Related
This is meant to be a reminder to all of you. I ask that you pop in the Q&A section as often as possible to help answer questions by members. If we all do that, a significant % of the questions will be answered sufficiently.
Thank you
I hate to be snide, but uh, that section is useless for whats in it. Really. Its like the "General G1 forum", posts get lost in there. There are a LOT of topics in there that should NOT be in there for general, and they dont get answers (not as many) because they are in a random place. Like these for instance:
Code:
Messages will not be erased after soft reset (WM 6.1)
O2 XDA Exec Won't Power On after Unccessfull ROM Upgrade
[WM 6.5] 2 quick questions...
movie player for wm 6.5
6.5 enhancement disabled
Need help with G1
Those are on the first and second page, and they do not belong in there. They have little to no posts because they are "lost". They need to be posting in the forum dedicated to the phone they are having questions/problems with, not in a 'general' section.
Now dont take this as attacking you, no you didnt make the forum. But, for people that [if there are any] control the design, they should not have made that section, or it needs to be moderated better because those topics should not be there.
I went in there to 'help out' as per request, but I couldnt because 80% of the topics are like I mentioned above, ones about specific phones to which I cannot help with.
Not to you, but out loud: Organization is a little dissorganized around here.
My 2 cents.
I've been moderating the Q&A section for a few months now, and no one has ever told me he can't find anything. I answer about 50-70 questions there per week. there are many other people like timmymarsh, joel2009, rudegar, orb3000, deedee, denco7... and more.. who help out on a regular basis. a large % of the questions are answered. I encourage people to post questions regarding specific devices in the dedicated forum, but i'd rather have the Q&A section flooded than all device specific forums.
Most questions are more windows mobile/shell related rather than device related..\
You will also notice, that most questions regarding specific devices are related to non-HTC devices, which we don't support anyways.. so these are just a "if you get your answer.. great" threads.
just help out with what you can and it will be highly appreciated.
The whole point of the Q&A forum (IMO, team can correct me if I am wrong) is somewhere for people to ask questions that are short and simple (after searching of course). You ask, someone answers, people move on. It is organised in it's own way and leaves the device forums free for everyone else
Dave
DaveShaw said:
The whole point of the Q&A forum (IMO, team can correct me if I am wrong) is somewhere for people to ask questions that are short and simple (after searching of course). You ask, someone answers, people move on. It is organised in it's own way and leaves the device forums free for everyone else
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup. this is exactly it.
thanks for clarifying, Dave
there is also a GUIDES thread over there which i implored people to donate to (donate=writing additional guides) but until now i got got like 1-2 guides from other members.. and the rest were written by myself.
Im sure you guys hate me because I keep going at it, though I just feel either I need to end up seeing your point(s) or you see my point. And I apologize for that. Back to what I was saying:
The whole point of the Q&A forum (IMO, team can correct me if I am wrong) is somewhere for people to ask questions that are short and simple (after searching of course). You ask, someone answers, people move on. It is organised in it's own way and leaves the device forums free for everyone else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Though I understand what your saying Dave, I honestly still do not see the point of that forum...atleast with the random posts like I meantioned earlier. Thats how posts get lost.
This topic was created, why? Because supposedly not enough topics are getting attended to. Why is that?
A. The forum is in a random spot to begin with (I actually didnt even know it was there until this topic)
B. On every page there are quite a few "specific" type questions that unless those with the "specific" knowledge look, could only answer. (and it would seem there arent enough of them...)
Also I know if I had a bricked phone (which there are some topics in there like that), I wouldnt want non-experts to tell me how to fix my specific problem. It could make it worse. Allowing 'bricked' topics in a 'general' forum to me is like allowing a chevy owner asking how to swap an engine in a honda forum. Do you think thats smart? Thats asking for more problems. The noobs dont know its a bad idea, but allowing it says its ok.
Rename the forum to "Random Q/A for All Phones", that would make more sense.
Sorry if I seem like im nagging here. I dont intend to. I just feel a dis-oreiented forum is unneeded. Keep the specific questions for the specific forums, thats why they are there (not to keep them free ).
____
As for the guides:
The windows mobile sticky just seems to not fit again. The rest (including the one by you nir (very good btw), all fit. What should be done is this: Make a new category called Phone Operating Systems, and put Windows Mobile in there, then put that random sticky in there. That seems to be what is missing, is an operating category. WM/CE, Android, Symbian, Blackberry OS, Nokia OS, and (probably not necessary at all but is one) iPhone OS [yuk].
That would make things a bit more organized as well.
I laugh, you guys always say search. Why is that? Because things are hard to find sometimes because people dont search. Never 'rely' on people to search, its the worst staff can do. I know this. You have to make it the EASIEST to navigate as possible, because people are lazy to search. Oranizing=less clutter=less work for you guys. All works out for the best.
theslam08 said:
This topic was created, why? Because supposedly not enough topics are getting attended to. Why is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not because there was a massive amount of unanswered questions... (We're not a support desk, we don't have targets ). It's because there was not a place for new users, with less knowledge than most, to post quick questions. People on the site needed general device question and answers (not device specific). These were mostly asked in the D&H forum which became very cluttered with random questions, flame replies. D&H is too popular to support quick questions, so Q&A was a way to tidy it. You're quite right when you say you would not want someone helping you unbrick your device who doesn't know it, and I wouldn't expect someone to post in Q&A if they did (I maintain the Kaiser Unbricking thread BTW ). The Forum caption on the Index says: "This forum is for all questions, big or small, you might have. Please read the rules in this forum before asking.". The Q&A rules are here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=441333
I think it is good for the lesser experienced users to ask questions about apps / settings, and in time, searching Q&A will yield some good answers to questions.
Hope this clears things up a bit
Dave
EDIT: Off to bed it's 1am, I'll try and answer anything else tomorrow
i agree
i can see the point of the forum, it helps us to help them it directs the quesiotns away from other forums that are not for questions
and its beeen running for a fair while and ive helped (ill forgive you for forgetting me nir) and people appreciate the help they get
and as for having non experts fix bricked devices
if youve bricked it then youve been doing something you shouldnt have been doing (from a legal stance) so giving it to the experts would be foolish as i know for a fact the can charge extra for doing flashes
FYI ive read and asked questions and ive never bricked a device once EVER
im not saying i never will, but if i do ill blame myslef as ill have not followed directions
You're right. i apologize for forgetting. there are probably a few others whom i've forgotten as well.
i was only kidding ive not been there as much as i used to lately then i decided to learn how to cook
Hi i'm Drie and i wanted to introduce myself and say i find most of the information here helpful and useful. I am very interested in rooting my phone and I must say that a lot of you have some great ideal but they are not working for me. I know there are some SUPER TECHS on this sight that may want to entertain a new user by giving her a step by step manual (rooting for dummies) on how to root an HTC EVO 4g.
Ive read thread and watch lots of videos and still my phone is not rooted.... HELP
Drie
Welcome to the site; it's a great place.
From what I have found is, it is easier to do things by reading directions; I never get things done in the videos.
Oh and a big problem for a lot of people; when downloading and putting the update or bootloader zipped folders onto the phone, only name them root or update or whatever, leave out the .zip part; that messed me up and I was clueless for an hour or so.
rooting
when i say that i tried to root the phone, that means i made an attempted at it, but since i know nothing about rooting a phone every word seems foreign to me. I need instuctions from the very beginning.
Welcome to the forum.
There is a good guide HERE and another HERE.
The first one does a good job of explaining the terminology.
Hi. I'm Ed.
Just hijacking this thread to say hi too. Been browsing xda for nearly a year now using it to upgrade and root my desire. Just found out I need 10 posts before I can ask technical questions. Oh well, 9 to go.
Thanks for all the sound advice I've found on here. And it shows its a decent forum if I haven't needed to ask a question in nearly a year.
edwardmlyte said:
Hi. I'm Ed.
Just hijacking this thread to say hi too. Been browsing xda for nearly a year now using it to upgrade and root my desire. Just found out I need 10 posts before I can ask technical questions. Oh well, 9 to go.
Thanks for all the sound advice I've found on here. And it shows its a decent forum if I haven't needed to ask a question in nearly a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'Lo mate! I was a long time browser too before ever posting. Read some guides, thank the authors...9 posts completed
edwardmlyte said:
Hi. I'm Ed.
Just hijacking this thread to say hi too. Been browsing xda for nearly a year now using it to upgrade and root my desire. Just found out I need 10 posts before I can ask technical questions. Oh well, 9 to go.
Thanks for all the sound advice I've found on here. And it shows its a decent forum if I haven't needed to ask a question in nearly a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, I'm not the only one trying to build my post level so I can ask stuff?
edwardmlyte said:
Hi. I'm Ed.
Just hijacking this thread to say hi too. Been browsing xda for nearly a year now using it to upgrade and root my desire. Just found out I need 10 posts before I can ask technical questions. Oh well, 9 to go.
Thanks for all the sound advice I've found on here. And it shows its a decent forum if I haven't needed to ask a question in nearly a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same situation as you, this place is awesome just need a few more posts though.
Hey guys!
Can anyone use this thread to get post count up so we can ask in the dev sections?
I am fairly new, been lurking around for a month or two now.
I have an Evo, rooted, with Mik-froyo Rom v4.5 beta 5
ss7seven said:
Hey guys!
Can anyone use this thread to get post count up so we can ask in the dev sections?
I am fairly new, been lurking around for a month or two now.
I have an Evo, rooted, with Mik-froyo Rom v4.5 beta 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so asking in the Q&A we don't get dev help? or do ya'll mean just to ask about ROM's specifically?
I have to agree with quite a few of you here - I read threads here for about 2 to 3 weeks before ever signing up - finally I had to lol (got soo many questions) - also went to post in the development section and found out I couldn't post there - though I can't remember why I was going to post there first - maybe that was where one of the instruction threads I was reading was posted
Re: Forum Suggestion /"State of the Site"
i tried posting in where i felt was the appropreate thread linked to in the "state of the site" but it has already been closed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10673299
anyway i completely agree with many of the administrative decisions discussed there. i just have some suggestions to help those work, coming from my experience as a new member my first few days. (few weeks ago)
first of all how did i come here? google searches for questions i had about my captivate. after finding info on XDA few times through google, i realized this is a place i may want to check out more, but it took some looking around just to understand the BASIC POINT of what XDA was all about. Something that would really help people understand "THIS IS THE PLACE!" could use a short, straight to the point "sub-title" at the top of your webpage beside your xdadevelopers logo. something that reads like:
"the home for smartphone development, troubleshooting and ideas.."
the second small issue i want to bring up is new users not being able to post in development forums. WAIT!! I AGREE WITH THIS. BUT, when i was new here i was seeing not able to post in a dev forum talking about something i needed info on, and i was seeing other minor members in other threads getting "chewed out" for posting in a "developers" forum.
HERE WAS MY CONFUSION: www.xda-DEVELOPERS.com it appears to a noob straight off the google express that the whole site is developers...
i started looking for www.xda.com forums.xda.com ect....
it took a bit of searching around the site before i realized the "Developers" section that i couldnt post in was the SUB-forum of the Captivate sub-forum.
it was just a bit confusing until i saw the layout of the site for all the different phones and the sub catagories each had.
i hope these suggestions can bring forth some ideas that can help the integration of new members.
Thanks for your opinion
Yah, I really like your idea. We're going to consider it.
what ever happened to these suggestions?
dude i flet the same when i first got here! great recommendation!
TRusselo said:
...
HERE WAS MY CONFUSION: www.xda-DEVELOPERS.com it appears to a noob straight off the google express that the whole site is developers...
i started looking for www.xda.com forums.xda.com ect....
it took a bit of searching around the site before i realized the "Developers" section that i couldnt post in was the SUB-forum of the Captivate sub-forum.
it was just a bit confusing until i saw the layout of the site for all the different phones and the sub catagories each had...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
I'm a noob and this is my first post so please don't rip in to me for this or for the fact that I am resurrecting an old post
I thought that it would be better to quote a post that reflected my feelings and possibly (hopefully) answer my questions.
I have an HTC Inspire that I imported into Australia from gsmnation.com as I liked the feature set of the phone and it was compatible with my carrier over here unlike the Desire HD that is available locally but not compatible with my carrier.
I have lurked around these forums as an unregistered user since having my phone and used the great advice shown to root it and put Android Revolution 4G 4.0 by mike1986 on it.
Have been very happy with it but now I want more.
In particular I would like to put Gingerbread onto it with Sense 3.5.
I had been following a thread about RCMix3d Runny v4.0.
I took the plunge and registered at XDA but now I can't even view the thread without getting the vBulletin message saying that members without a post count of 10 or less cannot post in developers threads.
Fair enough I say but surely we can at least view the threads.
I can view various other threads but i cant even find the one mentioned above.
Can someone tell me if the thread has been deleted (all 1264 pages according to Google cache search - I was up to page 127!).
Have tried searching using XDA's custom Google search feature but can't find the thread anywhere.
Any advice about whether the thread still exists or if I am doing something wrong that is not even letting me view the thread.
Pooley72 said:
Hi there,
I'm a noob and this is my first post so please don't rip in to me for this or for the fact that I am resurrecting an old post
I thought that it would be better to quote a post that reflected my feelings and possibly (hopefully) answer my questions.
I have an HTC Inspire that I imported into Australia from gsmnation.com as I liked the feature set of the phone and it was compatible with my carrier over here unlike the Desire HD that is available locally but not compatible with my carrier.
I have lurked around these forums as an unregistered user since having my phone and used the great advice shown to root it and put Android Revolution 4G 4.0 by mike1986 on it.
Have been very happy with it but now I want more.
In particular I would like to put Gingerbread onto it with Sense 3.5.
I had been following a thread about RCMix3d Runny v4.0.
I took the plunge and registered at XDA but now I can't even view the thread without getting the vBulletin message saying that members without a post count of 10 or less cannot post in developers threads.
Fair enough I say but surely we can at least view the threads.
I can view various other threads but i cant even find the one mentioned above.
Can someone tell me if the thread has been deleted (all 1264 pages according to Google cache search - I was up to page 127!).
Have tried searching using XDA's custom Google search feature but can't find the thread anywhere.
Any advice about whether the thread still exists or if I am doing something wrong that is not even letting me view the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That thread was removed at the op's request which is why you aren't able to view it.
Sent from my HD2. Still kicking the arse out of all your phones...
Ah Ok.
Thanks for the quick response...Very impressive.
Is there an alternative for this ROM or another sticky for that one around the place or has it been obliterated from XDA?
I have downloaded the ROM to my PC but if there is no longer any support for it on these boards then my quest for a nice GB ROM will have to continue.
I wonder how receptive capychimp is to noobs? I am in awe of the guy
Hi,
Noob here!
I read your "[New Members][Guide/Tour] Get the most out of XDA!!" and I thought it was great.
Being a noob, I couldnt press the thank you button, so I just thought I'd say thank you for taking the time and the effort to write the guide.
Thanks again!
-tired- said:
a noobie here ..
did read your "[New Members][Guide/Tour] Get the most out of XDA!!" and thought it was simply great. could not thank you there due to a limit on thanking being 8. So thought should try and reply here make my first post and thank you or helping me with the same..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way to go bumping a 2yr old thread with your first post man..
I WISH.
Surely someone has devloped a straightforward 1 or 2 step process to this well needed phone upgrade. I have read so much stuff now on the subject that I am just lost in it all - does such a program exsist - coming from an HD2 where dropping a new ROM unto your phone was no where near as scary I find myself almost desperate and willing o pay someone to root my phone for me.. seriously, what is out there for the likes of myself or is this really a case of "if you are not up to it leave it alone".
You have been a member for long enough to know the rules regarding posting in Development. Basically, if you are not a developer, you should not be creating new threads. Your question should be found in the development stickies rollup.
Hi I am new to the android world and just picked up an S3. I want to root/flash or wahtever you call it so i can get better battery life.
Could anyone point me in the right direction? I have a Rogers S3.
Rooting by itself doesn't necessarily mean better battery life but you can tweak things more easily.
I'd suggest starting with the stickies.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Hey, I'm really new to the whole scene as well, the S3 is my first android phone coming over from iPhone/iOS. I was really nervous when I first came here and saw how overwhelming all the different versions/methods/tweaks/etc there are, and terrified of going through with my first flash.. I read and re-read a bunch of posts so many times I had them memorized...
anyways.. to make a long story short, once you've spent some time reading it gets a lot easier, and I'd suggest starting with some newbie guides to android in general, as well as specific to your phone. the end result for me was the following guide;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
I followed this, but whenever there was something I didn't understand I searched the forums for it to learn at least what the term meant, and if there was more I thought I needed to read I did so. I won't post every thread I read as I don't even remember lots of them, but I'd suggest using that one as well as newbie threads before you do much of anything.
seems like as long as you do a bit of reading, and ask questions in the right place, people here are pretty willing to help.. I remember watching a video somewhere that was pretty intimidating to a newbie as well, but from what I've seen it's not as militant as the video made it out to be
anyways.. just my two cents as someone who's recently been through starting from scratch.. and if I can help in any other way, lemme know
Please only open one thread about a subject please. I deleted your thread in the Q&A section.
And please don't post the same question in 2 sub forums.
desucca said:
Hey, I'm really new to the whole scene as well, the S3 is my first android phone coming over from iPhone/iOS. I was really nervous when I first came here and saw how overwhelming all the different versions/methods/tweaks/etc there are, and terrified of going through with my first flash.. I read and re-read a bunch of posts so many times I had them memorized...
anyways.. to make a long story short, once you've spent some time reading it gets a lot easier, and I'd suggest starting with some newbie guides to android in general, as well as specific to your phone. the end result for me was the following guide;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
I followed this, but whenever there was something I didn't understand I searched the forums for it to learn at least what the term meant, and if there was more I thought I needed to read I did so. I won't post every thread I read as I don't even remember lots of them, but I'd suggest using that one as well as newbie threads before you do much of anything.
seems like as long as you do a bit of reading, and ask questions in the right place, people here are pretty willing to help.. I remember watching a video somewhere that was pretty intimidating to a newbie as well, but from what I've seen it's not as militant as the video made it out to be
anyways.. just my two cents as someone who's recently been through starting from scratch.. and if I can help in any other way, lemme know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the time to post this, as I was looking around for a specific guide as a newb to rooting too.
desucca said:
Hey, I'm really new to the whole scene as well, the S3 is my first android phone coming over from iPhone/iOS. I was really nervous when I first came here and saw how overwhelming all the different versions/methods/tweaks/etc there are, and terrified of going through with my first flash.. I read and re-read a bunch of posts so many times I had them memorized...
anyways.. to make a long story short, once you've spent some time reading it gets a lot easier, and I'd suggest starting with some newbie guides to android in general, as well as specific to your phone. the end result for me was the following guide;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
I followed this, but whenever there was something I didn't understand I searched the forums for it to learn at least what the term meant, and if there was more I thought I needed to read I did so. I won't post every thread I read as I don't even remember lots of them, but I'd suggest using that one as well as newbie threads before you do much of anything.
seems like as long as you do a bit of reading, and ask questions in the right place, people here are pretty willing to help.. I remember watching a video somewhere that was pretty intimidating to a newbie as well, but from what I've seen it's not as militant as the video made it out to be
anyways.. just my two cents as someone who's recently been through starting from scratch.. and if I can help in any other way, lemme know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is refreshing to see, rather than 'i installed this and now my phone is nuked so bad it glows....help.' You have restored a small portion of my faith in humanity .
To the OP: The whole point of android IS the ability to tweak/mod/hack however you want or are able which of course leads to a seemingly unlimited pool of these customizations. The most important thing anyone can do when the make the decision to use an android device in anything other than out of the box condition is understand the consequences of what they are attempting. The best way to do that is to read and ask questions, although at this point in our world of information 99% of all the questions someone new to android might ask already have been answered...you just have to find them . Luckily there are stickied threads all over these forums that collaborate this information both in the general android as well as the device specific sub forums. I would suggest you follow in the footsteps of desucca, myself, and many more before you and read everything you can get your hands on to better understand how your device works, which in turn will give quite a big head start on any other android platforms you may use in the future. Welcome both of you to android, i'm sorry you had to suffer using that 'other' system.