Seeing many crowded threads in the development and hacking forum get overrun by people asking the same question over and over again, not to mention the ones that will never get it to work right because they don't read that certain programs are not fully functional or still being worked on. I have come up with a new idea to ease the pain on developers and make certain areas less crowded.
I was thinking that there should be two areas in development and hacking, one is the pre-release/beta software that is work in progress. And the other is the released software that is fully functional not counting occasional updates.
Both forums could have the first post as a type of 'sticky' that is viewable if you are just on page 1, or all the way on page 552, with an option to hide it to save screen space.
Also the released software (and maybe even beta) should have a sort of, formatting guideline enforced by a moderator of that forum.
Something along the lines of;
_____________
Name:
Version:
Description:
[Screenshot(s)]
Current bugs/known issues:
Known working devices: (if applicable)
__________________
You get the general idea, of course it could vary slightly depending on the application.
Of course it is all based on theory and could be changed depending on the needs of the moderators or developers. But I do believe that it could help cut down on the amount of useless question posts, and also help organization and make it easier to find and search for.
Edit:
Another off the wall idea is another subforum just for requests and dev ideas. Could help clean up those posts/threads too.
problems with this is that PEOPLE DON't READ, its a good idea but would require a lot of time from moderators and admin.
No matter how well orginized something is though people are just lazy sometimes, everything you have requested people already put in the first post describing the program.
Yes, that is true. But sometimes it helps cut down on what i like to call 'stupid posting' where all they read is the title. And they will tell you even in marketing, people don't read. So there really is no getting past that. Just ways to make the skimmers and question happy people take a second thought to reading the first post, and only if the first post has enough useful information in it.
Hello everyone,
I have a little suggestion to make. I think it is time to call for a "Porting Android" forum.
As I'm sure many of you are aware, there are frequent Android porting threads started all over the forum in each specific category. However a lot of our beloved deviced are based on pretty much the same hardware. Therefore, at least for me as a non programmer, it seems to make sense to try to increase collaboration between the different deviced. I am fully aware the is an IRC channel where all the developers hang out, but I think xda-developers deserves an own forum non the less, where device independent developments could be discussed and all the device specific threads could be bundled. General FAQs as how to run Android could be made sticky to avoid duplicate discussions and increase productivity. Also, maybe some of the noob questions of "when is it done" would stop once the threads are moved out of the device specific rom subforums and people would see that there is actually some development going on, even though it might be for another but similar device.
Now you can go ahead and rip my idea apart.
It would make more sense, as I have stated in the ... blackstone forum? i think? i cant keep track now, they are all basically the same, which is why I say this is a good idea instead of 15k of posts to read through, it would be 15k of more easily searchable threads.
Hi there,
I think it could be a good idea to put "all in one" forum and/or Wiki.
It would be easier for devs and noobs to find infos
I think that, if executed properly, a porting Linux/android section for each device would be very worthwhile.
There could be sticky at the top, with a simple How-to, a comprehensive FAQ, and the latest versions, and then different threads for people to collaborate and work on different features (Android Market, Cellular data/voice, hardware support, etc.). Then, there could be some kind of Questions and Answers thread, for more specific problems/questions.
Dave
The only reason I voted against this idea is because Android Porting is different with each hardware and needs to be specific to that hardware. (It comes down to drivers)
For example, I had Android working on my mogul with phone calls, messaging, net access, etc. That's not the case with my touch pro. Though Android installs on TP, none of the uses of a phone are possible yet.
To combine all potential exceptions under one location might be too cumbersome, especially considering the number of devices Android is sought out to work on.
my $0.02.
I think it would be a good idea if each phone had its own section for porting android, kinda how there is a rom development section for phones
The idea behind the thread was to create a single forum for all the android porting going on here to combine the knowledge of people working on different devices running similar hardware.
There are barely 1 or 2 threads about android for every device. Having a dedicated android section for every device would therefore be an overkill.
I would really like to know why the Htc gene forum is kind of down cause you can comment on anything and can't make new posts
Are you talking specifically about the Development forum there? If so it would be due to your Post Count. Get some posts done to help the community.
This is one of the forums got outdated because they atracted SPAM and nobody used them.
That is sad because i really find it useful but I can't seem to get some things to work tho
Moved to About XDA.
The HTC Gene was among that last batch of 'legacy' devices which were turned read-only, due to literally zero activity for over a month.
In addition, these older, less-frequented forums are very popular among the automated Spambots that frequent the site.
As these devices lose userbase and grow old fondly, it makes a lot of sense to close the forums off to all new activity, but still allow you to access the content there
I hope this answers your question properly. It is done for a good reason, I promise :good:
Thread closed.
To answer my question; yes, I do. I always feel lost when I come here, so for this time, I want to try something new.
1) The main issue. I recognized (unlike all other forums on the Internet), it has three, distinct "layers" with a different visual appearance depending how deep you go into levels.
Level 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/
Take note of the distinct visual appearance.
Level 2: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Remember that one level up (https://forum.xda-developers.com/) you had actual descriptions of what each category is about. At this level the descriptions have disappeared (for some reason), so you always have to go a level up to figure out which category you want to enter.
Level 3: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Now this looks like your regular Internet forum. I wonder why can't Level 1. and 2. look just like Level 3. for an easy overview of navigation.
Am I the only person all these levels are not intuitive for or you as well? What forum engine XDA Forums runs on? I noted that Level 3. is fine, it looks like just any other Internet forum, but I'm puzzled and perplexed as ever about the distinct designs of Levels 1. and 2.
For a comparison of some neat and friendly forum interfaces, I encourage you to check out:
https://forums.anandtech.com/
https://arstechnica.com/civis/
+1: https://forum.f-droid.org/
Nothing special, really: just time tested, old forum interfaces that "just works" as they say. I'm not even saying they are perfect. For example, the AnandTech Forum doesn't have the descriptions the Ars Technica forum has, but due to the self-explanatory nature of the categories, I'm not lost while there. I understand XDA Forums have more complex topics, so descriptions are preferred.
+1: As opposed to the Ars Technica and AnandTech Forums, The F-Droid Forum uses a new school interface called Discourse. I find it effective as it has powerful features. If you ever want to upgrade XDA Forums, you might want to consider going with a next generation forum engine like Discourse.
Example: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/budget-phones-eur-usd100-worth-buying-t3433115
I simply can't believe I'm the single person on this forum interested in this question. (It's timely as ever, by the way.) I just feel other people interested in the same topic somehow never found their way to my question because they also find XDA Forums overall just too complex to get a grasp on everything happening here.
2) Has anyone ever found checking the "Q&A Thread" was useful for their thread, and didn't regret checking that box in the end? Back then when I was without a clue, I checked the box. I learned never to check it again. See my cautionary tale here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/viewing-internal-storage-generic-phone-t3429852
I never got a proper answer there, and totally by accident (by external Google search after gave up I will ever find my answer on XDA Forums), I have found what I was looking for in a 5-year old Samsung Galaxy Nexus thread which turned out to be completely device-independent stuff: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...nlock-root-t1420351/post69913460#post69913460
Now why would the author of this completely device-independent guide put the guide in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus forum section where it lied for 5 years unnoticed, but being still useful today? Probably he has never figured out where the proper place for device-independent guides on the forum is. (Where is the proper place for device independent guides on the forum really, where contributors and users alike will find it equally easily?)
My related observation to this point is that I noticed many of the juicy activity on this forum in general takes place in [insert this year's hot Android phone] categories. Hot Android phone of the day or year changes at least yearly, most users change their devices at least once in two years, so even though many device-independent advice might have been accumulated in the topics for previous year's hot phones, this knowledge seems to be lost. It's still here on the forum, just no one looks at threads of old phones popular years ago looking for device-independent advice, people can only stumble upon information from this (actually huge) section of the forum by accident.
3) Idea: how about a distinctive indicator for a project is being active, still actively maintained or developed? It can be a green sign for active projects. Projects no longer being maintained and developed on the other hand could be distinctively marked with a red sign.
Example for I mistakenly thought of an active and alive project that it was no longer maintained and developed... or not? But something like this:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71988461&postcount=17847
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72580936&postcount=17958
(Poor developer @M66B, I have no idea what negative experiences he may refer to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69284003)
Example for me being lost here 1.: This project has been abandoned for sure: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
The thread has been closed for 5 years. I have no idea whatsoever in which section should I ask about a similar project which is alive and well. (And expect for answers, which is equally important! A few paragraphs above you can see examples that even I asked the right question in the right place according to moderator, I never received any answer whatsoever, or any meaningful answer.)
Example for me being lost here 2.: I really want to ask somewhere
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/135711/is-apkmirror-com-safe
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/74618/how-safe-is-it-to-use-aptoide
Example 2, for not finding my way around XDA Forums. I noticed there are many worthy, distinctive projects that seem to be abandoned by their developers: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
It seems to be pretty abandoned; the thread has been closed for 5 years.
Aren't just too many separate categories? I just never was able to figure out the "overview" of XDA Forums the way I had no problem to overview AnandTech Forums and the Ars Technica forums. Even if you say there are exactly as many forum categories as needed, I can accept that. But sure, you could do more to make it visually intuitive - just like most other forums on the Internet are. Thanks!
Update. Another case in point: https://www.xda-developers.com/goog...-with-root-and-android-pay-in-the-xda-forums/
Poor Google engineer @jasondclinton_google has some good, general info on rooting vs. Android Pay (Google Pay?) security but why he had to post it in an obscured thread under xda-developers > Google Nexus 5 > Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting > Android Pay and Custom ROM instead of a forum topic of more general interest is beyond me.
Anyone?
Theres quite a few threads on this subject, perhaps people dont feel the need to contribute to another one?
magicphone said:
To answer my question; yes, I do. I always feel lost when I come here, so for this time, I want to try something new.
1) The main issue. I recognized (unlike all other forums on the Internet), it has three, distinct "layers" with a different visual appearance depending how deep you go into levels.
Level 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/
Take note of the distinct visual appearance.
Level 2: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Remember that one level up (https://forum.xda-developers.com/) you had actual descriptions of what each category is about. At this level the descriptions have disappeared (for some reason), so you always have to go a level up to figure out which category you want to enter.
Level 3: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games
Take note of the distinct visual appearance. Now this looks like your regular Internet forum. I wonder why can't Level 1. and 2. look just like Level 3. for an easy overview of navigation.
Am I the only person all these levels are not intuitive for or you as well? What forum engine XDA Forums runs on? I noted that Level 3. is fine, it looks like just any other Internet forum, but I'm puzzled and perplexed as ever about the distinct designs of Levels 1. and 2.
For a comparison of some neat and friendly forum interfaces, I encourage you to check out:
https://forums.anandtech.com/
https://arstechnica.com/civis/
+1: https://forum.f-droid.org/
Nothing special, really: just time tested, old forum interfaces that "just works" as they say. I'm not even saying they are perfect. For example, the AnandTech Forum doesn't have the descriptions the Ars Technica forum has, but due to the self-explanatory nature of the categories, I'm not lost while there. I understand XDA Forums have more complex topics, so descriptions are preferred.
+1: As opposed to the Ars Technica and AnandTech Forums, The F-Droid Forum uses a new school interface called Discourse. I find it effective as it has powerful features. If you ever want to upgrade XDA Forums, you might want to consider going with a next generation forum engine like Discourse.
Example: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/help/budget-phones-eur-usd100-worth-buying-t3433115
I simply can't believe I'm the single person on this forum interested in this question. (It's timely as ever, by the way.) I just feel other people interested in the same topic somehow never found their way to my question because they also find XDA Forums overall just too complex to get a grasp on everything happening here.
2) Has anyone ever found checking the "Q&A Thread" was useful for their thread, and didn't regret checking that box in the end? Back then when I was without a clue, I checked the box. I learned never to check it again. See my cautionary tale here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/viewing-internal-storage-generic-phone-t3429852
I never got a proper answer there, and totally by accident (by external Google search after gave up I will ever find my answer on XDA Forums), I have found what I was looking for in a 5-year old Samsung Galaxy Nexus thread which turned out to be completely device-independent stuff: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...nlock-root-t1420351/post69913460#post69913460
Now why would the author of this completely device-independent guide put the guide in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus forum section where it lied for 5 years unnoticed, but being still useful today? Probably he has never figured out where the proper place for device-independent guides on the forum is. (Where is the proper place for device independent guides on the forum really, where contributors and users alike will find it equally easily?)
My related observation to this point is that I noticed many of the juicy activity on this forum in general takes place in [insert this year's hot Android phone] categories. Hot Android phone of the day or year changes at least yearly, most users change their devices at least once in two years, so even though many device-independent advice might have been accumulated in the topics for previous year's hot phones, this knowledge seems to be lost. It's still here on the forum, just no one looks at threads of old phones popular years ago looking for device-independent advice, people can only stumble upon information from this (actually huge) section of the forum by accident.
3) Idea: how about a distinctive indicator for a project is being active, still actively maintained or developed? It can be a green sign for active projects. Projects no longer being maintained and developed on the other hand could be distinctively marked with a red sign.
Example for I mistakenly thought of an active and alive project that it was no longer maintained and developed... or not? But something like this:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71988461&postcount=17847
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72580936&postcount=17958
(Poor developer @M66B, I have no idea what negative experiences he may refer to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69284003)
Example for me being lost here 1.: This project has been abandoned for sure: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
The thread has been closed for 5 years. I have no idea whatsoever in which section should I ask about a similar project which is alive and well. (And expect for answers, which is equally important! A few paragraphs above you can see examples that even I asked the right question in the right place according to moderator, I never received any answer whatsoever, or any meaningful answer.)
Example for me being lost here 2.: I really want to ask somewhere
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/135711/is-apkmirror-com-safe
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/74618/how-safe-is-it-to-use-aptoide
Example 2, for not finding my way around XDA Forums. I noticed there are many worthy, distinctive projects that seem to be abandoned by their developers: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888181
It seems to be pretty abandoned; the thread has been closed for 5 years.
Aren't just too many separate categories? I just never was able to figure out the "overview" of XDA Forums the way I had no problem to overview AnandTech Forums and the Ars Technica forums. Even if you say there are exactly as many forum categories as needed, I can accept that. But sure, you could do more to make it visually intuitive - just like most other forums on the Internet are. Thanks!
Update. Another case in point: https://www.xda-developers.com/goog...-with-root-and-android-pay-in-the-xda-forums/
Poor Google engineer @jasondclinton_google has some good, general info on rooting vs. Android Pay (Google Pay?) security but why he had to post it in an obscured thread under xda-developers > Google Nexus 5 > Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting > Android Pay and Custom ROM instead of a forum topic of more general interest is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To your first point, I actually like the separate layouts for the different layers of the forum. I love modded forums in general, and I enjoy when forums step outside of the basic forumdisplay page.
As for the other points, I agree. I've spent the past few hours searching different forums for a few topics, and a lot of "general" info is split between a myriad of specialized, nested forums. I assume this helps the admins manage topic threads more efficiently. I'm sure it just takes some getting used to. I wouldn't describe it as "complicated" or "non-intuitive," just unique to xda. I run specialized message boards myself, and some forums are born out of general discussions that need to be compartmentalized for better management.
If I understand the whole situation, it goes like this: XDA has been around before Android was a thing, but got a high popularity boost with the introduction of Google's mobile operating system.
The original motto was along the lines of 'by developers, for developers.' But then a lot of new Android people came, not just developers, users as well and XDA couldn't keep up with the surge and you guys still try to find out ever since how to best manage such a huge and diverse community with developers and users alike, how to manage projects, bug reports, while maintaining a community of users, who might as well insightful feature requests for the projects. Does this sound about right?
So. Is the motto of the forum still supposed to be something like 'by developers, for developers,' or perhaps, it has changed?
Old, clip from your YouTube channel: You are a Noob on XDA-Developers. It's your second most watched video on your channel, actually. I just wonder if it's still the dominant attitude of you guys who run this place towards users (some of whom, perhaps want to remain users, just want to get out the most of their phones) and they should piss off and better go elsewhere, or perhaps you have toned down the communication and you are in the process of figuring out how this place could be more fruitful for all?
See more at the Google search: xda site:https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/
I Google searched to find this forum because I am just trying to understand XDA's layout. I'm currently using the app, and I am always so lost here. The only way I find anything at all is through Google searches. Right now I'm trying to understand this place's layout.
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya.
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya.
leahcimewol said:
Yup same here from me. In general, have not found the XDA mods and Devs very helpful at all unless you're part of the inner circle of geek. Without wasting any more of my time trying to find a simple answer to a simple question on this convoluted diabolical forum I'm going to just join another more helpful more friendly, less up my own arse type of forum where you don't need to be a tech geek to get an answer.
Thanks for nothing XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K bye!
Ciao!
It's turning into a bye bye thread
I admit my post is not helpful
Okay, I'm looking for a new phone. I've been on this site (maybe not having an active account but using it at least) since I got my first Android phone. This site has been a beacon or at least a jumping off point to anyone who has wanted to get into customizing and modding their phones for YEARS.
This gave me the idea of why not have the forum statistics posted in an easily viewable format? I figure the phone with the most activity should be the most developer friendly phone (or the most popular one anyway, and I know just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good.) Still I believe phones with more activity are probably more friendly to devs than those with less activity, because they're in the hands of more people looking for exploits/vulnerabilties to make the phone do what they want it to do (and then hopefully patch those as well.)
Now indeed there are a LOT of spam posts as well, I see them when I get nostalgic and visit the Atrix 4G forums. Maybe you can filter out all the 1 or 2 post accounts/anything that has gotten banned from those metrix somehow?
it would be good idea, but at the same time, not good idea.
imagine how much that would make this forum even messier?
how search engine will handle such tasks?
popularity quickly changes, and there are no way to determine what is popular or not.
if post is getting a lot of views, is that indicator?
a lot of downloads? what if he post download on third party website?
and, when devs release ROM, mod, they go silent for some time, so they can develop more ..
as, indicator can't be what is viewed mostly, and what is downloaded mostly.
think of something that will make it do automatically, to determine what is popular or not.
as computer algorithm can mark some old phone dev friendly, because it have a lot of views, or posts, and when you look at those posts, you see it don't make sense, posts are about "how to unlock this unlockable phone".
TL; DR
there's no way to instruct it properly (machine), and it will clutter forum and forum search even more,
but we can make separate section which is maintaned by all moderators, so one person don't have to handle all., and that section can be properly handled by search engine in forum.