own signature on here? I heard that it is in USER CP but the option isnt there ...
Moderator Edit - Here's the answer from svetius
svetius said:
This was an effort to combat spam, and it's had a huge impact! You'll be upgraded to a full account after a certain number of posts (5 - 8 depending on the feature)--it happens automatically. Sorry for the inconvenience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may take time after reaching the 5-8 post limit for it to allow you access, this is because the process runs in the background.
And when you have enough posts, you can edit your Signature in the UserCP (on the left hand side called "Edit Signature").
Or just click here : Edit Signature

XDA-Dev. said:
i wonder if how does this help in stopping spam ..... anyways .... whatever you feel is good should be good someways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People / Bots were Posting generic messages, like "Thanks this is great" or in some cases, actual responses based on words in a thread. The post it's self was not spam (although pretty pointless), but the users signature would contain 3-4 links to an online company of varying levels of trustworthiness.
We used to find one or two of these bad boys a day. Because they didn't create new threads, nor did they make it obvious to the casual observer, they were getting away with it.
I have not seen one of the so called "signature spammers" since the rules were put in place.
Dave

I had the same question...this is an excellent way to manage spam users. Good job, looking forward to delving more into this forum and getting a signature!

I was a bit upset at not being able to have a signature. Thanks Daveshaw for explaining. Its indeed a great way to stop spammers.

jade12 said:
I was a bit upset at not being able to have a signature. Thanks Daveshaw for explaining. Its indeed a great way to stop spammers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be all set now, check your User Control Panel

finally i found the way!!!thank you

At last I found out why I cant use signature.
I will be using the "search" more.

ah so
so that's why I couldn't see it, cant wait to unlock my sig status

Ya the post limit thing when you start a new account is a good idea to keep the spam to nothing..

Been readying these forums for a while now and finally signed up and that was the first thing I went to go do so I could edit mine to say phone type and what rom and all that nifty stuff nice t see I'm not going crazy and it really wasn't there lol
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Pbwizkid said:
Been readying these forums for a while now and finally signed up and that was the first thing I went to go do so I could edit mine to say phone type and what rom and all that nifty stuff nice t see I'm not going crazy and it really wasn't there lol
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya just takes some time lol.. Alot of sites do it that way nowa days... I always forget to come over to these threads to check on things... Always busy in the EVO 3D ones...

I like and dislike the idea.
I just logged into my account to make post (have like none) so am sorta spamming to be able to post solutions to android revolution HD. /sarcasm. My post aren't spam but i'm going to get 8 before midnight tonight!
I can see how it helps, but jeez. Couldnt post in the developer forum for the audio fix solution I made.

CodyJv said:
I like and dislike the idea.
I just logged into my account to make post (have like none) so am sorta spamming to be able to post solutions to android revolution HD. /sarcasm. My post aren't spam but i'm going to get 8 before midnight tonight!
I can see how it helps, but jeez. Couldnt post in the developer forum for the audio fix solution I made.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you could post it in General, and then help a few people out while you were there, in Q&A, if your device has one. Don't bother with useless posts, they will be deleted and you'll never get to 10.

.
reinbeau said:
But you could post it in General, and then help a few people out while you were there, in Q&A, if your device has one. Don't bother with useless posts, they will be deleted and you'll never get to 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you might be right but its not that easy. You know I have experience in those stuff in the development forum, but I have no way to make posts there.
I dont wanna be a sort of spammer by posting stupid stuff to get all the 10 posts.
But this 10 post rule leaves no other way to accomplish...
To find a topic that I can make a useful post takes a lot of time.

If you can't spend the time to make ten legitimate posts before posting in the dev fora, then you don't deserve to post there. This is a developer forum, not a support website.

XiproX said:
Well, you might be right but its not that easy. You know I have experience in those stuff in the development forum, but I have no way to make posts there.
I dont wanna be a sort of spammer by posting stupid stuff to get all the 10 posts.
But this 10 post rule leaves no other way to accomplish...
To find a topic that I can make a useful post takes a lot of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh really? I was a clueless noob total non-developer when I came here and I had no trouble at all helping people who needed links or a little guidance where to find the information they need. XDA works because people help those who help themselves. Do not post useless posts, they will be removed and you'll never get to 10.

Why did this thread get unlocked? Now it's more noobs that can't read and just complain again.

boborone said:
Why did this thread get unlocked? Now it's more noobs that can't read and just complain again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, I don't have mod powers here or I'd lock it back up myself

Just posted this in the mod request thread
reinbeau said:
I don't know, I don't have mod powers here or I'd lock it back up myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

boborone said:
Just posted this in the mod request thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I requested that it remain open. I've helped out others with legitimate issues before here. Also, leaving it open allows mods to track spammers easily.

Suggestion to reduce spam questions :)

Hi
I see some nice work has been done to reduce spam posts
I just wanted to put an idea out there to try and reduce spam within a post.
How about having a question repository in the thread when every question asked is collected and put in order for the dev to answer. The q and a's are then posted just as a sticky at the top of the thread.
I know the basic problem is people refusing to read but if it is easily available and right there it might reduce most of it.
Anymore ideas?

Huh?
Im sorry i dont quite get what u meant.

omarbenjdida said:
Why the ad.fly is spam?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ad.fly is a pay per click link service which is not allowed (as are all pay per click services) here on XDA.
It's in the forum rules.
Which you should have read when you registered
@ The OP.
The prevention of unessential posts is something that are always looking at and while your idea is a nice one, this would require someone to keep on top of all the questions and compile them into order etc etc...
Unless someone volunteers to do that in a particular thread, which does happen occasionaly, this isnt possible.
Rest assured though, the great thinkers of XDA are always looking for new ways to cut down on the spam postings

I have been an admin/owner and also a moderator on my own and other forums and I'm afraid that spammers and their posts will always be a problem no matter what systems are in place. The only sure fire way to stop them is by using our eyes and sadly time to find the spam posts and report them (there is a thread for this ) so that they can be removed.

Banner signature frenzy - A plea to Moderators

All of us are XS users, since we're posting at an XS sub-forum, what's the point of showing it off with a banner? The pages are now completely cluttered, take more time to load and makes every page a mess. Picture signatures should be banned. Or at least be made at reasonable sizes.
Now I gotta disable signature showing to make the forums look clean, which in turn removes useful signatures like FXP, who has download links in his signature.
Please people, be reasonable. We all know you're an Xperia user since you're posting here, no need to show it off with a huge picture on every post.

This happens everywhere..not just here.
I would like to suggest people to use
tags
Need help with CyanogenMod??Go here CM Help Thread ​Sent via the muffin launch _/^\_

I know, but it wasn't the case in this subforum before. But lately it's been picking up insanely fast.

I noticed this too, and wrote a letter to moderators. No answer since them. So Adblock is my new banner eraser

Isn't there an option in user CP to "hide signatures"?
EDIT
Yep!
Edit Options>>Visible options, uncheck signatures.
EDIT
Sorry just reread your first post, so this isn't helpful

I have to go with Ortega1, just use Adblock if the mods won't stop those ginormous sigs.

revan17 said:
All of us are XS users, since we're posting at an XS sub-forum, what's the point of showing it off with a banner? The pages are now completely cluttered, take more time to load and makes every page a mess. Picture signatures should be banned. Or at least be made at reasonable sizes.
Now I gotta disable signature showing to make the forums look clean, which in turn removes useful signatures like FXP, who has download links in his signature.
Please people, be reasonable. We all know you're an Xperia user since you're posting here, no need to show it off with a huge picture on every post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please read the last 10 pages of this thread....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1987254
The problem has been dealt with a few days ago by the moderators/admins
I like the new policy
From my Xperia LT28at ION

OP thank you for your input, yes this is under review, once an agreement is made...I would say an announcement will be made. Thanks Again.