This guide is intended to be a starting point for noobs New Users to teach you how to
start out on XDA and have a good experience and be good XDA community members.
XDA is a great place where you can learn a lot about how to make your phone better, have fun talking to
other smart people about your phone and the Android OS or Windows Phone OS, and maybe be
recognized for your efforts. But first there are a few things you need to know about XDA.
I suggest bookmarking any of the links below which might seem helpful since chances are in the future
it will be helpful to you or to someone else and you will have it bookmarked.
~~~Getting Started~~~
First, please start here by registering.
This enables you to post questions and helpful replies to other people's questions and get thanks.
~~~The Rules~~~
Like anything in life, there are rules here.
Here is the short version. Please:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Here is the full version. XDA Forum Rules
Moderators (mods) enforce the rules when necessary. Getting a Moderators help
If you are having problems with XDA or need assistance from an admin for things like name changes,
please check here: XDA Contacts & Help
[Guideline] Behaviour on XDA
~~~Reading~~~
The best way to start is not by posting, it is by reading. Read, search, read, search.
If you read an answer that looks helpful or answers a question you might have, bookmark it, and
when you see someone else ask that question you will have the answer for them plus a supporting link.
"Always read lots post little" - mo976
I strongly encourage reading ALL of the stickied notes and guides in the About xda-developers.com subforum,
as well as the stickied guides in your device forums.
The stickied guides are pinned to the top of the subforum, you can see a little thumbtack icon to the left.
They are always at the top of the subforum view, even if other threads have newer posts in them.
You might be thinking "What, that's too much!?" or TLDR (too long, didn't read).
It is a lot, true...a lot of very valuable information, questions answered, problems solved,
collected and organized and right there for you to read and learn without having to work to search for it.
Many people have put in countless hours of their personal time to enter in this knowledge
for you to learn it and apply it successfully to your XDA experience and phone, and the mods
have put them at the top of the subforum pages so you don't have to work to find them.
Please don't waste their time or yours.
I know a lot of you are just using the XDA app or Tapatalk or Forum Runner and are not on the website.
This might help: [HOW TO]Make The Most Of The XDA App
~~~Searching~~~
When you have a question you don't know the answer to, don't post a new thread when you could post a
question in a relevant open thread, and don't post a question when a few minutes reading and searching
will not only give you an answer, but a feeling of accomplishment that you were able to find it yourself,
and the confidence to remember and repeat the answer with the link to the thread or post with that
answer when you see someone else post that question you didn't have to.
Consider the question you are going to post, pick out the keywords and type them into the search box.
Try a few different searches with slightly different words.
New Members Guide-Get the most out of XDA!!
Search guide video
Help Your Threads Get More Search Hits with Better Titles and Tags! (and improve the XDA search functionality for free!)
Thread naming guide
You can also search XDA with Google. Just add this to your search terms.
site:xda-developers.com
If you aren't sure what a term or acronym means, check this excellent Glossary by benjamingwynn or
stempox's very helpful guide Terms Android.
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and wondering if you are in over your head, this excellent guide by iElvis
can help you decide. So You Want to Root and Mod Your HTC One X/XL
I highly recommend it for all new users as the content is not specific to the One X/XL despite the title.
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 2
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 2
~~~Giving Thanks~~~
Giving thanks is important. It lets people know that their work or answer is appreciated. It is a faster
method of feedback than posting a reply like "Thanks for your answer!" You must have one post to
give thanks, so here is a good place you can do that: The "Say Hi" thread.
You can go do that now and come back and finish here please.
You get 8 thanks per day, and they renew after 24 hours or so. Each thanks is independent of the others,
so if you give someone a thanks at 3, and then another at 4, those will renew at 3 and 4 the next day.
If you run out of thanks, then save that page in a new tab and give thanks later when you have one available.
If you use them all every day you are doing it correctly.
~~~Getting Thanks~~~
You will see that everyone here has a Thanks Meter above their avatar.
Here are the counts needed to get to the next bar.
1st bar - 26
2nd bar - 51
3rd bar - 101
4th bar - 201
bug here, never gets to 5 bars, probably 501 if fixed.
6th bar - 1001
7th bar - 2001
8th bar - 5001
9th bar - 8001
Maxed! - 10000
Not that thanks are an indication of a user's status or stature on XDA. Thanks don't really count for
anything other than as a potentially wildly inaccurate measure of a member's ability to answer your
question correctly. Some of the most important people here have a lot fewer thanks than you might guess.
~~~User Titles~~~
As you go around XDA and encounter people, you may notice that they have different titles
under their avatar. Speaking of which, click here to upload an avatar picture.
Here are the user titles explained by one of our mods.
0 to 29 posts - Junior Member
30 to 99 posts - Member
100 + posts - Senior Member
Originally Posted by juzz86
I'll sum it up for you (or try, anyway!)
There are Junior Members, Members, Senior Members first. These make up the vast majority of XDAs userbase.
Recognised Contributors are nominated by other users and/or Mods/Developers. They are recognised for their contributions which are not specifically Development, such as detailed guides, one-click utilities and other tools/mods.
Recognised Themers are also nominated by users/Mods/Developers, for their work themeing custom ROMs and providing standalone themes for flashing.
Recognised Developers are nominated and approved by the Developer Committee, for their work in Development whether it be ROMs, Root methods, bootloader unlocks etc.
Elite Recognised Developers are again assessed by the Developer Committee, and are deemed to have gone above-and-beyond in providing knowledge/hacks/tools/apps/ROMs for the XDA community.
Forum Moderators are appointed by the Moderator Committee, after submitting an application (see the 'sticky' at the top of this forum - currently applications are not open). They are the first-line of keeping the forums tidy, friendly and orderly.
Senior Moderators are the next step up the ladder, providing site-wide support for Forum Mods and looking after the nitty-gritty issues, as well as areas of XDA not policed by FSMs, such as the Marketplace.
Administrators are next. There are several Admins - each look after a specific part of XDA such as the Portal, the Members and the User Experience of XDA as a whole.
At the top is Mike Channon, who is overall Forum Administrator.
Other titles you may come across:
Moderator Committee - sits on the Mod Committee
Developer Committee - as above, but for Developer Committee
XDA Newswriter - publishes articles for the Portal (front page)
Retired xxxx - have since officially 'left' their XDA position
Hopefully that clears most of them up for you
Contrary to what a lot of people expect, the thanks-meter does not figure at all in determining a users tag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 3
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 3
~~~Posting Questions~~~
There are some restrictions on your posting ability when you first start here. For your first 7 posts, there is
a captcha prompt and a time limit in between posts. This is mostly to stop spammers from posting garbage
throughout every thread. There is a 2 minute limit between posting and editing your posts. This stops at
30 posts when you go from Junior Member to Member, so read twice, post once.
OK, you got through all that and you have a question that you need that answer to. You have searched,
and searched again, and searched again with different keywords, but you can't find the answer.
The question is, where do you post it?
The first and best place is to check your device's Q&A forum for a thread posted there,
either a general question thread, or a thread already posted there with a similar question.
When you post into a thread, that thread is then listed at the top of the forum it is in and the title turns
Bolded for everyone else so they know there is a new post. Someone else may see that thread
and know the answer and post it. If you need to open a new thread check here first for helpful advice.
Always remember advice from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic!
Please post ALL relevant information. What ROM/Kernel, What you were doing when the problem surfaced,
What is the actual problem (not my phone won't boot, help!!), Were the planets aligned,...
Simple information can go along way to diagnose the problem/issue and it also prevents the reciprocal
post of "Need more info".
And we have all been there in Panic Mode where you freak out and just want to get some help. Noobs don't
look at these devices as phones or tablets, but rather as investment because well that is what they are at
$500-$800 a throw. I respect my device but that is because I know how to use and recovery it. Noobs don't.
They see a bootloop and it is strikingly similar to the toilet swirling their money down the drain.
That is when Panic Mode sets in.
Don't Panic. Don't be a noob. Be a New User who is smart and reads a lot and knows where things are and
how to find useful and timely information.
Remember, give it some time before reposting. XDA members live around the world and are not going to be
on your time zone and schedule. Wait a day and see if you get a response. If you want a notification of
someone else posting into that thread, click on the Thread Tools button at the top of the thread and choose
Subscribe, or click the Subscribe button at the top of the page.
Please do not simply "bump" the thread up. Add some more information as to additional things you have
tried to resolve the problem since your last post.
~~~Why can't I post in the Dev thread I want to?~~~
Fallen Spartan said:
The 10 post rule was put in place to make new users think, and hopefully contribute and help others by
making useful posts rather than the usual crap like "thanks", "kewl" etc or ask questions which have
been asked countless times before. They still have access to dev forums, just cannot post in them.
Its not a massive restriction and to provide 10 useful/helpful posts is not hard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fallen Spartan - Moderator Committee
Almost all of XDA is open to you right from the start. You can post into your devices General, Q&A,
Accessories, and Themes and Apps forums. You can learn a lot and help other new users with answers
you have found previously by reading the stickied guides in your device forum and in the
XDA General Discussion forums.
Please feel free to thank the dev several times instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM".
Rate the dev's thread with 5 stars using the rate dropdown button at the top of every page of the thread.
If you feel that is not sufficient, most devs have a donate button with Paypal.
I promise you that they will remember you and appreciate you far more for donating even a couple of
dollars versus some post, however gushingly approving, on their ROM thread.
Please do not send private messages to the devs saying "Thanks for a great ROM"
instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM". See above.
If you have read up to this point and still feel it is unfair that you cannot post into a dev forum thread,
please consider it from this perspective:
Is it so much to ask that you read for a bit first, pick up some knowledge and experience, help a few people
in the 90+% of XDA which is completely open to you, to participate with quality posts instead of BS posts,
in return for being able to post into any of the ROM threads from any dev on this site?
What XDA is all about
Also keep in mind that the mods are out there reading your posts, and if they believe you are posting junk
simply to get to 10 posts to post some non-dev comment in a dev thread, you could find all your posts
missing and your account temporarily disabled.
For more tips on how to reach 10 posts in a community acceptable way, please check here:
Postcount limit in developmental fora
Want To Post In Development?
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 4
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - The Visual Guide (WIP)
A picture is worth a thousand words...so here are a few pictures to ponder.
1. Portal
2. Forum Home
3. Device Home
4. Device Forum
5. User Control Panel
6. Advanced Search
For the text version of this guide and to register here on XDA, please go here:
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
1. Many people start out with the XDA Portal.
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2. But most continue on to the forums...this is a longie but a goodie.
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3. Once you find your device home forum, many people stay for a while.
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4. There is a lot of information just by glancing at the device's Q&A forum page.
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5. You can change your preferences and more through the User Control Panel.
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6. If you know how to use the Advanced Search, you are a power user indeed.
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For the text version of this guide and to register here on XDA, please go here:
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
Welcome to XDA!
[GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA - Part 4
~~~Getting Flamed or Trolled~~~
When you post something here, many people will see it and possibly post a reply that might be perceived as
funny but not extremely helpful, or trolling. This is mostly due to questions that have been asked and
answered a thousand times, threads/posts being in the wrong forum/thread, or not providing enough info.
This is usually meant as good-natured kidding, so please don't take it wrongly and snap off a reply that
escalates the situation into something you might regret later.
At some point, you are going to get "flamed" by someone who feels that your post is stupid, off-topic,
irrelevant, noobish, whatever, and they are going to post something like "You are an XXXXX who doesn't
know something simple like YYYYY. Don't post here anymore." It is going to happen at some time here,
but the important part is not to respond in kind.
It will not help the situation, or make your e-peen any bigger, or make you any tougher. It might make
you feel better temporarily, but what usually happens is that the forum mod (or a senior mod) will come
in and delete those comments and you might end up on the infraction list, or temporarily disabled,
or banned. Just don't reply to it.
First, consider the question or post you wrote from a different angle. There is no excuse for flaming
someone, but in a multi-cultural environment things may be perceived very differently than you intended.
Try ignoring it.
Second, if the flame is really over the line, don't reply to it. Click on the little triangle in the upper right corner
of the post to report it. Type in a short explanation, choose "Abusive or threatening post" and let the mods handle it.
~~~Reporting Posts~~~
XDA Needs You! to help keep things organized. Please press the little orange triangle button and report
when you see threads that are in the wrong forums. If you see a [Q] thread posted in your device's General
or Development forums, please take a minute to report it and put in "Please move to X device Q&A forum"
as an example reason. Then choose "Thread/Post moving or maintenance" in the drop down box,then Send Report.
This will notify all the mods of that forum and one of them will move the thread to the correct forum.
You can also use this to report spam posts. Since XDA has a lot of members, we are a target for spammers.
If you see threads posted with titles like [WATCH ONLINE NOW][LIVE]Some sports event[LIVE], please
use the report button to let us mods know that we need to delete it.
~~~Signature~~~
Making a signature is a very important thing to do since it can help to describe your phone, it's current software,
and any modifications you have installed.
A signature should inform others about your phone when you post a question to avoid follow up questions.
A good signature will include information helpful to others beyond the direct target of the question/reply.
A great signature will inform the community with important information and potentially answer
questions which have not been asked yet, avoiding repetitive posts.
[GUIDE][Noob Friendly]How to make a good signature[Noob Friendly][GUIDE]
Please click here to make a signature (5-8 posts minimum)
It's cool and you will get more help and respect from us.
If you need some ideas for a signature or are willing to share yours, please check here: Share your sig code please.
Please respect other XDA members and avoid using really huge pictures that are several inches tall
with stacked pictures and text, or multi-megabyte videos.
Also, if you copy a picture from someone that you like, please rehost it either in a gallery here on XDA
or on Dropbox or photobucket or whatever service you like.
Don't just copy their image link and paste it into your signature. That is stealing and could also be
turned off at any time if they change or delete the picture, or if the additional bandwidth used goes
over the limits, and you will lose the image completely.
Please remember that signatures are supposed to be that, signatures. Not obnoxious billboards.
~~~Donations~~~
Making a donation is neither expected or required, but are always gratefully received and appreciated.
There are "Donate to me" icons above people's avatar, or in their signatures.
You can also donate to XDA by clicking HERE.
When you donate 10 EUROS to XDA,you get rewarded with a STAR which is displayed below your avatar.
If you buy 10 STARS ,you will be rewarded with a
.
Remember, always be respectful of other members here and considerate. Most people here are doing
this for nothing more than the feeling of helping people as we have been helped by other people previously,
and sometimes the occasional press of the thanks button. We aren't making money here and this isn't
a job, so please don't tell people what to do or demand things of people such as mods or custom ROM
configs to suit you and you will do just fine here.
~~~Other Helpful Links~~~
Get an extra 5GB at copy.com!
[HOW TO] make a good THREAD, POST, QUESTION and POLL
Help Your Threads Get More Search Hits with Better Titles and Thread Tags!
[Tutorial] How To Logcat
[GUIDE] How to give constructive feedback to developers
[ADB/FB/APX Driver] Universal Naked Driver 0.7
Chef Central
Android Application Development Videos
[Ultimate Guide]Android App Development - From Scratch
How to Apply for Recognized Developer
XDA Recognized Developer Program Expansion - Do you contribute enough work to be a Recognized Contributor or Recognized Themer?
xda-developers: The History -Part One-
xda-developers: The-History-Part Two/
XDA Through the Years: A Visual History
I am leaving this open for now, but please, in the spirit of what I have written above, please only post
suggestions you feel will improve this guide. I hope this guide helps you and makes your experience
on XDA a better one. I appreciate your thanks, but I will appreciate you even more if you take this guide
to heart and really do it while you are here. Thank you for reading.
I cannot stress this more to the Noobs New Users, if you want your experience on XDA to be fruitful and learn to unleash the true potential of your device, please look at and adhere to the above. It makes things so much more productive and that way we can all help each other in an orderly and constructive fashion.
I mean, isn't that why you came to XDA anyways? I'm sure any Google search definitely pulls up links to one thread or another from XDA, so why not register and join and become productive part of the community.
Nice guide. Think n00bs will read it? That is kind of the downside of n00bs, not reading or searching first. So they never find this.
Crtl+F
"n00bs"
Replace all
"New Users"
Dblfstr said:
Nice guide. Think n00bs will read it? That is kind of the downside of n00bs, not reading or searching first. So they never find this.
Crtl+F
"n00bs"
Replace all
"New Users"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope they will, I know what you mean about searching, unfortunately that is not just new people nowadays... I have requested that this thread be stickied, might be tough in this forum however as there are a lot of stickies already, I hate to bump threads up so we will see.
Dblfstr said:
Nice guide. Think n00bs will read it? That is kind of the downside of n00bs, not reading or searching first. So they never find this.
Crtl+F
"n00bs"
Replace all
"New Users"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand what you are saying my friend, but also in response to it. That is just more of a reason for us as RC's an well as other respectable committed XDA members to make sure to share this as much as we can by re posting it in our respective device forums and other non device specific forums. So if you see a chance to post it in a thread to help answer a question covered in the OP of this thread please do. Vote this thread to be presented on the a Portal, add tags to the thread to help people find it. I personally am going now to add it to my sig along with the ew member guide that is linked in the op and has been linked in my sig ever since the new member guide was created. I also highly recommend every RC link this thread in there sig as well. I mean the more it is linked the higher the chance is that noobs will find the thread.
I totally agree that post. I'm a new junior member, but I don't want to be a noob. I suggest that everyone new member should be forced to read and agree this post before registration.
Sent from my GT-S5360 using xda premium
mf2112 said:
Getting Started
First, please start here by registering.
This enables you to download the files which are attached to posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so you know, you don't need to be a member to download attachments
the_scotsman said:
Just so you know, you don't need to be a member to download attachments
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know, I am sure I read that somewhere but I will change it now.
mf2112 said:
Thanks for letting me know, I am sure I read that somewhere but I will change it now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the early times,xda allowed downloading from attachment only after registration but as the number of members increased,xda noticed that many people just registered to download the attachment they required and never showed up again.Hence,xda allowed downloading attachments without registering so that the number of guys who are not here to stay(something like that) would be reduced.Read this sometime before.
I have added this to my sticky here, lets hope they use this.
Nice guide, I've actually stuck it to this thread
Little tip - No need to spam every forum with the same guide . All other threads removed
Fallen Spartan said:
Nice guide, I've actually stuck it to this thread
Little tip - No need to spam every forum with the same guide . All other threads removed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes sir, I understand after talking to pg101 last night. A number of us RC's just felt that a number of users go directly to their phones forum and tend to stay there, not to this forum and would thus miss it, so we didn't feel it counted as spam in that regard. But we understand and respect your decision. Thank you for stickying it.
mf2112 said:
Yes sir, I understand after talking to pg101 last night. A number of us RC's just felt that a number of users go directly to their phones forum and tend to stay there, not to this forum and would thus miss it, so we didn't feel it counted as spam in that regard. But we understand and respect your decision. Thank you for stickying it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, I understand your point, but if we have it in one location, we can direct all new users to the same place and it also helps you if you only have to update one thread, rather than countless others
...........................
You can lead a fool to wisdom but you can't make him think! XDA, mobile wisdom, not a n00b feeding ground!!
Noob to noobs
Been a reader/member of xda over a year, but haven't made my first post until today. My advice is follow the guides, use the searc and read the forum thread.
By doing this I have successfully rooted and flashed the Captivate and the Galaxy S II. Even got the latter out of a CWM boot loop.
Slow down, think about your problem and then read some more.
The answer is most likely out there, or you have read it before and just need to remember.
Okay here is my 2 cents for say. This is just plan confusing to me, I can not lie. Ever sense I first joined XDA I have read post of members *****ing about this problem. I have also seen other members get flamed pretty bad over this problem. Now that there is a actual organized effort to subvert this issue some, it is put to a stop???? Just illogical to me.
Now if you see multiple post as spamming the boards, I do apologize for that. But one thread in one location is not enough if the proper steps are not taken. If the one thread method is what is wanted then I suggest this.
One make this a mandatory read for all new members, not just a stickie thread.
Two make this a mandatory subscribed thread for all new members and existing members. Also make it a non removable subscribed thread at least for a year if not never.
Now as time goes by I could probably think of some more to add to this but this is just my initial thoughts. I highly respect all mods and admins but this sort of action toward something that is an effort to help XDA is just not understandable to me.
T-Macgnolia said:
Okay here is my 2 cents for say. This is just plan confusing to me, I can not lie. Ever sense I first joined XDA I have read post of members *****ing about this problem. I have also seen other members get flamed pretty bad over this problem. Now that there is a actual organized effort to subvert this issue some, it is put to a stop???? Just illogical to me.
Now if you see multiple post as spamming the boards, I do apologize for that. But one thread in one location is not enough if the proper steps are not taken. If the one thread method is what is wanted then I suggest this.
One make this a mandatory read for all new members, not just a stickie thread.
Two make this a mandatory subscribed thread for all new members and existing members. Also make it a non removable subscribed thread at least for a year if not never.
Now as time goes by I could probably think of some more to add to this but this is just my initial thoughts. I highly respect all mods and admins but this sort of action toward something that is an effort to help XDA is just not understandable to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tbh, I liked some of your ideas, especially the subscribing new users to specifc threads. I've passed this onto admin/mods for discussion
Related
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
I'll get straight to the point....
Despite stickys and forum announcements most of us are still finding ourselves becoming terribly, terribly vexed at the amount of [Q]'s cluttering the dev section...
Therefore, from now on, if you do not follow the rules outlined below, you will be infracted. Break them again and you may find yourself unable to post anything at all on any forum!!
[Q]Surely thats a bit harsh aint it??
[A]Not really....
We've tried to be nice about it but that clearly doesnt work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you cannot read and abide by the simple rules in this sticky then I dont know how you're going to manage to hack your device without running into trouble.
The Dev section is NOT for asking questions.....
The Dev section is NOT for general topics..........
All threads posted MUST be prefixed with a description of the thread, [ROM] / [Kernel] etc etc.....*
*(Not planning on being particuarly strict on this. You guys (the devs), know how to title a thread.... just a pointer for new devs.)
Basically, unless your thread is to actually release something or discuss something of a very technical and n00b unfriendly nature, it doesnt belong here!
Pretty simple really.....
If you see something that shouldnt be here then PM me....
I will try to check in as reguarly as I can but I have a few sections to keep an eye on and believe it or not, a life outside XDA
Yes thats right, there is life outside XDA
Post What Where:
General - general technical discussion items, news, anything else that does not fit into the other fora categories.
Accessories - any items to do with components and/or accessories relating to your device.
Rom Development - only meant for very advanced technical discussion directly related to ROM development activity and the delivery of actual ROMs and ROM components ONLY. Nothing else goes in here.
Themes & Apps - anything to do directly with the development of themes and/or applications. Nothing else goes in here.
MOD EDIT: BEFORE POSTING ANY THREAD IN THE DEVELOPMENT SECTION, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:
If you have developed a ROM, or are working with others to do so, the development forum is somewhere to discuss and share ideas, post useful feedback and logs or crash dumps, and to discuss a common goal developers are trying to achieve.
It is NOT the place to post your question because it gets higher traffic, or because more experienced users frequent it. Doing this just annoys those who are working on the device, and drives them away. Developers don't want to wade through 20 threads of "Help me urgently" to find their threads for porting and fixing camera issues etc. Similarly, if a thread is designated as discussion for developers say, porting a camera fix, please do not post in there asking "When will it be ready?", "Can I flash this yet?" etc. This is both completely disrespectful to those working on the project (you evidently haven't read the important posts in the thread), and also is making it harder for developers to find comments from other developers or testers when required.
Similarly, don't make loads of "Thanks for your work here" posts in an active development thread. It's just as annoying to developers as asking when something will be ready. If a ROM is complete, then go ahead and thank the developer if you wish, but don't go into threads for devs only, and interrupt it to post "thanks". It's basically spamming, and is treated as such.
If you are posting in development, you should have read every sticky and notice there, and should be actively developing or helping in the development of something. Developing isn't installing a ROM, or using a tweak, it's creating a ROM or other hack or tweak. If you haven't read for several days before starting out on XDA, you are likely about to ask something already solved. I registered on XDA when I first wanted to post, and that was to join in a discussion on something. Sure, join up and ask a question, but read the information available in General and Q&A first, as your question will have been asked before. Search is your friend here, become familiar with it.
Regarding when to post in development if you are not actually developing something, there is one occasion where it's acceptable. If you find a leak of a new ROM, which isn't already posted, and you verify it's legitimacy via either running it, or based on the source you obtained it from, then this is assisting in development, and should be posted in development. If you want to ask when a leak will be available use search first, then if not already in discussion, open a thread in general or Q&A.
If you have a problem flashing a ROM, this is NOT related to development. It's up to you to determine if it is specific to a particular ROM, and post useful information in that developer's existing thread for the ROM. If it happens on more than one ROM, and isn't a known issue (remember you should read several times more words than you post), then find out what you are doing wrong. Check guides written by others, try to repeat the problem and see if it happens every time. Something needs to be reproducible to be fixed effectively.
Once you have identified what you need help with go to the device Q&A forum (general if device lacks one), and make a clear, informative thread that explains the issue, and what you have tried doing to fix it. Did you re-download the ROM? Did you ask a friend to flash it for you, to reduce chance of user error? What steps (exactly) did you follow? What errors did you see (exact wording)? Did you double check all the steps? Did you do a wipe or hard reset?
If you make a clear, concise, yet detailed post, you will find help forthcoming, and should get the problem sorted very quickly. If someone suggests you try something, report back on what happened, did it work etc. Then, next time someone has this issue and searches, they will find this and have a verified and tested solution.
So remember... before you start a thread in development, ask yourself what you are developing. If you can't answer, then stop, step away from the post button, and think about where you are posting. Would it be better in General or Q&A, or is some more time with your best friend, search, required?
Hopefully this brings some change to the forum, this site is a great place to learn and develop for everyone no matter what stage of the game your in. There are quite a few people here that really put forth the effort to help others no matter how fundamental the question is and it would be a shame to see XDA take a turn like other forums have in the past.
To: conantroutman
You are my Freakin Hero, Thank You!!! LOL
The annoying thing is, people are STILL not following the rules -_-
GazaIan said:
The annoying thing is, people are STILL not following the rules -_-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They probably never will but at least now they are being punished so that they either learn from their mistakes or leave...
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.....
I understand where you are coming from but...yes a bit harsh, so many people come he now and then etc, Just my thoughts. I will post what I deem necessary in what I think the proper thread is. Obviously not going to ask how to flash rom, (which is in developers section) Maybe you should move those topics out to faq or general, it only draws more attention to the dev. section
---------- Post added at 09:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------
conantroutman said:
They probably never will but at least now they are being punished so that they either learn from their mistakes or leave...
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will only drive people away, ban me and I surely will look for another forum and recomend it to my friends, thats the mentallity, because what you have on these forums is also on 3 others, please dont tick off ppl. I personally dont think this is the right approach. Educate people first. I have been admin for several forums, very hostile ones at that, please take some advice.
Hello guys. My RC friend, mf2112 has made an awesome guide and asked RC to share to other forum. So decided to share it here. I hope that this guide can help new members to attach to our friendly XDA community. Be a good member in XDA and further to contribute to the community.
mf2112 said:
To all new users, XDA is a great place where you can learn a lot about how to make your phone better, have fun talking to other smart people about your phone and the Android OS, and maybe be recognized for your efforts. But first there are few things you need to know about XDA to be a good netizen. I suggest bookmarking any of the links below which might seem helpful since chances are in the future it will be helpful to you or to someone else and you will have it bookmarked.
Getting Started
First, please start here by registering. This enables you to post questions and helpful replies to other people's questions and get thanks.
The Rules
Like anything in life, there are rules here. There are also moderators (mods) who enforce the rules when necessary.
Here is the short version. Please:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Here is the longer version. XDA Rules
Searching
When you have a question you don't know the answer to, don't post a new thread when you could post a question in a relevant open thread, and don't post a question when a few minutes reading and searching will not only give you an answer, but a feeling of accomplishment that you were able to find it yourself, and the confidence to remember and repeat the answer with the link to the thread or post with that answer when you see someone else post that question.
Consider the question you are going to post, pick out the keywords and type them into the search box. Try a few different searches with slightly different words.
New Members Guide-Get the most out of XDA!!
Search guide video
If you aren't sure what a term or acronym means, check this Excellent term definition Glossary by benjamingwynn.
Giving Thanks
Giving thanks is important. It lets people know that their work or answer is appreciated. It is a faster method of feedback than posting a reply like "Thanks for your answer!" You must have one post to give thanks, so here is a good place you can do that without running afoul of the mods for posting no content posts.
The "Say Hi" thread.
You get 8 thanks per day, and they renew after 24 hours or so. Each thanks is independent of the others, so if you give someone a thanks at 3, and then another at 4, those will renew at 3 and 4 the next day. If you run out of thanks, then bookmark that page or open it in a new tab and give thanks later when you have one available.
If you use them all every day you are doing it correctly.
Getting Thanks
You will see that everyone here has a Thanks Meter above their avatar. Here are the thanks counts needed to get to the next bar.
1st bar - 26
2nd bar - 51
3rd bar - 101
4th bar - 201
bug here, never gets to 5 bars, probably 501 if fixed.
6th bar - 1001
7th bar - 2001
8th bar - 5001
9th bar - 8001
Maxed! - 10000
Not that thanks are an indication of a user's status or stature on XDA. Some of the most important people here have a lot fewer thanks than you might guess.
User Titles
As you go around XDA and encounter people, you may notice that they have different titles under their avatar. Speaking of which, click here to upload a picture.
Here are the user titles explained by one of our mods.
0 to 29 posts - Junior Member
30 to 99 posts - Member
100 + posts - Senior Member
Posting
Posting is something you may do a lot of here, but it is always important to remember to make your posts good ones. Don't post just to drive up your count, there is no special reward for the poster with the highest total and you won't catch the long timers here anyways.
You will find that there are some restrictions on your posting ability when you first start here. For starters, for your first 5 posts, there is a captcha prompt and a time limit in between posts. While this may seem burdensome, it does an excellent job of keeping spammers from posting garbage throughout every thread. There is a 2 minute limit between posting and editing your posts. This stops at 30 posts when you go from Junior Member to Member.
Always remember advice from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
Don't Panic!
Please post ALL relevant information. What ROM/Kernel, What you were doing when the problem surfaced, What is the actual problem (not my phone won't boot, help!!), Were the planets aligned,...
Simple information can go along way to diagnose the problem/issue and it also prevents the reciprocal post of "Need more info".
And we have all been there in Panic Mode where you freak out and just want to get some help. Noobs don't look at these devices as phones or tablets, but rather as investment because well that is what they are are $500-$800 a throw. I respect my device but that is because I know how to use and recovery it. Noobs don't. They see a bootloop and it is strikingly similar to the toilet swirling their money down the drain. That is when Panic Mode sets in.
Don't Panic. Don't be a noob. Be a New User who is smart and reads a lot and knows where things are and how to find useful and timely information.
Why can't I post in the Dev thread I want to?
It seems like everyone wants to be able to post in the Dev threads since it is the cool place to hang out or more likely, just because the message comes up and says you can't post here. However, those forums are locked down and new users who joined after Mar 11, 2012 with less than 10 posts will not be able to post there. If you see someone with less than 10 posts in a dev thread, look at their join date and you will see why they were able to post.
This restriction is not meant to be cruel or mean to you, but to prevent inexperienced people from posting in forums which are meant for Development work. Posting "Thanks for a great ROM" might make you feel good, but consider what it adds to the conversation from a Development perspective. If the answer is Nothing, then please don't post it in a Dev thread. If it adds another post to an already long thread with zero value, please don't post it on a Dev thread or anywhere on XDA for that matter.
Also keep in mind that the mods are out there reading your posts, and if they believe you are posting simply to get to 10 posts to post some non-dev comment in a dev thread, you could find all your posts missing and your account temporarily disabled.
Please feel free to thank the dev several times instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM". Rate the dev's thread with 5 stars using the rate dropdown button at the top of every page of the thread. If you feel that is not sufficient, most devs have a donate button with Paypal. I promise you that they will remember you and appreciate you far more for donating even a couple of dollars versus some post, however gushingly approving, on their dev thread.
Please do not send private messages to the devs saying "Thanks for a great ROM" instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM". See above.
The best way to start is not by posting, it is by reading. Read, search, read, search. If you read an answer that looks helpful or answers a question you might have, bookmark it, and when you see someone else ask that question you will have the answer for them plus a supporting link.
You might be thinking, is there a place for new users? The answer is no, because the only non-noob areas are the Dev subforums. You can post into your devices General, Q&A, Accessories, and Themes and Apps subforums.
10 post count rule for Dev threads AKA Stop PM'ing me please
Posting Questions
OK, you got through all that and you have a question that you need that answer to. You have searched, and searched again, and searched again with different keywords, but you can't find the answer. The question is, where do you post it? The first and best place is to check your device's Q&A subforum for a thread posted there, either a general question thread, or a thread already posted there with a similar question. When you post into a thread, that thread is then listed at the top of the subforum it is in and the title turns Bolded for everyone else. Someone else may see that thread and know the answer and post it.
Remember, give it some time before reposting. XDA members live around the world and are not going to be on your time zone and schedule. Wait a day and see if you get a response. If you want a notification of someone else posting into that thread, click on the Thread Tools button at the top of the thread and choose Subscribe.
Getting Flamed
At some point, you are going to get "flamed" by someone who feels that your post is stupid, off-topic, irrelevant, noobish, whatever, and they are going to post something like "You are an XXXXX who doesn't know something simple like YYYYY. Don't post here anymore." It is going to happen at some time here, but the important part is not to respond in kind. It will not help the situation, or make your e-peen any bigger, or make you any tougher. It might make you feel better temporarily, but what invariably happens is that the forum mod (or a senior mod) will come in and delete those comments and you might end up on the infraction list, or temporarily disabled, or banned. Just don't reply to it. First, consider the question or post you wrote from a different angle. There is no excuse for flaming someone, but in a multi-cultural environment things may be perceived very differently than what you intended. Second, if the flame is really over the line, click on the little triangle in the upper right hand corner of the post and type in a short explanation and let the mods handle it.
Signature
Making a signature is a very important thing to do since it can help to describe your phone, it's current software, and any modifications you have installed.
A signature should inform others about your phone when you post a question.
A good signature will include information helpful to others beyond the direct target of the question/reply.
A great signature will inform the community with important information and potentially answer questions which have not been asked yet, avoiding repetitive posts.
Please click here to make a signature (5-8 posts minimum) It's cool and you will get more help and respect from us.
Remember, always be respectful of other members here and considerate. Most people here are doing this for nothing more than the feeling of helping people as we have been helped by other people previously, and sometimes the occasional press of the thanks button. We aren't making money here and this isn't a job, so please don't tell people what to do or demand things of people such as mods or custom ROM configs to suit you and you will do just fine here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeowwwai said:
Furthermore, the stars under people's profile mean that the user has donated to XDA. 10 Euros = 1 star.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The XDA community needs our members' help to be better. Respecting others has never hurts people.
*Go to #2 for more!
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
Getting understand to the "XDA words"
So well. This is made to help new members to understand what does XXXX mean? What does XXXX represent?
Dev - See developer.
Developer - A man or woman who has created (developed) software. Eg, Acro68
ROM - 1. A modified version of the Android operating system operating system. 2. Read Only Memory, a place where information is stored and can not be destroyed, modified or written to.
AOSP - "Android open source project" a project by Google Inc. to give android to developers and manufactures for free (see open-source)
Open-source - (not to be confussed with free) A peice of software that is free to edit, use, distribute and share with no charge.
CM - See cyanogenmod
Cyanogenmod - A free open-source project based on the AOSP. It is a modded (see modded) version of the Android firmware
Firmware - see ROM (1)
Stock - An unchanged version of something. Example: I just flashed stock Samsung firmware.
OTA - "Over the air" a term used to indicate software that was sent to phones directly through the internet to their phones.
FOTA - "Firmware over the air" this normally refers to ROM's but can refer to radio firmware (see OTA)
Firmware - a piece of software to make hardware function correctly. This can refer to Radio Firmware, but is normally used as another name for ROM (1)
Radio - (not to be confused with Radio Firmware) A piece of hardware that allows communication. There are 3 main radios in your phone. Bluetooth, WiFi and GSM/CDMA.
Radio Firmware - (see firmware) a type of software that allows correct communication with the radio and the operating system. A newer firmware would normally improve battery life and call quality. The radio firmware only applies to the CDMA/GSM radio.
CDMA/GSM - A type of network communication between phones and carriers. GSM phones normally are included with SIM Cards that authorize them onto the network. CDMA have this authorization built in and do not need a sim card.
Kernel - An important part of all operating systems that handles the CPU and other vital components. A modded kernel may be used for overclocking.
Overclock - (not to be confused with underclock) to exced the default maximum CPU speed. This could make a phone more powerful but may cause damage. Although no damaged has been reported so far it could still drain battery life.
Underclock - to change your phones maximum frequency to LOWER than the default to attempt to extend the phones lifespan and battery.
Mod - A modification to a part of the phones software. It is also POSSIBLE to mod the phones hardware but is not recommended.
Modding - To perform a mod
Modded - to have included mods
Modification - see mod
Governor - a system embedded into the kernel to automatically change the current working CPU frequency depending on the workload. It would only go up to what it is overclocked (or underclocked) to, this is called the maximum frequency. It would not drop bellow the (just as eaisly configurable) minimum frequency.
Library's/Libs - a set of instructions for applications to use to function. A functioning camera lib would allow the camera to be used.
Logcat - A logging system built into the ADB
ADB - "Android Debug Bridge" a system that can be accessed using a computer where you can manage the device from. You need the Android SDK to use it.
SDK - "Software Development Kit" a set of tools used for software development.
WIP - "Work In Progress"
JDK - "Java Development Kit" an SDK for the java platform. It is needed to run the Android SDK.
JRE - "Java Runtime Environment" a collection of binarys and files to allow java software to execute.
Execute - To "run" or "start" a binary
Binarys - (sometimes called bin's) a group of executable files.
RAM - Could be one of three meanings: 1. Memory for the CPU to process processes. 2. Random Access Memory, a place where information can be used, executed from, modified, or deleted. 3. A type of sheep.
SD - Short term for MicroSD
GB - Could mean one of two things. 1. Gingerbread or 2. Great Britain
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
Froyo - Android 2.2
Honeycomb - Android 3.x. it was never released or ported to the Galaxy W because it was built for tablets.
Ice cream sandwich/ICS - Android 4.0. The latest version of Android.
CM9 - Cyanogenmod 9. A modified version of ICS. (see cm)
Kies - Update utilities, used to backup and update firmware.
Odin - A tool for updating firmware.
Custom recovery - An unofficial version of the recovery to install unoffical ROMs.
AFAIK - "As far as I know"n Android application
KANG - The process of creating a code based of someone else's code.
Zipalligned - This is something that makes a ROM faster. If you can improve this please contact me!
Deodexed - Where ODEX files are moved into the actual applications
APK - "Android Package" an Android application, Eg XDAFree.apk
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
Reserved for future.
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
Same as the post above.
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
More is coming...
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
Thanks...
This is such a great thread!
Help me a lot!
thanks, this answered my question on why i had to use the captcha everytime lol. My eyes are not that great and i swear there must be a trick to reading them i have to refresh it about 20 times just to semi read one correctly.
CallMeLewis said:
Ice cream sandwich/ICS - Android 4.0. The latest version of Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JB latest
what is MIUI?
Sent from my SGW with MIUI
CallMeLewis said:
GB - Could mean one of two things. 1. Gingerbread or 2. Great Britain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about adding 'GigaByte'
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium
Great guide, will keep them in mind! (I hope...)
Cool. But shouldn't this be in OT or General, not in the Galaxy W section? .-.
LewisGauss said:
Hello guys. My RC friend, mf2112 has made an awesome guide and asked RC to share to other forum. So decided to share it here. I hope that this guide can help new members to attach to our friendly XDA community. Be a good member in XDA and further to contribute to the community.
The XDA community needs our members' help to be better. Respecting others has never hurts people.
*Go to #2 for more!
This was sent from my Galaxy Ace, but who cares?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thnx
Hello Team,
My device Micromax Canvas Spark 3 Q385 is not in list of devices in xda. Kindly add my device for better understanding and development of specific model.
Thanks is advance
Regards
AddyroxxzZ
Ok, basically this thread is meant to inform the DOs and DON'Ts on XDA, and also how to do certain things. I started this thread as I have noticed that there has recently been an influx of posts that fail to serve their intended purpose well (e.g. asking for help, bug reporting etc.) Also I hope that this thread will serve to at least provide a general guideline.
Rules
1. No stealing of ROMs.
Ok, this is quite obvious but I thought it would do well to just explain what this is so that some of you don't accidentally steal someone else's ROM. What this means is:
You are not allowed to publish a ROM that you didn't create yourself. What this means is simple -- you are not allowed to publish on the web any ROM that you:
a. have not compiled from sources yourself AND that you haven't added in your own code to
b. have ported from another device WITHOUT permission from the original ROM developer
c. have cobbled together from already-published work (take parts from different ROMs and combine them for a hybrid ROM without adding in your own original code)
The following kind(s) of ROM(s) are exempt from this rule:
a. Stock ROMs with/without modifications
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you contravene the above rule, it will mean that you have stolen a ROM. If you wish to publish a ROM that breaks the above rule, you have to OBTAIN THE PERMISSION of the developers of the parts (be it scripts, ROMs, mods etc.) that you used in your ROM. Furthermore, in your ROM thread, you must give proper credits to the devs whose work you used and also link back to the original ROM.
If your ROM is simply someone's ROM with cosmetic changes (e.g. different theme and/or a few scripts added in), you must do the above and also post it in the Themes and Apps section as an update.zip that only changes the parts of the ROM as needed.
Lesson is simple: If you want fame on XDA, learn how to compile your own ROM sources and don't simply soft-mod -- usually many people inadvertently steal someone else's ROM this way.
##############################################################
Guidelines:
1. Don't post any non-development related stuff (bug-reports ARE development-related so feel free to post them though) -- it only serves to spam up the thread and hinder development. Posts like "This ROM is great", "this ROM is fast and the best I've used" and "Thanks for this awesome ROM" or, god-forbid, "This ROM sucks" etc are hardly informative, development-supportive, and have no purpose. You might feel good after posting this, but honestly it just serves to annoy others that are trying to locate something in the thread. So don't post this, PLEASE .
2. No ETAs. Please, do not post stuff like "When will the next release come along... can't wait!", "When will you fix XXX bug" and similar questions AT ALL. The ROM will be released when ready, and as above this only spams up the thread. If you are that impatient, I suggest you flash back to stock 2.1, no disappointments and is definitely the most stable .
3. Provide as much detail about your bug as possible. This is by far one of the most common problems. Posts like "my WiFi isn't working", "there's xxx when I yyy, please fix!" are really useless. There !re 1001 possible reasons why your WiFi isn't working, and why blahblahblah happens. To be actually helpful and have a greater chance of having your problem rectified, provide the following:
ROM you are on
Kernel you are using
Paraphernalia you have installed (e.g. Scripts like Supercharger, swap, OC frequency etc)
(If possible) How to replicate your issue
What steps you took to rectify the problem (if any)
Your logcat and dmesg
ON TERMINAL EMULATOR
How to get logcat output saved as a file called logcat.txt on your sdcard:
Code:
su
cat /dev/log/system > /sdcard/logcat.txt
And for dmesg to be saved as a file named dmesg.txt on your sdcard
Code:
su
cat /proc/kmsg > /sdcard/dmesg.txt
or for last dmesg after odd shutdown
Code:
su
cat /proc/last_kmsg > /sdcard/lastdmesg.txt
Flaming and trolling:
1. Refrainkfrom using personal insults as much as possible like "you are dumb", "how stupid can you get", "you are a noob" etc. This is the precursor to an unnecessary flame war. Try and be polite instead like, " you are new, so you may not know this, but blahblahblah". You were a noob once, so try and treat noobs as you would have wanted others to treat you when you were a noob.
2. Don't continue flaming. If someone posted something that flames something, don't flame back. Just report the post and sit back and relax. Continuing the post will just feed the troll and make things worse. You might get punished too.
3. Mind your language. Use English on XDA always, if you can't, include an English translated version of your original text and post it along with your original text. Also, never ever use vulgarities on XDA -- it's a surefire way to get infracted. Don't post any racist/political posts either. XDA is for mobile phone discussion and development, not for expressing your extremist/whatever views about...
_______________________________________________________________
Q&A
1. Use the search tool first. You are just one of over 4 million members on XDA, and it is very likely that your question has been asked and answered already. Search before posting any question to avoid spamming the forums. Remember, you are likely to get an answer faster this way, and this also prevents you from being flamed if your question has been asked before
2. Don't be demanding. People do not have an obligation to do things for you, hence don't demand quick answers, insta-fixes, or a detailed step-by-step guide. It just shows how much you actually bothered to search for answers first and also people will be less likely to answer to you.
3. Post questions in the Q&A forums. Just because the DEV and General forums get more traffic doesn't mean that you should post them there. Again, your question will most likely be answered faster in the Q&A forums and you won't get flamed either.
4. Don't revive old threads and answer them. Recently I have seen users who answer threads 2 days+ old that have been resolved already. Their answer is usually a paraphrase of one of the answer posts above. Then they put in a "Please hit Thanks if I helped". Thanks for answering, but no thanks for spamming and trying to get thanks for free.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Miscellaneous
1. Hit the Thanks button whenever you feel like posting Thanks instead. This reduces the amount of spam on the forums and is a good way of showing your appreciation for the person that helped you. Generally XDAers have a thanks limit of 8 per day, so use them wisely! (Unlimited on Tapatalk/XDA app apparently). At the same time, don't be a Thanks hunter -- someone who actively posts only for Thanks. Please, it is not some sort of "prestige meter", and anyway people can clearly see that you are a thanks hunter and will treat you as such.
2. Use the Report feature. If you see a post that breaks the XDA rules, report the post. Many people that I see just flame the rulebreaker on the thread instead of reporting and allowing a moderator to deal with things. Remember, moderators are not Gods that know whenever some person breaks a rule, so Report posts to help them along.
3. Think, search, then discuss, not the other way round. Only then will a constructive discussion start. Unfortunately, many people just post without thinking, resulting in flaming and general unpleasantness on the forums. XDA is a place where individuals from around the world gather to discuss and develop on mobile phones, so let's keep it that way :highfive::victory:.
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Credits goes to SpyderX for the post. Original link is here.
Nice copy-paste.
You can at least give credits.
Original thread here by SpyderX.
stamatis said:
Nice copy-paste.
You can at least give credits.
Original thread here by SpyderX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done.
This is relating to the announcement of DevDB: http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/introducing-the-xda-devdb/
Please use this thread to report bugs, request features, and offer feedback. :highfive:
==============================================================
The main DevDB Access url is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/devdb/
This is @bitpushr here, I'm hijacking @svetius's thread to put a bit more information and a quick FAQ on the DevDB for people.
The overall goal of DevDB is to give structure to the development projects on XDA. Most obviously this is for ROMs, but also kernels and other tools and projects that you wonderful people come up with. I've been getting a lot of PMs about DevDB so I thought I'd compile them into a little FAQ:
1. How Do I Add Projects to DevDB?
You can visit the main DevDB url, and if you have access to add a project or import an existing thread, you will see the following links:
Adding a project will allow you to enter a new project from scratch and automatically create a thread for you.
Importing an existing thread will allow you to "enhance" the thread by adding it to the DevDB database and let you add more detailed information about your project.
2. Why should I add my project to DevDB?
For developers, it adds crucial metadata to your project that will allows us to show your project in more locations on the site. Threads that are "DevDB-ized" show up in the device page ROM listings, for example. We also add some cool features like a new large-file download system, reviews, a bug reporter/feature requester, and more.
For end-users, it allows us to present the ROMs and other projects on the site in a friendlier format. Rather than scouring forums and threads for new ROMs, we want to give them a place to see these projects and the unique features each one has.
We have some other cool ideas 'in the pipeline' so we thoroughly encourage devs to add their projects to DevDB.
3. Who can add projects?
Right now Recognized Developers and some other beta users are able to add projects to the system. If you wish to be added to the best-tester list, please pm @bitpushr.
Eventually we'll open this up to all "Senior Members" after we get all of the bugs out.
This is really cool.
Thanks a lot. :good:
That's why this is my favorite forum.
Some characters aren't showing correctly in FF 22.0. They show up fine under Chromium. I'm using Linux.
The characters are located:
Just before the device's name;
Near each of the table's columns' titles;
The stars also seem hidden (didn't check if those were ASCII characters or images, tho);
There's a weird "fi" showing in the search bar. It's in black when using the normal theme, so it may be less visible than on my dark theme.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Also, the bottom bar ("Total Results: X") has white text on a white background using the default theme (on both browsers).
Awesome idea!
GermainZ said:
Some characters aren't showing correctly in FF 22.0. They show up fine under Chromium. I'm using Linux.
The characters are located:
Just before the device's name;
Near each of the table's columns' titles;
The stars also seem hidden (didn't check if those were ASCII characters or images, tho);
There's a weird "fi" showing in the search bar. It's in black when using the normal theme, so it may be less visible than on my dark theme.
Also, the bottom bar ("Total Results: X") has white text on a white background using the default theme (on both browsers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's a weird binary character. It's actually a hexadecimal representation of a character which is not present in the font you are using.
I have a few issues to address. What about tools which can be used for all devices? The CASUAL project just started a new IDE called CASCADE. It will eventually allow for users to create their own CASUALs easily via guided use of the CASUAL language. Also, there's plenty of CASUAL scripts which will work on all, many, some or one device. Is it possible to link these tools cross-forum?
This is frigging awesome.
Feature requests:
1) Can/will this be enabled for [APP] threads, too? Has anyone SEEN the Nova Launcher thread lately?! But, not just for clutter--the feature request, Q&A, etc. will be very useful, too.
2) Can a FAQ tab be added? Not essential, but may keep 1st post of ROM threads from overflowing with paragraphs and paragraphs of text. Also, related to idea 6, below.
3) In bug reports, can we enter our hardware somewhere so we don't have to re-type it every time? Also, can multiple devices be selected, a la Google Play website app installing?
4) In bug reports, can we have a separate, but REQUIRED TO FILL OUT, text box for steps to reproduce?
5) Can bug reports be edited? Many times we think we know the issue, but then another user discovers the actual regression, and then instead of two bug reports, one can be made?
6) The biggest one is the last, hehe. Can we somehow have user-editable FAQs for threads? I seriously think XDA needs to implement Wiki's IN THREADS. People check threads (nobody, IMO, sees or even knows that XDA has a Wiki) and there are a handful of users who are nearly as knowledgeable as the developer who post. Maybe only OP-approved people can edit. But, seriously, you guys can make XDA legitimately 100x better if you implemented Wiki-style FAQs for these special threads.
Many people know the answer, but don't want to retype it 500 times. Now, let them put their answer in a very EASY TO FIND place in the FAQ. You seriously harness the power of this extremely knowledgeable community. If you don't, then you leave smart people upset at multiple people posting the same question.
Question:
1) Are
My two cents
Hopefully this isn't looked on as the ultimate sin or put me on any list hahaha BUT I have a question for any admin/moderator that's directly involved in this project....
How is this helping the developer?
I see a lot of things that users would love and want because they see this site more of a ROM shop then a development site but I don't see how this helps the developers, the ones doing the actual development.
I mean, judging from threads like the NOVA thread which ikjadoon pointed out above....users don't read or even search before posting which in turn causes developers to take more time away from the development process to answer questions that have been asked and answered about 100000 times if not more.
They also ignore warnings in OPs unless they're in BIG RED letters. They post in the wrong sections time after time even though there are stickies and is written in the XDA rules. The list goes on and on and on, how users repeatedly prove that they can't read 2-3 paragraphs if not less of information that will help them and/or follow simple instructions.
I'm not on any high horse here but if you ask anybody that's willing to be truthful if this is true or not, they will answer HELL YES.
With that said, by encouraging users to be even more lazy and giving them tabs is not only making it more difficult for the developer(s) by having him or her fill out these tabs BUT is not in my opinion going to fix the clutter/searching before posting issue.
This will also (in my opinion) send a wave of users harassing developers if they chose NOT to take part in the whole tabs project.
I don't have all the answers nor do I expect any of the admins/moderators that are directly involved in this project to have them BUT I believe this would be a step in the wrong direction if organizing the forums is the ultimate goal here.
ONCE again, this is my opinion. At the end of the day, is your site and you will do as you want. I'm just a member throwing my two cents in...don't shoot! :good:
svetius said:
This is relating to the announcement of DevDB: http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/introducing-the-xda-devdb/
Please use this thread to report bugs, request features, and offer feedback. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about a field in the DevDB that indicates if the ROM passes Google's CTS (Compatibility Test Suite)? Some people may not want to install something that deviates too far from what Google intended Android to be like (or if something fundamental got broken), if you know what I mean.
Just my humble $0.02
ref: http://source.android.com/faqs.html#compatibility-test-suite
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
@Mazda
Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.
The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.
If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.
ikjadoon said:
@Mazda
Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.
The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.
If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe they tried that with the WIKI's and it didn't turn out that well....
Some wikis did well and some were ghost towns.........the clutter remained none the less
OH and I would like to say that I'm not here to piss on the idea of this project or just say "none of this will work", I'm simply stating my opinion based on what I've seen as a member since I've joined.
I would LOVE to see XDA live up to it's potential and maybe remove some of the clutter and trolls BUT I just see it going a different direction at this moment in time...
Exactly! They were ghost towns because nobody knew about them and, if you did, why take the time and energy to edit something that like 10 people would see?
Thus, place them as a tab on the OP like the others are now.
Same...XDA has ridiculous potential!
This is a great idea and one I've wanted to see in XDA or any other forum for a long time. Since I own a Note 2 N7100, I contributed my part by using Google docs and forms to provide much of the same information in the DevDB for the Note 2. I would say now much of my work is obsoleted, but I agree it is a good thing for XDA.
However for improved granularity, instead of just 1 ranking rating, can DevDB also include 1 other rating for Screen On Time as an indicator for battery life?
My sig links to the thread where I made the index, you can see what I've done.
Good feedback, guys. Keep it coming :highfive:
Well, more of the same, haha:
Threads are great for a few users having a semi-cohesive discussion. With many users, many important issues are somewhere within hundreds of pages.
A user-editable FAQ would fix that. I'd like to also stress the importance of having the FAQ as a tab and NOT a link, as otherwise we'd have fewer users editing and fewer users reading.
It doesn't have to use the exact wiki format. But, maybe, a community-editable post that is otherwise normal.
Some threads that could've used it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1727052
Galaxy SIII Annoyances Megathread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1984126
The AT&T Jelly Bean Release Thread (4.1.1 released; Kies and OTA)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
[HOWTO] [ROOT] No Tripping Flash Counter - [ATT / Bell / Telus / Rogers / Sasktel]
Mention @ tags don't work with DevDB.. Rest it ok needs improvement though
Not the s3? wow.
AdamOutler said:
that's a weird binary character. It's actually a hexadecimal representation of a character which is not present in the font you are using.
I have a few issues to address. What about tools which can be used for all devices? The CASUAL project just started a new IDE called CASCADE. It will eventually allow for users to create their own CASUALs easily via guided use of the CASUAL language. Also, there's plenty of CASUAL scripts which will work on all, many, some or one device. Is it possible to link these tools cross-forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually we are considering this as some tools are multi or pan-device. Working on a way to show this correctly across multiple devices without getting confusing. Honestly we wanted to make sure that this system works in the first place, find out where we need to expand it, and then do it. @AdamOutler don't know if you noticed but one of the download options (if you have edit capabilities on a download file) is to set it as a CASUAL file. You can also set a specific board for the download. Our API will allow you to ask XDA to "send me all CASUAL package files for 'mako'" and then allow you to download those directly. More TBA.
Mazda said:
Hopefully this isn't looked on as the ultimate sin or put me on any list hahaha BUT I have a question for any admin/moderator that's directly involved in this project....
How is this helping the developer?
I see a lot of things that users would love and want because they see this site more of a ROM shop then a development site but I don't see how this helps the developers, the ones doing the actual development.
I mean, judging from threads like the NOVA thread which ikjadoon pointed out above....users don't read or even search before posting which in turn causes developers to take more time away from the development process to answer questions that have been asked and answered about 100000 times if not more.
They also ignore warnings in OPs unless they're in BIG RED letters. They post in the wrong sections time after time even though there are stickies and is written in the XDA rules. The list goes on and on and on, how users repeatedly prove that they can't read 2-3 paragraphs if not less of information that will help them and/or follow simple instructions.
I'm not on any high horse here but if you ask anybody that's willing to be truthful if this is true or not, they will answer HELL YES.
With that said, by encouraging users to be even more lazy and giving them tabs is not only making it more difficult for the developer(s) by having him or her fill out these tabs BUT is not in my opinion going to fix the clutter/searching before posting issue.
This will also (in my opinion) send a wave of users harassing developers if they chose NOT to take part in the whole tabs project.
I don't have all the answers nor do I expect any of the admins/moderators that are directly involved in this project to have them BUT I believe this would be a step in the wrong direction if organizing the forums is the ultimate goal here.
ONCE again, this is my opinion. At the end of the day, is your site and you will do as you want. I'm just a member throwing my two cents in...don't shoot! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey @Mazda, this is ddrager from Twitter.
Well these are all good points. We did a lot of thinking about what XDA does, what we stand for, and what we provide for developers. For a developer, we are oftentimes not only for discussion but also a platform both for distribution and for feedback on ROMs and other applications for mobile devices. In this regard, DevDB is a platform for users to find the right ROMs and applications for their devices, which hopefully keeps them off of the threads with questions about downloads and whatnot. Sure, we can complain all we want that n00bs don't read, don't search etc... but complaining about it doesn't fix the issue. We wanted to present a way that is easier to follow for those looking for new ROMs and how to modify their devices. A sort of 'device central' where you can get all the information on your device for everyone from those new to Android to those who are veterans at flashing ROMs.
For developers, not much has changed. You still have the development forums, and this is totally optional. DevDB adds some features like built-in reviews, bug reports, a torrent tracker/download system etc. This is mainly for those devs who wish to have additional promotion of their projects, and to make it easier for end-users to find and interact with those projects.
Regarding the issue of users not reading, this isn't a problem unique to XDA. You can point people to search as much as you want but there are 10 people behind them asking the same questions. We've all been guilty of this to some extent at one time . What we can do as a site is make the important information as easy to see and find as possible to help reduce the amount of extraneous questions sent to developers, that have already been answered.
XDA is a site full of information overload, and the best thing we can do is make that information categorized and easy to read.
ikjadoon said:
@Mazda
Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.
The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.
If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been brought up a few times. I think what it comes down to is that we currently have a wiki, and nobody really uses it for something like that (that I know of). You can create a page on there and link it to the thread as it is right now.
Great feedback all, keep em coming! :highfive:
awesome feature. when can we expect it to be available on other forums
not asking for an eta although
Just wanted to say this is AWESOME!
I browsed around a bit in the "db-test-areas" and I really like it! The benefits are clearly visible:
Better overview
makes it easy finding stuff for your device
no need to browse pages and pages of devices sections when you are searching for something specific
I'd love to find it in the whole forums!! Keep it on!