Database Info

Sub-Forum for ROM Releases?

While browsing this forum, I've noticed that there are really two types of threads: (1) ROM Releases & (2) Help Requests/Questions. We also have threads such as "List of Kaiser Rom Threads and Download Links...." which attempt to aggregate the releases, but do not appear to remain up-to-date. I was wondering if it wouldn't make more sense to separate the two by simply having a sub-forum dedicated to the releases. It would be much easier to get a grasp on what the current variety of cooked/official ROMs looked like, and would leave more of the first page of the "main" forum available for the help/question threads.
Any thoughts? Improved suggestions?
DISCLAIMER: This idea may have already been discussed in the past, and if so, please feel free to just say so and post a link to the relevant thread. No need to re-explain something that's already been talked through. I couldn't find anything on the topic when searching via Google.

I think this is a great idea. It can be overwhelming when I just want to see the ROM updates and I have to go sifting through other things as well.

Alamei said:
While browsing this forum, I've noticed that there are really two types of threads: (1) ROM Releases & (2) Help Requests/Questions. We also have threads such as "List of Kaiser Rom Threads and Download Links...." which attempt to aggregate the releases, but do not appear to remain up-to-date. I was wondering if it wouldn't make more sense to separate the two by simply having a sub-forum dedicated to the releases. It would be much easier to get a grasp on what the current variety of cooked/official ROMs looked like, and would leave more of the first page of the "main" forum available for the help/question threads.
Any thoughts? Improved suggestions?
DISCLAIMER: This idea may have already been discussed in the past, and if so, please feel free to just say so and post a link to the relevant thread. No need to re-explain something that's already been talked through. I couldn't find anything on the topic when searching via Google.
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That's actually a pretty good idea. They should be doing this to all forums in XDA-Developers.com. It will keep organization, less spamming of threads, and keep everyone happy. I think that this has already been discussed already, but I haven't seen any changes so it's a good thing you brought it back up again!

u know that sub forum will just eventually get clogged up with all other kind of threads and it will just be the same as it is with the kaiser upgrading forum now. we have a outdated wiki with some releases.......why dont you go ahead and add some stuff to that.

XtreMe_G said:
u know that sub forum will just eventually get clogged up with all other kind of threads and it will just be the same as it is with the kaiser upgrading forum now. we have a outdated wiki with some releases.......why dont you go ahead and add some stuff to that.
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Naturally rules should state the forum is only for new ROMS. Threads started relating to support should be disallowed. Only posts by cookers should be allowed by rules. (Avoid access control, new rom cookers would have to contact an admin to get their user group put in) Simply have moderators delete threads that were started seeking support or help.
I'm new to flashing myself and I've only been able to find a few ROMs. Why? Because of the disorganization.
New users like me can't find new ROM's because we don't know where to look or how to find them. There's no list, you just have to dig deep through the forums or try your luck with Google or the search function. There's a few listed on the wiki but highly outdated as you said. The new releases are hidden within pages of junk threads in this upgrading forum.
A wiki is a start -- but you have to know the names and URL's of existing threads or be damned good at searching for them to add them to the Wiki. I was going to try and update the wiki and didn't know where to start on finding roms.
A forum that was well-policed against junk offtopic threads could be beneficial for ROM makers and users who seek them alike. This idea should be brought up with the moderators/admins of the forum.

evrything is the mods should do this, the mods should do that, hey......this is a community. like i said, there's a wiki, feel free to contribute.
and how hard is it to find rom releases? just browse maybe the maybe first 10 page and put in watever rom link u find. anything beyond that is most likely outdated already

Well..this is the Kaiser upgrading forum. I think that's exactly where ROM releases should be. I also agree that this is a community...the wiki isn't up to date? Okay...it's a wiki...update it.
**This is my personal view...feel free to disagree.

this has been discussed already as it was asked about the 6.1 roms, and the answer is no. 6.1 is still wm6, its just a fancy AKU release, so there is no need for a subfora, and cooked roms has never gotten their own subfora, its not needed. If everyone would learn to read and post in the proper spots then the board wouldnt get cluttered, creating new subforas will not fix this problem.

Vote to Create a Seperate Forum Section for Firmware Mods

Ok we all know firmware mods are popular, and we have been seeing many many questions about the sapphire/JF mods that would be better organized in a separate forum like xda-developers > Dream > Firmware Hacking & Modification
So place your vote above and post any comments/ideas you may have.

Don't see the need for it. Besides similar requests have been asked for before and shot down.

yeah i dont think its necessary either, plus mods have enough work on food on there plate, i think it looks messy because of the redundant threads

No, it's not needed But.... we need threads to be closed after a major release of a newer build
(ie H 5.03) and open a new thread. Thats what folks do in the WM rom threads elsewhere in this forum. Closing and locking thread but not deleting will keep them from growing to a gigantic size like the sapphire/magic rom port thread. But its up to the thread creator to do so...

Is it really that big of an endeavor to add a subforum for firmware mods?

ncoop23 said:
Is it really that big of an endeavor to add a subforum for firmware mods?
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I'd imagine not, but apparently moderators cannot make site changes. Only the administrator (Flar) can do that.
Meanwhile, many of the knowledgeable members (Don't see JF or Koush around much these days?) of the forum get tired of reading the same "omg i ruined my apps-to-sd" or "how i get haykuro install" and stop reading the forum. Win-win for everyone?

Not needed being there's only 4-5 of them out there...
If there was anything, I would say a sub-forum of the theme section for themes ONLY. No questions etc...

[sug] dream android roms

Please take this suggestion and make a new subforum for DREAM ANDROID ROMS and so on for other devices. Please move all ROM releases to that subforum and leave the development forum to the DEVS. Thanks
let me be clear... im not saying xda isnt doing their job. I believe that the popularity of the android dev platform requires the additional specific subforum in order to streamline development collaboration

I seconds this suggestion, or sticky the roms threads either would be better than the way it is now.

Yo I laughed my @ss off at this
I know its a suggestion... but honestly do you think the site will listen???
That's like posting a thread saying
"This websites wack and illegal, take it down or ill report it"
How did you expect the mods to react to this? Take it straight to hq!!
Lol the only way the would in fact do this
Is by making a poll or petetion
With a lot oh sigs
But then again that wouldn't work either
EDIT
I just thought a way they could controll so many pointless ROMS as in themed or barely edited hero or something
They could change everything
There would be dev account and then there would be member account
for example dev accounts are constanly monitered for activity and checked over from time to time to see if they really are devs or not
Member account have certain permission in certain forums
So if a member account came in dream development
They can't post a new thread, however they can reply to post.......leaving the forums clean with no "help me" post etc...
Just a thought pretty smart ehh??

jf4888 said:
Yo I laughed my @ss off at this
I know its a suggestion... but honestly do you think the site will listen???
That's like posting a thread saying
"This websites wack and illegal, take it down or ill report it"
How did you expect the mods to react to this? Take it straight to hq!!
Lol the only way the would in fact do this
Is by making a poll or petetion
With a lot oh sigs
But then again that wouldn't work either
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Who pissed in your cheerios ;-)

no way...there are dedicated ROM databases that do what you're looking for. this is a broader scoped development board.

I like the idea... But, I'll be surprised if this suggestion is used.
1st - every Android device has the same setup. So, if they changed this for the G1/Dream then they would have to change it for every Android device currently listed and to be released.
2nd - After looking at other devices (other than Android) - many only have ROM development sub-forums (as they would be the same as the dev forum).
3rd - The develepment for the Dream/G1 is mainly for ROMs. The extra development going on is for "Android" - meaning generally for Android the operating system and NOT device specific.
A better suggestion would be for Xda to create a separate forum for "Android Development" that is NOT device specific! Then every app, program, OS application (OS as in Windows/Linux/Leopard/etc) could be included in the "Android development" forum and NOT in the Dream/Sapphire/Cliq/Droid/etc. forums.
The "Android Development" forum would be the one to which all the general Andoid development threads would be directed. There could be two sub-forums: Android OS Development, Android app and game development (as almost all apps/games would be made to work on all devices). I would leave the themes separate as they would mainly be device specific.
Then the "Dream-Android Development Forum" would be mainly for Dream/G1 ROMs or items specific to the Dream.

jf4888 said:
I just thought a way they could controll so many pointless ROMS as in themed or barely edited hero or something
They could change everything
There would be dev account and then there would be member account
for example dev accounts are constanly monitered for activity and checked over from time to time to see if they really are devs or not
Member account have certain permission in certain forums
So if a member account came in dream development
They can't post a new thread, however they can reply to post.......leaving the forums clean with no "help me" post etc...
Just a thought pretty smart ehh??
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You know call me crazy but this makes since to me.

alapapa said:
no way...there are dedicated ROM databases that do what you're looking for. this is a broader scoped development board.
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my problem is that we have this DREAM ANDROID DEVELOPMENT forum that is used to release ROMS, not develop them. If we had a forum to release them in, then end users wouldn't be asking q & a in the dev section. they could ask the q & a there... where they dl'ed the ROM from. it's just a suggestion, but i think it could ADD to DEVELOPMENT!!!

jf4888 said:
EDIT
I just thought a way they could controll so many pointless ROMS as in themed or barely edited hero or something
They could change everything
There would be dev account and then there would be member account
for example dev accounts are constanly monitered for activity and checked over from time to time to see if they really are devs or not
Member account have certain permission in certain forums
So if a member account came in dream development
They can't post a new thread, however they can reply to post.......leaving the forums clean with no "help me" post etc...
Just a thought pretty smart ehh??
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Click to collapse
That is just not practical from a moderation standpoint! Also, how do you "qualify" a dev? Is there a master database listing all the developers? What if someone learns to develop apps who previously was just a member - What would be the approval process to become a "dev?" I understand the developer's frustration with trying to get things DONE while all the non-devs bombard them with questions and clutter up the forum... But, I don't think the above is a very good solution. IT SOUNDS GOOD IN THEORY! It just won't be practical to implement.
Please don't take my comment the wrong way. I am NOT a dev (although I have purchased a lot of material to begin to learn and am planning on developing in the near future) - but, even I GET AGGRAVATED by all the clutter on the forum. I just don't think the above suggestion is a workable solution.

jaaronmoody said:
my problem is that we have this DREAM ANDROID DEVELOPMENT forum that is used to release ROMS, not develop them. If we had a forum to release them in, then end users wouldn't be asking q & a in the dev section. they could ask the q & a there... where they dl'ed the ROM from. it's just a suggestion, but i think it could ADD to DEVELOPMENT!!!
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I like your suggestion... Which is essentially that they add a ROM release sub-forum... ONLY, for released ROMS.
I still think my suggestion would be better. If they took my suggestion much of the general ANDROID clutter would be separated. All the general Andoid OS/app development clutter would be gone.
LEAVING this forum for Dream/G1 ROMS - as that would really be the only reason to be on the forum specific to the DREAM.
CURRENTLY - almost ALL the general (non device specific) Android dev's are working off of the Dream-Android development forum: 1st - because most people still have a Dream, 2nd - it has been around the longest, 3rd - that is where they are used to going and know that all the other devs go (more visibility for their posts).
If my suggestion was made - much of that would change. It would take the Mods awhile to keep moving the new posts to the new location... But, within a month everyone would be on track.

I think we're fighting windmills here, but it is a perfectly valid and reasonable suggestion. I happen to agree that the "development" thread has very little development discussion anymore. A good percentage of the development discussion takes place in PMs, Twitter, and other collaboration spaces, and thereby making any shared knowledge much more difficult to obtain.
If there were a ROM release section, it would sideline much of the noise that currently occupies this section.

Chinpokomon said:
I think we're fighting windmills here, but it is a perfectly valid and reasonable suggestion. I happen to agree that the "development" thread has very little development discussion anymore. A good percentage of the development discussion takes place in PMs, Twitter, and other collaboration spaces, and thereby making any shared knowledge much more difficult to obtain.
If there were a ROM release section, it would sideline much of the noise that currently occupies this section.
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Agreed. hopefully something works out

as i plan to get a new ANDROID soon... hopefully... i would love to see this implemented in current and FUTURE device forums

AndroidSPIN ROM Database provides this service
alapapa said:
no way...there are dedicated ROM databases that do what you're looking for. this is a broader scoped development board.
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As alapapa said. There are dedicated databases on the internet that make finding the latest releases real easy. I run AndroidSPIN which is one such database and each ROM has links back to the specific forums on XDA. We also host all the ROM files providing a HIGH speed download of all your faves.
I consider us an add-on service to XDA by providing functionality XDA does not but also compliments XDA by linking back to all the relevant content here.
Obviously the database is only as good as the information that it contains. We now have additional members of the community assisting in keeping this data up to date but if you see a ROM that is not in the AndroidSPIN database, please let us know.
Thanks
Simon

simon, i support your website by putting it in my sig ...but I believe XDA needs it's own place

idea!!!!!
Use the search and search for [ROM] that might give you a better result just an idea search features is there ....use it? Or sticky a post with a link to a search for all [ROM] titles as they are supposed to be titled like that anyway... idk just my own $.02

I suggested this back when JF was releasing RC33 roms...no one listened then...no one will listen now.

AbsoluteDesignz said:
I suggested this back when JF was releasing RC33 roms...no one listened then...no one will listen now.
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it was a good idea then, and i think it's a good idea now

SimonNWalker said:
As alapapa said. There are dedicated databases on the internet that make finding the latest releases real easy. I run AndroidSPIN which is one such database and each ROM has links back to the specific forums on XDA. We also host all the ROM files providing a HIGH speed download of all your faves.
I consider us an add-on service to XDA by providing functionality XDA does not but also compliments XDA by linking back to all the relevant content here.
Obviously the database is only as good as the information that it contains. We now have additional members of the community assisting in keeping this data up to date but if you see a ROM that is not in the AndroidSPIN database please let us know.
Thanks
Simon
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I appreciate AndroidSPIN and think it provides a valuable service, but the problem is that it does absolutely nothing to curtail the fact that the development forum is drowning in end-user posts. It's nearly impossible to find any information here on actual development work because the focus is almost entirely on releases, flashing, and end-user troubleshooting.
Look at all the stickies in this forum, even. The closest you get to 'development' in any of the FAQs is how to set up ADB and maybe some minor theming information. I just went through the process of setting up my own AOSP build environment, and xda was virtually useless for any of it. In fact, I ended up having to document part of the process myself, and the thread related to that has long since been buried under a torrent of non-development topics.
ROMS and end-user topics need to be segregated out from development, or xda will remain absolutely useless for people interested in Android development.
EDIT:
Also, putting ROM releases and end-user topics in their own forum wouldn't replace sites like AndroidSPIN. They'll still be useful for figuring out what's what and what the latest releases are. It would just keep actual development topics from being buried because a new release hits and there's a flood of bug reports and troubleshooting posts.
I don't see how that changes the service AndroidSPIN and similar sites provide at all.

Just to emphasize how bad this problem has gotten, of the 20 threads on the first page of the development forum, as of this writing:
11 are ROM release threads.
2 are "how to flash your G1" threads
2 are "bricked G1" threads
2 are [MOD] threads
1 is related to installing Debian on the G1
1 is a thread about the Hero kernel, which is at least the third of these I've seen
1 is this thread
Where's the development?

[POLL] We need a seperate sub-forum for ROMs

I don't intend to offend rom maintainers
nor do I intend to discredit any of their work
but when the first three pages of the "Development" sub-forum
are almost all rom threads there seems to be a better way.
While there surely is a lot of "Dev" work involved in many ( but not all)
of the custom roms here. it is the "Dev" work that should be discussed
in the "Dev" sub-forum. there is nothing really being discussed in most of
these Rom threads that deserve being in the "Dev" forum.
much like someone posting a thread about an app or a theme or a question about
what case is the best for under $10, these all belong in something other than the "dev" forum.
I am sure this will piss off many here but I only intend to help this be a more
organized forum.
but in the fashion of "Majority rules"
I would like to put this to a vote to see just how many agree with my thinking>
and then maybe if we see an overwhelming amount in agreement to this
we can request a sub-forum to be created from the admins.

I totally agree, I love this site but it can be hard to find what your looking for. Something like
Android development:
rom discussion
roms
mods
modems
themes
and stickies on how to manage the files for each category.
just a suggestion, don't crucify me!

I hate to say this but it wont happen. It has always been set up for as rom dev where the roms are to be posted as most development work is done
off site.
I am gonna close this up now

[09/8/11] Updated Rules Of The Development Section **Please Read, Then Read Again**

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.
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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

I moved all the stock Roms to the General Section in an effort to keep the Development forums for Developing roms.

zelendel said:
I moved all the stock Roms to the General Section in an effort to keep the Development forums for Developing roms.
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The issues I see with this is 1: it causes fragmentation on where to find ROMs and 2: if the person who put out the ROM decides at a later date to start customizing beyond stock, it is then technically in the wrong section unless they create a new thread in development

beerbaronstatic said:
The issues I see with this is 1: it causes fragmentation on where to find ROMs and 2: if the person who put out the ROM decides at a later date to start customizing beyond stock, it is then technically in the wrong section unless they create a new thread in development
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I will be making a sticky with the links to the stock roms. And sense there really shouldnt be more then one thread for the stock release it will keep things a little cleaner. If they decide to make a custom rom off the stock then they are free to make a thread in the Dev section for the custom rom and its Development. This is the way it is done in the Captivate section that I came from and a few other devices and has worked out pretty well in keeping only Dev related things in the Dev section

zelendel said:
I will be making a sticky with the links to the stock roms. And sense there really shouldnt be more then one thread for the stock release it will keep things a little cleaner. If they decide to make a custom rom off the stock then they are free to make a thread in the Dev section for the custom rom and its Development. This is the way it is done in the Captivate section that I came from and a few other devices and has worked out pretty well in keeping only Dev related things in the Dev section
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Sounds good, thanks for the reply!

Ok guys I am in the process of making Q&A threads in the Q&A section for each rom. Please use these before opening new threads. In an effort to clean up the forums I will be removing out dated threads and cleaning things up. I am hoping this will reduce the clutter in the threads and will help new people find answers easier.

Oh I am so confused. LOL. You are the boss zelendel and I don't want to cross you anymore. So now we have QnA for each ROM, can we not post anything anymore in the Dev's thread? Most everything posted in a Dev's thread is a question of some sort. Can you add this, why did you do this, can you fix this, is this happening to anybody else, and so on.....
What are we allowed to post there? I mean it is so different than almost every other section here on the forum. Cross posters from other sections will continue to post as they always have. I don't want to come across as a dumb butt as I am not. I happen to be an admin and mod on 8 other phone forums. But not developer forums which this is. But to find a ROM I have to look in 2 different sections and ask questions about it in a third. How is this cleaning anything up?

The Q&A threads are for general ROM related questions like how do i flash this, ect. It also saves the kids from having to go around deleting the threads that are used to by pass the 10 post rule just so they can post a question in the dev section. The main ROM threads are for technical discussions. You can still post there but this will remove a lot of the junk from the dev threads.
I use this set up in the captivate section and it was well recieved by users and Developers alike. It kept the dev threads cleaned up and people still could ask their questions without needing 10 posts.
This is test run 2 of this set up. If it works out again then it just may become the norm. One thread to get the ROM and one for questions.

zelendel said:
The Q&A threads are for general ROM related questions like how do i flash this, ect. It also saves the kids from having to go around deleting the threads that are used to by pass the 10 post rule just so they can post a question in the dev section. The main ROM threads are for technical discussions. You can still post there but this will remove a lot of the junk from the dev threads.
I use this set up in the captivate section and it was well recieved by users and Developers alike. It kept the dev threads cleaned up and people still could ask their questions without needing 10 posts.
This is test run 2 of this set up. If it works out again then it just may become the norm. One thread to get the ROM and one for questions.
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Sorry dude but that is not organized at all the post will get lost you should keep all ROM's and posting related to said ROM together. And I was on the Captivate forum didn't work there either IMO..

dpmurphy81 said:
Sorry dude but that is not organized at all the post will get lost you should keep all ROM's and posting related to said ROM together. And I was on the Captivate forum didn't work there either IMO..
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I have to agree this does not seem to make much sense. Instead of keeping all the rom threads together they will now be dispersed among the 4 sub-forums?

Why is the date in not American? I just had to point that out.

Was this really a problem that needed fixing? While yes there were a lot of stupid questions at times, the open discussion about the ROM performance, tips, tweaks, and problems leads to many people who aren't in the development process sharing information with each other and the developers, and leads to everyone being able to help each other figure things out. Now it just seems like people are going to be confused as to where to talk about the ROM, as all the information will be fragmented now. It would make more sense to just rename the Dev section to something like "ROM Development And Discussion" and create a new section with limited access threads that would be like a ROM library and newsletter. That way, one could go there to get the latest downloads and information, and still be able to get help and discuss the ROM in the same place they always have. Of course, this is just my opinion, did you ever think about starting a discussion with everyone to get ideas and opinions on how things should be sorted?
And IMHO, phrases like "Iron Fist" and "only gonna ask once" aren't a quality examples of good people skills. Maybe something like, I dunno, asking someone to make changes to facilitate the move to a new format might work better.

Thank you this was a helpful post, im use to ROM with windows phone new to android