Develop Bugs

Add a feature for senior members to mod their own threads?

I have no idea if this is even possible in vBulletin. I tried to google but didn't come up with anything so it might not be... but I figured I would make my case anyways.
It would be awesome if a senior member was capable of moderating their own thread. I know that as a rom developer for the cdma hero and a kitchen programmer, a thread can VERY quickly get out of control. It makes it impossible for someone that hasn't checked the thread in a few days (or hours) to find anything.
I think rather than asking a mod to take time out of their day to try and clean up posts isn't nice to them either.
So I'll ask... is it possible to add a feature for a senior member to be able to moderate a thread that they are the OP on. If it is but xda doesn't want to do that, what are the negative side effects that I'm not seeing? I figure if you are able to limit it to senior member and to their own threads then any shenanigans from this new power would mostly be avoided.
Thanks all!

This has been mentioned before. AFAIK, we have not yet found such a plugin.
Thanks,
Dave

The only negative side is that, "Senior Member" is just a title, I think you get it after like 100 posts? If this was to be implemented it should be like 500 posts to become Senior Member.
It does seem like a good idea, I think though, that some people would delete their posts that offend and then they can claim that they never said anything. This would have to be very carefully thought out and planned if this is possible to implement, because I know some people would use it for bad purposes.

~~Tito~~ said:
The only negative side is that, "Senior Member" is just a title, I think you get it after like 100 posts? If this was to be implemented it should be like 500 posts to become Senior Member.
It does seem like a good idea, I think though, that some people would delete their posts that offend and then they can claim that they never said anything. This would have to be very carefully thought out and planned if this is possible to implement, because I know some people would use it for bad purposes.
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What the OP is asking for is the equivalent of being able to throw someone in jail while that someone is in your house doing something that you believe shouldn't be done in the first place.
I think Uncle Ben said it better... "with great power, comes great responsibility"... and I don't believe that half the Senior members in this site are ready for that .

egzthunder1 said:
What the OP is asking for is the equivalent of being able to throw someone in jail while that someone is in your house doing something that you believe shouldn't be done in the first place.
I think Uncle Ben said it better... "with great power, comes great responsibility"... and I don't believe that half the Senior members in this site are ready for that .
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Click to collapse
Yeah, thats why I said its not a good idea.
You can already help the moderators by reporting anybad conduct, it makes it easier since all they have to do is look at the post and edit it or delete it or ban.

~~Tito~~ said:
The only negative side is that, "Senior Member" is just a title, I think you get it after like 100 posts? If this was to be implemented it should be like 500 posts to become Senior Member.
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Click to collapse
Very agree!!
or even 1000

orb3000 said:
Very agree!!
or even 1000
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Click to collapse
Yeah, or maybe like a automated PM that makes you submit a small paragraph asking certian questions and stuff. Respected people get it faster, newer unknown people take longer to get the status.

orb3000 said:
Very agree!!
or even 1000
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Click to collapse
+1
I have to agree, Even though I am below 1000...lol
I look at is as a maturity process!
1-100 See if you wanna stick around and learn...
101-500 Learn how to work with others, learn basics or what path you wanna purse....apps, themes, cooking etc...
501-1000 Work with Old time members, get involved in projects, help noobs....learn how to ignore fights/flamers!

acidbath5546 said:
+1
I have to agree, Even though I am below 1000...lol
I look at is as a maturity process!
1-100 See if you wanna stick around and learn...
101-500 Learn how to work with others, learn basics or what path you wanna purse....apps, themes, cooking etc...
501-1000 Work with Old time members, get involved in projects, help noobs....learn how to ignore fights/flamers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1001 and up: You have serious problems, like ORD

orb3000 said:
1001 and up: You have serious problems, like ORD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
8000+ = Orb3000 .

orb3000 said:
1001 and up: You have serious problems, like ORD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am an early bloomer and already there with ORD...
Life is tough...lol...
But I dont really have a problem I just......wait is that the HTC Incredible being released......lol

Yep, a 1,000 would definately narrow down the senior field

galaxys said:
Yep, a 1,000 would definately narrow down the senior field
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Yes it would. I think this should be more of a granted title, not earned, because some people still dont really act like it lol.

galaxys said:
Yep, a 1,000 would definately narrow down the senior field
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Click to collapse
I agree, I was miffed that i got the title after only 100 posts, it's like who cares. Now 1000 would be much nicer, even though i'm only 5th of the way there

~~Tito~~ said:
8000+ = Orb3000 .
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Click to collapse
8000+ still a noob

So it seems that everyone agrees, just with the caveat that the "senior member" should be a higher number of posts. Or possibly even a second level at 500 or 1000 posts, and THAT'S the level you have to hit in order to be able to moderate your own posts.
I actually tried to go post on vBulletin's support forum but it appears that you need to buy support in order to even be able to create a new post there? Kind of crazy. Ha. I'll keep looking to see if I can find a plugin, because without it this doesn't even exist as an option.
Thanks for the feedback all.
Edit: I don't know enough about vB's settings but according to ChopSuey (a vB coder) this should already be possible: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showpost.php?p=1919340&postcount=11. What he says makes it sounds like that would allow someone to modify any thread, and not their own. But you would think a coder of the app would know. Ha. Maybe it requires version 4.x? I know xda has been talking about upgrading for a while.

We're looking for a way in vB to allow certain people (of a given usergroup) to moderate their own threads. If anyone finds a way, please let me know!

it wouldn't do to simply count posts
there's users having an amazing amount of redundancy, repetition and even irrelevance (chat like) accumulating their post counts that wouldn't be considered with this method alone
the title (if differentiated more fine grained than junior, member, senior) would only be meaningful if it was combined with e.g. a user rating (reputation), derived from other users
br

DrakenKorin said:
it wouldn't do to simply count posts
there's users having an amazing amount of redundancy, repetition and even irrelevance (chat like) accumulating their post counts that wouldn't be considered with this method alone
the title (if differentiated more fine grained than junior, member, senior) would only be meaningful if it was combined with e.g. a user rating (reputation), derived from other users
br
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That would require members to rate other members and even though the ability to do that exists (at least for threads), hardly anyone does it.

~~Tito~~ said:
8000+ = Orb3000 .
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Click to collapse
orb is so deep into ORD that his can be considered a chronic case of ORD (and not because of # of posts)

Forum sugestion: A "No thanks" button...

So I have been a member on here for a while and have observed the changing trends in devices and users. But something has gotten much worse in last year and I think we need to address it in proper XDA fashion. I am not the type to complain without trying develop a solution and I am looking for some feedback from mods and users of all types, shapes and sizes here.
This forum has a real problem with people making useless posts in the wrong sections, about the wrong topics and while I think the mods do a great job they clearly can't keep up. I am no saint and will admit my own guilt on one or two occasions but some users just post meaningless post after meaningless post and really great threads are being destroyed as a result. This problem has clearly gotten out of hand and it isn't limited to just the devices I follow. A review of the forum shows this behavior in just about every device category. Just my observation...
My proposed solution to this problem I perceive is a "No thanks" button that will function in exactly the opposite way the "Thank you" button works with a few caveats I see as a huge value add.
1. If a certain post is given X amount of no thanks clicks it is automatically sent to a mod for review or perhaps even automatically deleted.
2. 1 Thanks click cancels out X no thanks clicks. This would keep trolls from using it in destructive ways if you are just someone that has a few enemies. Hopefully...
3. One thanks click cancels out X no thanks clicks.
4. After a user receives X amount of no thanks clicks they are redirected to the forums rules page for a period of 24 hours. No matter what link they click or how they access the site they will just be redirected to a page with the forum rules so they can study them.
I could go on listing things but I want to see what you guys think about something like this. It would allow all of us to some degree the ability to moderate our favorite threads and keep the BS posts to a minimum. User that continue to post things off topic or in the wrong threads will find themselves spending a lot of time studying the forum rules. Even if we don't add the enhanced features the no thanks button is long overdue. These people can wear their lack of respect for forum rules like a badge of shame the same way devs wear the thanks button like a badge of honor. It will give them more incentive to think about the things they post and will help ensure that good threads are not destroyed by the same question asked 100 times.

Moved to About xda-developers.com section

i agree it would bring alot of excitement to the forum , and the automatic mod contact would be a great idea for members who are a constant problem , also total negative points could show up in the profile and maybe have a forum top list for easy overview of troublemakers
also it has to be understood that it would bring a massive amount of work as ive never seen 2 types of thanks (or positive-negative)buttons in a vBulletin system

jnutz said:
This forum has a real problem with people making useless posts in the wrong sections
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Moved to About xda-developers.com section
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Sorry, that just made me chuckle..

This has two ways it could go.
one way:
A bury down system, if there is a post that is irrelevant or off topic and not needed in that thread users could bury it (IE: Hide for themselves) and enough votes hides it for all members of that thread.
other way:
Exactly like thanks button but instead has no thanks. Thing is this serves really no purpose as if Post A was useful and then Post B wasn't very helpful and one got "thanked", the other "no thanked" then it would balance out to zero. In the end this means nothing as XDA is about sharing, not who has the best thanks ratio.
I dont think this is the best route for XDA as we move on and mature as there are much more important issues to focus on at the moment

Bury down system seems like a good idea, since inevitably people may reply to the poster before he recives enough -1 to bury the post and if that post is then deleted it will just make the forum read flow badly
Let me suggest that not everyone should be entitled to the -1 button to bury a post, only lets say 60-70% of the members either deicded apon by join date/thanks recived andor post count.
Another problem I've seen in regards to the new 10 post rule is that people are just trolling on other forums typing random useless things in just to increase their post count to 10.
Persistant offenders that have had their posts buried should get some sort of mail to warn them if things dont improve their account will be looked at by a moderator.

arielc said:
Bury down system seems like a good idea, since inevitably people may reply to the poster before he recives enough -1 to bury the post and if that post is then deleted it will just make the forum read flow badly
Let me suggest that not everyone should be entitled to the -1 button to bury a post, only lets say 60-70% of the members either deicded apon by join date/thanks recived andor post count.
Another problem I've seen in regards to the new 10 post rule is that people are just trolling on other forums typing random useless things in just to increase their post count to 10.
Persistant offenders that have had their posts buried should get some sort of mail to warn them if things dont improve their account will be looked at by a moderator.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Report the posts of anyone who is spamming other areas, as I'll simply ban them for spamming the board. The limit is there for good reason, and people trying to get round it will be dealt with severely.
Cheers
P

jnutz said:
So I have been a member on here for a while and have observed the changing trends in devices and users. But something has gotten much worse in last year and I think we need to address it in proper XDA fashion. I am not the type to complain without trying develop a solution and I am looking for some feedback from mods and users of all types, shapes and sizes here.
This forum has a real problem with people making useless posts in the wrong sections, about the wrong topics and while I think the mods do a great job they clearly can't keep up. I am no saint and will admit my own guilt on one or two occasions but some users just post meaningless post after meaningless post and really great threads are being destroyed as a result. This problem has clearly gotten out of hand and it isn't limited to just the devices I follow. A review of the forum shows this behavior in just about every device category. Just my observation...
My proposed solution to this problem I perceive is a "No thanks" button that will function in exactly the opposite way the "Thank you" button works with a few caveats I see as a huge value add.
1. If a certain post is given X amount of no thanks clicks it is automatically sent to a mod for review or perhaps even automatically deleted.
2. 1 Thanks click cancels out X no thanks clicks. This would keep trolls from using it in destructive ways if you are just someone that has a few enemies. Hopefully...
3. One thanks click cancels out X no thanks clicks.
4. After a user receives X amount of no thanks clicks they are redirected to the forums rules page for a period of 24 hours. No matter what link they click or how they access the site they will just be redirected to a page with the forum rules so they can study them.
I could go on listing things but I want to see what you guys think about something like this. It would allow all of us to some degree the ability to moderate our favorite threads and keep the BS posts to a minimum. User that continue to post things off topic or in the wrong threads will find themselves spending a lot of time studying the forum rules. Even if we don't add the enhanced features the no thanks button is long overdue. These people can wear their lack of respect for forum rules like a badge of shame the same way devs wear the thanks button like a badge of honor. It will give them more incentive to think about the things they post and will help ensure that good threads are not destroyed by the same question asked 100 times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love this idea. I came in to this section, getting ready to request a 'No Thanks' button myself, when I found your post. Some of the completely frustrating examples are:
1) Posting the message 'Thanks' instead of just clicking the thanks button
2) Asking what the battery life on a new ROM is, 2 minutes after the ROM has been posted
3) Asking questions that have been asked 20 times in the current thread
This problem gets exacerbated by other members posting to tell them that they're post is not useful, in the wrong place, or redundant.
If we had a way to flag these posts, maybe by adding more options to the 'report' functionality, without further polluting the thread, it would go a long way towards keeping threads clean.
Thx,
Jason

djgromit said:
I love this idea. I came in to this section, getting ready to request a 'No Thanks' button myself, when I found your post. Some of the completely frustrating examples are:
1) Posting the message 'Thanks' instead of just clicking the thanks button
2) Asking what the battery life on a new ROM is, 2 minutes after the ROM has been posted
3) Asking questions that have been asked 20 times in the current thread
This problem gets exacerbated by other members posting to tell them that they're post is not useful, in the wrong place, or redundant.
If we had a way to flag these posts, maybe by adding more options to the 'report' functionality, without further polluting the thread, it would go a long way towards keeping threads clean.
Thx,
Jason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, seeing battery related and other FAQ can be frustrating, but they are not exactly spam, and XDA is growing and new users are discovering the world of custom ROMs and flashing because of which certain excitement and stupidity at the same time.
It's in the right spirit to welcome and be good to new members, but indeed if you notice a particular member getting out of hand or a little to n00bish please do report and we the MODs will do the needful.
We all need to strive for a balance between the developers and old school XDA members part and the new members, it can be tough; but i'm sure it can be done
JM2C's.

Hola, I would have liked to quote all of you, since you all have pro´s but there are also plenty of con´s and so I´ll only quote this last ones as reference...
djgromit said:
I love this idea. I came in to this section, getting ready to request a 'No Thanks' button myself, when I found your post. Some of the completely frustrating examples are:
1) Posting the message 'Thanks' instead of just clicking the thanks button
2) Asking what the battery life on a new ROM is, 2 minutes after the ROM has been posted
3) Asking questions that have been asked 20 times in the current thread
This problem gets exacerbated by other members posting to tell them that they're post is not useful, in the wrong place, or redundant.
If we had a way to flag these posts, maybe by adding more options to the 'report' functionality, without further polluting the thread, it would go a long way towards keeping threads clean.
Thx,
Jason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think and welcome the idea of "flagging" certain posts after it is totally clear (I know, sometimes it seems obvious) that the post is "trash" or BS (by the way, my initials). But there are also plenty of drawbacks to the way this can be done, so no hard/personal feelings get "hurt" und thus agrrevate the situation and lead to more discontent and "wrong" behaviour. Maybe anonymously after a poll? But then again, this would also mean more work for the admins or further involucration and responsibility for the OPs (which is my opinion, that they should be held more responsible for their threads and given more authoroty with that rensponsability - but that´s a different thing and not the point here).
As for your "frustrating" examples:
1.) When the "thanks" button got introduced (again), like in so many other boards, for some it´s enough just to push that button to show their appreciation, but others "need" to write a "thank you" post (which used to be the way before) - call it education, need to get the post count up, what ever... I personally think, there is nothing wrong with either method, hitting the button, or writing a thanks post. Doesn´t harm anybody, and btw, to bad the limit is 5 per day, cause a lot of times I find very usefull posts for me (mostly more than 5 per day) and I can´t thank the users for it, unless writting a thanks post. Both of these methods are positive and encouraging...
Now to the "no thanks".... It´s neither encouraging, nor positive, nor really constructive and could lead to further discussions within a thread instead of the intended result.
2.) Answered by madnish below
3.) It´s a pitty, but it´s human lazyness, sometimes not to read the posts from others (not the questions and not the answers to those questions), or simply call it egoism, wanting a personal solution, lack of time... or simply not having payed attention. I´ve answered quite some questions asked over and over again, just like a lot of other members. You can either try to help people, and remind them to use the search and/or read the thread thoroughly before posting a question...., or you can tell them their post is BS, not usefull, has been answered a million times, etc, or you can simply ignore them. All of these lead to the same result. After a while, these users tend to read, search and think before posting, so it has a positive and beneficial effect on the mid/long term...
So YES, "flagging" would be OK, depending on how it´s put into practice.
madnish30 said:
I understand, seeing battery related and other FAQ can be frustrating, but they are not exactly spam, and XDA is growing and new users are discovering the world of custom ROMs and flashing because of which certain excitement and stupidity at the same time.
It's in the right spirit to welcome and be good to new members, but indeed if you notice a particular member getting out of hand or a little to n00bish please do report and we the MODs will do the needful.
We all need to strive for a balance between the developers and old school XDA members part and the new members, it can be tough; but i'm sure it can be done
JM2C's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I´m kinda representing the noob´s side. I´m only a simple and yes, stupid user. No dev, no technical background, but lot´s of questions... Maybe xda used to be different and only for developers, as the name states, but times have changed and also the "kind" of members. The profile is no longer only dev´s and tec´s, but also a lot of users with different expertice (less), skills (other), background, knowledge, age, education, culture, language, etc.
All users should me more responsible, but hey, we are all human and act according to different standards, believes, etc. The only way to solve this problem is by all enforcing and encouraging the rules, "helping" out the OPs, Moderatrors & Admins to keep the threads as integer, clean and "on topic" as possible. I know there are times when some posts are interpreted (and actually are) off topic, but sometimes this is also beneficial for the users and thus for the thread itself.
Basically all this is just to say, it´s not about all that can or needs to be done by rules, limitations, mods and admins - it´s about what WE can ACTIVELY do to improve the situation and avoid it becoming worse...
Btw, I would have pushed the "no thanks" button for this request. Not because I don´t think that it´s a good thing, simply because I don´t agree with it. Very good innitiative, but in my honest and humble opinion, bad judgement, so YES, thank you, but no thanks

Similar to "Thanks" button, please add "Unhelpful" or "Dislike" button

Similar to "Thanks" button, please add "Unhelpful" or "Dislike" button
Some forums on here have grown out of control with nonsense and useless posts and it is too much and even unnecessary work sometimes, for mods to have to deal with. The thousands of users that read these posts daily are perfectly capable of judging these posts and should be able to + or - a post based on its usefulness. This +/- button could be attached to every post similar to the way the "Thanks" button is. It wouldn't require every post to be +'ed or -'ed, but usually the REALLY HELPFUL posts would be +'ed (similar to being thanked) and the real BS posts would be ranked down. Simple.
People who don't bother to read or search first before posting something are an annoyance for many in this community.. and posting stickies at the top of every page titled "PLEASE READ FIRST" or anything similar just doesn't work. Users then "flame" one another, and that doesn't help in correcting the problem either. Additionally, the mods shouldn't have to be monitoring posts like they would a kindergarten class.
Allowing users to simply rate posts with a +/- like on many other sites, would improve the visibility of helpful posts on this forum greatly, while allowing nonsense posts to be hidden. When a posts receives an overwhelming number of -'s as opposed to +'s, that post will be automatically hidden so that other users may ignore it. There is already a "Thanks" button to thank users for being helpful; I think it's unrealistic to not include a way to flag unhelpful posts as well since there are just as many of those. (These aren't always derogatory or negative posts that SHOULD be reported to mods, but instead just wasteful and nonsense posts that add nothing informative to a thread).
Yes, this is a community where we are all here to help each other. In reality though, some users just don't care about anything except what they're here for and end up cluttering the forums with questions that have been answered several times before, or posting in wrong sections, etc . Those posts should be able to be flagged or ranked down by us users (this can be limited to even junior/ senior members for those worried of abuse in such a system, which is really not a threat at all [I explain in a post further down]). Please consider this improvement.
Thoughts?

Love it.
TechReport.com does a similar thing, and if you get five downvotes the post isn't automatically displayed.
Would streamline the site immensely, although I have a sneaky feeling something along these lines may well be implemented in the future.

This would cause so many problems too... All it would take is a few pissed off kids to downrank a helpful/brutally honest/ROM post into oblivion.
I think the way it is is fine, Although I wish they had a "Report as Trolling" button so we could send those ****ers into space somewhere...

posts like this

Not at all. If other users see a post getting downranked and they think it shouldn't be, they can just + it and if the overall community thinks the post shouldn't be downranked, enough people will + it to unhide the post. You sound like you have no faith in the community to do something right. It is such a large community that it will take a large number of posters to downrank something. And the general consensus about the post will eventually trump inappropriate downranks. It's so simple but difficult to explain. Also, this wouldn't require every post to be ranked. It's just there as an option.
Check out some androidandme posts for example. It works wonderfully on there.

IISiDeK1CKII said:
This would cause so many problems too... All it would take is a few pissed off kids to downrank a helpful/brutally honest/ROM post into oblivion.
I think the way it is is fine, Although I wish they had a "Report as Trolling" button so we could send those ****ers into space somewhere...
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Click to collapse
Good point Sidekick (Hi btw ) but I do think this would occur much less frequently than the opposite (ranking down trollers and threadcrappers, myself included )
Also, 'sensible users' could easily just rank it back up.

^^ Exactly. It's already a system in place on many sites, and it's obviously used because it works.

I'm in for this. We all know XDA has grown too fast for moderation to keep up. Let the users help out.

This is definitely a really good idea, it would bring up the quality of posts especially on the development related threads. +1 from me

Aspeds2989 said:
Some forums on here have grown out of control with nonsense and useless posts.
The issue of lazy people who don't bother to read or search before posting something annoys a lot of people in this community.. and posting stickies at the top of every page titled "PLEASE READ FIRST" or anything similar just doesn't work. Users flaming one another doesn't help in correcting the problem either. The mods also have enough on their hands to have to worry about monitoring and deleting and moving wrongfully placed posts.
So, in an effort to better the experience for everyone, why not allow users to simply rate posts with a +/- like on many other sites. When a posts receives an overwhelming number of negatives, that post will be automatically hidden (check androidandme.com for example).
I think this will be a more effective and simple way for the community to keep tabs on itself. There is already a "Thanks" button to thank users for helping one another. I think it's unrealistic to not include a way for users to rank down unhelpful posts as well. The report button just unnecessarily pushes more work onto the mods.
Yes, this is a community where we are all here to help each other. In reality though, some users just don't care about anything except what they're here for and add nothing positive to the community. Those posts should be able to be ranked down by us users.
Thoughts?
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How about a [Solved Button]? For those Damn threads you read about a Million Replies to just to find out Help is No Longer Needed!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178716

PMGRANDS said:
How about a [Solved Button]? For those Damn threads you read about a Million Replies to just to find out Help is No Longer Needed!
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Click to collapse
There is actually another thread about this in here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178716

Unksi said:
There is actually another thread about this in here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178716
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I know... Sorry!
I actually Started the other thread!
Lol, just trying to Promote the Idea!

Yea.. I didn't think anyone would listen either :-! Oh, well. I tried.

Preach it! This system would be extremely helpful for everyone, especially since there is alot of cluttering going on.

Ehh.. I think writing an essay was enough for me. If people like this maybe they can just keep bumping it until it catches attention.

Aspeds2989 said:
Ehh.. I think writing an essay was enough for me. If people like this maybe they can just keep bumping it until it catches attention.
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I Hear that... I Feel the Same way as you do with my Idea! I actually thought I'd have a lot More comments than I have in my thread. But oh well... Lol!

meeeowww..

Potential for abuse = Huuuge...
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face......

Realistic threat of abuse = Non-existent
Again, I refer to a site like Yahoo that uses this in their comments section that sees multiple times the amount of traffic than does this site and.. EDIT - nevermind

Aspeds2989 said:
Realistic threat of abuse = Non-existent
Again, I refer to a site like Yahoo that uses this in their comments section that sees multiple times the amount of traffic than does this site and.. EDIT - nevermind
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First off, I apologise, I did not pay attention and therefore my last post was irrelevant, allow me to respond properly....
Also, I hope that you didnt decide to edit your post because you noticed I was a mod, contrary to popular belief, users DO NOT receive bans/infractions for speaking their minds
Aspeds2989 said:
People who don't bother to read or search first before posting something are an annoyance for many in this community.. and posting stickies at the top of every page titled "PLEASE READ FIRST" or anything similar just doesn't work. Users then "flame" one another, and that doesn't help in correcting the problem either. Additionally, the mods shouldn't have to be monitoring posts like they would a kindergarten class.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldnt agree more....
Aspeds2989 said:
That is why allowing users to simply rate posts with a +/- like on many other sites, would improve the quality of posts on this forum greatly. When a posts receives an overwhelming number of negatives, that post will be automatically hidden so that other users are aware and may ignore it (check androidandme.com or any Yahoo news articles for examples). I think this will be a more effective and simple way for the community to keep tabs on itself. There is already a "Thanks" button to thank users for helping one another. I think it's unrealistic to not include a way for users to rank down unhelpful or even negative posts as well. It's like not wanting to acknowledge the fact that there are a lot of nonsense posts throughout the forums. And the report button just unnecessarily pushes more work onto the mods and the majority ignores it, so it's not effective.
Yes, this is a community where we are all here to help each other. In reality though, some users just don't care about anything except what they're here for and add nothing positive to the community, and end up cluttering the forums with questions that have been answered several times before, or posting in wrong sections, etc . Those posts should be able to be flagged or ranked down by the community. Please consider this improvement.
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Im not sure if this is possible with the version of VB that XDA uses. It probably is but then there is always the possibility that it may not work smoothly due to the existing amount of tweaks to the system that are already in place.
The problem you describe is due to the "gimme gimme gimme" mentality of the current userbase and we are currently taking steps to address this.
In the meantime please alert us to any such posts and we can remove duplicates and tag items as [SOLVED]. We dont mind doing it if people are willing to let us know that it needs to be done.
IISiDeK1CKII said:
This would cause so many problems too... All it would take is a few pissed off kids to downrank a helpful/brutally honest/ROM post into oblivion.
I think the way it is is fine, Although I wish they had a "Report as Trolling" button so we could send those ****ers into space somewhere...
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It could be an issue, there will always be a certain "fanboi" mentality that would be inclined to abuse such a system. Some of the developers can be quite blunt (and rightly so) when it comes to people asking dumbass questions in a thread, I would hate to see for threads to be tarnished with downvotes (even if it is just one) all because some asshat wasnt happy about receiving a public dressing down.
There is already a Report button... Use it, we dont like trolls, they will be promptly escorted off the premises.
Aspeds2989 said:
Not at all. If other users see a post getting downranked and they think it shouldn't be, they can just + it and if the overall community thinks the post shouldn't be downranked, enough people will + it to unhide the post. You sound like you have no faith in the community to do something right. It is such a large community that it will take a large number of posters to downrank something. And the general consensus about the post will eventually trump inappropriate downranks. It's so simple but difficult to explain. Also, this wouldn't require every post to be ranked. It's just there as an option.
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As much as I hate to say it, I have to agree with the bold part at the moment.
I think that too much of the current userbase just want the easy option and want it now.
I think that we would need to adress the issue of discipline and improving the content of posts before we could implement a system like this, we are currently doing this but it will take time.
karnovaran said:
I'm in for this. We all know XDA has grown too fast for moderation to keep up. Let the users help out.
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If you want to help, drop us a PM when you see something that needs attention or use the report button.
I think its unfair to say that XDA has grown too fast for the mods to keep up, we have a highly dedicated and hard working team of many moderators who give up their free time to keep this place running. New moderator applications are being processed at the moment as well, so expect to see a few more jackbooted, goosestepping, uptight internet rent-a-cops strutting around sometime soon.
The problem lies not with the amount of users we have to deal with, it is the amount of stupidity and ignorance displayed by some (too many) of them.
I guess that is going to come off as a pretty negative post but I am not against such an idea, I just think there are more pressing matters to attend to first.
If you havent already done so I suggest you read the forum announcement by Svetius outlining the roadmap for the site.
/rant

Instead of 10 posts...10 or more thanks

First of all I apologise if this suggestion has been already said and discussed. I haven't noticed it in some other thread.
I'm sick and tired of watching 10posters or just spammers to flud developers sections with their idiotic repeatable questions which are already answered in stickies, faqs, etc.
I guess since everyone in our days can buy a smartphone or tablet, this is a situation that we can not avoid that easy. But what we can do is to keep the unworthy out of dev areas at least until the prove otherwise.
10 post count is just rubbish...anyone can just troll these posts out at the OT section and he's done in 2 minutes.
Instead of post count, make it "thanks" count. If anybody has something worthy to say or is a new promising dev he can be "chosen" by the others by his thanks count.
I read many suggestions about dislike/nothanks buttons and such. This is much simplier and imho it could prove much more effective to filter out the noobs and take in the newbies that they deserve it and also can make the mods do their tracking through the forums easier.
Keep the noobs at the general section and out of the dev areas and let in those who have really something good to do or say. Everyone in here, from the users up to developers are trying to help the most they can but Jesus!!! this is not a shelter for retards or something.
I'm trying to remember when it was the last time a saw a proper dev thread not getting noob raped but I don't have so deep memories
Again I'm sorry if this has been said already

+1...ive seen people post stuff like "im trying to get 10 posts" over and over again. this will bring an end to that
but on the other hand, ive seen people with hundreds of posts and only one or two thanks

sweetnsour said:
+1...ive seen people post stuff like "im trying to get 10 posts" over and over again. this will bring an end to that
but on the other hand, ive seen people with hundreds of posts and only one or two thanks
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That's the point!
Everyone can raise their post count with one way or another. This doesn't mean that they have something useful to contribute. There are members for example 1000 posts and 5 thanks and other members (devs almost everyone) with 100 posts and 500 thanks to say the least.
I haven't seen any noob (at least in the subforums I read ) no matter how old member he is or how many posts he has, to have a high thanks count and that's because he doesn't say anything usefull to actually make other members hit that thanks button.
We got the evaluation variable, so let's use it!
Instead for thanks button to be just a cosmetic in the forums, it can really be used as an evaluation measure.

I think it should be 15 or even 20 thanks
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App

I actually like that idea. Interestingly enough I've been working on my 10 posts but I've been doing it the right way.I hate spamming and its a shame that people do that.
Tapped from my CherryPi Atrix

The person who rooted the D3 on this board had to spam in a general forum to get his post count high enough to post in the dev forum.

Excellent idea. A huge +1 to this..
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

Actually there are still some ppl who can post some usefull thoughts or questions...
Not everyone is a newbie who cant use the search button.

B-Ace said:
Actually there are still some ppl who can post some usefull thoughts or questions...
Not everyone is a newbie who cant use the search button.
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Of course there are. But for each new contributing member in here, come other 100 lamers that just want to turn their phone into a space shuttle or something. Those are the ones who make the dev threads unsufferable to follow properly. 1 good post among 50 whining and asking lame things.
Either someone should find a proper way to filter them out of the dev sections or could might as well remove completely this useless 10 post count. It serves absolutely no good.

We have the same problem on the forum I mod at, we lowered it to 5 posts and it's better this way, but still there is no perfect solution.
Right now, I'm stuck in a situation where I want to download a file linked here and I can't until I reach 10 posts, that's pretty frustrating.

It's true that even people with higher post counts don't always have many thanks, but you must also take in to consideration that the Admin/Mods recently added the "Thanks" feature. I already had around 4k post before the thanks feature was added in, and I've helped many people in different sections. It's hard to actually get around the spam on the forum, you just have to hope people have common sense to not post non-sense in the wrong section.

Abradax said:
The person who rooted the D3 on this board had to spam in a general forum to get his post count high enough to post in the dev forum.
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And as a DROID3 owner I'm so glad that he was able to get his post count up so he could post in the developers section. I also understand being frustrated with people who don't search. Even tho i don't post here often I'm here often reading threads so i can learn more about developing. If you make the requirements stricter you may want to have a way for people to bypass said requirements if deemed worthy by a mod.

I would wholeheartedly agree to this, even being new here myself, however I was browsing through 20 or so Q&A threads, and I saw one person thanked for giving an answer. There aren't a whole lot of thanks being given outside the dev forums...
Part 2... spammers making a 2nd account to thank themselves. Slightly more work ending in the same result... and more work for the mods

I've seen this idea raised before, and I love it. 100%.
The only issue is that 'thanks' are completely subjective. Someone may 'thank' a completely useless, inflammatory or derogatory post because it's funny or because they've stated the obvious, but may completely dismiss an actually useful post, with no recognition whatsoever.
Posts, on the other hand, are objective. They're universal. Whether they're **** or not, everybody gets them.
Until the 'thanks' feature gets utilised properly by all users (but remember this is a huge ask) it'll be quite difficult to implement effectively. While the 'I'm getting 10 posts' posts will disappear, the 'Why wasn't I thanked for...' will go through the roof.

juzz86 said:
I've seen this idea raised before, and I love it. 100%.
The only issue is that 'thanks' are completely subjective. Someone may 'thank' a completely useless, inflammatory or derogatory post because it's funny or because they've stated the obvious, but may completely dismiss an actually useful post, with no recognition whatsoever.
Posts, on the other hand, are objective. They're universal. Whether they're **** or not, everybody gets them.
Until the 'thanks' feature gets utilised properly by all users (but remember this is a huge ask) it'll be quite difficult to implement effectively. While the 'I'm getting 10 posts' posts will disappear, the 'Why wasn't I thanked for...' will go through the roof.
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Yes you're right, usage of the thanks button is completely subjective and this is obvious all around the forums.
But still, even under those circumstances there is a pattern even if it is a bit loose.
Contributing active users and devs especially tend to have more thanks than the rest of the mass. Maybe this "trend" it could be used in a way to clear out dev forums and keep it this way.
This is how I originally thought of its application and imho I believe it's making more sense.

mprou said:
Yes you're right, usage of the thanks button is completely subjective and this is obvious all around the forums.
But still, even under those circumstances there is a pattern even if it is a bit loose.
Contributing active users and devs especially tend to have more thanks than the rest of the mass. Maybe this "trend" it could be used in a way to clear out dev forums and keep it this way.
This is how I originally thought of its application and imho I believe it's making more sense.
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You are 100% correct.
Devs and solid members tend to have a much higher 'thanks' count than others. It would be a good way of thinning down the crap in the Dev forums, for sure.
It could even be broadened, so that you had to have X number of posts, and X% of your total post count 'thanks'.

neilrl79 said:
And as a DROID3 owner I'm so glad that he was able to get his post count up so he could post in the developers section.
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I ended up here too because I have a D3 and wanted to just thank the person who posted about getting root access. Signed up just to do so. But apparently I can't, either because I haven't existed long enough or haven't made enough posts.
I also see people with less than 10 posts posting in the dev forums, asking the same redundant questions that the 10 post limit is supposed to detour. x.x

While I do agree, I don't think it will rid us of the scourge of noobs with entitlement issues. I literally saw someone post and ***** about the 10 post limit saying "I'm a customer of that product and I should be able to tell him what to do" <-- verbatim.
I just don't want to see the kids who think they are entitled to everything, also the thanks being subjective is completely true, I have helped around 50 people total in the past month or 2 and yet only 19 thanks. That proves people really only thank you if they feel like it or if they are actually grateful rather than just "Oh cool some dude on the internet helped me" *leaves xda forever* No, I am not complaining about my amount of thanks, I'm glad I was able to help people regardless, I'm just showing it's completely subjective.

Indirect said:
While I do agree, I don't think it will rid us of the scourge of noobs with entitlement issues. I literally saw someone post and ***** about the 10 post limit saying "I'm a customer of that product and I should be able to tell him what to do" <-- verbatim.
I just don't want to see the kids who think they are entitled to everything, also the thanks being subjective is completely true, I have helped around 50 people total in the past month or 2 and yet only 19 thanks. That proves people really only thank you if they feel like it or if they are actually grateful rather than just "Oh cool some dude on the internet helped me" *leaves xda forever* No, I am not complaining about my amount of thanks, I'm glad I was able to help people regardless, I'm just showing it's completely subjective.
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Thanks Indirect!
Seriously, we had a similar issue on another board of which I am an admin, what we did is put a 50 post count limit on new accounts in addition to a throttle of course for daily limits. It sort of works but the quality of the posts went down significantly.
The thanks idea is better but as stated a few posts above it's really subjective.
Instead of thanks I might suggest reputation levels. When the users rep level is zero or when it hits a new "low" the section moderator can chose to make his perms go to read only. The user can protest and or try and improve on it by helping or keeping in the general sections.
I am not too particularly fond of these types of comments either.
"I didn't need that file jackass!"
or
"I need help now because I am Chuck Norris dammit!"
By using that system peers can get pretty mean but it really starts to get people to think about what they post. Everybody has to start somewhere.
That's my 2Cents.

Well, I actually don't like the idea of reputation because on another forum there are "repwhores" and rep becomes kind of like a commidity. I'm not saying that's what will happen here, it's just a chance it could. It happened with alot of the 13-15 year old members and though they aren't common here, that doesn't make it impossible for them to be here. D:

Alternative to 10 post rule

Suggestions/Alternatives​
*Change 10 post to x number of thanks - Pros : It would take longer for users to gain access to development forums. - Cons : Users will beg for thanks more and possibly spam thanks to help each other gain access.
*Complete a quiz during registration - Pros : Could possibly reduce the number of people allowed in development forums. - Cons : Too hard because different people have different levels of knowledge + couldn't be multiple choice because too easy to get around.
*Let OPs of dev threads delete posts - Pros : Cut down on the useless posts. - Cons : Won't happen because only mods/admins will have ability to delete posts. Devs could show favouritism + take too much of the devs time to delete posts.
*Review posts before they appear in development - Pros : If possible, no crap would appear in dev threads. - Cons : Not possible because of the massive workload on the manpower of the mods.
*Deny access to Off-topic until user has 10 posts - Pros : Stops a lot of people posting there to get to 10 posts. - Cons : Users will be more likely to spam in the device forums instead.
*

Alternative to 10 post rule
I'm creating this thread as a place to centralize all alternative ideas to the 10 post rule.
Obviously, a lot of different suggestions have been made over the time and we've been told that the admins won't change the rule unless a better solution can be proven to work.
So if you have any suggestions as to what could be used instead of needing 10 posts to post in development, then post your idea in here.
*If you're not sure why there is a limit to post in development, read the following thread - Postcount limit in developmental fora
*If you want to moan about the rule, don't post it anywhere on this site as we've heard it all before.
*Need to help someone in a development thread? Or give developer a logcat? Private Message them. It exists
*If you have less than 10 posts, don't post here UNLESS you are suggesting a different alternative.
*NOTE* As mods, senior mods and admins may be checking in here, don't use this thread to try and gain your first 10 posts because your comment will most likely be deleted.

While this is a great idea, the thread will be bombarded by those that want to raise their post count The larger issue wouild be with the spam to 10ers. The present method found by most new users.

What about 5 thanks rule? Instead of 10 posts get 5 thanks?
"The past is dead, it was all just a dream" - Magus (Chrono Trigger)

XxLordxX said:
What about 5 thanks rule? Instead of 10 posts get 5 thanks?
"The past is dead, it was all just a dream" - Magus (Chrono Trigger)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problem w 5 thanks is that not everyone hits the thanks button.

ronnie498 said:
Only problem w 5 thanks is that not everyone hits the thanks button.
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So it will take some time to get permission to post in development section.In that time,we can hope they will get some perspective of xda-developers.
There is one huge drawback,that they might post some clever/funny things and get a lot of thanks for those posts.
So they can score 1 post and 10 thanks ->get permission to post in development section.:/

TonyStark said:
While this is a great idea, the thread will be bombarded by those that want to raise their post count The larger issue wouild be with the spam to 10ers. The present method found by most new users.
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Most likely but we'll just report and move on
ronnie498 said:
Only problem w 5 thanks is that not everyone hits the thanks button.
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This is true. I think for a thanks count to work, people would need to be further educated about using the features available around this site. But at that point, would a limit oh development really be needed?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

KidCarter93 said:
Most likely but we'll just report and move on
This is true. I think for a thanks count to work, people would need to be further educated about using the features available around this site. But at that point, would a limit oh development really be needed?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
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On the flip side you would have 10 thankers, just the opposite of a 10 posters that posting useless things

ronnie498 said:
On the flip side you would have 10 thankers, just the opposite of a 10 posters that posting useless things
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I don't think that would happen to be honest. The only time we really see anything like that is when puppy accounts are thanking a main account. But then the accounts get banned anyway because of breaking the rules.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

neectron said:
So it will take some time to get entry to development section.In that time,we can hope they will get some perspective of xda-developers.
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No, they will have access, they simply can not post there until they reach the required min.
I'm not sure why this always tends to be an issue... I have always been one to send people to Q&A anyway. Q&A DOES NOT STAND for Quips and Assumptions

I was thinking something more along the lines of an open book type mini test. Have a Thread / Post with important information about being a forum member, the rules, and basic guidelines. Make it a requirement that they read said Post / Thread before posting in the development section. Then must answer 10 questions. Make the questions random, and revolving. So even if you have two people trying it next to each other, they will be different tests. But make sure the answers to the questions are in the Thread / Post. Also to keep it interesting make them have to use the search function ( which would be rigged to lead them back to the Post / Thread ) to answer at least half of the questions. Anyways just a thought.
TEAM MiK
MikROMs Since 3/13/11

I still don't understand why a new member absolutely needs post in a development thread.
- If there's a bug in a ROM/Kernel/Mod/etc, PM the developer. They're not going to sift through hundreds of pages to find your post.
- If you are a developer, help people in any other section of the site. It should be easy for you, since you are a developer.
- If you have a question, post in Q&A.
- If you want to say thanks, hit the Thanks button in the OP of the developer's thread.
It's really not a huge deal to get 10 posts. I don't know why people are complaining. Introduce yourself, post a screenshot of your homescreen, talk about your favorite device, show off your accessories, post in Offtopic. Do SOMETHING.

Ok folks, just to let you know, I have subscribed to this thread and will be looking with interest at any ideas posted. I will reply to the more serious suggestions and I will delete posts by those wishing to boost their post count
Ta
Rick
...........................
You can lead a fool to wisdom but you can't make him think! XDA, mobile wisdom, not a n00b feeding ground!!

I believe that we should do away with the ten post rule, since as earlier mentioned it is a piece of cake to reach ten posts.
Instead I propose a few alternatives, working on what has already been suggested:
1. Before allowing posts, ask the member a question about that topic itself, not just to check their overall developer knowledge.
2. Look for the number of helpful threads they have created AND have got positive feedback, not just their posts on other threads
3. Check for the spread of thanks,
i.e. differentiating a person with 100 likes from one funny post from someone with 2 likes or so over several posts.
This way we can judge a person's overall helpfulness to the community and whether they have something useful to contribute
Sent from my GT-I9100
If I helped you, please hit the thanks button!

ramnex said:
I believe that we should do away with the ten post rule, since as earlier mentioned it is a piece of cake to reach ten posts.
Instead I propose a few alternatives, working on what has already been suggested:
1. Before allowing posts, ask the member a question about that topic itself, not just to check their overall developer knowledge.
2. Look for the number of helpful threads they have created AND have got positive feedback, not just their posts on other threads
3. Check for the spread of thanks,
i.e. differentiating a person with 100 likes from one funny post from someone with 2 likes or so over several posts.
This way we can judge a person's overall helpfulness to the community and whether they have something useful to contribute
Sent from my GT-I9100
If I helped you, please hit the thanks button!
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Click to collapse
Hmm tough this is tough. 1. I came to XDA w/ 0 developer knowledge. Still know very little. However I tend to use Q&A untill I feel comfortable enough to post in Development
2. My first helpful thread didn't come until I was here, well over a year.
Points are good, but as I've shown, many people are different.

neectron said:
There is one huge drawback,that they might post some clever/funny things and get a lot of thanks for those posts.
So they can score 1 post and 10 thanks -> entry to development section.:/
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I don't think this as a drawback...
Because, usually those who do use thanks button are educated enough or members with atleast 30 or more who knows that they are new users who are trying to be funny to get thanks..(this thinking comes if you have thanks count as restrictions for Dev section)
Also , the new user was able to get enough thanks(say ,10 thanks) from very less posts.. that would suggest he is clever enough to get it... so, it would also mean that the user is clever enough how to post in development section? I mean, if you know enough to get thanks from community which has been here all the time..
The drawbacks I see in this method are, 1. People already ask for thanks.. it would get into a point where people may beg for thanks and such threads may also appear as they used to appear in OT before thanks was taken down..
2. Also, puppy account count may rise, even though it will be taken down.. more work for admins thus..
3. I feel the complaints from new users will be more if this is the case.. as no one can't reach 10 thanks that easily... I mean I feel it would be atleast 20 posts for an avg user to get 10 thanks.. so, more whining..
I don't have a better answer as solution though.. but thanks limit could be really better than the 10 post rule IMO.. because this way the one word posters to get to 10 posts will be eliminated.. as well as spammers who try to get 10 posts as well.. all those link posting ban until 10 posts and other rules can be applied on this too.. so I feel this might be more efficient in keeping people from spamming... and inexperienced users will get enough idea and knowledge to post in development section instead of making a fool of themselves and getting flamed by others or something.. well, that's just my thoughts..
____________________________________
UltimaTIME Clock Widgets, 200 clock widgets in one!!
Falling Doesn’t Make You a Failure, Staying Down Does

KidCarter93 said:
I don't think that would happen to be honest. The only time we really see anything like that is when puppy accounts are thanking a main account. But then the accounts get banned anyway because of breaking the rules.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
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True but there are those that would try to work around it as you said, if there was a way around that then it is very possible that the thank count could work along with the post count that xxlordxx mentioned.

You have to remember, it simply isn't possible for us mods to read each post and approve it before it's allowed in Dev threads. Baring in mind we have 40k users per day and 2-3k new users per day
...........................
You can lead a fool to wisdom but you can't make him think! XDA, mobile wisdom, not a n00b feeding ground!!

Fallen Spartan said:
You have to remember, it simply isn't possible for us mods to read each post and approve it before it's allowed in Dev threads. Baring in mind we have 40k users per day and 2-3k new users per day
...........................
You can lead a fool to wisdom but you can't make him think! XDA, mobile wisdom, not a n00b feeding ground!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So very true

KidCarter93 said:
I don't think that would happen to be honest. The only time we really see anything like that is when puppy accounts are thanking a main account. But then the accounts get banned anyway because of breaking the rules.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
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Look at this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107187 and the stupid phone isn't even released yet and it isn't like the OP is thank you free either!