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Hey,
I know the admins and mods here have things to do other than admin and mod forums, but I really wish that more of the useful guides we have around here would be stickied. I'm particularly referring to the Magician Upgrade forum, where there are great ROM guides being continuosly pushed up and down the forum list. Also some handy apps in the Magician forum like this and this and threads in Magician accessories like the 4GB Compatibility Thread which have become very hard to find through casual browsing - and people might not even search for these things, as they wouldn't know that they existed!
All I'm asking is that, somehow, all of our useful guides and developments be kept in an easier spot to find, and then it may also reduce the number of ('confused users' ) who post ('unproductive') questions, ironically the very posts that bury these handy guides and developments!
It is quite irritating when I want to view the kaiser upgrading section and I have to scroll half way down the page just to view new threads. Would it be too hard to make 1 Kaiser sticky thread and link to the threads that are currently stuck within the first post?
Yeah, looks like we need a rollup thread here.
I agree, especially with all the 6.1 discussions, the Kaiser section is bloated. But the irony, even with have a page of stickers, newcomers still ask the same questions the stickies answer.
Judging by all of the questions we get, people aren't reading them anyways.
The wiki contains links to every thread stickied, so we only need a locked thread to say read the wiki before asking any question and the "posting and you video"
Well, we need to SITCKY this thread as it touchs on a very important issue! NO MORE STICKIES!
Most newcomers don't search or look at the stickies anyway so maybe 1 or 2 which contain the other stickies or point to the relevant part of the wiki would be better.
But, personally I'm not as tech savvy as most of you guys and I use them a hell of a lot either for myself or pointing others in the right direction - so don't lose them altogether.
If this is being tidied up - maybe we should start a new WM6.1 forum as well (suggested by others).
I second a WM6.1 thread all by itself!
I also agree this would be very helpful to have another thread just solely dedicated to WM6.1
People don't use the wiki enough because all that crap at the top makes people think that there isn't any relevant information.
It needs a TOC and more interpage linking. If nobody objects, I'll think about spending some time to make it alot better (somewhat like my pages)...
On the other hand, it'd be *ALOT* easier if Flar would just hurry up with that MediaWiki upgrade that was promised when she was hired
You know the downside to adding a WM6.1 section...half the posts in there will be about WM6.0 and half the posts in the 6.0 will be on WM6.1 because people don't pay attention to what they're doing.
Yes, yes I am a pessimist. Why? Because it is impossible for an optimist to be pleasantly surprised
We don't need another WM6.1 forum, we need less 6.1 dogfood
It's one of the reasons why I've decided to stop working on the WM6.1 ROMs and offer what I've done up to everyone, so that the best chefs actually improve on it.
Hopefully this will placate the need for people to post their own ROMs, because what everyone really wants to see is quality, not quantity.
_Alex_ said:
People don't use the wiki enough because all that crap at the top makes people think that there isn't any relevant information.
It needs a TOC and more interpage linking. If nobody objects, I'll think about spending some time to make it alot better (somewhat like my pages)...
On the other hand, it'd be *ALOT* easier if Flar would just hurry up with that MediaWiki upgrade that was promised when she was hired
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I agree with _Alex_ about the wiki. It'd be a lot more useful if it was laid out a bit better. I try to find all the information I need without asking questions and I find that his wiki pages are easier to deal with than the regular pages. If we could get the wiki straightened out, then we could collapse all the stickies into one with a series of wiki links in the first post.
just my .02eu (cause the USD sucks right now )
wm6.1 thread/section is pointless. What will that accomplish aside from more clusterfucked questions that will be asked in both upgrading and wm 6.1?
WM 6.1 doesn't distinguish it's own section it's not like what wm5 was to wm6 with the hermes or other devices.
in defense of the stickies, i'm quite new and have found almost every single one of them useful.
=)
I dread to think how many more n00b questions would clog up this forum if the stickies weren't there.
Admittedly a lot of people ignore them before posting, but I'd like to think that a quiet majority read them, get their questions answered, and dont bother the rest of us as a result...
Lets make a sticky out of this...!
we should just have two stickies - the first one being "NEWBIES: Read the Sticky Below Before Doing Anything", and the Second Sticky containing all of the stickies we have right now.
First off... sorry for the stream of consciousness writing...
I'm pretty much in agreement with most of you on this one. They currently take up almost half the page and though some of them are posted to quite often a lot of them are dead or closed. I like the idea of making the WIKI a lot more functional. Admittedly I got my Wizard just a few months ago (from a friend who upgraded) and that wiki was all I needed to get it CID unlocked, SIM unlocked and flashed...
I think two stickies is sufficient, the first telling Newbs to read the stickies and the wiki before posting questions and the second an editable list of posts that are considered sticky (though this sort of defeats the purpose of a wiki).
Maybe just a single Sticky that says:
Subject: BEFORE POSTING: Read the WIKI. Use the search function. Use Google.
Body: If you are new to this forum or have not yet done so, read the wiki <link>. It contains information on:
How to Flash a new ROM.
How to SIM Unlock your device.
How to CID Unlock your device.
Links to ROMs (original and cooked).
How to revert back to the original ROM and SPL.
How to cook/make your own ROM.
If you can't find your answer in the wiki....
Use the search function:
Try many different searches to find what you're looking for, start at the forum for your device and if you don't find an answer try the entire forum.
If you still can't find your answer...
Use Google:
type in your search word(s)/phrase and the site you want to search...
example: "sim unlock" kaiser site:xda-developers.com
If all else fails and you want to risk the potential ridicule and flaming of the more senior and sometimes jaded cooks/developers/professionals, you may post your question, but you should be damn sure you checked/tried all of the above before doing so.
Cheers...
I like the sticky, icky, icky
http://www.ppcki.com
Seeing how people would update their forum posts when providing applications or general information, I decided to make a wiki website. Now I know xda-developers has one already but I noticed it was a bit quiet around there.
If you're interested in contributing and have any wiki syntax knowledge please don't hesitate to do so. The site is completely free with no ads for your viewing pleasure.
At the moment the site is not informative since there isn't much on there. I hope it will grow with everyone's support.
I'm currently working on the HTC Titan section so take a look.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or criticism please let me know!
I'm getting a bit cheesed off - is something seriously wrong with the forum?
For about the last week I've had problems with the "read" function with it not highlighting threads that have been updated since my last visit like it used to, and now we seen to have loads of "moved" threads that just point to the Q&A thread at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=477235
What's going on?
Cheers,
Steve.
Perhaps instead of being cheesed, you should have don some additional reading. Did you try reading the first post in the thread all of those post are being routed to? In an effort to control the outrageous amount of new threads being started every day, we have begun consolidating them all into a single random questions and answers thread where the knowledgeable users will be able to look through and answer the questions from a single location.
As for the issue with unread threads, that has to do with a change in the way that the server is tracking the cookies. To mark all threads as read up to this point, just lick on "mark all read" at the bottom of the page of the main forum page.
Post Regarding New Q&A Thread
Thread Regarding Marked As Read Issue
IMO, merging individual questions into one thread makes searching for answers more difficult.
whosy11 said:
IMO, merging individual questions into one thread makes searching for answers more difficult.
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I have to agree, especially when people don't quote what they are responding to. You often have different threads of discussion going on and it can get quite confusing.
I understand the desire to avoid lots of duplicate threads, but surely all that's going to happen is we'll end up with lots of duplicate messages in one HUGE thread?
I still maintain that the "Just a redirect from Raph Rom Development." and "Just a redirect from Raphael Software." in the first two messages, which is where you end up when you click a "moved" thread, isn't terribly descriptive of what's going on.
I understand that moderating a forum like this is no easy task, but by trying to impose a generic "Questions and Answers" thread, aren't you trying to put about 80% of the forum content into one thread?
Cheers,
Steve.
I completely agree, making one long thread and moving post after post to it in the name of "consolidation" is just irritating. I was wondering when people were going to start speaking up about that. Forums need moderation, but when it becomes as heavy-handed as it has here, the forum loses some of it's usefulness, it also becomes much less fun to surf.
StevePritchard said:
I understand that moderating a forum like this is no easy task, but by trying to impose a generic "Questions and Answers" thread, aren't you trying to put about 80% of the forum content into one thread?
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To be completely fair, 80% of the forum content is not in that Q&A thread. Most of the actual content is located in the many threads that are not consolidated. Most of what is being consolidated into that thread is questions by people who were too lazy to research their issue, or at least read the "read this before posting" which states that you should always try to post your issue in a preexisting thread first.
While this format might make it slightly less usable for the people who are 30 new threads of random questions a day, it absolutely does not have that effect for the users who are answering the bulk of these questions anyway.
That being said, your concerns have been noted, and we will consider other possible solutions, but i don not believe any of you who are complaining truly understand how much time and work goes into keeping this place in order. For example, last night there were 4,000 people on the site, and 3 moderators signed in. I merged about 30 threads yesterday alone, which is why there are so many redirects right now. I leave them for 1 day so that people looking for their thread can find it. The FIRST post states exactly what the Q&A Thread is for, and the second and 3rd posts right now are just used to direct people to the correct location for placing those questions. If it bothers you that so many threads are being merged, perhaps encourage users to post their questions in the right location. Then i wouldn't need to move anything.
I think this was a poor decision. I use(d) this forum to answer my questions which likely had already been asked and answered by someone else. But with the new 31 page Q&A thread, even if a search revealed that my question might possibly exist in that thread, there is no way for me to find it without reading (or at least scanning) all 31 pages. And then, if I'm lucky enough to find the question, I have no idea which responses go to that question. The Mod said to quote the original question, but many don't. Also, would it be better to put the original question in the title (subject) line so you would only have to scan the titles?
Personally, a Q&A forum with its own individual threads would be much preferred. I know most of you who know all there is about the Raphael think this might be a good idea, but, please consider the many (and I'm sure more to come) who don't know all that much, and have simple questions, which have been answered, but impossible to find.
Thanks for listening, and a big Thank You to all who help those of us new to HTC phones and WM devices.
-Rick
Please don't take offense...
but, let's face it, the people who are generating the most complaints about the decision are people who don't really do a lot of contributing to the forum. Those who actually do make notable contributions understand the constraints with which we are functioning, and generally feel that while this isn't ideal, it's a step in the right direction. I am terribly sorry for those who might have to do slightly more work, but let's face it, most of these answers are already out there, and that's where we get a lot of the answers which are provided. Scanning through a few pages of posts just really doesn't take THAT much time.
As I think this thread has outlived it's usefulness, which was mostly to inform people of what has happened, I am closing it now.
Hi Dear Admin
Why can not I would post in this forum?
For example, the following forum threads:
Touch Diamond, MDA Compact IV ROM Development
Torres 9 said:
Hi Dear Admin
Why can not I would post in this forum?
For example, the following forum threads:
Touch Diamond, MDA Compact IV ROM Development
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Your post count is currently too low. You will be able to around 8 or 10 posts, no spam until then lmao. have fun and welcome aboard
I also cant post in the topic i want to ( darky's rom 9.3final )
i have a question i really want to ask there
I agree with these guys, it's not really a cool system we have to wait before asking questions.... it makes many days that I search the solution but I dont find it and I would like to post in a thread....
Same boat.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
mattlin32 said:
I agree with these guys, it's not really a cool system we have to wait before asking questions.... it makes many days that I search the solution but I dont find it and I would like to post in a thread....
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Guys,
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT TO POST QUESTIONS
This is because questions DO NOT belong in the development forum. It is as simple as that. Let me define "not really cool". It's having to tell people NOT to post questions outwith the device Q&A section.
Post your questions THERE, NOWHERE ELSE.
Do NOT post questions in development.
Only posting in development is currently prevented. Make your thread in Q&A.
it makes many days that I search the solution
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- that's the point exactly. Search harder. The answer will be there. You just need to practice how to find it. Google is your friend.
getting there!
same... have to post 9 posts first, befere i can ask my question
voriand said:
same... have to post 9 posts first, befere i can ask my question
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Read my post above.
You do not need 10 posts to post questions. Post it in the Q&A section for your device.
XDA policy selects the USELESS posts
XDA policy selects the USELESS posts
pulser_g2 said:
(Sun 06 Mar 2011 18:54 GMT)
Only posting in development is currently prevented. Make your thread in Q&A.
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IOW:
1) When we are new (to HD2 in my case), hence have a lot of issues with no clue, even no idea what to search exactly, and are willing to spend the time to find the exact forum, thread, post, to which we should ask a question (I did it, amply), we are FORBIDDEN to ask the relevant question in the appropriate, efficient, polite place and manner; instead, we have to post in a remote forum (Q & A), where all questions will end garbaged altogether with plenty unrelated others, and far away, both from the ones who could reply and from the ones who would like to second an existing question rather than posting a "new" one. Hence your policy is increasing the number of doubled or irrelevant questions, and refraining the people who are usually carefully, politely and efficiently writing their posts, while encouraging the Fast Posters (the ones who post faster than they can think or verify what they write).
2) Only when we finally have learnt (after lengthy and painful research in this unfriendly atmosphere) the information we need, hence only when we have no more questions, can we post in the relevant forums. But since the newer ones still CANNOT post there, our new knowledge can answer no question and no people, hence is useless to others. This explains why there are so many fundamental questions that are still plaguing many users after 2 years, with plenty threads addressing them without answering them (because missing the way the questions happen in new users' minds) but still no thread exposing them clearly and efficiently.
Versailles, Mon 07 Mar 2011 19:06:30 +0100, edited 19:11:20
"Google is your friend" only denotes people UNABLE to build an efficient search
"Google is your friend" only denotes people UNABLE to build an efficient search
pulser_g2 said:
(Sun 06 Mar 2011 18:54 GMT)
Search harder. The answer will be there. You just need to practice how to find it. Google is your friend.
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Most people are Scarce Posters, IOW do search a lot, intelligently and carefully, before asking a question on a forum; so while numerous, they remain little visible. OTOH, the Fast Posters (the ones who post faster than they can think or verify what they write), needing no time before posting, do post a lot, hence look as more numerous than they actually are; and of course they have not often really tried to build really efficient searches (or they would know it can be done only when you already know a significant amount about your seek).
The invisible majority (Scarce Posters) do know that Forums' Search Engines most often fail, and that searching a Forum from Google, sure can be much more efficient, yet only with informed and carefully built search requests. The ones who require visitors to "search" while giving neither help nor hint about how and what to search, belong to the vocal minority of "Fast Posters" and have generally NOT tried themselves - or they would know the above, hence would belong to the "Scarce Posters".
IOW, really helpful people don't reply "Google is your friend", instead they post, after trying, tweaking and testing it, the exact search to do, for instance Google "How to flash 6.5.3 ROM on HD2 site:xda-developers.com". And as you can see, this particular search request, as carefully designed as it may be, is still far from the right one(s), because when you need it, you usually DON'T KNOW YET what to search; here, when I designed this one, I STILL IGNORED that I needed to download and install a BOOTLOADER, an HSPL, a RADIO, a ROM (and which one: a "3.14"? a "1.66"? What are those?), and possibly a MANILA and some other stuffs.
IOW, when you have written the appropriate search request, your problem is already almost completely researched, thought, defined, and solved. When someone is asking something on a forum, the one replying "Google is your friend" is essentially someone who is UNABLE to build a helpful search request (or he would just post it). Requiring from the visitor to search before asking is just, despite the appearances, putting the cart before the horse: unrealistic, illogical, unhelpful, and counterproductive.
I think the great resources on XDA Forums are hampered by a bad case of NIH and Resistance to change.
Versailles, Mon 07 Mar 2011 19:13:00 +0100, edited 19:19:25
What about questions about specific custom ROMs? Should they also be posted in the General Q&A sections of the device?
pulser_g2 said:
Read my post above.
You do not need 10 posts to post questions. Post it in the Q&A section for your device.
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Lol.. Thanks.. This solve my problem..
Well, the problem with forming a good search term is that most of the useful text is not so well written as to be easily searched. You can spend all day sorting through search results, trying to kraft THE perfect query, and still miss the web page that gives you the answer you need.