Database Users

General rules we should all follow

Here are some rules from the Vibrant section we should all follow.
egzthunder1 said:
This was a good meeting in General and it has covered all of the things that I had in my agenda. A few action items on our (mods) end:
1. New threads for ROM updates: Rom threads become quasi chaotic after page 100 or so. Since Chefs update most of their work often, I would suggest that chefs open a new thread for each version with a date and version number to distinguish it from the previous one (maybe even a name)
ie [ROM] 12/15/10 - Inchybrid v 1.2 - all is good now
2. Rom Review Thread: In order to minimize the clutter of the usual "what rom is best" questions, we will start a ROM thread where chefs can post a link to their roms on the first few posts and users will be able to leave reviews (not necessarily feedback), but reviews. So, when someone comes asking for the best rom, that person can be directed there.
3. Wiki update and guides (sticky): These need to be heavily updated, but will certainly be a useful tool to help people with questions.
4. Location / shape of the Report button: I will talk to the other admins and see what can be done about this one.
5. Preventing non-devs from making new threads in Dev: We are currently discussing a system for this. We will keep you posted if and when we reach a conclusion.
6. Off Topic Lounge: There will be a thread in General for you guys to blow off steam. Nothing fancy, but you can post there without having to open a new thread in OT general
Now, onto the action items results and requests from us (mods)
1. Further flaming for questions will not be tolerated. I gathered from this meeting that everyone agrees on a stance that people need not be flamed for asking anything. If there are questions in the wrong areas or simply don't feel like answering, refrain from posting and report it to us. We will move it to Q&A or General depending on the question. Building on this point, if anyone is caught flaming someone who posted in the correct section, that person will be given a vacation.
2. Rule 12 (aka Kanging): Rom chefs (no matter if they are themers or zip wizards), if they are using someone else's efforts as a base for their rom, they are to abide by Rule 12 by asking permission and posting the due credit in the opening post. Kanging will not be tolerated.
3. Donations: This was barely brushed but I feel that we reached an understanding rather quickly on this one. Chefs shall not ask for Donations to release early work.
4. Posting any kind of flaming will not be tolerated. If you feel that a post shouldn't be there, please let us know and we will take care of that.
I think this pretty much summed everything up. If I missed something, please let me know. I expect everyone to adhere to codes of conduct in this site. Thanks to all for attending.
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That would be great if the mods are able to only give thread permissions to devs. This forum needs this kind of policing, but I think more Mods could help as well, it seems like Zelendel is the only Mod that comes around here.

flashman2002 said:
That would be great if the mods are able to only give thread permissions to devs. This forum needs this kind of policing, but I think more Mods could help as well, it seems like Zelendel is the only Mod that comes around here.
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Sounds very familiar..............
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9591647&postcount=3155

Sqdnguns said:
Sounds very familiar..............
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9591647&postcount=3155
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Sweet, but I did not steal your thoughts if that is what you are meaning lol. I haven't used Perception since v4 so I had no idea you said this. But it really is a great idea and should be looked at by the Mods and Admin.

flashman2002 said:
Sweet, but I did not steal your thoughts if that is what you are meaning lol. I haven't used Perception since v4 so I had no idea you said this. But it really is a great idea and should be looked at by the Mods and Admin.
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Not at all, just glad someone else actually piped in on it.

5. Preventing non-devs from making new threads in Dev: We are currently discussing a system for this. We will keep you posted if and when we reach a conclusion.
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interesting idea.
If you do this you might consider making altering/combining the other forums slightly.
For instance
Make:
General = General / Q&A
and
Q & A = Development Q&A
This way non-dev with specific Development/Rom related' Q's could start threads under Dev. Q & A without cluttering up the General Q&A or the Development Threads.

bames said:
interesting idea.
If you do this you might consider making altering/combining the other forums slightly.
For instance
Make:
General = General / Q&A
and
Q & A = Development Q&A
This way non-dev with specific Development/Rom related' Q's could start threads under Dev. Q & A without cluttering up the General Q&A or the Development Threads.
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I've always thought something similar to this. It seems like a frequent misperception among those with posts <10 that Q&A is for those that know nothing, and the development thread is where you go if you know anything about development (and then you can also post a question there)
I for sure thought this when I first came to XDA (luckily I read the stickies which made that clear). But changing the name could help.
Sent from my SGH-T959D using XDA App

Or another idea would not be to just completely lock the Dev thread to devs, but to perhaps have a minimum level of seniority/experience to post -- aka Senior members.
The reason that I say this is that there are a ton of folks that are not devs, but do post a lot of helpful troubleshooting information and/or feedback that not all the devs can answer personally. I would much rather the devs use their precious time on getting us the next version of goodness rather than answering a lot of questions.
If you do require some level of seniority (100+ posts for example) you can probably cut down on a lot of the typical questions that are repeatedly asked (and answered a few posts back) and have a much cleaner thread. It's not a perfect world, but offenders can be dealt with individually when you have a smaller pool.
Not to say that noobs shouldn't have a place to ask questions -- we were all there at one time, but we just make sure there is a different area for this -- not clogging the particular ROM thread.
I've seen several other forums and communities operate with this type of principle in high value areas. It also allows newer members to get their feet wet and contribute in other areas by posting for others if they want to post in the dev community (but lurking will always be allowed / should be encouraged).
Just my 2 cents.

I have Stuck this as I agree 100000000000%. As far as locking the the Dev section, that has been talked about and is not going to happen anytime in the near future. My suggestion is for everyone and yes that means YOU to treat everyone with respect and dignity. If someone goes off I am almost always on and read every pm so let me know as I cant be everywhere at once and I am still learning as well.

Wow great ideas, I couldn't agree more. +1

I like the idea of new post for new versions, I hope that would cut down on the flaming too due to missing a one line post on page 999 of 1200 that would answer the question.

I disagree with the 'only devs can post in the dev section' rule. While I would technically not be considered a dev (per se) because I do not know how to make a ROM I would still like to be able to post in that section things that are technically not ROMs but do not fit in general. For example, I created the Galaxy S unlocker for Mac, but I have not figured out how to make a ROM. Does that make me a developer or not?

agreed man

+1 to the new ROM new thread idea. That would cut way down on the Old Salty XDA member yelling at the noob interactions.
Oh and i believe it should be illegal to call the Captivate a "Cappy" FYL

Don't worry about the guide portion, I have a guide in the works that covers everything from installing drivers to the update-script.
Another thing I would like to personally add. When new users or the not-so-inclined make a thread asking for help, do any of us stop to realize why that thread ends up on the Development board? In my opinion, we need a board dedicated to SUPPORT. Yeah, we have Q&A, but Q&A doesn't say Support to a lot of people. Example, Q&A to me spells "Information", not "Support." Sure, the Q&A's may be intended to be "My phone won't turn on", or "My 3g doesn't work", but if that's the case, why beat around the bush and call it Q&A?
There are those of us out there who do enjoy helping newcomers, and answering their questions; regardless of what board they post on; and there are those of us who like to get deep into this, leave support for the less experienced and get *$&! done. Know how we could cut back on flaming, and on people posting in the wrong board? Spell it out for them, in big bold letters; "Captivate Support". Not only that, dev's could start up a sister thread for each ROM they do in the support board, that way the actual release thread isn't a mess.
Maybe I'm just dumb though.

I have to say I particularly like the flaming rules. Sure, noobs are going to ask questions that everyone else has known the answer to for the past 5 months. I know it can get tedious reading these same things all the time, but remember that we once were noobs too, and I would bet most of us have asked "dumb" questions when first starting out. People are excited to learn about this stuff...let's not take away the spark with ad hominem attacks. They serve no purpose whatsoever, and no one wants to read them. If you don't want to answer, keep your mouth shut. If you do, do so politely either directly or (probably a little better), point them to a thread that will answer their questions. But come on, users calling a noob an "idiot" or "dumbass" for asking an honest question really pisses me off. And like I said, remember that you probably did it at some point, too. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now

geokhentix said:
Don't worry about the guide portion, I have a guide in the works that covers everything from installing drivers to the update-script.
Another thing I would like to personally add. When new users or the not-so-inclined make a thread asking for help, do any of us stop to realize why that thread ends up on the Development board? In my opinion, we need a board dedicated to SUPPORT. Yeah, we have Q&A, but Q&A doesn't say Support to a lot of people. Example, Q&A to me spells "Information", not "Support." Sure, the Q&A's may be intended to be "My phone won't turn on", or "My 3g doesn't work", but if that's the case, why beat around the bush and call it Q&A?
There are those of us out there who do enjoy helping newcomers, and answering their questions; regardless of what board they post on; and there are those of us who like to get deep into this, leave support for the less experienced and get *$&! done. Know how we could cut back on flaming, and on people posting in the wrong board? Spell it out for them, in big bold letters; "Captivate Support"
Maybe I'm just dumb though.
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I think this is also a good idea, primarily for those with stock phones or just performing basic procedures (e.g. rooting).
As for the bold letters, personally, I like just linking to the proper forum instead...something like "This question should be answered in the Support forum. It's located here: http://.......". But, hey, that's personal preference. You're way's fine, too

bknust said:
I think this is also a good idea, primarily for those with stock phones or just performing basic procedures (e.g. rooting).
As for the bold letters, personally, I like just linking to the proper forum instead...something like "This question should be answered in the Support forum. It's located here: http://.......". But, hey, that's personal preference. You're way's fine, too
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No no, I don't mean bold letters to the people asking for help. I mean bold letters for the forum title so people know it's there. Support speaks louder than Q&A, especially with all the multilingual folks we have on here.

geokhentix said:
No no, I don't mean bold letters to the people asking for help. I mean bold letters for the forum title so people know it's there. Support speaks louder than Q&A, especially with all the multilingual folks we have on here.
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Oops! Sorry, misunderstood. Yes, that would be a very good way to filter out a lot of the basic stuff. Good idea!

nbs11 said:
I disagree with the 'only devs can post in the dev section' rule. While I would technically not be considered a dev (per se) because I do not know how to make a ROM I would still like to be able to post in that section things that are technically not ROMs but do not fit in general. For example, I created the Galaxy S unlocker for Mac, but I have not figured out how to make a ROM. Does that make me a developer or not?
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As far as I'm concerned, an unlocker for Mac does indeed belong in development with the current structure of xda. It's kind of one of those things that could go under Apps, but when I think of apps, I think of your standard user apps, not rooting/unlocking/ROM/etc. tools/hacks. Maybe there should be a forum strictly for ROM dev and a separate one for general system dev. To me, they are different. That's just how I see it, but I'm sure there are quite a few differing views on this.

[Q] @ Mods/Admin. Can we please only allow senior+ to post in Dev thread

Can the Admin please edit forum with restriction on which usergroups can post new topics in the dev threads, ie maybe Senior and above or people with over a certain amount of posts etc.
This would virtually stop all the questions/help etc going in the dev thread by the n00bs and also cut down on the work that mods have to do because im quite sure mods are sick of having to move 100's of topics a day in the forums (not just HD2).
Wouldn't the restriction make things much more clean and organised?
[edit] I Should have probably put this in the general forum lol (the irony)

I am a Global Moderator on our forum for FIAT automobiles (www.fiatisti.hr) and we have a restrictions for any people who not have 50 posts and do not right to write in some forums. This is a lower limit to create threads.
In this way we have a more lowest junk on forum. People doe`s not have to use search option on forum and think that is much easier way to ask some people to resolve our problem.

+1 good idea

Oh God please, this would be great. If people cant be bothered to read on their own here, I see no reason why anyone else should bother.

+2 that would be nice
TheATHEiST said:
Can the Admin please edit forum with restriction on which usergroups can post new topics in the dev threads, ie maybe Senior and above or people with over a certain amount of posts etc.
This would virtually stop all the questions/help etc going in the dev thread by the n00bs and also cut down on the work that mods have to do because im quite sure mods are sick of having to move 100's of topics a day in the forums (not just HD2).
Wouldn't the restriction make things much more clean and organised?
[edit] I Should have probably put this in the general forum lol (the irony)
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Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Sounds good to me, I hate having to read through useless post to get info on a new build.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

The problem with this is, people start spamming to reach the post count.
But +1 to the idea from me nonetheless.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

I do kind of see the point of this, but i became a senior member by posting in the dev forums.

sorry folks, im going against the grain on this one, simply because 'post counts' dont equal experience.
take jerryfan2000 for e.g.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865525
im sure if i remember right he was still a 'junior member' when he starting a thread about his app & he's still not a senior member, but look what he has given.
maybe an alternate solution would be some sort of pop up asking the user to confirm they are starting a thread to showcase some form of development.
then if they click yes, & continue to post cries for help then some form of restriction should be placed on them, like not being able to open a thread for 1 month.
just my 10p.

Nice example
kam333 said:
sorry folks, im going against the grain on this one, simply because 'post counts' dont equal experience.
take jerryfan2000 for e.g.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865525
im sure if i remember right he was still a 'junior member' when he starting a thread about his app & he's still not a senior member, but look what he has given.
maybe an alternate solution would be some sort of pop up asking the user to confirm they are starting a thread to showcase some form of development.
then if they click yes, & continue to post cries for help then some form of restriction should be placed on them, like not being able to open a thread for 1 month.
just my 10p.
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Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

kam333 said:
sorry folks, im going against the grain on this one, simply because 'post counts' dont equal experience.
take jerryfan2000 for e.g.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865525
im sure if i remember right he was still a 'junior member' when he starting a thread about his app & he's still not a senior member, but look what he has given.
maybe an alternate solution would be some sort of pop up asking the user to confirm they are starting a thread to showcase some form of development.
then if they click yes, & continue to post cries for help then some form of restriction should be placed on them, like not being able to open a thread for 1 month.
just my 10p.
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Important and helpful threads like that can be moved. At least lesser clutter.
Sent from my HD2 Droid using XDA App

we an make an option if a juniour member wants to open an important thread to pm a moderator with it's topic

hoss_n2 said:
we an make an option if a juniour member wants to open an important thread to pm a moderator with it's topic
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That actually wont work, that would if anything overload all the mods with posts or PMs asking for this and that.
I too agree about the useless posts to get post counts up, But not to cause any rift at all, but im going to go against this as well like kam333 about post counts or even being a senior member, and the reason is upper level people are just as guilty of doing this as well. The only difference is they have the ability to move their posts after they have it seen. If you take this post for example:
Moved: [REQUEST]FULL Desire HD TMOUS Nand Build-NOT Squashed or Stripped Down-I WILL PAY $$
Originally Posted By: dharvey4651
This was posted on the NAND Development forum, to get attention, and then was moved by the poster (obviously a mod) to the HD2 Android General Discussion form.
Personally do I feel thats right too? No, That to me is abusing your power as a mod.
If anything, maybe limit junior members to only be allowed to post in the general forum of each section? Like General for HD2 winmo, and General for HD2 Android, this way it limits all the places they can post to ask the same questions.

Guys im not saying that restricting it to senior and above will cut everything out, Only that it will cut allot of it out, probably 90%.
If you check dev forums on regular basis you will know that 90% of the off-topic posts that get put in there and end up getting moved are from new members.
Restricting new members to not been able to post here will help a great deal, sure some retarded senior members or maybe by simple error will post in dev but it will be a hell of allot less off-topic then it is now.

There will also be a lot of new members not able to post when it's really correct for them to do so. The only correct answer is to ignore badly posted stuff and let mods do their job.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

AngelDeath said:
That actually wont work, that would if anything overload all the mods with posts or PMs asking for this and that.
I too agree about the useless posts to get post counts up, But not to cause any rift at all, but im going to go against this as well like kam333 about post counts or even being a senior member, and the reason is upper level people are just as guilty of doing this as well. The only difference is they have the ability to move their posts after they have it seen. If you take this post for example:
Moved: [REQUEST]FULL Desire HD TMOUS Nand Build-NOT Squashed or Stripped Down-I WILL PAY $$
Originally Posted By: dharvey4651
This was posted on the NAND Development forum, to get attention, and then was moved by the poster (obviously a mod) to the HD2 Android General Discussion form.
Personally do I feel thats right too? No, That to me is abusing your power as a mod
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I 100% completely agree with this. Not only do i feel that it is an abuse of position, but that the topic itself would get any ordinary non menber in trouble. It is so close to being over the "line" it is an open abuse of the rules that everyone else has to abide by. How can it be against the rules for a dev / chef to say "pay me for xxx and i will make it for you" but NOT against the rules to say "i will pay someone to make xxx" ?
I would report the thread but somehow i doubt anything would happen.
But back to the topic in hand, some sort of limitation of posting rights *is* required but i dont think it should be based on post count (take Cedesmith for example - less than 300 posts but a very active and intelligent developer), perhaps the more elegant solution is a time based limitation? eg, you are unable to post in development threads until you have been a registerd user, and you profile is set to the current device for say, 2 weeks ?

i think that the time restriction is more viable than the post count restriction for the simple reason you aren't going to get noobs signing up just to post the question if they have to wait 2 weeks. Where as if u put a post count restriction they will just spam to reach the count required
Ricey

johncmolyneux said:
There will also be a lot of new members not able to post when it's really correct for them to do so. The only correct answer is to ignore badly posted stuff and let mods do their job.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
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Did you read the topic properly, this topic is regarding the dev threads not general stuff. If they are a new member then they have no reason to post in those threads and if they are a dev then can ask a mod or admin to maybe move them into a "dev" usergroup and that way they can post.
The whole point is that we shouldnt need to ignore badly posted stuff, the dev section is simply for posting dev stuff not n00b questions.
ricey1986 said:
i think that the time restriction is more viable than the post count restriction for the simple reason you aren't going to get noobs signing up just to post the question if they have to wait 2 weeks. Where as if u put a post count restriction they will just spam to reach the count required
Ricey
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I think you are missing point slightly, Once a n00b tries posting in there and gets a message about not been allowed because its a dev forum, they are not going to purposely spam other forums just so they can post in there.
Its about restricting n00bs from accidentally posting in there because they didnt bother to read forum titles.
by the time somebody has a certain post count or has been registered member for a amount of time its less likely for them to post in a n00b question/topic in the dev thread.

I dont know, so I have to ask the question, Is there the ability to stop a noob from posting in the dev forum, but allow him to reply? One reason I ask this, is if the answer is no they wont be able to reply either, then the course of action is unjust, because if there is any bugs in a build they cant reply to the thread, if they can, then that might be an alternative, but here is another twist, as well all know post counts can go up very quickly, hence just replying "Thanks" or "I'm going to try this" counts too (Just used for examples).
But I think personally there should be another level now that I just thought of it, Like we have Senior member status, there should be a DEV status, and set the forum if possible that ONLY DEV's can post where others can reply, and if someone is a DEV they can easily PM a mod and the mod can change their status. Or if they want to contribute in the Dev forum like they made a kernel or rom, then that would constitue them to post in that forum.

You need to understand and look into vBulletin before you ask for changes to the forum. This is not going to happen.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Q&A section

If I'm supposed to put my questions in the Q&A section, why is it not available on the mobile app? Our am I missing something? Lol
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App

WRONG SECTION!!!!!! jk
I had the same issue and just un installed and reinstalled the app and it came up.
*edit* Previous thread.
good day.

ragarm said:
If I'm supposed to put my questions in the Q&A section, why is it not available on the mobile app? Our am I missing something? Lol
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App
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The q&a section is a joke, now all you hear is wrong section!, wrong section!... what is the point exactly? I just was reading a post where a guy was getting yelled at for posting a question in the question forum...
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
The q&a section is a joke, now all you hear is wrong section!, wrong section!... what is the point exactly? I just was reading a post where a guy was getting yelled at for posting a question in the question forum...
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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Which thread was that you were reading?

Yeah, can you link me? More than likely it was a thread that was moved after the question was asked an the yelling happened.
Moderated from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Probably the ROM/Kernel combo for battery life thread.

ashasaur said:
Yeah, can you link me? More than likely it was a thread that was moved after the question was asked an the yelling happened.
Moderated from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium.
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Well im sure not going to waste time looking for it again... but lets say your right and it was moved after the yelling, how about why all the yelling anyway? Only at xda are the majority of conversations polluted with arguing over where to properly post. Ok fine, dont post general stuff in the dev section, thats a no brainer... but q&a, and general are the same thing.
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
Well im sure not going to waste time looking for it again... but lets say your right and it was moved after the yelling, how
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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Moved by the moderator. OP thought he was posting his thread in the General section when he was actually posting in the developer section. Not hard to find. Is this the thread to which you were referring?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1028286

landshark68 said:
Moved by the moderator. OP thought he was posting his thread in the General section when he was actually posting in the developer section. Not hard to find. Is this the thread to which you were referring?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1028286
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Its development section, not developer... are you suggesting that only the devs are allowed to post anything there?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
Its development section, not developer... are you suggesting that only the devs are allowed to post anything there?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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No, sorry. Development section. I'm not suggesting anything. I was just trying to answer your question as to how it got moved.

landshark68 said:
No, sorry. Development section. I'm not suggesting anything. I was just trying to answer your question as to how it got moved.
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Ok... but tell me the truth, does there really need to be q&a and general? Isnt the whole nature of android forums, people asking, others answering?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
Ok... but tell me the truth, does there really need to be q&a and general? Isnt the whole nature of android forums, people asking, others answering?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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I see the confusion generated by the q&a and general sections. What kind of questions belong in which? I just started posting here with some frequency like 3 weeks ago. I agree the whole nature of forums is asking and answering questions, sharing information, and helping each other out. I think how each forum handles that and how they are formatted are going to be different. I'm not a moderator or anything like that. I'm just someone who is wanting to share information and give and get answers and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how this forum is structured. Still haven't nailed down all the rules and particulars, but I keep searching. I know pretty much all the devs hang out here, so I figure it must be a good place to get some good info.

ziggy484 said:
Ok... but tell me the truth, does there really need to be q&a and general? Isnt the whole nature of android forums, people asking, others answering?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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How about we take a step back and think about this.
You're asking why is there even a Q and A & General Forum. Well think about if there was just a Samsung Fascinate forum, and nothing more. Everything lumped together. Better yet how about we just make a Samsung forum, people can ask what they want about any Samsung android device. Sounds great right, everyone has a voice and there is no way it would be complicated to use!
The reason they are here is to help you, to help me, to help the devs, to help everyone. Order and organization is the name of the game.
There has to be structure, that is why if you have a question about the Samsung Fascinate and/or its development you place it in the Q and A forum. If you have something you would like to bring up in "general" then..... you see where this is going.
We can either have one large room with everyone yelling at different people, or smaller rooms where there is no need to raise your voice!
But there is no real yelling on a forum, its online. The tense of any one sentence is how you make it.

gkirby11 said:
How about we take a step back and think about this.
You're asking why is there even a Q and A & General Forum. Well think about if there was just a Samsung Fascinate forum, and nothing more. Everything lumped together. Better yet how about we just make a Samsung forum, people can ask what they want about any Samsung android device. Sounds great right, everyone has a voice and there is no way it would be complicated to use!
The reason they are here is to help you, to help me, to help the devs, to help everyone. Order and organization is the name of the game.
There has to be structure, that is why if you have a question about the Samsung Fascinate and/or its development you place it in the Q and A forum. If you have something you would like to bring up in "general" then..... you see where this is going.
We can either have one large room with everyone yelling at different people, or smaller rooms where there is no need to raise your voice!
But there is no real yelling on a forum, its online. The tense of any one sentence is how you make it.
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Sorry, but that makes no sense... all you need is general and development for each device
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
Sorry, but that makes no sense... all you need is general and development for each device
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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So I guess the themes and apps section and the accessories section should be put in general? That would make the general section completely unusable.
To the OP, all you need to do is remove the fascinate forum from your favorites. when you add it back to favorites, q&a should be there.
As far as what should go where:
General should be for general discussions like "what rom and why?"
Q&a should be for questions like, "how do I fix xyz?"
If anything should be changed, maybe q&a needs to be renamed "help"

ziggy484 said:
Its development section, not developer... are you suggesting that only the devs are allowed to post anything there?
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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sounds like a good suggestion to me. I think only devs should be thread starters in the dev section.

Lemme break it down for you all:
General is for everything that is a general discussion, not a specific question. Is it confusing, yes. Does it mean that people will still post questions without searching? Yes. But that's why you all have me, I can sort it all out.
Q&A is self described. All questions, whether they are specific device questions or development questions are to be posted within the Q&A section.
Accessories is of course for accessories. Not much to say.
Development is ONLY meant for the releasing of new ROMs and such. General discussion or questions are not permitted within the development section. With the exception of kernel or source discussions, all general development discussion should be posted within the general section.
And themes and apps is self explanatory.
Now, not to be a douche, but if you don't like my rules...don't post! I for one am getting tired of having to stop these arguments when all I am asking is that people read the XDA rules, post in the correct section and use the search button before posting.
Any beef should be brought to me via PM.
Word.-saur

ashasaur said:
Lemme break it down for you all:
General is for everything that is a general discussion, not a specific question. Is it confusing, yes. Does it mean that people will still post questions without searching? Yes. But that's why you all have me, I can sort it all out.
Q&A is self described. All questions, whether they are specific device questions or development questions are to be posted within the Q&A section.
Accessories is of course for accessories. Not much to say.
Development is ONLY meant for the releasing of new ROMs and such. General discussion or questions are not permitted within the development section. With the exception of kernel or source discussions, all general development discussion should be posted within the general section.
And themes and apps is self explanatory.
Now, not to be a douche, but if you don't like my rules...don't post! I for one am getting tired of having to stop these arguments when all I am asking is that people read the XDA rules, post in the correct section and use the search button before posting.
Any beef should be brought to me via PM.
Word.-saur
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I for one am tired of you acting like such a big shot... and rambling on about YOUR rules and where to post this and that, blah blah blah. but thats why i dont come here much anymore. You and chopperdog, and landshark all think your so much better than everyone else
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate

ziggy484 said:
I for one am tired of you acting like such a big shot... and rambling on about YOUR rules and where to post this and that, blah blah blah. but thats why i dont come here much anymore. You and chopperdog, and landshark all think your so much better than everyone else
Sent from a Superclean Fascinate
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He is laying out the rules, how is that acting like a big shot? Would you rather have an unmoderated, disorganized, cumpled together forum? If that is the case then you are in a very small group of people with that type of preference. You dont have to be here if you dont want to, so why punish yourself if you clearly dont like being here?
The Q&A forum makes perfect sense, as does breaking the forum up based on specific interests. It makes people with certain interests able to more easily find the information they seek as well as get answers to the specific answers they have. It also cuts down on the clutter than can liter a forum because it clumps all information together.

The ONLY reason I made ANY rules is because YOU, as the collective users of the Fascinate section wanted them, you wanted order, and I gave it to you. If you don't feel that my simple rules are worth your time to follow, then do us all a favor and don't post. There are plenty of more open minded users who are happy with the way things are going, and appreciate a little order and structure over the chaos that once was.
Moderated from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium.

For people that have questions (Q)

This is a development area.
Meaning if you have created something fixed an error then this is where you post. if you have questions please make a topic in the General section this area is getting filled with junk and multiple post asking things that have been posted if you would just learn to use a button we call the search bar at the top right.
I'm not the mod on this Device but as a dev for this device I want to keep things clean unlike all the other areas. I want people to look as the development area and be like ok thats a rom or recover or root and not have to ask questions.
Next is when in a topic please keep on topic. a few topics are 90% junk because people not staying on topic. DONT make posts that say "I hope this is fixed soon or I'm going to get rid of this device" GROW UP go do some reading and help to to make a fix.

I have to add my 2 cents to this. It's really nice if people other their help and discuss things but sometimes threads have to stay clean in order to be helpful for other developers. So please think about if it's really necessary to add your stuff. Otherwise please use the general section.
If you help the developers to do their stuff quickly we'll be able to write how to threads faster for you guys.
Personally I'll pick only a few persons for testing. This will result in less bricked devices
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

Maybe link the [DEV] thread to a [DISCUSSION] thread in general section so noobs like use can talk about the development of a given project and not actually post in the [DEV] thread itself.
Also, I wouldn't hesitate to report a post or thread to the mod. I'm not sure how active he is here but it could use a little cleaning.

gammaRascal said:
Maybe link the [DEV] thread to a [DISCUSSION] thread in general section so noobs like use can talk about the development of a given project and not actually post in the [DEV] thread itself.
Also, I wouldn't hesitate to report a post or thread to the mod. I'm not sure how active he is here but it could use a little cleaning.
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I tried to set this a few days ago: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056198 but the people don't listen

its a good idea but if people have a question since we dont have a questions area like other forums it needs to be in the general area. or they need to learn to use a search bar/engine. im just tired of pms/email/threads that have been answered already.

dc13 said:
its a good idea but if people have a question since we dont have a questions area like other forums it needs to be in the general area. or they need to learn to use a search bar/engine. im just tired of pms/email/threads that have been answered already.
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You would think by now with how prevalent forums are for all aspects of life, people would know how to use the search feature.
Sent from my Droid using XDA Premium App

seraphimserapis said:
I tried to set this a few days ago: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056198 but the people don't listen
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What I meant, exactly, was say a developer starts in on a project - they start their development thread and in the first post, add a link to a discussion thread in the general forum:
[DEV] My project Title
This is my project explanation.
Link to [DISCUSSION] Thread.
So basically, you start you [DEV] thread. Then when you're done, start a [DISCUSSION] thread then link the two together. So noobs, right from the first post, can see the link to the discussion thread. If someone posts a question or chit chat in you [DEV] thread, have it moved to the [DISCUSSION] thread.
I know, it's not ideal, just a thought.

gammaRascal said:
What I meant, exactly, was say a developer starts in on a project - they start their development thread and in the first post, add a link to a discussion thread in the general forum:
[DEV] My project Title
This is my project explanation.
Link to [DISCUSSION] Thread.
So basically, you start you [DEV] thread. Then when you're done, start a [DISCUSSION] thread then link the two together. So noobs, right from the first post, can see the link to the discussion thread. If someone posts a question or chit chat in you [DEV] thread, have it moved to the [DISCUSSION] thread.
I know, it's not ideal, just a thought.
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This actually sounds really good to me. The only kicker being what is considred on topic and what isn't? Are testing successes and failures relevant to a dev thread? Only successes? Only "breakthrough" moments? To be determibed by an elite group of our super-dev peers? Determined by the original poster?
Its a very subjective issue, dependent on the knowledge level and/or experience of the poster and reader both (or simply based on what one is hoping to find at that moment as compared to how disappointed one is by what they do find instead).
It could also get really complicated really fast.

Ultimately thats up to the OP.
The whole point is that a dev thread can only stay as clean as there are ways to do it. At least with a seperate (though connected) discussion thread, it can be directed. If someone posts in the dev thread, it should be up to that threads OP whether or not it can stay or be moved- at least now there would be a place to move it.

BUMP!! cause people dont like going to the second page. STOP making questions here this is for DEV's that have something to make the Iconia better not hi can i do this. go to the GENERAL AREA

I am not a developer, and this is the only post I can see myself ever posting here.
I enjoy reading this section like I'd read a detailed tech news site. I know that these same people also read the general section, so I can benefit from their input there.
Here, this section, this is their place to work! They share ideas here. They make things happen here. Aside from this post, I never want to clutter their desks, because I benefit so much from their hard work!
Is there any way to just make you guys permissible to post? Maybe you should have to be a dev to post? All can read, but devs would contact the mod to post? With a Discussion Thread linked in that environment, I could see a solution.
I still want to read. Its valuable. But aside from this post, I have no reason to write here. Butt every reason to watch progress, for my own education and to see what might be round the bend

anyone can be a dev. it just means u fixed a bug or made something happen thats what this section is for not hey can some1 help get you tube working or something like that.

doing another bump to keep near the top

Dev thread in general section or the iron fist effect

Hi,
I really don't understand the pattern behind the allowed post in the dev section.
What I'm understanding is that the dev section is for ROM/Kernel only : when I tried to post a dev-related suggestion,
I was warned that it was wrong, and was threatened (!). Now that iron fist is in effect, I think people are "scared" to post
anything related to dev investigation into the dev section, and now all goes by default into the general section when we
have some doubts. Which creates a new disorder, ironically by trying to force order.
The dev section is now only a collection of <10 alive threads about custom kernel/rom. Not really alive section with thoughtful discussion about general dev ramblings. I've found dev-related threads in the general section (see for instance android arm sdk thread, but there is other cases, I let you find it as an exercise ;-), where someone pointed out the problem "Omg dev thread into a general section !". I think there is a problem.
Because it's really annoying to see the dev section becomes a kind of closed area where you are only allowed to post rom or kernel, and without to be able to think about dev itself. Dev section, as its name points it, must allow to speak about dev related things, whatever are these things. And it's a mess when you want to search something dev-related and find it in the gen section.
Moreover, I don't like the iron fist policy, which threaten people to ban them. Threatening=Terror. Maybe mods are responsible too for this situation, where sometimes there is a lack of clarity. I'm not a newbie, and I've posted wrongly. I consider that there is a mismatch between the subforum name (dev) and the allowed content (rom/kernel only). Or if this is not rom/kernel only, there is a kind of quantic pattern, where you never really know if your post will be accepted or not.
For sake of clarity, I suggest to rename the dev section "custom rom and kernel", and to create a new general dev discussion ; or to open the present dev section to general dev-related discussion, without - please- threatening people to ban them if they are not posting something about custom rom or kernel. Really don't like this way to communicate, it's like mods have forgotten they were newbies some time ago posting in the wrong section. Educating people by threatening them : I don't believe that it works. Whatever.
That was my iron fist on the iron fist.

The development section is for posting actual development not questions about development or asking why eclipse isn't ported to ARM. If you have a development question then there is a question and answer forum. If you want to talk about apps and their development then post in apps and themes. The development section is for the development of roms and kernels and the actual tools for development.
As has been said 100's of times this is not a democracy and this is not for customer service. All anyone has to do is read the forum rules and search a little before posting the same question over and over again.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1249254
If that thread was actual developing of eclipse on arm then it would be development but its just a poll to see if the developers of eclipse should port it to arm.
HUGE difference

Ok, if this is not a democracy, but a dictature, I have nothing to add.

altsyst said:
Ok, if this is not a democracy, but a dictature, I have nothing to add.
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Familiarize yourself with the following:
FORUM RULES
XDA MANTRA
Another correct breakdown of XDA:
zelendel said:
XDA is a developers site
XDA is a free forum you are ALLOWED to use. We could make it invite only
XDA is and always will be about the developers. And before you say without the users there would be no XDA, Bull****, who do you think used the stuff before normal people even knew what a smartphone was......wait for it.........other developers. People that could give good feedback with relavent info. Not just "dahhh this is broken, please fix".
XDA is not a place to come and make your phone cool.
XDA is not the cool place for idiots to hang out.
XDA is not your friends house
XDA is not a democracy
XDA is not a place to make Money.
XDA IS a place to come to learn and share your knowledge. If you are not here for those reasons then you are here for the wrong ones.
I have watched XDA become a place where every dumbass in the world has a smartphone and comes here thinking they have the right to anything. Well guess what? You dont have the right to ****. We share it because we want to and we dont if we dont feel like it. Are the Developers or the Mods required to make you happy? Nope not in the least. Wanna leave. Go ahead. I beg you, please do. The less people that are asking dumb question cause they dont know what they are doing (this is understand, but at least look) or are too lazy to look for it the better.
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Closing this thread.