Database Info

Question about posting + Advertising websites

Right, so as a small group of you may be aware (And those that read my signature too), I have a keen interest in porting google android to mobile devices. Now a particular topic about the Dell X50v recieved a bit of attention, and a small site grew out of it, unfortunately, my dell died and I stopped visiting the site, and the few (25) users gradually drifted away from the project.
Now i've bought a website, set up my own server, and the site is up and running (Check my signature)
Now I obviously want this to take off, and I was going to make a post in General/Hacking + Development on XDA-Devs, as pretty much every device forum has a post "I want android on X device plz!!" here.
I had a look about the Q+A sections and Rules and saw nothing forbidding this, though many forums i've frequented disallow advertising of websites unless in a specific section. I figured this would be a pretty big thing here if it took off, so I wanted people to be aware of it.
So the upshot of this question is: Should I bother creating a thread basically advertising this website?

well first advice i would give is not to crosspost, not that im saying you would, just a precaution
secondly stick to one post and update that one only
thirdly only offer the site address if you think the person needs to have it

Thanks for the help, as you can see, I have a habit of rambling! Would it be acceptable for me to write a draft of the topic here before posting it so you can offer advice?

Suggestion to Mods: Split this forum into two?

Disclaimer: This post should be read in a "suggestive" tone, not a "complainy" tone.
This forum is called "Dream android development," but it seems like most of the posts are not really related to Android development, but rather Dream/Android hacking.
It might be more helpful for everyone to easily find what they are looking if a separate Dream forum were created called "Dream Hacking" and all these hacking-related posts moved there... and then this forum could be dedicated to development (OS/ROM/application development, coding, etc.).
There are several forums dedicated to Android Development (like anddev.org and the dev forum at talkandroid.com), but I like xda-developers for all my HTC-related development forum needs!
Thoughts?
Also, because I'm in the Dream Android Development forum I suppose I ought to post something about Android Development... does anyone have any suggestions or experience on implementing a Trial Period feature in an Android app? I could write a date to a file that marks the first time the user runs the app, and then check that date on every run to see if they are past their trial period end date. But what's to stop the user from uninstalling and reinstalling, to get a new install date and trial period?
http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/08ce5ab110c56b29?pli=1 (Google Groups question on the subject, FYI)

acrosser said:
Disclaimer: This post should be read in a "suggestive" tone, not a "complainy" tone.
This forum is called "Dream android development," but it seems like most of the posts are not really related to Android development, but rather Dream/Android hacking.
It might be more helpful for everyone to easily find what they are looking if a separate Dream forum were created called "Dream Hacking" and all these hacking-related posts moved there... and then this forum could be dedicated to development (OS/ROM/application development, coding, etc.).
There are several forums dedicated to Android Development (like anddev.org and the dev forum at talkandroid.com), but I like xda-developers for all my HTC-related development forum needs!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely agree. Splitting development and hacking into two forums makes sense. Let's move all the rooting threads over to a new hacking forum and keep the discussion of application development here.

I believe XDA uses development as the PC word for hacking if you look at all of the other forums that do the same thing this thread does for other OS it is called development which really is what is done in this thread as no one is really hacking per say because it is all open source.

Also, who is going to go through 60 pages of threads and move the relevant ones to a new subforum?

Sounds like a good idea, but I have to agree with Plastriq.
If I was a mod, I definitely would not want to go through and re-organize a whole subforum and split it up, when it already worked well enough for the everyday user to be okay with it...
I'm pretty sure the moderators here feel somewhat the same.

I made the suggestion to the admins. I will send them over here. I agree we need another forum... however I think one forum should be for help and one for development/hacking while keeping the dream forum for news/info and the other forums for their intended purpose.

Maybe one could be for Android development or Android Modification and one could be for Android Application development.
I like the idea of splitting this section.

Proxin said:
Sounds like a good idea, but I have to agree with Plastriq.
If I was a mod, I definitely would not want to go through and re-organize a whole subforum and split it up, when it already worked well enough for the everyday user to be okay with it...
I'm pretty sure the moderators here feel somewhat the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, then how about renaming this thread to "Dream Android Modification" (or Hacking... and even though it's open source, most of it is still hacking... because Google doesn't explicitly allow rooting, flashing the ROM, etc. on non-Dev Phone 1's).
Then create a new forum called Android Development, and give it a higher priority/level... because there will be several Android devices in the near future besides the Dream, and we don't need an Android Development forum for each individual device.

acrosser said:
Okay, then how about renaming this thread to "Dream Android Modification" (or Hacking... and even though it's open source, most of it is still hacking... because Google doesn't explicitly allow rooting, flashing the ROM, etc. on non-Dev Phone 1's).
Then create a new forum called Android Development, and give it a higher priority/level... because there will be several Android devices in the near future besides the Dream, and we don't need an Android Development forum for each individual device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're still left with the problem of moving all of the current development threads into the new forum... :/
You do have a point though, sooner or later there will be different Android devices. Cleaning up the forums, as daunting a task as it might be right now, will be better than waiting until later when it ABSOLUTELY NEEDS to happen and they're more overloaded.

As said I would have no problem cleaning them up and have asked in the staff forums.
If any of you would like to help once the forums are made just shoot me a PM with all the threads that should be moved and I will move them even faster.

[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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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??
Click to expand...
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!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?

Android Stick & Media Box Buyers Guide

I have posted an Android Stick and Set-top Box buyers guide at:
http://linuxslate.com/Guide_Android_Stick_TV_Box.html
From the point of view of this readership, it is probably very Noob-oriented, but instead of answering questions from your Friends, Parents etc., you can just point them to that article.
I will post a link back to this forum on that page, and comments/corrections/additions are requested, and can be posted in this thread.
Please don't bar/flame/shoot/etc. me for linking to my sight. I feel that this is relevant and therefor legitimate to do this.

Linuxslate said:
I have posted an Android Stick and Set-top Box buyers guide at:
http://linuxslate.com/Guide_Android_Stick_TV_Box.html
From the point of view of this readership, it is probably very Noob-oriented, but instead of answering questions from your Friends, Parents etc., you can just point them to that article.
I will post a link back to this forum on that page, and comments/corrections/additions are requested, and can be posted in this thread.
Please don't bar/flame/shoot/etc. me for linking to my sight. I feel that this is relevant and therefor legitimate to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx, I've shared this in our g+ community as well, feel free to join
Android Mini PC Google+ community https://plus.google.com/communities/117023595730524115864
Sent from SGS III GT-I9300 ??????

Thanks, and I'm already a member of that community (+linuxslate.com).
--- Sent from my Jesurun NX003 Android Stick using a Measy RC11.

REMOVED

we've already got a well established forum for Gemini users, with people posting early reviews, and discussing how linux works, and all sorts.
MOD EDIT: REMOVED
p.s. no adverts

I'm hoping XDA will become the go-to forum for development, since it is the best suited for that with all pre-existing work, guides & strong dev-community available here