[Q] how can i help and get involved? - T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide

i want to get involved in the community and help bring great things to this device and any other that i can. i have a degree in computer information systems, do systems imaging, and know enough to get by, tweak, and customize, but linux was never taught to me . it is pretty straight forward. i understand the concept, language, and most of the commands, but i am not a programmer by trade. i do know that you don't even have to actually know a lot of languages because, in many cases, there is another program that you can tell what you want to happen and it will write the base language for you. if somebody can point me in the right direction and/or give me a task to help them with, i would love to do so.
thank you
don't mean to sound ignorant. just wanna help.

That's a fantastic attitude, and welcome to the doubleshot forums.
The MT4G Slide Compendium is a sticky at the top of general here, and is a great starting point to familiarize yourself with the doubleshot forums. It has links to a lot of the relevant threads scattered around here, as well as some explanations of terminology and so forth. It's designed to help orient you with everything we have going on here.
Here is a link to my Guide Index, which is a collection of tutorials and such i've put here and is also in my sig. The bottom of the post has links to a lot of information about the device off-site, manufacturer and so forth.
One of the best things you can do if you aren't contributing code is to contribute documentation. How to do basically anything you want to do is spread out all over XDA as a whole. If information can be referenced and concentrated here into the MT4GS sub-forums, it would make it easier for people to develop for the device.
Not having to scour XDA at large to figure out how to do something, and someone taking the time to explain how to do it here and provide links to track down more information is always helpful.
I know in searching XDA to learn how to do these things, it's been helpful for others to have been making summaries and guides on how to do them - sharing it here paves the way for others who come behind you and want to learn how to do what you're learning.
And if you aren't interested in posting guides on how to do the things you've learned, then just taking the time to answer questions people ask on the board about the device if you know the answer is a way to be helpful. The longer you hang out here, the more you learn, and the people coming behind you are curious too.
The longer you hang out here, too, you come to learn where information is and in what threads - you can direct newer people by answering questions with links to the relevant threads or posts since you already know what they are. It only takes a few minutes to track down the information if you have a good idea of where it is.
Because XDA is pretty much where we figure out a lot of the new stuff, the board grows randomly, and information gets scattered with pieces here and there in threads to solve problems and such. When people ask questions you can link to the scattered pieces and by doing so it helps index everything we are learning.
Basically, the desire to help is all that you need and these are some ways people can do so without in-depth technical knowledge. You're probably combing the boards learning things anyway, so when people have similar questions explaining what you know helps us all.
We all have different ways of learning, so sharing how you did can teach others new methods and ways of doing beyond just how to do the specific thing itself.
It sounds like you are as excited about all this as some of us are here, and with a device like the doubleshot in your hands I don't blame you.
Any questions just ask, as long as you aren't posting random questions in the dev sections it's all good.
Once again, welcome to the MT4GS forums, you'll have a blast with us here.
Edit:
Kernel stuff is in C flavor language, Android stuff itself is mostly Java, and if you don't have the program Notepad-plus-plus you should pick that up for making mostly all of your general coding edits on the computer with.

Thank you. I am excited. My first device that I toyed with was an htc leo 1024 (us), so I had an edasy entry into the world just because there are so many resources available for it. I will start by posting a couple of guides about things that I know were difficult to grasp/follow when I first started. Thank you very much for the directions and taking the time to post them and reply to me. Time to study...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App

That's fantastic.
This is my second Android device, first phone - the other one is a Nook Color.
Much like how you say having a lot of dev interest in the device you came from helped you (and man, does it ever) the advantage the Nook Color had was it's unbrickable. It boots from the MicroSD first, before internal memory, and you can run a self-contained copy of Android from the MicroSD card.
I got a chance to break it in so many different ways, (who needs a build.prop ... let's just delete that) and all I had to do was pop out the memory card and flash a fresh copy of CM7 onto it.
The internal memory is still the stock Barnes & Noble skinned operating system, hasn't been rooted or anything, yet I was still able to get the full-on Android experience in a safe play zone.
Coming to this phone, it's taught me ahead of time what I can and can't mess with before bad things start to happen, and it's a lot easier to play with this stuff if you know where the lines are. The ones you get in trouble if you cross.
It really wasn't until I got my hands on this device that I started to get into a lot of dev work on Android - but now i'm having an absolute blast with it and this device is pretty impressive.
I can't wait to read about what tricks you've picked up along the way, i'm always looking for an opportunity to be educated. Take some time and see what we've got laid out here, in some cases you may be able to add to existing threads instead of making new ones for duplicate topics.
The MT4GS is what, 6 months old now? We'll keep getting more people in here as they come to their upgrades or get warrantied up to this device. I'm eagerly awaiting more devs to end up in our corner of the forums, i'm curious to see what kind of cool things people can make the device do.
The more information we have organized and mapped out about the device and how to do things with it, the easier it gets for people who come behind because they don't have to re-invent the wheel just to get something done.
It's mind boggling to me how much i've learned in the past year here at XDA, especially in the last few months. It's all because people take the time to sit down and explain how they've done the things they've done and are excited to share their discoveries.
Having this device since before root was viable, i've watched this section of XDA grow from literally just a handful of threads into what it is now - pretty soon we'll have a majority of the resources right here for people to just show up and get work done with minimal fuss.
I know my dev time is hit or miss, sometimes I have days on end, other times not - one way i've been trying to help when i'm not around is leaving how-to's and guides behind me that people can reference while i'm gone.
There's still a whole lot that I haven't even gotten into yet, and i'm very appreciative of people taking the time to share some cool discovery or trick that's made their life a lot easier.
(sometimes I ramble a bit, especially when on boring conference calls)
I came to XDA to learn how to do some fun stuff with my Nook Color, and maybe learn how to write apps for the market. Here I am writing ROMs and nowhere close to putting any apps in the market. With the library of knowledge that XDA is everytime I sit down at the keyboard I learn something new, I wish i'd found this place a long long time before I did - it feels like home.

that's pretty cool about the nook color. i may have to pick one up to play with. i'm sure there are all kinds of neat things to be figured out (and easily implemented) with a device that boots from an external source before the internal.
i got pretty lucky with my hd2. as soon as i saw that there was a way to do it, i had to figure it out (of course). however, instead of reading all of the instructions and bulletins on correct procedure, like an intelligent person... you can probably guess where i'm going with that... and VIOLA! an expensive paperweight.
i was very lucky that phone is setup the way it is and for resources like you and some of the other devs and especially the others that learned by trial and error and took the time to post their experiences.

Related

In need of help installing JustHome rom for Herald...from the begging!

I downloaded the .7z file for JustHome rom for Herald thanks to IVAN!. My IPL is 4.10.0002 and SPL 4.10.0000, I have a microSD ship and ready for action. I just need the walkthrough for installing ROMs from scratch. How do I do the hardspl....I need complete guidance!
You need to search better.
there is a "giude to flashing" in one of these theads that is specific to the htc herald which is the name for you "wing" i thing you might find it under "wiki htc herald " you can probably google it. it is a step by step guide. hope that helps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=358225 and http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=358615 goodluck
I apologize now for the lack of clear answers, and I understand your frustration, even if you did search and read those pages. Sometimes for newbs they can be a bit difficult to understand, and they were for me too, so I'll tell you how in newb language and provide the tools necessary.
First things first, you need to download the folder im going to provide you. Save the zip to your desktop and extract it. Now the fun begins.
1. Drag and extract the .nbh file you downloaded from JustHome and place it inside the RUU folder located inside of the MyFirstRom folder.
2. Turn your phone to flight mode. You can do this in the Comm Manager found in your Connection Settings.
3. Next make sure your phone is connected to your computer and you have Activesync (Win XP) or Mobile Device Center (Vista or Windows 7) connected with a green light.
4. Execute the application Herald-USPL (located in the MyFirstRom folder).
5. Wait for it to verify, press Enter. Wait for it to load SPL, PDA screen will go white at about 70 percent. If it doesn't and it hangs on a tux logo with a little command prompt (on the phone, sometimes this happens.) don't worry and just reset and try again.
6.If everything is successful and the PDA screen is white, press Enter and it'll launch the RUU installer application on your computer.
7. Follow the instructions, Press the Update button when it asks you what ROM you are installing. It should show some version number. Press Next, and it'll start flashing. It will say it will take 10 minutes, it'll go faster than that. After it's finished, the PDA will automatically reset to the new RUU.
If you experience any problems, don't panic, Soft Reset your device by pushing the stylus into the small whole next to the volume slider. If the phone goes into an endless reset, don't panic... Hard reset your phone by pressing holding the two soft-keys (keys with lines located above the Windows key and Ok key) while pressing the sylus into the reset hole. Release the soft keys while still holding reset and then release the reset. It will come up with a screen telling you you are being set to factory settings, press the Send key. (Green phone key)
I know you asked about HardSPL, but for the purpose of this ROM and some others, you won't need it. I prefer USPL because there's not a very easy way to brick your phone. If something goes terribly wrong, generally you can just Hard Reset and its all better.
Good luck, and I'm not liable for any damage to your phones OS or hardware, blah...
that was cool of you to take the time and post all that.wish i had that all explained to me when i started messin around.
bishoprnpb said:
that was cool of you to take the time and post all that.wish i had that all explained to me when i started messin around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I just recently got started after buying a Wing a few weeks ago on E-Bay. I understand the frustration, and frankly I feel bad for new people... A lot of these threads are so out-dated now, and no one seems to want to help new people any more, with the exception of maybe Ivan who is working on a whole cooking guide. And the past instructions can get a little fuzzy. Even on the second post of Ivan's instructions it says to ask questions if you don't understand, but it seems like questions are just getting answered with more and more links to sites like Google.
Thank for step by step
Now I flash my dopodC800 to ITsPapablack but every time I reset, it's not show SPL
today I will flash again to "gulllums Touchflo2D II"
can I use same step?
What's the fastest way to get specific help at User forums?
apreichner said:
so I'll tell you how in newb language and provide the tools necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right that many MANY threads are now obsolete, or have conflicting language & directions. Can I suggest that you edit your post to give it an explanatory title, so that it can be indexed by the search engine of this site, as well as by google? That way others may find your very post, which helps them bridge the gaps.
COMMENTARY:
That was good of you to take the time to help. In truth though, many many people help similarly. One of the problems is that the site serves so many different model phones, and so many ROM variations, that the site Admins really try (emphasis on TRY !) to segregate the "I need help with xxxxxx, please help!" threads to their new "Questions and Answers" forum, and keep each phone's ROM threads free of any threads that are not USER CONTRIBUTIONS to "hacking & development".
The problem is circular, though. I'm an information designer so I am often amazed that sometimes site "veterans" forget very easily the idea that for a new user "you don't know what you don't know until you get your toes wet"... then you get slapped around for not following the rules. But at same time, many many new users will pay no attention at all to a very long established culture that is evident in almost every User-to-User forums and bulletin boards on the web/internet... which is:
Please Mr. or Ms. New User, would you start here by simply first reading our Table of Contents -- or list of Forums -- before you begin to post? Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, as I say, a very circular problem, because all across the web most Forum category listings on Forum sites are very badly information-designed... generally too cumbersome to read first before a User feels overwhelm, which then flips the User's mental switch from "keep scanning down this really long list" to "Jesus, I'll spend more time here just figuring out WHERE to post than it takes to get a simple answer to a simple question."
It's more than a 2-way street with User and Community. It's more like a traffic jam at rush hour on a complex freeway interchange. Moral of the story is, it's impossible to know "intent" of a poster who answers a request for help with "use search" or just posts a link or two. Sometimes they really truly are giving someone the fastest exit ramp to their desired destination. It just takes too long to qualify such statements.
And yes, at same time there are examples every day of very inconsiderate people bashing newbies in unnecessarily cold ways.
And look how long this "meta" comment is -- which tries to bring a fuller perspective to the problem! Sometimes it's a wonder at all that so many people with so many phones are, every day, able to get so much help customizing their phones down to very specific solutions -- and all for free. Seen it that light, it's a miracle of cooperation!
pungcheer said:
Thank for step by step
Now I flash my dopodC800 to ITsPapablack but every time I reset, it's not show SPL
today I will flash again to "gulllums Touchflo2D II"
can I use same step?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
quicksite said:
COMMENTARY:
That was good of you to take the time to help. In truth though, many many people help similarly. One of the problems is that the site serves so many different model phones, and so many ROM variations, that the site Admins really try (emphasis on TRY !) to segregate the "I need help with xxxxxx, please help!" threads to their new "Questions and Answers" forum, and keep each phone's ROM threads free of any threads that are not USER CONTRIBUTIONS to "hacking & development".
The problem is circular, though. I'm an information designer so I am often amazed that sometimes site "veterans" forget very easily the idea that for a new user "you don't know what you don't know until you get your toes wet"... then you get slapped around for not following the rules. But at same time, many many new users will pay no attention at all to a very long established culture that is evident in almost every User-to-User forums and bulletin boards on the web/internet... which is:
Quote:
Please Mr. or Ms. New User, would you start here by simply first reading our Table of Contents -- or list of Forums -- before you begin to post? Thank you.
But, as I say, a very circular problem, because all across the web most Forum category listings on Forum sites are very badly information-designed... generally too cumbersome to read first before a User feels overwhelm, which then flips the User's mental switch from "keep scanning down this really long list" to "Jesus, I'll spend more time here just figuring out WHERE to post than it takes to get a simple answer to a simple question."
It's more than a 2-way street with User and Community. It's more like a traffic jam at rush hour on a complex freeway interchange. Moral of the story is, it's impossible to know "intent" of a poster who answers a request for help with "use search" or just posts a link or two. Sometimes they really truly are giving someone the fastest exit ramp to their desired destination. It just takes too long to qualify such statements.
And yes, at same time there are examples every day of very inconsiderate people bashing newbies in unnecessarily cold ways.
And look how long this "meta" comment is -- which tries to bring a fuller perspective to the problem! Sometimes it's a wonder at all that so many people with so many phones are, every day, able to get so much help customizing their phones down to very specific solutions -- and all for free. Seen it that light, it's a miracle of cooperation!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... I'll explain my point of view in the other forum, seeing as how this is the ROM development forum, and post a link.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3836096#post3836096
I was able to figure it out on my own with no posts, just searching. I've never had a problem.
quicksite said:
You are right that many MANY threads are now obsolete, or have conflicting language & directions. Can I suggest that you edit your post to give it an explanatory title, so that it can be indexed by the search engine of this site, as well as by google? That way others may find your very post, which helps them bridge the gaps.
COMMENTARY:
That was good of you to take the time to help. In truth though, many many people help similarly. One of the problems is that the site serves so many different model phones, and so many ROM variations, that the site Admins really try (emphasis on TRY !) to segregate the "I need help with xxxxxx, please help!" threads to their new "Questions and Answers" forum, and keep each phone's ROM threads free of any threads that are not USER CONTRIBUTIONS to "hacking & development".
The problem is circular, though. I'm an information designer so I am often amazed that sometimes site "veterans" forget very easily the idea that for a new user "you don't know what you don't know until you get your toes wet"... then you get slapped around for not following the rules. But at same time, many many new users will pay no attention at all to a very long established culture that is evident in almost every User-to-User forums and bulletin boards on the web/internet... which is:
But, as I say, a very circular problem, because all across the web most Forum category listings on Forum sites are very badly information-designed... generally too cumbersome to read first before a User feels overwhelm, which then flips the User's mental switch from "keep scanning down this really long list" to "Jesus, I'll spend more time here just figuring out WHERE to post than it takes to get a simple answer to a simple question."
It's more than a 2-way street with User and Community. It's more like a traffic jam at rush hour on a complex freeway interchange. Moral of the story is, it's impossible to know "intent" of a poster who answers a request for help with "use search" or just posts a link or two. Sometimes they really truly are giving someone the fastest exit ramp to their desired destination. It just takes too long to qualify such statements.
And yes, at same time there are examples every day of very inconsiderate people bashing newbies in unnecessarily cold ways.
And look how long this "meta" comment is -- which tries to bring a fuller perspective to the problem! Sometimes it's a wonder at all that so many people with so many phones are, every day, able to get so much help customizing their phones down to very specific solutions -- and all for free. Seen it that light, it's a miracle of cooperation!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.Yes.Yes. Every noob situation is different as many already have the concept of a "list" and its purpose. The problem I see everyday is that new people never read the rules. I know I didnt, but I already understood why there iwas even a list. Its too be read and understood that noob questions do not go where it says "This forum is only meant fro ROM issues and ROM development." Its why the admins get fed up. Its really the responsibility of the poster to be informed about where to post on a forum. Even is there is 3 million forums (yes i know its overwhelming at first) there is only 4 subcategories. Read the rules. If you get lost and dont know what to do. Read the rules. Even if you dont get your answer, at least you'll learn to appreciate when someone posts in the correct place. Now im getting worked up on this. To conclude. The poster was very lucky to receive such nice answers to his question.
raptoro07 said:
I was able to figure it out on my own with no posts, just searching. I've never had a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only more people had that quality in them the world would be a better place.
My point is not to say the information isn't here already, my point is to say the information isn't as clear, as updated, and easily accessible as it could be. If I had my way, you would have a forum specially devoted to Tutorials. And on that tutorial forum you would have a giant sticky that says, "The Complete Idiots Guide on Flashing" (emphasis on complete). It wouldn't give you links to like 20 different libraries of dictionary definitions, wikis, and other guides. It would be like a picture book with easily seen pictures of each step. Who knows we could make it rhyme and it would be like Dr.Seus for nerds. I think after my Complete Cab Collection is finished, I'll work on such a page.
The point is: Herald and Herald Mobile 6 are a little redundant. Why do we need both? What is the point? I read the rules and the forum FAQ and all of that, and I'm not finding an answer to the usefulness of having both. And unfortunately, where are the mods during all of this? From what Ivan says, they aren't taking applications for Mods, but they probably should be. Just look at how long this post is able to get in this thread and you'll see my point.
True eventually you find an answer after reading through 8-10 posts, 2-4 wikis, 3-6 google searches, and 8-10 panic attacks after doing a bad rom attempt. Does it really have to be this way?
apreichner said:
My point is not to say the information isn't here already, my point is to say the information isn't as clear, as updated, and easily accessible as it could be. If I had my way, you would have a forum specially devoted to Tutorials. And on that tutorial forum you would have a giant sticky that says, "The Complete Idiots Guide on Flashing" (emphasis on complete). It wouldn't give you links to like 20 different libraries of dictionary definitions, wikis, and other guides. It would be like a picture book with easily seen pictures of each step. Who knows we could make it rhyme and it would be like Dr.Seus for nerds. I think after my Complete Cab Collection is finished, I'll work on such a page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying to get stuff like this set up. I'm trying to become a mod for partially this reason.
I HAVE posted a complete guide on flashing, but it needs a little updating. The thing about all this is that it's not a business. A bunch of people (like me) read and read and read and gather data from one place and another and put it together to make something useful for our phones. The problem is, being that it's a forum, no one really wants to have to sit there and dedicate hour after hour to just writing out tutorials, when people like me, the ones who have that knowledge already, spend hours and hours and hours making ROMs for everybody else.
rstweb said:
The point is: Herald and Herald Mobile 6 are a little redundant. Why do we need both? What is the point? I read the rules and the forum FAQ and all of that, and I'm not finding an answer to the usefulness of having both. And unfortunately, where are the mods during all of this? From what Ivan says, they aren't taking applications for Mods, but they probably should be. Just look at how long this post is able to get in this thread and you'll see my point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me, I've been pushing the whole redundancy issue for a while already. They do have a lot of mods, but none of them really work the Herald forum due to the fact that it's an old device with little to no traffic as compared to the other phone forums.
rstweb said:
True eventually you find an answer after reading through 8-10 posts, 2-4 wikis, 3-6 google searches, and 8-10 panic attacks after doing a bad rom attempt. Does it really have to be this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There IS one great positive aspect to doing it this way. On the way to learn what you THINK you need to learn, you end up learning what you TRULY need to learn accidently. We live in a society where everyone wants the answers right away and to not understand the context. Sometimes, the context is more important than the answers. Searching in this manner forces the context on you before you reach an answer.
ivanmmj said:
I've been trying to get stuff like this set up. I'm trying to become a mod for partially this reason.
I HAVE posted a complete guide on flashing, but it needs a little updating. The thing about all this is that it's not a business. A bunch of people (like me) read and read and read and gather data from one place and another and put it together to make something useful for our phones. The problem is, being that it's a forum, no one really wants to have to sit there and dedicate hour after hour to just writing out tutorials, when people like me, the ones who have that knowledge already, spend hours and hours and hours making ROMs for everybody else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, not everyone can do everything at once. You have done a pretty good job, but you have a life, and a wife, so you can't keep up all of that plus doing your ROMs, plus writing out Tutorial after Tutorial. Maybe that's why you have unmarried people like me here who can complain and write up cab collections at the same time . If only we had a female moderator, this forum would be spotless, and she could yell at dumb people at the same time.
ivanmmj said:
Trust me, I've been pushing the whole redundancy issue for a while already. They do have a lot of mods, but none of them really work the Herald forum due to the fact that it's an old device with little to no traffic as compared to the other phone forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that's true, maybe it kind of disappoints me seeing as how I didn't get the Wing too long ago. And what does it hurt adding someone as a Mod... It's not like they are paying you.
ivanmmj said:
There IS one great positive aspect to doing it this way. On the way to learn what you THINK you need to learn, you end up learning what you TRULY need to learn accidently. We live in a society where everyone wants the answers right away and to not understand the context. Sometimes, the context is more important than the answers. Searching in this manner forces the context on you before you reach an answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that searching forces the context. However, I also think it's possible to put the context together for people. You're right, society is content on finding what we want right away. However, what about the ordinary people who don't really want to dive so in depth into a pool of XDA Development. Should they not be given the right to flash a ROM to a phone, seeing as how it's pretty simple to do now. For people like me... Computer Science Majors... I love learning this context and don't mind the research, but not everyone is exactly like me or you.
apreichner said:
However, what about the ordinary people who don't really want to dive so in depth into a pool of XDA Development. Should they not be given the right to flash a ROM to a phone, seeing as how it's pretty simple to do now. For people like me... Computer Science Majors... I love learning this context and don't mind the research, but not everyone is exactly like me or you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think everybody should know what he is doing before he´s trying to do it.
They have to know at least about the things that can happen.
In the last weaks dozens of users had bricked their phone´s by not reading, if there wasn´t the goldcard.
I don´t like the idea of people that come to this Forum, get everything served on silver plates and leave again without giving something back to the community.
I developed nothing by myself but at least i read the threads, try to help others when i can with answers or testing their work and give feedback.
There are countless threads and user´s that proof my point.
Zaknafein21 said:
I think everybody should know what he is doing before he´s trying to do it.
They have to know at least about the things that can happen.
In the last weaks dozens of users had bricked their phone´s by not reading, if there wasn´t the goldcard.
I don´t like the idea of people that come to this Forum, get everything served on silver plates and leave again without giving something back to the community.
I developed nothing by myself but at least i read the threads, try to help others when i can with answers or testing their work and give feedback.
There are countless threads and user´s that proof my point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course they should know what could happen. But it doesn't take a whole lot of threads to tell you the risks, it takes a paragraph, maybe two at most. Just read the back of a bottle of sleeping pills. There are more risks to taking those and yet they fit them in the space the size of an inch, maybe an inch and a half. And if things were organized, it would be like, "If these happen, see this thread." and there's a thread full of problems and solutions. And at the bottom, "If you cannot find your problem, try Searching. Recommend using Google XDA search, because normal XDA search sucks balls."
I have seen the posts of people who have bricked their phone. Although, in my opinion, this can be as much to blame as them not reading, as the material is not easily presented. It also doesn't help that organization has ceased to exist...
My idea was not to hand everything on a silver platter, either way, you have to read something or else you'll screw up... My idea is to take the information already available, revise it, update it, and make it easily available. Rather than hidden on page 2, 3, 4, 5. I'm thinking since there are no mods available to come Sticky some of these really important things on pages 2, 3, 4, and 5... I might just bump them all.
To me, all of this is far from being handed on a silver platter... But perhaps if you are unhappy with gratuity, just don't do anything at all here, instead of expecting more... Leave it to the people who are happy with and feel good about receiving thanks. It reminds me of some guy calling to get support and all he is is directed to an automated service, sometimes you just WANT to hear a human voice for once in your miserable support seeking life...
apreichner said:
Of course they should know what could happen. But it doesn't take a whole lot of threads to tell you the risks, it takes a paragraph, maybe two at most. Just read the back of a bottle of sleeping pills. There are more risks to taking those and yet they fit them in the space the size of an inch, maybe an inch and a half. And if things were organized, it would be like, "If these happen, see this thread." and there's a thread full of problems and solutions. And at the bottom, "If you cannot find your problem, try Searching. Recommend using Google XDA search, because normal XDA search sucks balls."
I have seen the posts of people who have bricked their phone. Although, in my opinion, this can be as much to blame as them not reading, as the material is not easily presented. It also doesn't help that organization has ceased to exist...
My idea was not to hand everything on a silver platter, either way, you have to read something or else you'll screw up... My idea is to take the information already available, revise it, update it, and make it easily available. Rather than hidden on page 2, 3, 4, 5. I'm thinking since there are no mods available to come Sticky some of these really important things on pages 2, 3, 4, and 5... I might just bump them all.
To me, all of this is far from being handed on a silver platter... But perhaps if you are unhappy with gratuity, just don't do anything at all here, instead of expecting more... Leave it to the people who are happy with and feel good about receiving thanks. It reminds me of some guy calling to get support and all he is is directed to an automated service, sometimes you just WANT to hear a human voice for once in your miserable support seeking life...
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The problem is that most new users expect the busy people who already create everything to put together something that would take hundred of man hours for them. Someone has to do it, but unfortunately, I'm too busy to do it. Someone has to step up to the plate of becoming the researcher and write up some nice walkthroughs, properly formatted. I tried doing that for a while, but people ignored those posts and still spammed the forums with the same questions over and over. If we can get some good walkthroughs and a general (here's the links for everything), I'm sure we can get it stickied... but again, it's the responsibility of the new person to read the sticky. Although a lot of new people won't read them, at the very least, it will help those who WANT to try to search. ^_^
ivanmmj said:
The problem is that most new users expect the busy people who already create everything to put together something that would take hundred of man hours for them. Someone has to do it, but unfortunately, I'm too busy to do it. Someone has to step up to the plate of becoming the researcher and write up some nice walkthroughs, properly formatted. I tried doing that for a while, but people ignored those posts and still spammed the forums with the same questions over and over. If we can get some good walkthroughs and a general (here's the links for everything), I'm sure we can get it stickied... but again, it's the responsibility of the new person to read the sticky. Although a lot of new people won't read them, at the very least, it will help those who WANT to try to search. ^_^
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My point exactly. Thank you Ivan.
apreichner said:
To me, all of this is far from being handed on a silver platter... But perhaps if you are unhappy with gratuity, just don't do anything at all here, instead of expecting more... Leave it to the people who are happy with and feel good about receiving thanks.
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That´s not what i was trying to say!
I try to help and would help to start the walkthrough threads but i don´t think this would help. The Stickys allready there aren´t bad especially this sticky
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=369397
I am not frustrated about the done work, i am frustrated about lazy users.
If my point wasn´t clear i think i have to blame my limitited english.
ivanmmj said:
The problem is that most new users expect the busy people who already create everything to put together something that would take hundred of man hours for them. Someone has to do it, but unfortunately, I'm too busy to do it. Someone has to step up to the plate of becoming the researcher and write up some nice walkthroughs, properly formatted. I tried doing that for a while, but people ignored those posts and still spammed the forums with the same questions over and over. If we can get some good walkthroughs and a general (here's the links for everything), I'm sure we can get it stickied... but again, it's the responsibility of the new person to read the sticky. Although a lot of new people won't read them, at the very least, it will help those who WANT to try to search. ^_^
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Click to collapse
Agree.

Reminder about XDA

OK so i know this is the wrong forum, BUT I came across this and wanted to "bump" it so to speak. This was posted by kyphur in 08 and in a mods sig now. Please read and adhere to the spirit of the post. It is RIGHT ON!!!
I think what a lot of people forget is that this is not a "make my phone neat & kewl" place.
As implied by the name this is technically a Developers forum/community.
Now what does that mean? Well first off it means that there is an expectation that if you are here then you want to customize your device but rather than just installing something that someone packaged you want to understand how it works and maybe even enhance it yourself.
When I first came here with a Blue Angel it was a different environment. PDA Phones were not embraced by the general public because of the expense and complexity (I paid over $400 for my BA). A $400 phone 4 years ago was expensive, today the Tilt is $300 after rebates but with inflation & the rise in the cost of other devices and the fact that there are other sources out there giving them away for $150 our neat bit of kit has become popular with mainstream users.
Now we have a flood of new users who are asking not "How can I do this myself" but more like "Give me the quick fix" without caring to understand the process. See if you read the threads then you get to experience the learning process, you see how the issues were investigated and confirmed. Then you get to watch the different attempts at resolution and learn why some failed while others worked. That is called Development.
The NooB backlash is coming from users who have walked in the development shoes and is directed mainly at those who don't care for the journey but just want the end result or destination.
As a Development Forum we are just as much (if not more) about the journey. I've read so many comments like "I don't have time to read all of the threads" or "I don't care how it works, just that it does". These very statements are contrary to the heart & soul of XDA-Devs and that is why the backlash is so strong.
Let me be very clear on this: IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE JOURNEY THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
XDA-Devs is about developers & hackers helping each other and working together to get the most out of our devices by understanding them better than most.
XDA-Devs is not about helping everyone who wants a "Kewl bit of kit" make their phone better than the guy next to him.
Now do we go kicking users off who never contribute anything, NO. We tolerate it to an extent. Where the toleration ends is when these users start diluting the usefulness of the forum by repeating the same questions over and over again.
You ask us to understand your position. Well if you want to benefit from our experience and time then I think it is only fair that you understand our position.
Maybe you can recommend an alternative site for people who just want the newest tweaks and software.
the idea is not that only developers should be looking at this site, but that this is a place where developers communicate with each other and the beneficiaries of their work. This is not the place for someone to post threads about general questions about how to use or mod their device. This is a place that will develop the capabilities of the android platform if it is allowed. Developers WILL abandon this forum if it becomes a bulletin board or a technical support site.....and if you need a question answered, there are other forums on THIS site to address those.
Agreed 100%. While developing for the Windows mobile, I also got the same thing. I would post a thread and WARN people of a certain things and tell them how to fix it. Then I'd get 30 pages of "geeze, you broke something. how do you fix it?" That gets annoying real fast. I would love it if this forum forced people to take a test before they could post in the development sections... Before that, they should only be able to post in the regular sections.
One thing that really bugs me is the fact that the newbs don't want to search but don't realize that they take OUR time to search FOR them. No one knows everything. Every developer on this site searches and learns. I know that if you put together all the time that I've spent on this site JUST researching and searching, it'd be MONTHS and MONTHS of non-stop, no sleep searching and researching. So why can't the average person search for 2 minutes? Is their time worth more than my time?
/rant - while talking on the phone so it might not make sense...
Pinesal said:
Maybe you can recommend an alternative site for people who just want the newest tweaks and software.
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Click to collapse
There are thousands, but essentially all they do is copy stuff off here.
Like the post said, if you just want to root your phone so it can do 'cool stuff' and not give a **** about how the damn thing works then maybe you shouldn't be modding your phone (that wasn't aimed at you btw, just 'people' in general the market place is made up of 99% 'these people' who don't/can't read and it's pretty irritating.)
Agree with the post 100%, fantastic
we sadly are living in the (ME) world
there is such a huge gape beetween the 10-19 generation and 20-29
10-19 generation is living in such an easy world, they never had to blow into their nintendo cassettes , know how heavy a quantum bigfoot is or what RTFM mean's
You said it, this is in the wrong forum.
You're not an admin and although you can spend your time here (and pretty much all of your posts) reporting out-of-place threads, you're still not an admin.
People always wonder into communities and it always takes a while to learn the way things work. Mickey is doing a good job on closing and moving threads that are unrelated to development.
With that said...
Reported.
Agreed. It's really, really, really, really getting to me. I wish OP's had semi-moderator power. They could at least delete all necessary posts and ban that user - if required- for a certain amount of time from their thread only.
jubeh said:
You said it, this is in the wrong forum.
You're not an admin and although you can spend your time here (and pretty much all of your posts) reporting out-of-place threads, you're still not an admin.
People always wonder into communities and it always takes a while to learn the way things work. Mickey is doing a good job on closing and moving threads that are unrelated to development.
With that said...
Reported.
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ughh, no i'm not an admin, and no almost all my posts, or the majority, or a half are reported threads, but i do try to help out the mods when i can. they are not on all forums at all times and can use the help, and they have said as much.
Oh thank you thank you! People here should want to understand why thing the work as they work. Not just want their phones to look cool.
As it you wouldnt know it, i have been with xda for years well since the titan came out. before that i was modding an ipaq and of course the old palms. everyonce in awhile i lose interest and move on only to come back when i have something new(major a.d.d). i do write java as well as c and even c++(so on) i typically find this place useful to try stuff out and even set up my own custom rom just for me. i dont post because i can google. while i have many of my own questions i would like answered i simply dont ask most of the time(such as using micro kernels and modding app2sd to make the os have two options sd in or out. however the problem is not the generations or age difference or anything like that. its social systems outside of xda. posting a reply used to mean an answer or something useful. now its normal to simply post "great job". thats nice and all but maybe instead of complaining about it we should come up with a new system that improves xda. like a sorting system or sub thread system and set up catagorys for our replys. like thumbs up would be for the "good job". i know its hard to keep everyone happy but this is a forum first, a forum has design problems when you get the number of people xda has. use advanced search it helps a lot. a sorting system with requirements for certain catagorys would help devs. its not easy modding and getting it right and you cant do it alone. xda is the help even if its not your phone sometimes others have solutions too. such as winmo users putting android on their phones(yes i did it too my old titan for fun). things i learned and other devs learn can help us and vice versa. i have yet to find bad technology only poorly thought out ideas that could have been. which is why we mod.
p.s. wtf is up with palm and blackberry ads all the time.
Most of those kids just want the answer or fix in the next 3min. with perfect steps or a patch that supposedly will fix and hack their device,after that they´ll never show up.
All they want is to show off without bothering to read.
I totaly understand. I do feel sometimes that certain devs do get a bit annoyed with people who just want to fix the phone and not understand. I'm not linux or coding wiz. But whe I got here in may I was one of the people who just wanted me phone to be better than urs. I still have that to some extent but I have developed more of a "how and what is causeing this issue" attitude. I try to contribute as best as I can. Helping out over at q&a as best as I can. I enjoy xda and without my days would be more boring than what the are now. I dunno I guess I'm just rambling. Bottom line is I have tried to correct my attitude toward modding. Hell I even post my email so users can drop a line if they need help.
i am 20 and i fondly remember blowing into my nes super nes and genesis games.
i am pretty new to XDA. when i first found this site all i wanted was a quick fix. now i am getting more intrested in the actual dev aspect. i want to be able to create my own rom eventualy. yes i do find myself asking stupid questions and getting some foul responses but in my opinion no question is a stupid one. only the one not asked. yes alot of people just want a fix but there are new users who want to learn. like me. so i appreciate the help i have recieved from most members. and i alwasy appoligise for my stupidity. so dont get down on all noobs because alot of us want to learn and the only way to is to ask.
saprano614 said:
i am pretty new to XDA. when i first found this site all i wanted was a quick fix. now i am getting more intrested in the actual dev aspect. i want to be able to create my own rom eventualy. yes i do find myself asking stupid questions and getting some foul responses but in my opinion no question is a stupid one. only the one not asked. yes alot of people just want a fix but there are new users who want to learn. like me. so i appreciate the help i have recieved from most members. and i alwasy appoligise for my stupidity. so dont get down on all noobs because alot of us want to learn and the only way to is to ask.
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nobody is getting down on noobs. ONLY the site users who FAIL to post questions and general comments in the correct forum
jaaronmoody said:
nobody is getting down on noobs. ONLY the site users who FAIL to post questions and general comments in the correct forum
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Just want to make a statement befor someone did.
I thank you for this post. I came to this forum a long time ago I have learned quite a bit and appreciate everything that is done here. There are very skillful people that are on here and I wish I had the amount of skill then thesemodders, hackers, developers etc... have I keep my mouth shut unless i feel there is some thing that i know how to answer, i have never complained about a single rom i simply research what can be done to change for fix it, all answers rely in a search somewhere either here or google. I just wish other people would do the same then we would be able to prevent a 300+ page threads where only about 25 pages are worth anything.
look at the amount of posts from someone who knows they are barley able to contrubute(but do what he can) and been here this long. compared to people who have been here dont have much to contribute but love to post everything that comes to thier minds.
Join Date
22nd October 2006
Total Posts
89
samygent said:
we sadly are living in the (ME) world
there is such a huge gape beetween the 10-19 generation and 20-29
10-19 generation is living in such an easy world, they never had to blow into their nintendo cassettes , know how heavy a quantum bigfoot is or what RTFM mean's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HEY!
im 18 and clearly remember blowing into those damn games to make them work. but when they worked, so much fun i still think theyre better than the crappy xbox and ps3 games of today... but thats just me. lol
pleeease yall! let's keep THIS thread on topic! LOL!!

Lurked for a while....ready to jump in..

Hi. New here.
I don't know if it makes any sense but it's kind of intimidating making a first post on this site. Not because of any of the members but because of the knowledge gap between you and me. Usually when I join a forum I know at least something of the topic.
I have had 2 HTC Hero cdma for about 2 months since switching from HTC Pure.
I was comfortable with installing the leaked 2.1 but that is as far as I've had the courage/comfort level to go.
I could use some info. Links would be fine.
I have used the wiki but possibly don't know where to look.
1. Choosing a rom for dummies. Lots of choices. Don't understand the spec sheets posted. Once I'm used to this it will be easy swapping around but whats a good place to start?
2. Nandroid for dummies. The official release thread seems written for slightly more experienced users. Is there a less technical guide?
Anyway, thanks for having me.
Welcome to forums
Have a deep read on your devices section before doing anything!
Read, Search, Respect and Enjoy!
First, let me welcome you to XDA. There are many users below your knowledge level, and many users on your knowledge level, and many users above your knowledge level. You won't have any problems fitting in. To ensure more comfort, take time a read through some users first posts. You'll see many people didn't have a clue what they were talking about when they first started (including me) but quickly learned and grew.
1. Asking for a suggestion of a ROM is like asking for a suggestion of a food. You might ask me my favorite plate and I tell you steak, but what's to say you even like steak? Or you aren't a vegetarian? ROMs boil down to your personal preference. Try some out! Try them all out! You'll soon find a ROM you enjoy and like above all the others. If you like two - there are many tools that allow you to quickly change between two.
2. Nandroid is simple! If Hero works anything like a G1/myTouch, and I'm sure it does, it's a simple once click procedure. You go into your recovery image, click Nandroid backup, and you're done! If you want to restore, you do the same thing except click Nandroid restore! It is point blank that simple. Remember, a nandroid backup saves your phone's entire state as is. Excluding the SPL, RADIO, and recovery image. All your apps, data, text messages, EVERYTHING is saved and able to be restored in a matter of MINUTES!
As the member above me posted, READ! DO NOT SKIP ANY PART OF THE POST! Skipping even a single sentence can be the difference between a working and non-working phone. Read the thread and see how things went for other people. You might see the perfect ROM only to read and find out it doesn't even work. Then you won't have wasted your time flashing to only figure this out for yourself. I understand there are many technical terms, but it's good to go ahead and learn them because chances are you'll see them again and again.
Search for any questions. Some people think that it might actually be quicker to post their question and wait for a reply. Well, as you see, this is a forum! NOT A CHAT ROOM! People aren't going to be looking at your thread the second you post it. People may look, but never reply. Chances are you'll find your answer faster by searching and learn better. Remember, the art behind searching is using the correct wording. I'm sure you can search, though. However, failing to search can constantly result in getting flamed (personally attacked) for being too lazy. Remember, we are a community, not a crowd. We're here to help each other and improve our devices. Without working together, many things you find and enjoy here probably would have never came to be.
And if the rest of the forum is like the G1 thread, get ready for smart-ass plain out rude people. Remember it's the internet, though. Don't let insults get to you.
Again, welcome!
Welcome to XDA. Read, Research, and Happy Flashing

[Q] How to get the ball moving on becoming an app developer

Hey guys,
I realize this might not be a correct section but there's not a Q&A section on android as a whole. I've had a G1 since it's release date, and since then am now on a vibrant, so i've experienced Android for a considerable amount of time. Over this time, I've flashed a lot of roms, and used a lot of mods that come through these forums. I'd say I have well above average knowledge on android and how to utilize the devices to their fullest potential over anyone who simply buys a phone and uses it.
That said, I've become interested in taking this passion to a new level and joining app, and maybe even ROM developers in the future. Now I know there's a lot to read on these forums about particular problems and solutions, but I'm looking for direction on where I can find sources to kind of introduce me to app development and explain the Android OS on a much deeper level, whether it be a huge guide, website, whatever. I want to take this head on and not half ass so simply searching through the forums for thousands of things just doesn't seem like the most efficient way to truly understand how everything comes together as a whole on app development. Truthfully, I really don't know any details on the process of signing up etc etc. It's also not like I can look up a class to take (which I would actually prefer) so I can really get a grasp and not have to come crying to these forums every time something tedious gets in my way, ya know?
So any app devs, I'd greatly appreciate any guidance to how you got started. I'm not a total geek by nature so it's not like I really understand things that some people might call common sense about linux/android. Whether you copy and paste a link, or give me some advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys.

Concerns about this thread!!

XDA SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE BEING RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS
basically im upset cause xda was never like this when i had my g1 people was very nice on giving DETAIL BABY STEPS on getting what you want i mean come on i dont understand how is it so bad to teach us first timers some slack
This thread needs to have an article on the XDA front page portal ASAP
crimedave1987 said:
XDA SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE BEING RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS
basically im upset cause xda was never like this when i had my g1 people was very nice on giving DETAIL BABY STEPS on getting what you want i mean come on i dont understand how is it so bad to teach us first timers some slack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a noob who spent a LOT of time/energy/effort researching on my own trying to unnoob myself before asking silly questions I understand where the frustration is from. People like me who took that time (I'm talking many hours per day for straight weeks - 100s of hours!) are frustrated by people who expect easy answers with minimal effort. It's easy to panic if something unexpected happens and you no longer have a working phone but that's the risk you take and no one should bear the brunt of that panic but YOU.
That said, I actually agree with you. I think not replying to people who ask dumb questions is probably a better way to help the community at large. The knee-jerk reaction when tension is high is to send a smart ass response but that doesn't teach anyone anything. I know it's tempting, I've done it, but all it does is feed the troll. If a noob asks a researchable question and NO ONE answers, maybe it will inspire this noob to search for the answer on their own. And if/when they find it, they can be proud of themselves for figuring it out and next time I will bet you they search first and ask questions later. The bigger problem is that sometimes a SUPER NICE person will hold their hand and help them out even if they don't deserve it and then everyone expects this treatment every time.
Point of fact: if you're on XDA you are probably trying to pimp out/modify your phone in some way. This is your choice, and some of the options available to you are not easy. If you aren't prepared to put in the time to become familiar with it first, it isn't worth the risk. I'm sure there is some clause to that effect in the XDA rules everyone agrees to when they sign up but they always forget that.
crimedave1987 said:
XDA SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE BEING RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know too much about things but I'm already willing to learn if i have the time for it. I agree about the rudeness, and every forum is different. I was on the g1 forums too and understand what you mean. When i got my 4GS I came here when deving was picking up on the few excellent ROMs we have now. My device had the new bootloader so i had trouble at first picking up on things since i couldn't S-OFF and had to fastboot boot.imgs EVERYTIME i flashed a new ROM.
I had to read read read like crazy and put many hours into getting my phone to where it is now (rooted and S-OFF via Juopunutbear) and only when i really needed help and couldn't figure things out on my own is when i asked about something.
All it takes is a little effort and i try to help where i can (as little as that may have been...lol) Sometimes i can understand the frustration from both sides.
There is tho, a difference between being rude and getting upset after you tell someone what they need to know and they don't do it. You see people asking the same questions over and over AFTER they've been given a clear fix to the answer and i can see why some get pissed. I know if i can do these things that ANYONE can.
We have good devs and quite a few that truly are willing to help where they can. With the g1 there was an overflow of devs and others who helped. (Can't really compare them) The lack here limits time for most who already have their hands full so we have to be willing to do some things ourselves.
I'm not telling you to leave but things will be this way here probably permanently. Don't think everyone doesn't want to help tho cuz most do
Sent from my 4GSlide using xdApp
Considering you've made MULTIPLE threads regarding problems that already have STEP BY STEP guides, it's kind of hard to be patient and spoon feed all the answers.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=42059167
gtmaster303 said:
Considering you've made MULTIPLE threads regarding problems that already have STEP BY STEP guides, it's kind of hard to be patient and spoon feed all the answers.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=42059167
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Oh man. I should have checked that before spending the time to type out a thought-out response. It confuses me when people spend so much time begging for step by step instructions. In that time you could have read the compendium and had it done by now!
Also - it's the internet. If someone hurts your feelings by being rude on the internet, grow up or log out. Cyberbullying is a serious issue if someone knows your true identity, but you choose to come here. Flame posts are discouraged because they are usually unhelpful. They clutter up threads and get in the way of useful stuff which makes them wastes of bandwidth and forum space. They are not discouraged because somebody might get their feelings hurt. (If I'm wrong about that - don't correct me. I would be super bummed if XDA was that sensitivo about stuff.)
crimedave1987 said:
XDA SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE BEING RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS
basically im upset cause xda was never like this when i had my g1 people was very nice on giving DETAIL BABY STEPS on getting what you want i mean come on i dont understand how is it so bad to teach us first timers some slack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally Our Thread is DEAD cause no one wants to ask for help because of some of the obvious responses
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
K7Cobb said:
Totally Our Thread is DEAD cause no one wants to ask for help because of some of the obvious responses
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like search it? I don't know where this is going? I understand being helpful. But when you have the same question being asked by 20 people. Being answered about 100x, it's annoying.
But I agree flamming is getting out of hand. There should be a thread just for Noobs. To ask stupid as questions, and not be flammed.
Sent from my MIUI V4
AgentCherryColla said:
Like search it? I don't know where this is going? I understand being helpful. But when you have the same question being asked by 20 people. Being answered about 100x, it's annoying.
But I agree flamming is getting out of hand. There should be a thread just for Noobs. To ask stupid as questions, and not be flammed.
Sent from my MIUI V4
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Click to collapse
Just one thread for noobs? Why not an entire forum? No, forget that...how about an entire website for noobs????? I'll invent this! I think I'll call it PPCGeeks.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Every post asking a question already answered multiple times clutters the forum and makes it harder to find those very answers for other people.
Finding one thread in ten is easier then one thread in fifty, especially when forty of them are worthless.
I have volunteered countless hours researching, testing, and writing in-depth step-by-step guides that someone who has no experience can sit down and follow through.
Honestly, asking for things already detailed like that is hard to deal with - the only way to do so would be to physically do it for them.
Everytime I see someone make a whole new thread just to advertise that they are too lazy to go read the answer, it makes people like me think twice about taking the time to write these guides.
I don't usually post to these kind of threads, but it's here so why not.
There would be more walkthroughs and tutorials if people took the time to read the ones already here. Why make them if people won't read them anyway?
So all you people out there who can't be bothered to look for the answer before asking your question, you are turning away the developers and people who could answer your questions.
The more people show up begging for a handout, the less people there are giving it. Eventually that road leads to nothing but beggars, with no one to beg from.
If it wasn't for people asking intelligent questions based on having read my tutorials, I wouldn't consider any further ones. If someone doesn't get it, but actually put effort into trying, I'm happy to help.
Someone can't be bothered to even try to help themselves, why should I try to help them - especially after they are making it more difficult for others to get the help.
Others who deserve it.
Others who have earned it by investing time and effort.
So, I implore people to take the time to understand what XDA is. It is not instant gratification.
Don't ruin what you don't understand.
Every post not adding something constructive is taking away from the ones that do, in a big way. The larger the database becomes, the harder it is to index and process server side, and the harder it is to navigate and use client side.
The answer is here - just look for it.
Be kind, considerate and helpful - try to add more then you take away.
If my post offends you, then you are part of the problem.
So Close the Thread and Move On
I'm by no means a stranger to technology but I am relatively new to rooting phones. I've done my research and through my own trial and error, figured out how to root my phone. As others have stated, I spent several hours browsing this site looking for the answers even before I upgraded to the 4GS. What I've seen on these boards is while there are multiple threads asking the same questions, there have also been condescending replies from some. While it could be considered warranted to be frustrated with the constant barrage of repetitive questions, why not just close or delete the thread instead of firing back at those who are too lazy to do their research? If you're worried about cluttering up the boards/threads, why contribute to it?
eparico said:
I'm by no means a stranger to technology but I am relatively new to rooting phones. I've done my research and through my own trial and error, figured out how to root my phone. As others have stated, I spent several hours browsing this site looking for the answers even before I upgraded to the 4GS. What I've seen on these boards is while there are multiple threads asking the same questions, there have also been condescending replies from some. While it could be considered warranted to be frustrated with the constant barrage of repetitive questions, why not just close or delete the thread instead of firing back at those who are too lazy to do their research? If you're worried about cluttering up the boards/threads, why contribute to it?
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Because the mods are not here to be babysitters, and the community should be self policing to an extent.
Every once in a while it's necessary to explain why being inconsiderate and expecting people to do your work for you is detrimental to the community.
Detailing why expecting people to invest their scarce free time and energy into the effort some are too lazy to even attempt, and how that degrades the resource this community is hopefully educates some and prevents them from doing so in the future.
It's threads like this where those types get together and reinforce their ignorance, and encourage others to follow suit that exacerbates the problems for the rest of us, and creates bigger headaches for the mods to deal with.
Again, hopefully a little education goes a long way, and the gamble is that a few posts highlighting the problem and how it hurts prevents more like this from popping up.
I mean, when the information asked about is in a stickied post ( as all too often it is ) that is literally an intentional and blatent abuse and subversion of the forums.
...and lastly, I have no computer to dev on so for once am willing to try to plead with the ones who would try to hinder our exchange of knowledge from doing so.
Sent from a digital distance.
Blue6IX said:
Because the mods are not here to be babysitters, and the community should be self policing to an extent.
Every once in a while it's necessary to explain why being inconsiderate and expecting people to do your work for you is detrimental to the community.
Detailing why expecting people to invest their scarce free time and energy into the effort some are too lazy to even attempt, and how that degrades the resource this community is hopefully educates some and prevents them from doing so in the future.
It's threads like this where those types get together and reinforce their ignorance, and encourage others to follow suit that exacerbates the problems for the rest of us, and creates bigger headaches for the mods to deal with.
Again, hopefully a little education goes a long way, and the gamble is that a few posts highlighting the problem and how it hurts prevents more like this from popping up.
I mean, when the information asked about is in a stickied post ( as all too often it is ) that is literally an intentional and blatent abuse and subversion of the forums.
...and lastly, I have no computer to dev on so for once am willing to try to plead with the ones who would try to hinder our exchange of knowledge from doing so.
Sent from a digital distance.
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Don't get me wrong, I feel your frustration and those of the other developers and/or mods who are constantly attempting to answer questions that have been asked and answered multiple times already. I've been supporting end users for several years and there are some who no matter how many times you tell them something (sometimes kicking and screaming the entire time), they either ignore what you say or flat out refuse to learn since there's someone there to scoop them out of the hole they put themselves in. I fully agree that some are deserving of a good cyber-smack and told they're being inconsiderate.
However, those who reply to these same threads are also expending just as much time and energy, if not more, telling someone they should do their own research instead of just removing or closing the thread in question. In turn, this would serve to help eliminate that blatant abuse and IMO, take a lot less energy and frustration with the ignorance out of the picture. It would also help to keep the threads and the space needed to maintain this site to a minimum. Self-policing will only work to a small degree. Should it be the responsibility of the mods to babysit? No, but you also can't expect every person who comes to this site to have enough sense to do their own research either. I've dealt with enough end users where I find the expectation from some is that they should be served on a silver platter. After a few time of dealing with this, I reply by not replying.
By the way, I love this site and I thank you and all the other developers who have created these ROM's for those of us who like to tinker with our toys...and read the instructions!
eparico said:
I reply by not replying.
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This is my usual stance as well, but also include the report action.
By self policing I didn't necessarily mean snap back, mostly report so mods can delete.
You keep saying delete the thread, as if an end user has that priviledge, but we don't. It's easy to say, but harder to implement.
Back to the mods babysitting, even through the report function it may take some time for them to get to the thread, based on availability and priority.
Meantime, you do nothing and it's like a wound untreated, and just festers growing continually worse.
What can you do? Some people passed the patience threshold a long time ago. Those that say nothing are percieved to let them just run rampant.
Threads like what this started as, and the ones we are discussing are real blows to morale and interest.
I used to dedicate at a minimum my first half an hour of every login to trying to answer or find answers to questions people have, and help them get themselves straightened out.
Anymore, it seems that most of the questions asking for help are just from people like the discussion is about
If I open the first thread, and it's a question asked all the time with the answer in a sticky, I'll move to the next.
If the second one is too, well, anymore that's as far as I go before I just log out and find something else to do.
It used to be that i'd end up spending several hours over that dedicated first 30 minutes typing up detailed replies and explanations of why people were getting into the problems they were and trying to help them understand how Android works under the hood.
That would get me all juiced up and i'd flow into hours of dev, manning the irc channel and just immersing myself in the doubleshot.
Now... Well, when those first couple of questions are like what this thread is about, it just saps my motivation, the very desire to learn that puts me at the keyboard for so long.
The people replying with smart-ass remarks and garbage are just as much to blame for keeping those threads at the top of the list as the ignorant people who started them in the first place.
Given that I am starting to catch up with myself at work and having free time in blocks of hours to work on Android stuff for the doubleshot, more often then not I sit down all ready to work on something fun and new, just to find myself walking away from the keyboard somewhat depressed and disappointed instead.
A large part of my desire in working on projects for the community was to help people get more out of their device by delivering stable, working software and encouraging education and learning.
Those that want to be spoonfed are winning, I've been recently choosing to do other things then even try to browse the forums here.
I dunno, it's like I went into life to handle some things and start a much more enjoyable and higher paying career. Now that I'm settled in and can spend time back here again, it's like I don't even recognize it anymore.
They say you can't go home once you've been away, because while you may be in the place you once called home it won't be that anymore when you get there.
Never thought in a million years i'd feel like a stranger in the doubleshot forums, but here we are and here it is.
It's kinda made me sad to write this.
Sent from a digital distance.
Blue6IX said:
You keep saying delete the thread, as if an end user has that priviledge, but we don't. It's easy to say, but harder to implement
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After re-reading my post about deleting/closing the thread in question, I didn't word my comment properly. Unfortunately, this responsibility would end up on the shoulders of the admins/mods...the proverbial babysitting we were referring to earlier.
Sorry if this is a sour subject for you. If anything though, I'd take into consideration the number of people who you have already helped on this site instead of looking at the ones who bring you down. I've seen some of your threads and replies to those who you are willing to help and you provide a wealth of knowledge and information. There will always be someone out there who is willing to read and absorb what you teach, and perhaps even share it with others so they too can learn. As a supporter of end users, I understand that feeling of wanting to give up but what keeps me going is the knowing that I helped some of them along the way. The bad apples will always be just that, bad apples. I work in the education field (thankfully not a teacher) so I see this type of mentality on an almost daily basis. Toss them aside and remember you have already helped many more good apples than bad.
Geez, I feel like I'm preaching here so I'll get off my soap box but I'm sure you get the point of what I'm trying to say. Don't ever give up and don't let the boneheads get the better part of you. Lots of people on this site appreciate what you do, including myself.
This thread doesn't need to be taken down......it should be stickied for future reference!!
There are very simple rules that span across the internet. One of them is use search on forums. If you don't know this rule, frankly, you shouldn't be messing around with your phone in a way that violates the warranty or changes the configuration beyond what your grandmother can do with the same phone.
Creating threads without searching is the equivalent of going into a crowded mall, standing in the middle and shouting, "I NEED HELP HERE PLEASE". I think many will agree that any person that does that in a mall is an a**hole. You're not ENTITLED to help.
You SHOULD know this. If you don't, you're new to the internet, and perhaps you just don't have the skills or sense to be messing around with your phone.
The one thing that you can't expect people to know is that the answer to your question MIGHT be located in another device's forum. For example, how do you install Time Warner's app on rooted devices? You'd have to search the whole site. But now that you've read this, you know better.
We've all made mistakes. How you make up for them is key. I pay developers. What do you do?
WeekendsR2Short said:
This thread doesn't need to be taken down......it should be stickied for future reference!!
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Not even close...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app
gtmaster303 said:
Not even close...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app
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Just a touch of truthful sarcasm......:angel:
Blue6IX said:
.....It used to be that i'd end up spending several hours over that dedicated first 30 minutes typing up detailed replies and explanations of why people were getting into the problems they were and trying to help them understand how Android works under the hood.....
Now... Well, when those first couple of questions are like what this thread is about, it just saps my motivation, the very desire to learn that puts me at the keyboard for so long.....
....Given that I am starting to catch up with myself at work and having free time in blocks of hours to work on Android stuff for the doubleshot, more often then not I sit down all ready to work on something fun and new, just to find myself walking away from the keyboard somewhat depressed and disappointed instead.
Sent from a digital distance.
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Blue (and others)
Please don't get disheartened, certainly don't give up on XDA. I am relatively new to Android, certainly new to rooting, and I haven't even tried ROMs yet (that's for next week!). I am still working towards my 10 posts, while I've rooted and S-OFFed using the guidance available here.
In my time, I have researched & read up pretty widely on this forum and on others, on all the things I would like to do or am intrigued to find out about (custom boot animations - wow!). These is so much repeated and conflicting information out there. In doing that you soon get to recognise the posts that explain carefully, give step-by-step guides, and are helpful. You also quickly learn whose name is on those posts .They have a natural authority that lends credibility and builds trust. Those posts are the ones I bookmark and use, and those people are the ones I take advice from.
Your name is all over the best and most useful posts. There are others too but I won't name them here. Please don't stop - your efforts are appreciated. If you stop, I have to stop too, as who do I then learn from?

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