Why So Hostile? - About xda-developers.com

Hi!
I really enjoy the forum but why is it so hostile to new users? For example, being forced to do a CAPTCHA every time I write a new post, and when I wanted to share my desktop in the share your desktop thread in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 forum I was blocked because I'm new, and then when I went to fix a typo in a post I'd just made, it told me I had to wait FIVE minutes! Believe me, I understand what a problem spammers are. I am a moderator on another tech forum and I used to be a moderator for MTV. I get it. But treating all your new users as if they are spammers and making them jump through hoops or blocking them from being able to do simple things like share a screenshot just gives off a "we hate new users, we know you're all evil spammers so we hope this frustrates you enough to drive you away" vibe.
I understand that your rules are your rules and respect that, and I like it here. I just wanted to put in my two cents about the impression it gives new users.

BretonGirl said:
Hi!
I really enjoy the forum but why is it so hostile to new users? For example, being forced to do a CAPTCHA every time I write a new post, and when I wanted to share my desktop in the share your desktop thread in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 forum I was blocked because I'm new, and then when I went to fix a typo in a post I'd just made, it told me I had to wait FIVE minutes! Believe me, I understand what a problem spammers are. I am a moderator on another tech forum and I used to be a moderator for MTV. I get it. But treating all your new users as if they are spammers and making them jump through hoops or blocking them from being able to do simple things like share a screenshot just gives off a "we hate new users, we know you're all evil spammers so we hope this frustrates you enough to drive you away" vibe.
I understand that your rules are your rules and respect that, and I like it here. I just wanted to put in my two cents about the impression it gives new users.
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even though ive given you a thanks or this, i do believe its set correctly. This forum has soooooo many existing users plus the new ones joining everyday its very suprising how little advertising,spamming goes on here and i do think its contributed by the new user rules.
I myself have only ever been a mod for a 200+ forum and the amount of spam we had to delete each day was a joke, imagine how many links around the web lead to xda....the amount of spam this site would be suffering had they not placed these rules the xda maybe not what we all cherish today
edit "NOTE", lol just wait until you accidentally post in the wrong section

I understand your situation, considering that you have been a forum moderator in other forums
But when I was a new user i never got to enter any captcha or so !
I have no clue that Captcha was being used on XDA to be honest!
But one thing that can help you is that you can answer others's questions in the Q and A forum of the device(s) you own. Helps to get that 10 post thing done early, especially if you know enough to help someone else out
Anyways all the best and you can PM me if you need any more help or you may contact a senior admin
just my 2 (+1) cents p) and Peace!

I've never been a moderator for any forum and even I know the effect spammers can have if the proper procedures don't take place.
But you gotta know, it's only for a few posts...it's not like you'll be entering captcha codes in forever and never be able to share weblinks or screen shots.
Just ride it out, we all had to

Well, this is a touchy subject.
Being such a high traffic forum we really do need aggressive anti spam measures.
As for the restrictions on the development sections.... We'll that's also a touchy subject but for entirely different reasons.
Once upon a time XDA was populated solely by developers, developers who developed for no other reason than the love of developing. Then the smartphone became accessible to more and more people, which led to more and more members who weren't developers. This led to lots and lots of questions, many of which were placed in the development forums, which isn't the right place for non development related questions. Therefore a system was put in place which prevents new users from posting in the development sections with the intention of giving them the opportunity to get to know how XDA works before jumping straight in and spamming up the hallowed halls of the development forums.....
That's about it really.. Check out the sticky in this section for a more detailed explanation
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.....

I appreciate everyone's replies. I have no problem with the 10 posts before getting access to the developer's section. You certainly don't want anything but quality in a section like that.
I also understand the spam issue. One of my day jobs is as a staff writer for a blog hosted by a company that makes anti-spam software. I know more than I ever wanted to on the subject!
This is a great forum!

I agree
The forum is very anti-noob. I hate entering capta images that I can hardly read, can only post every 5 minutes, this really sucks. I hope when I hit 10 posts this crap goes away

I like the spam features that this site has in place, I think more forum sites need to put something like this in place. It's not that hard to get 10 posts if you're helping people out.

Chaotic Peace said:
I like the spam features that this site has in place, I think more forum sites need to put something like this in place. It's not that hard to get 10 posts if you're helping people out.
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most new users on this forum are looking for help , so i guess most users first 10 post will be for asking help and not giving .

i kind of like the idea of captcha on the first few post i may use it on my site. i have a xbox modding site and it generates a bit of spam from time to time.

webjunky said:
most new users on this forum are looking for help , so i guess most users first 10 post will be for asking help and not giving .
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Yep, and at the same time most new users don't understand the concept of searching the forums so their first 10 posts which are asking rather than helping would probably have already been asked previously. i.e. forum gets cluttered up, which is pretty much a form of spam.

Chaotic Peace said:
I like the spam features that this site has in place, I think more forum sites need to put something like this in place. It's not that hard to get 10 posts if you're helping people out.
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Yeah exactly! And making ten posts isn't that time consuming either at the same time.

webjunky said:
most new users on this forum are looking for help , so i guess most users first 10 post will be for asking help and not giving .
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This is true as well. But if they need help they should be posting in the Q&A sections of their device not the development section.

I think the rules are there for a reason and the MODs and Admin have thought a lot on this issue and its only for first 10 posts.

It's not too bad, it's worth it.
---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------
I think if people were able to sign in with their google accounts though there wouldn't be need for all this...

conantroutman said:
This led to lots and lots of questions, many of which were placed in the development forums, which isn't the right place for non development related questions. Therefore a system was put in place which prevents new users from posting in the development sections with the intention of giving them the opportunity to get to know how XDA works before jumping straight in and spamming up the hallowed halls of the development
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And now they post Questions in the general forums =.=
Sent from my E15i using Tapatalk

We're always trying to make things better on the forums. This means we have to try stuff to see if it works. It's basically trial & error for the most part.
The spamming has decreased alot the past couple of months with the new captchas and 10 post rule. Still, we need to find a way to make it less difficult to join our forums and more difficult to post spam. Ideas are always welcome of course.

Annoying for non noobs
I still haven't made my 10 posts because all the stuff I want to respond to is in the developer forums so now I have to search the boards for things to reply to to actually find something to respond even though I've been a member for over a year and a user of this website for a few years!
Whilst I understand the reasoning security vs usability can sometimes be a massive P.I.T.A

Slotty_AU said:
I still haven't made my 10 posts because all the stuff I want to respond to is in the developer forums so now I have to search the boards for things to reply to to actually find something to respond even though I've been a member for over a year and a user of this website for a few years!
Whilst I understand the reasoning security vs usability can sometimes be a massive P.I.T.A
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Is it so much to ask that you read for a bit first, pick up some knowledge and experience, help a few people in the 90+% of the site which is completely open to you such as your devices General or Q&A forums or any of the General discussion forums, to participate with quality posts instead of BS posts, in return for being able to post into any of the ROM threads from any dev on this site?

I've had the immense privilege of watching this site grow since just a couple months after it introduced a few new phone models to the original O2 XDA. I actually get my soap opera fix and tech fix all in one! I'm hooked.
It's not just spam. I was a horrendous new user, posting in the wrong forum, responding to emotional posts enough to encourage them, I even chewed out a guy for blasting a noob. The problem is organic, and though spam has become part of that (probably the hugest part, now) it's that organic nature of this forum that makes it so great. Really tough problem to grow something cleanly without squelching it.
I was wondering if XDA could track a user's searches, or forums "read" for more than a minute, and after 30 or so, then stop the captchas. It seems like over the years it's folks who don't search & read (spammers or otherwise) that are the detraction. Maybe something like being in "reader" status as a step to becoming a new user & able to post at all.
1. I could have used it.
2. I'm putting this here, in the weird forum for this topic it's in, to see what people think. Wanting to have input as a developer is definitely a magnification of the problem. I'm glad it's here.
(ThinkPad Tablet:Tapatalk 2)

Related

noob posts

Hi all,
im new to this forum and i would just like to say reading this forum is most of a time a pain due to the amount of useless posting an irrelevant noise on most threads
alot of these threads with 20+ pages could really be alot more concise holding only relevant or important tech info.
it just seems you have to read page after page filtering out 90% of the posts for that 10% of tech goodness.
i guess what im hoping for is more nazi admin type behaviour or at least more flaming from the more senior members of the community, Im sure this is a problem all over these forums but it would be good if less crap was posted in the hermes sections.
And you post this off-topic rant in the WM6 forum?
Man, the irony is killing me.
i was referring to post not threads but now that you mention it theres alot of **** threads too.
what is irony and how do i install it.
First make sure your attention is properly connected to this thread. Then download and install Irony v2.0! It's obviously better than 1.2 and fixes alot of these error posts. lol
bleeding_edge said:
i was referring to post not threads but now that you mention it theres alot of **** threads too.
what is irony and how do i install it.
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Actually, if you knew better you would realize that the first post was ironic, your post is just lame sarcasm.
Great way to introduce yourself to the forum. By the way.
See, that is useful sarcasm.
bleeding_edge said:
i guess what im hoping for is more nazi admin type behaviour or at least more flaming from the more senior members of the community, Im sure this is a problem all over these forums but it would be good if less crap was posted in the hermes sections.
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Here's the problem.. How to deal with n00bs that don't know how to read:
1) Lock the thread.
* If you lock the thread, we'll simply get duplicated posts from the same person asking (obviously), "Why did you lock my post about the keyboard issue?!? I *still* can't get the keyboard to work right!"
2) Delete the posts/threads
* If you delete it, you'll get the same duplicated reaction as above. Plus, the requisite *****ing about how they feel hard-done-to because they were singled out! And, besides.. They were just helping others who had the same keyboard issue as them; after all, it's not posted anywhere else on the site!
3) Flame the crap out of them
* Humiliation works. If you humiliate people into submission, prior to posting on the forums, a to-be-useful member of this site will spend the time and read the collected knowledge that is to be found on here. Read and show any of us that you've even *tried* to understand, and you'll get a nice, helpful answer. Post stupidity, you'll get attacked. It's pretty easy.
Now I know who to direct my BRICKED-ANTI-PERSONEL-DEVICE when the time comes.
LegolasTheElf said:
...Read and show any of us that you've even *tried* to understand, and you'll get a nice, helpful answer.
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ROFLMFAO
I can agree with "bleeding_edge" to a certain extent.
Posts that resemble something like "Installing now", "Man, I just installed {insert 1-version-older rom here}", and my fav "Downloading now 20% done" (I just wish they would post every time the percent went up, that would really keep me better informed).
On the other hand today is April 3rd and "bleeding_edge" joined in April of 2007... so to be a member for 2 days and suggest that everyone be meaner to members from now on probably wont get you any friends here.
I think that everyone who makes post like the examples above should simply be shot, in the face.
Actually I think that they don't intend on flooding a thread, its just their excitement showing through. So perhaps if you are someone who makes posts like the ones I have above, and your reading this post, you could simply try to keep your posts relevant/on topic.
Later, Lew
i agree with the admin that it cant really be controlled without backlash,
the only thing that comes to mind is revoking posting rights from those who consistenly post unconstructive unhelpful crap. i could easily name 50 people who post in this section with nothing of use to anyone.
every thread contains crap its just here theres alot higher ratio of useless wow look at my post count banter in comparison to normal dev forums.
or pehaps the idea of not allowing people to post anything within the first month period of creating an account.
although my account in new and fresh i have been reading this board for a while, thus the cause for my outrageous noob style rant
i appologise to any long standing members this has offended i just feel its borderline out of control and something really should be said/done
closed this thread, very good points, but made a new thread and its a sticky...

A complaint about this section of XDA-DEVS. (Development and Hacking)

quite simply, the the 'development and hacking' section of xda-devs has a cluelessn00b to developer ratio of about 1000-1. I understand that everyone is excited about some of the stuff that goes on in that section, but its bad for several reasons:
firstly, how can any dev communicate when people are continuously rudely demanding information (in broken english or text speek) which is on the first page of a thread or has been communicated several times since then.
secondly, its not safe for the cluelessn00bs... if i was a bit more evil, i could easily make an app to kill to boot loader and pretend that its the latest manila4d or whatever. real devs would probably think about it before running it, clueless noobs would dive right in and we'd have a wave of bricked devices.
i know its hard to fix this kind of issue, and this post is not meant as any disrespect to any mod or admin of xd.com (its clearly disrespect to the cluelessb00ns who cant read the domain name, the forum section nor the first post)
the only suggestions i can personally make are an allow list on threads - managed by the thread owner (and the ability to pass ownership of the first thread would make sense too) or maybe to post in dev+hacking you have to be a senior member (having said that, ive seen some senior members be as clueless and the n00bs)
i beg that some consideration is placed on this, because, in all reality, ive given up on the manila3d thread. theres just no point in me battling the waves of idiocy any longer. the chance of me actually developing? pffft.
It saddens me
I was a bit disappointed hearing this from a marvelous developer such as you are but I believe you are not evil because you have tried your best to bring us the best out of our devices
Please do reconsider...
I hear what you're saying, mate. I lurked around this place for over six months before making my first post, just reading up and learning. People don't want to read anymore...they think that this place is the instant free tech support center.
djboo, I don't agree! Most of the threads in D&H subforum are developer or constructive threads. This is not an easy thing to accomplish, and I think it shows the quality of the forum. You can't disable access to "noobs", developers make their stuff for everyone, not just other developers or experienced people! I'm glad if other people like something I make.
Partially agree...
djboo said:
quite simply, the the 'development and hacking' section of xda-devs has a cluelessn00b to developer ratio of about 1000-1. I understand that everyone is excited about some of the stuff that goes on in that section, but its bad for several reasons:
firstly, how can any dev communicate when people are continuously rudely demanding information (in broken english or text speek) which is on the first page of a thread or has been communicated several times since then.
secondly, its not safe for the cluelessn00bs... if i was a bit more evil, i could easily make an app to kill to boot loader and pretend that its the latest manila4d or whatever. real devs would probably think about it before running it, clueless noobs would dive right in and we'd have a wave of bricked devices.
i know its hard to fix this kind of issue, and this post is not meant as any disrespect to any mod or admin of xd.com (its clearly disrespect to the cluelessb00ns who cant read the domain name, the forum section nor the first post)
the only suggestions i can personally make are an allow list on threads - managed by the thread owner (and the ability to pass ownership of the first thread would make sense too) or maybe to post in dev+hacking you have to be a senior member (having said that, ive seen some senior members be as clueless and the n00bs)
i beg that some consideration is placed on this, because, in all reality, ive given up on the manila3d thread. theres just no point in me battling the waves of idiocy any longer. the chance of me actually developing? pffft.
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I partially second that, although I think that membership seniority based on number of posts isn't the best practice if to implement what you proposed. As I, for example, don't post a lot but read the forum for almost 2 years, and have dev. background (and I guess there a lot of others like that), there are some that post a lot of questions and/or comments that are not that dev. inclined or do not have the knowledge (yet?).
I do see your point here, and me too stopped following the TF3D thread after tons of non development related issues. Maybe putting Dev/Hack as read-only and people would have to ask a mod / admin for posting rights on it? And then giving full access to the Q&A thread / new section? So devs. could enjoy it more, general community could still get the latest (downloading newer version from Dev/Hack, etc.) and get questions answered in an orderly fashion... BUT, what with those nice little apps people write and post here from time to time, that come from someone that is not THAT involved in the community? They'd simply go elsewhere, and I guess this IS the most valuable asset the community have. With all due respects to the "regulars", I think those that pass by once in a while and contribute are
invaluable too. Guess it's the price to pay for innovation, having to sort through the non-sense to find the gems.
In the end, I think the problem here are the filters we use. Maybe we just need to find a better way to organize the data here, so it's easier to follow... What I do hope, is that whatever is done, doesn't change the essence of this great oasis...
I kinda agree with ur second part but i'm sure someone would have told the mods if it was a "dangerous app", rite?
I am a noob
Ok, I understand quite well what you are saying. Being a noob myself, i am learning as much as i can, slowly but I hope surely.
I try to read thoroughfully each thread that I have interest in.
The only regret I have is the search engine. For example, I'm still searching for a thread where it explains how to modify spb mobile shell files to have PI8 as the default calendar. I know the intel is there somewhere, but I'm having a hard time to find the right post/thread.
So maybe one of the possibilities would be to enhance a little the search engine or the way results are shown => enlighten the searched words...
Please reconsider, don't be to hard on the noobs, I think we aren't so bad, some of us want to learn.
And thank you very much for your patience, talent and ideas.
I do agree too that there is too much "I like that.... whats it for?" when a lot of the time the developers do put the information in their posts. BUT..... sometimes these STUPID, RANDOM comments do contribute by putting an idea out there to be expanded on. Sometimes they provide needed feedback and ideas.
If you restrict access to these areas then you may as well shut down the site.
This is a forum and as such there will ALWAYS be those annoying clueless posts but you have to remember that you were once there yourself...
You have to make allowances for those members who DON'T speak english very well as they may be very tech savy but just have difficulty putting their ideas down in English. They may actually give something back..
And thats my 2 cents
hi all
in fact there was a section missing , here , for asking
seems they are doing something very soon , reading the sticky thread
Here
and so the D&H will come back to be free for real dev
djboo perhaps you are a little hasty in this thread and I agree with some of what you say, however, alot of ppl respect everything you and other developers give us immensely! without ppl like yourself alot of us would never use Windows Mobile devices, instead following the masses of other "mind washed" CrApple iphone uses, anyway please don't stop sharing just because a few mindless teenagers didn't get enough Oxygen at birth!
people make their own choices. if you post something which might trigger a brick and someone uses it you can blame him for either trying something without investigating first or for just being plain stupid (depending on the circumstances).
the fact that this section is a target for terrorist idiots action isn't different from any other internet or real forum in the world. people tend to go wherever's warmer and cuddle there.. and try to suck every little ounce of good they can find in that place.
that's why you can find thousands of stupid posts and questions instead having a clear, professional section. not using search, not being able to read rules before posting.. that's international.
as for restricting... I must disagree to the proposal. it would require more work from the dev to find the members he'd like to share this with instead of just posting his work. and being a senior member on this forum means NOTHING considering it depends on the number of posts you have rather on how long you've been around or how much you have contributed to this community.
but what i do suggest is, that a member will have to be at least X months old in this forum to post. this will make people use search and learn before they come up with stupid questions.
cheers.
As a link above has p[pointed out, there is a new forum coming for questions. If you really have a problem with some of this noob questions, PM a mod/report the post.
Also, if you want to post a thread as an announcement, rather than a questions/answers thread, PM a mod to get it locked.
If you don't let new members post, they will never find anything out.
One final thing: you yourself have posted this in an area in which it doesn't belong. It has nothing to do with Development or Hacking, it's about what happens in this forum. As such, I'm going to move the thread to the "About xda-devs" section.
Thread's like this always remind me this post by Kyphur: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2031989&postcount=45
Ta
Dave
i dont beleive personally in censorship of anysort. seriously. im like a big ass hippy and everything.
but some of the people in the developers section of this site have barely developed full sentances let alone developed on an 'xda' phone. the floods of the same people asking the same questions over and over again is just disheartening.
maybe just the ability for the thread owner to delete posts would help. since about post 40 on the manila3d thread, theres been...ooh. 7 maybe 8 relevant posts? the rest have been 'my device wont turn off' which is answered in the first post.
meh. maybe we should just open up a new thread for the real developing. disguise the topic. then we might get some work done.
djboo said:
i dont beleive personally in censorship of anysort. seriously. im like a big ass hippy and everything.
but some of the people in the developers section of this site have barely developed full sentances let alone developed on an 'xda' phone. the floods of the same people asking the same questions over and over again is just disheartening.
maybe just the ability for the thread owner to delete posts would help. since about post 40 on the manila3d thread, theres been...ooh. 7 maybe 8 relevant posts? the rest have been 'my device wont turn off' which is answered in the first post.
meh. maybe we should just open up a new thread for the real developing. disguise the topic. then we might get some work done.
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If you want closed developing, why not do it via e-mail, or PM?
DaveShaw said:
Thread's like this always remind me this post by Kyphur: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2031989&postcount=45
Ta
Dave
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that man said it better than i ever could.
l3v5y said:
If you want closed developing, why not do it via e-mail, or PM?
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i dont want closed developing. i want developing. currently the main thread in question is more like doing lines for teacher. once a day, log in, "HTC-CA drivers disable shutdown, TF3D uses those drivers. use manilatoggle to disable TF3D before you power down" x10
djboo said:
i dont beleive personally in censorship of anysort. seriously. im like a big ass hippy and everything.
but some of the people in the developers section of this site have barely developed full sentances let alone developed on an 'xda' phone. the floods of the same people asking the same questions over and over again is just disheartening.
maybe just the ability for the thread owner to delete posts would help. since about post 40 on the manila3d thread, theres been...ooh. 7 maybe 8 relevant posts? the rest have been 'my device wont turn off' which is answered in the first post.
meh. maybe we should just open up a new thread for the real developing. disguise the topic. then we might get some work done.
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djboo... I understand where you are coming from, but I also do not totally agree with your comments. Although I may be a noob, I do have a lot ov experiance in computing. I do not have the time to develop of backwords engineer apps. I wish I did. I would enjoy doing it. I agree with you that the thread owner should be able to delete posts that are off topic, but I think the thread owner should also move a question with an answer to the first page if they see multiple posts. This would make it easier to find some of the common answers. I agree that users should use the search, but it does not always return what you are looking for. I have made a post and been berated for not using the search (when in fact I had). I truly enjoy the work you and the rest of the developers are doing. Without you guys, my phone would be quite boring, but because of the work done on this site, I am quite happy with my phone and how it operates. I have friends that think I am a god because I help them with thier phone, but I would not be able to do half of what I do if it were not for the work done here. I hope you go back to work on Manilla3D. We noobs need the knowledge you provide. As for off topic posts such as the nes on the Manilla3D thread, a lot of them go on due to people endulging these people by answering thier post or flaming them. I have seen senior members do this and all it does is fuel a lot of these guys. Ignore them! Geez, I have had my ligidimate questions ignored, why not ignore the non-ligitimate ones? Anyway, I will get off my soap box. I appreciate everthing all of you developers do and I hope one day I will have the time to contribute to the development community. Take care.
It is possible to set up a "thread owner" or thread based permission system but it would take some work and more importantly a Vbulletin developer to iron out the issues that may come up.
I have tried it on one other site but it was a little difficult. Of course I think a more productive idea is to have developer groups. Vbulletin has a group system built in as of 3.7 and it allows for comments and such. In 3.8 it will allow groups to have their own message boards. With a little help you can set up 3.7 to also have message boards controlled by the owner of the group.
DaveShaw said:
Thread's like this always remind me this post by Kyphur: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2031989&postcount=45
Ta
Dave
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djboo said:
that man said it better than i ever could.
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Yup that's why it's in my signature under XDA Mantra.

Moderation in the Dream forums...

What is going on with the moderation in the Dream forums? I have been coming here for quite a few years now, though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.
In the past on the other subforums locking a thread was fairly rare and moderation more in tune with keeping it civil than anything. Moderators kept the peace but left topics and threads to being mostly self-governing. Occasionally a thread would get moved to off topic or the rebellious user warned but nothing like this. About a dozen threads in the last week, six in the last two days alone.
It seems any thread that the moderators feel is a repeat or not needed is locked. There is no warning or explanation by the moderators, just a lock. Instead of educating the user, search first with a link to what the user should have looked for as an example, the discussion is left in limbo. This is making the forum more of a moderated police state than a area for open conversation on topics. This detracts from the ability to have open discussions and the enjoyment of trying to help others.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
I am not active in the Dream forum, but I will add my thoughts here.
Certain sections of XDA's forums are subject to stricter moderation then others due to the sheer volume of active members in them. For example, the Raphael has seen a US release on all three nationwide carriers, whereas the prior models only saw release on one carrier. This led to more people buying the Raphael, and a large influx of members in the related forums. Due to that influx, we moderators needed to step up our monitoring of those forums in order to keeping them as clean and concise as possible.
This same example applies to the Dream due to it being the first Android phone released.
While I agree with you that a moderator should always leave a quick note as the final post in a closed thread, I also support closing down redundant threads in order to help keep all relevant information in an existing thread; not spread across 5 or 6 different ones.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
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NotATreoFan said:
While I agree with you that a moderator should always leave a quick note as the final post in a closed thread, I also support closing down redundant threads in order to help keep all relevant information in an existing thread; not spread across 5 or 6 different ones.
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Just thought I would add my two cents in here ( like anyone cares ) because I too have been irritated once or twice by over zealous moderation. Once by a moderator from the Dream forum who came over to the Kaiser forum to delete a whole conversation, because he " thought " we were getting too heated in our debate over M$ supposed actions . There was no flamebaiting, He just thought.
And several times by threads ( not mine ) that were closed without warning or stated reason. I know this is a huge site with a lot of heavy traffic and the Mods are " overworked and under paid " . I also realize that Mods are from around the world, and Moderation style is subject to differing personalities, social and interpersonal customs from different countries. But common courtesy is universal. While many people don't deserve it, please take the time to include a note on why, the thread requires moderation. If you don't have the time , then maybe you should pass the job on to someone who can take the time.
Also in my 1 1/2 years on this site, ( six mo lurking and 1 yr member ) I have PM'd three mods, asking them to please explain their actions in moderating a thread I was posting in, and in all three cases, received nothing, not even an acknowledgement.
This is not a criticism, just my two cents, should someone read this. I have my favorite mods, (natf is one ) Dave and Josh are excellent in the Kaiser forums, mostly because they adhere to the basic tenet, " Moderation in Moderation. "
mikechannon said:
I realise you are being modest there, and the truth is we do care what members think and voicing concern in a calm fashion is appreciated and this kind of feedback is what moderates the Moderators. This is what makes us a community and avoids an "us and them" situation developing.
I don't have anything of value to add to NotATreoFan's comments which match my own feelings on the matter and IMHO reflect the kind of balance we need between being tolerant, courteous and yet maintaining a degree of organisation.
Mike
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Thanks for taking that in the context that it was meant, I know that Admin and Mods do care what membership thinks.
denco7 said:
Thanks for taking that in the context that it was meant, I know that Admin and Mods do care what membership thinks.
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AND they are simply men and women They could make mistakes, they act differently in the same situation. Suggestions and opinions are always welcome!
i reckon there should be a new button next to the report post button that serves as an appeal button if someone thinks that a tread has been closed for no reason the the button should allow for appeal. a box is filled n explaining the thread and why there was no reason to delete it this is then pmd to the closer of the thread then negotaiations will start
Please do not take my original post too harshly. I do appreciate the mods here on XDA-developers and think that they do a great job. But at the same time when the mods get a little over zealous this seemed the best way to bring up my protest. (I could not PM the moderator in question because I do not know who was closing the threads.)
So thanks again for making this a great place to come back to over the years and keep up the good work.
JanetPanic said:
What is going on with the moderation in the Dream forums? I have been coming here for quite a few years now, though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.
In the past on the other subforums locking a thread was fairly rare and moderation more in tune with keeping it civil than anything. Moderators kept the peace but left topics and threads to being mostly self-governing. Occasionally a thread would get moved to off topic or the rebellious user warned but nothing like this. About a dozen threads in the last week, six in the last two days alone.
It seems any thread that the moderators feel is a repeat or not needed is locked. There is no warning or explanation by the moderators, just a lock. Instead of educating the user, search first with a link to what the user should have looked for as an example, the discussion is left in limbo. This is making the forum more of a moderated police state than a area for open conversation on topics. This detracts from the ability to have open discussions and the enjoyment of trying to help others.
So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason.
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If you ask me there aren't enough locked threads in the dream section. There are over 80 different threads for the new haykuro build there, 80!!! Probably more because i stopped counting at page 20. I also might add that the main haykuro thread has over 6000 posts and counting. The dream section is out of control and needs serious moderator intervention. One moderator simply cannot do all this himself. I know the dream mod, or at least the only active mod there that i can see and he is excellent at not only helping people but moderating in general. Let a thread be self governed? That's a very scary though!!! I am a moderator at another site and i can say it is not a moderators job to be a friend, be respectful or give you an explaination as to why he or she did what they did. Yes i do give an explaination and most mods on here do as well but they are here to maintain the rules of the forum and the upkeep of the forum in general. If threads were locked its more than likely because you or others got off topic, double posted or started a new thread when another about the exact same thing already existed. Case in point, there is a section for members to post questions to mods about anything already and you opened a new thread on the subject.
Ha I couldn't agree MORE with Ryanmo. There should be tighter and more rigid controls there. In fact I don't think it's (currently) possible for there to be moderation there at the moment...too many new bodies added to the fray. And we all know most of them are not reading the Sticky posted at top saying "Must read before you post". I don't have any problem with xda mods enacting 1-3 day temp bans on some of the frequent offenders.
knight4linux said:
Ha I couldn't agree MORE with Ryanmo. There should be tighter and more rigid controls there. In fact I don't think it's (currently) possible for there to be moderation there at the moment...too many new bodies added to the fray. And we all know most of them are not reading the Sticky posted at top saying "Must read before you post". I don't have any problem with xda mods enacting 1-3 day temp bans on some of the frequent offenders.
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Haha yeah the sticky at the top about the rules says a little over 23,000 views. The hacking thread has been viewed over 300,000 times, go figure. I probably report 15 posts a day to try and help but your right its outta control.
Hello Friends,
Well i have seen these site and i am quite surprise here that though more reading than posting I grant. I have never seen such lock happy moderation before though.As i am not a active member but ya i will add my though if any and will discuss So I am asking the moderators to please show restraint and give the posters more leeway. There is no need to lock every thread that is a repeat or could have been solved by a search. The threads will go off the front page in due time, locking them simply is not constructive more often than not. If you absolutely must lock it then at least put a post at the end with a reason. Thanx
can someone please unlock this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429808&page=22
It is not that rules and regulations are not in place in this site. They are posted all over the place. In fact, if you look at my sig, I have them there as a hyperlink (many other members do the same). Why do threads and posts get locked, moved, or otherwise deleted left and right? It is because lots of users (particularly new ones but seasoned users also) do not read these rules. They do not know that they should search before posting or opening new threads; they do not know that there are sections to ask questions that are not relevant to the section they posted at; they do not know that profanity shouldn't be used around here due to a large young crowd; they do not know that flaming (particularly for no apparent reason) is strictly prohibited....
Moderators have little time to be messing around with people who simply do not understand that there are rules that must be followed (or read for that matter). Hence, they close the threads with no previous notice and at times, leave no excuse behind. They don't do it out of the content of their hearts, and they are definitely not watching over every single thread at all times. If you see a thread being closed, it is normally due to someone complaining about it, and more often than not, mods will analyze the trend of the thread and if necessary either warn users to stop, or just flat out close it (normally they warn unless the thread itself is breaking the rules... think of posting warez for instance).
I have yet to see abuse of power by a mod in this forum. And I am pretty sure that if there happens to be a mod that does abuse his/her God-given powers.... let's just say that they will be judged by a higher power
My 2 cents!
Although some moderators try and go out of their way to leave a message as to why they lock a thread, that is not their job. Our job is to make sure people are following the rules.
Here is a little scenario, i log on at night and jump over to the D&H section.... there i find 10 new threads asking questions.
A) I can delete the threads
B) I can close the threads by simply going through and checking every thread and then closing.
C) i can individually open each thread and leave a message for each person
D) i can wait for another moderator to do it
E) move the thread for them
Well i cant delete them or people will think their thread never got posted and just post it AGAIN. If you move peoples threads for them they think they can post anywhere and it will just be moved where it needs to go. I dont have time to open every thread and leave a message for every person everytime, and if i leave it for another moderator, it might not get done.
Really i am only left with checking all of the threads and closing them. if you have a question you can READ the rules, as it is your resonsibilty as a member, and find the answer. (Or of course you can pm a mod)
You guys have to remember that there are over 1,537,526 members on this site and around 66 mods and admin. We do our best to help you guys but we dont always have the time to write a personal letter for everyone of your and put it in you lunch box.
I agree (not that it matters). Mods have absolutely NO responsibility to post why they closed a thread...Why? Because they already are posted...in the rules up top. Its you, the new users that have the resposibility. That responsibility to read the rules before you post (RTFM). It even says at the bottom (of the rules) what will happen if they are not followed.
And by allowing multiple threads of the SAME simple questions (Especially in a phones development section) this completely ruins development and progress, not to mention this is a free and public forum. That means its hosted on servers, and these duplicate threads/posts start to add up.
Trust me. Frequent the forums for more than a few months and it'll start to wear on you too, almost as much as it does to the mods.
UPDATE:
As of late, there seems to be a lot of issues with the dream section, many many topics on bricked phones, new OS releases, old releases, random topics, and other posts. The title of the forum is Dream android 'development', and its actually hard now to find 'development' scattered in many of the different types of topics in there.
SUGGESTION/RECOMMENDATION:
Make a sub-forum of the development forum (or of the whole dream forum like the current 5 main sub-forums), named something like troubleshooting, or repair, or something like that. That way, anyone with a broken phone can post in there maybe. It might be a bad suggestion simply because the 'helpers' may not check there...but I cant think of a better way to keep the 5 different topics a day saying "I have a different brick problem" organized so actual development [important] topics can stay up top, where they should be.
Anyone with a better idea, express it so something can be done, its quite a mess right now.
[Oh and maybe a description under the android dev. forum something in capital letters saying: be careful, and read everything before taking action!!!, because I think some people end up with bricks because of anticipation and possibly dont read. Just as a [duh] advisory, ya know?]
/rant
Thanks [btw not bashing the mods, its just a bit hectic it seems right now, many things going on there]
theslam08 said:
UPDATE:
As of late, there seems to be a lot of issues with the dream section, many many topics on bricked phones, new OS releases, old releases, random topics, and other posts. The title of the forum is Dream android 'development', and its actually hard now to find 'development' scattered in many of the different types of topics in there.
SUGGESTION/RECOMMENDATION:
Make a sub-forum of the development forum (or of the whole dream forum like the current 5 main sub-forums), named something like troubleshooting, or repair, or something like that. That way, anyone with a broken phone can post in there maybe. It might be a bad suggestion simply because the 'helpers' may not check there...but I cant think of a better way to keep the 5 different topics a day saying "I have a different brick problem" organized so actual development [important] topics can stay up top, where they should be.
Anyone with a better idea, express it so something can be done, its quite a mess right now.
[Oh and maybe a description under the android dev. forum something in capital letters saying: be careful, and read everything before taking action!!!, because I think some people end up with bricks because of anticipation and possibly dont read. Just as a [duh] advisory, ya know?]
/rant
Thanks [btw not bashing the mods, its just a bit hectic it seems right now, many things going on there]
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That has been added as a suggestion and I will push for it again in the mod section.
BTW I am a Dream mod and I am usually the one that closes threads or deletes them. I don't always leave a message because it is more time consuming. I can have an unclean section with everyone getting a response and therefore getting their locked post bumped. Or I can have a cleaner (it will never be clean) section with angry users who didn't search in the first place.
I chose the later by the way.
neoobs said:
That has been added as a suggestion and I will push for it again in the mod section.
BTW I am a Dream mod and I am usually the one that closes threads or deletes them. I don't always leave a message because it is more time consuming. I can have an unclean section with everyone getting a response and therefore getting their locked post bumped. Or I can have a cleaner (it will never be clean) section with angry users who didn't search in the first place.
I chose the later by the way.
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Click to collapse
Mhm, and you do what you can, I notice somethings being done by you, which is good that something is being done. I used to mod/administrate big places so I know what its like, its a pain when people cant search, or arent sure of where to post so they post anywhere (sometimes in the effort of 'just getting an answer').
This causes the clutter, especially when there are multiple 'different but very similar' type topics being created, and its tricky to know which to close and which not to close. Thats why I think maybe a separate forum 'might' be the best solution, because as of right now, bricks are happening pretty quickly and thats not good (no one to blame, just the anticipation again).
I appreciate the backing, hope 'something' can be done, its just really crowded right now (making the 'new' browsers get lost [causing the multiple similar topic issue], and your job harder).
One problem is the sticky's need to be updated by the people who started them. Many are older and with 5 different roms available to flash now they simply don't meet the demand for all these different roms. The rom developers need to do a better job of explaining how to flash their roms. The newest one tried to get a little too cute and force a new apps2sd method on users and the result was a lot of looped (not bricked) g1's. The sub forum could consist of how to's and guide's. I'm not sure a sub forum is the best way to go though, There are already 5 and most phones on here don't even have 4. Xda simply need more help with this section, neoobs has been cleaning house and i thank you but you can't do it all lol. I am a moderator on another site, not here but will do what i can to report posts as much as possible to help the mods.
Ryanmo5 said:
One problem is the sticky's need to be updated by the people who started them. Many are older and with 5 different roms available to flash now they simply don't meet the demand for all these different roms. The rom developers need to do a better job of explaining how to flash their roms. The newest one tried to get a little too cute and force a new apps2sd method on users and the result was a lot of looped (not bricked) g1's. The sub forum could consist of how to's and guide's. I'm not sure a sub forum is the best way to go though, There are already 5 and most phones on here don't even have 4. Xda simply need more help with this section, neoobs has been cleaning house and i thank you but you can't do it all lol. I am a moderator on another site, not here but will do what i can to report posts as much as possible to help the mods.
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Agreed 100%, it seems there are alot of stickies there, maybe redundant on some, but are necessary on others. There should be a way to make it distinguishable between information/guides, developments, and problems. They do need to be updated as well.
I agree, a forum might not be the best way because there might be 'lost' posts which would not work either (like the new magic thread that showed up, though I dont dissagree with that simply because the OP is correct, android is android, and the magic needs some help, maybe because we stole quite a bit from it too? lol. but still posting to 'get help' anywhere).
Is there a modification for vb that makes stickies different color than the regular topics? I never administrated vb only ipb and smf so I dont know. But that would be a big help there, then the new comers can instantly see which are informal.
Im trying to report, to help you so you dont need to spend as much time 'looking' as doing the task. Its not 'too' bad right now, when I first posted though omg it was disaster. Once the new rom comes out though....thennn its gonna be biig trouble again.
Update: I was looking at something...the first forum, named Dream. That I was actually looking at for the first time, it seems pretty useless really. A lot of the topics in there could definitely go into the development thread...OR that forum could get changed to something else and cleaned up. There arent many 'general' topics for the phone I dont think, whats general for the phone? What is the g1? Maybe but useless indeed. So maybe instead of MAKING a new forum, just change that one and clean it up. Make it a troubleshooting forum, or a tutorial section, or just updates, or something I dont know. But maybe just better use of it I think.

My issue with the 10-post rule

Hi all,
This will probably get deleted, but I'm just trying to contribute to discussion and get around what I consider a poor thought-out rule at the same time.
I am a long time reader, particularly of the [ROM] ICS 4.0.4 BCM RC3.4U0 GSM/CDMA <2012-05-19> (Bravo CM9 HWA) thread, but first time poster.
I consider myself to know more about the topic than a large number of the posters in that thread, though I certainly don't have knowledge on the subject anywhere near that than the experts in the thread. However, there have been many times when I have had the answer to someone's question, but have not been able to post.
The reason I cannot post is because the thread is limited to users who have made 10 or more posts. I can understand the need to filter out people who are asking the same question over and over again, but in doing so you filter out those who can genuinely contribute to the discussion. Just because I am not an active member in other forums of XDA, does not mean I am not able contribute to this thread.
So now, I have what I consider a reasonable question for the author of the thread, or another expert who may come across it. This question hasn't been asked before, and it bothers me that I cannot ask it. Other people may also benefit from me asking and receiving an answer to this question.
I thought about just creating 10 pointless posts in the general forum, but decided that would benefit no one. So here is my contribution to these forums, followed my 9 pointless posts. Kidding, I'll see whether I get responses to this and respond accordingly myself.
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Shaun
P.S. I have to wait 5 minutes between editing posts as a new user to prevent spam? I've been here 5 months and not once posted anything, let alone spam.
shaunblyde said:
Hi all,
This will no doubt get deleted, but I'm just trying to contribute to discussion and get around what I consider a poor thought-out rule at the same time.
I am a long time reader, particularly of the [ROM] ICS 4.0.4 BCM RC3.4U0 GSM/CDMA <2012-05-19> (Bravo CM9 HWA) thread, but first time poster.
I consider myself to know more about the topic than a large number of the posters in that thread, though I certainly don't have knowledge on the subject anywhere near that than the experts in the thread. However, there have been many times when I have had the answer to someone's question, but have not been able to post.
The reason I cannot post is because the thread is limited to users who have made 10 or more posts. I can understand the need to filter out people who are asking the same question over and over again, but in doing so you filter out those who can genuinely contribute to the discussion. Just because I am not an active member in other forums of XDA, does not mean I am not able contribute to this thread.
So now, I have what I consider a reasonable question for the author of the thread, or another expert who may come across it. This question hasn't been asked before, and it bothers me that I cannot ask it. Other people may also benefit from me asking and receiving an answer to this question.
I thought about just creating 10 pointless posts in the general forum, but decided that would benefit no one. So here is my contribution to these forums, followed my 9 pointless posts. Kidding, I'll see whether I get responses to this and respond accordingly myself
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Shaun
P.S. I have to wait 5 minutes between editing posts as a new user to prevent spam? I've been here 5 months and not once posted anything, let alone spam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you know more about that topic, then you could have been sharing it all those months, by just making a few posts in your device's General thread. Or in it's Q&A thread. Or in a thread in the General Forum here. Or in the Off Topic forum. Pity.
Here is excellent advice on how to achieve 10 (and more) QUALITY posts.
Welcome to XDA.
One other thing, Dev threads are for development. If you want to help more people, start a thread like this one in your device Q&A area. You will be amazed at how many people you can help there.
Thanks for your response, the link you gave was interesting and I should have looked for such information prior to posting. Considering I was quite blunt, I appreciate your helpful explanation.
Personally I still feel the rule is limiting many people from contributing from discussion that would otherwise get involved. I know there aren't exactly any other solutions to reduce the number of repeat questions, but my opinion is that more discussion is better than less, provided it is on-topic (even if it may be a "stupid" question).
I'll admit I'm not here explicitly to share my knowledge, I am here to gain knowledge for myself. I think most users here would be the same, although obviously there is a great community here that are not just in it for themselves. But if I see someone struggling with something that I know the answer to, I would be pleased to have the opportunity to give them a hand and give back in that manner, rather than lurk in silence.
I also do not consider myself an expert in any area XDA relates to. However having read the entire thread, referenced in the first post, over the months it has been contributed to, I consider myself able to help out there more than anywhere else on XDA. The Q&A type thread you mentioned is not specific to the knowledge I have gained from following the thread and it seems to more sensible to me to give my knowledge back to people where they will be looking for it.
As an aside, I'm not sure how much I would even consider the thread a development thread. For the most part it is one person developing (combined with his using work from other developers etc). What he does is excellent, no doubt about that, but it is basically him alone developing. The thread itself is mainly substantiated of feedback to improve to ROM or questions on any issues or the like. It is not used for collaboration as such. Any additional discussion would not hinder development collaboration, rather it would allow for more feedback for the developer and more knowledge for users of the ROM.
Thanks again for your reponse mf2112.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I thought I may achieve by posting here, as I'm sure you've seen it all before. So that said, if you wish to finish the discussion here that's fine by me, but if you do have more to add, I'd be happy to hear it.
Thanks.
I'm just like you, struggling to get something more in this forum. Just never give up.
The first few post restrictions are mostly for spam control. Otherwise new accounts would be opened and we would be flooded with spam posts advertising stuff in every forum.
Your device appears to be the HTC Desire from the ROM link. If you want to learn more, check out the other Desire subforums. Knowledge is everywhere on XDA.
BandenX said:
I'm just like you, struggling to get something more in this forum. Just never give up.
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Excellent advice.
im not gonna lie i dont even know what the 10 post rule is?
yeah o course im thinking the obvious but im normally checking stuff before i do any actions anyway?
chisme said:
im not gonna lie i dont even know what the 10 post rule is?
yeah o course im thinking the obvious but im normally checking stuff before i do any actions anyway?
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Click to collapse
The 10 post rule is for dev forums. If you have less than 10 then it is supposed to stop you from posting there, however it seems not to be enforced sometimes in some dev threads.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Similar situation here, but the rule is pretty standard at a lot of forums. Nothing to do about it but try to make 10 productive posts. Here's my first one. I noticed that the introduction threads are in each device forum, so an intro for each device will put me pretty close.
I'm a huge fan of the XDA community, and like the OP, I've been reading different threads for months. Looking forward to learning with you guys and hopefully contributing eventually. My experience in the field is limited, I learned basic web development in the early 2000s and have barely kept those skills up in the last decade.
Rooted EVO 4G - off contract, used mostly by 4 year old
Wife has stock EVO 3D - had S-ON root but got it put back to stock for her
I have an unlocked and rooted Motorola Photon, running CW7
Asus Transformer running stock ICS
Samsung Galaxy 10.1" running stock HC
I'll be getting an EVO View in a few days, will update at that time.
i too am a long time member here in XDA, since i got the XDA II hmmmm or was it the casiopia
anyways i recently became active just this 2012 when i got my hands on the HD2 - what a magnificent phone & there are alot of magnificent devs & chef here in XDA.
just by asking a lot of "meaningful" question i got through the hurdles of flashing & upgrading & even made my own tutorial for the ultra noob's
whatever Rule or Restriction that is in placed now is for the good of the site & it's user after all this is a FREE Forum/ site & at the same time you get to learn from some of the greatest.
now this is something else lol
fastest way to reach 10 post in just a few hours ot minutes
test (thread 1 2)
Originally Posted By: anserinae
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1666667
mengfei said:
now this is something else lol
fastest way to reach 10 post in just a few hours ot minutes
test (thread 1 2)
Originally Posted By: anserinae
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1666667
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That's a pretty quick way of finding yourself unable to post anywhere ever again.
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.....
this 10 post rule has infuriated me. All it does is force people to spam so they can voice their concerns about a rom in a thread only allowing 10+ posters
jeromejones said:
this 10 post rule has infuriated me. All it does is force people to spam so they can voice their concerns about a rom in a thread only allowing 10+ posters
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Forced to spam???
Forced?
If people feel the need to spam to reach ten posts then I dare say that they have nothing worth contributing to a development forum.
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.....
mf2112 said:
The 10 post rule is for dev forums. If you have less than 10 then it is supposed to stop you from posting there, however it seems not to be enforced sometimes in some dev threads.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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Click to collapse
If you happen to have joined XDA prior to 2007 then the 10 post rule doesn't apply... I believe....
jeromejones said:
this 10 post rule has infuriated me. All it does is force people to spam so they can voice their concerns about a rom in a thread only allowing 10+ posters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let's look at it this way. What happens when you start to look for threads you can contribute to? You start to post and be a contributing member of XDA instead of a leech. No one likes leeches - they suck the life from XDA. So why don't you take that fury that you evidently are feeling and turn that into a force to be reckoned with? Become someone who is known for contributing.
I understand being frustrated by the limit. However, once I decided I wanted to post in the dev forums, it took me less than two days to make 10 good posts. Two days sounds like a lot, but I would take that anyday to keep these forums as clean and awesome as they are.
The moderators already take on a huge responsibility - look at how many threads end up getting locked because someone gets on here and asks the experts to draw up a 20-step program for their own personal use instead of taking a few hours to read and process the large amount of content that is already here. Imagine how much worse this would be is such posts were also mucking up the dev forums.
jerdog said:
Well, let's look at it this way. What happens when you start to look for threads you can contribute to? You start to post and be a contributing member of XDA instead of a leech. No one likes leeches - they suck the life from XDA. So why don't you take that fury that you evidently are feeling and turn that into a force to be reckoned with? Become someone who is known for contributing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what happened to me when I started here a few months ago. I wanted to post a question in a Sensation dev thread, ran into the limit, and now just a few months later, I am on here for hours every day in my "jobby" helping people in various threads in multiple forums.
It's really easy to get 10 posts in less than an hour. Just answer some questions in q&a and general and yes, if can't easily answer any questions on this entire forum, then you really shouldn't be posting anything. Ever.
Sent from my htcLeo using xda vip edition
jerdog said:
If you happen to have joined XDA prior to 2007 then the 10 post rule doesn't apply... I believe....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must be later than that, here is someone's very first post and it is in a dev thread and he joined XDA in Feb 2010.
mf2112 said:
Must be later than that, here is someone's very first post and it is in a dev thread and he joined XDA in Feb 2010.
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Maybe he was using tapatalk/xda app

Suggestion to counter bad new-user behaviour

I'll start off by stating something obvious: Xda is primarily a developers forum, and the main focus is on devs and their valued work...
With that being said, Xda will always continue to attract new users, looking for a quick fix...(thanks to its already existing userbase)...
This doesn't look like stopping anytime soon, unless Xda becomes invite-only...
On to my suggestion:
One of the widespread problem around with new users is that they don't follow the rules...
They post the wrong questions in the wrong places, don't search, hardly provide proper information even if someone wanted to help...and if someone points out the rules, they get flamed, sometimes even abused...and all the users involved may end up with a ban/infraction...
As the regulars may know, the list just goes on...
SO, rather than DISCOURAGING new users from breaking forum rules, why don't we ENCOURAGE them to follow the same...?
So my suggestion, why don't we identify and HIGHLIGHT new users who actually follow the rules, atleast with regards to providing adequate information (like logcats and stuff)?
Maybe create a new section in the Xda Portal, where such users and their threads get featured (once or twice a week), for the simple fact that they exhibit ideal newbie behaviour...
Kind of like, leading people with examples from within their midsts...{something like *recognizing* new members (and members and maybe senior members as well)}
Why the Portal? Because whatever comes on the portal, grabs more eyeballs...
And if the expected way to present problems gets featured often on the Portal, new and old users alike may take note...
They may try and be on their best henceforth, simply because they may want to get featured...
So I leave this idea open for discussion...if people like this idea, I'll try and bring this to the attention of the admins (if they havn't already seen it) and work out the details, and see if it gets implemented...
P.s. *constructive* criticizm and opinion is appreciated on ^this...
Edit: Do not use this thread for getting your 10posts! I will complain to mods, and get your posts deleted with your post count being reset...
Unless you actually have something worthwhile to contribute...
And please stay on topic, this thread isn't to argue on the 10 post limit! That rule/limit shall stay there, irrespective of whether you like it or not...
I like it. Turn something negative into something positive and all that.
But still i feel it's...err...lacking in some ways. Although i can't put my finger in it.
Sent from my rooted tomato using xda app
I keep finding myself coming back to this thread but my thoughts about it are constantly changing.
At first, I simply thought that it was a great idea. I thought that because, as you say, if new members could see other new members being "rewarded" then it could entice them to act the same, in the hopes they would also be featured.
Then thinking not such a great idea because members could simply stick to those particular guidelines (whatever they would be) just to get featured and have their 15 minutes of fame, so to speak.
I've been flitting between those two thoughts more than any others in my mind. Whereas now, I'm pretty much stuck between both because even though I do think it's a great idea, the possible downside could be that members abuse the systematics of it.
All I can truly say at the moment is that even though it's a good idea, it needs to have more of a plan as to what would qualify them being featured and to how it would work.
Now obviously I know that this is only the early stages of an idea, but with a combined effort of people helping to plan this out, it could potentially work out brilliantly.
By the way, if I think of any ideas myself, I'll chuck them in here and see what you think of them.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
There should be some hard bound rule. One major setback in my opinion is that the "10 post rule", which encouragez them to spam thread everywhere.
This should be somehow modified.
Press Thanks on getting Helped by me
Users who don't make attempts at constructive posts aimed at helping others are creating spam. The rule does not.
I agree that the rule should be modified. I wish that the limit would be higher, like 50 posts. This way the '10-posters' will realize that they cannot possibly spam their way to be able to just hit the limit to post "Thanks for a great ROM", so they won't try, or if they do they will simply find their posts deleted so that they can try, try again.
This is not meant to be mean or cruel, but I would hope that XDA could keep more to its roots as a development site by changing it this way.
Only people who actively participate over a period of time and have proven themselves to be community members will be able to post constructively in a development thread. I believe this should also be applied retroactively, no grandfathering people in this time. If people have been 'members' for all this time instead of 'community members', then that means they haven't been participating or helping by sharing their knowledge with others, so why should they get to cut to the front of the line?
There are a lot of people who monitor the General and Q&A forums waiting for questions, trying to earn thanks and get new thread ideas and to climb the XDA ladder. If 'members' would use those forums as they were intended instead of trying to make the development threads into support threads, I believe they would find a much more welcoming community awaiting them.
I definitely agree with the concept a.cid is trying to do, but cascobel and Kid Carter feel as I do.
mf2112 said:
Users who don't make attempts at constructive posts aimed at helping others are creating spam. The rule does not.
I agree that the rule should be modified. I wish that the limit would be higher, like 50 posts. This way the '10-posters' will realize that they cannot possibly spam their way to be able to just hit the limit to post "Thanks for a great ROM", so they won't try, or if they do they will simply find their posts deleted so that they can try, try again.
This is not meant to be mean or cruel, but I would hope that XDA could keep more to its roots as a development site by changing it this way.
Only people who actively participate over a period of time and have proven themselves to be community members will be able to post constructively in a development thread. I believe this should also be applied retroactively, no grandfathering people in this time. If people have been 'members' for all this time instead of 'community members', then that means they haven't been participating or helping by sharing their knowledge with others, so why should they get to cut to the front of the line?
There are a lot of people who monitor the General and Q&A forums waiting for questions, trying to earn thanks and get new thread ideas and to climb the XDA ladder. If 'members' would use those forums as they were intended instead of trying to make the development threads into support threads, I believe they would find a much more welcoming community awaiting them.
I definitely agree with the concept a.cid is trying to do, but cascobel and Kid Carter feel as I do.
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Yeah you have come up with a good concept of 50 posts.
+1 for that
Press Thanks on getting Helped by me
There won't be any guidelines as such, but instead, we can have a group of members on the lookout for such posts...only they shall posess the vague guidelines...no need for it to become public in that sense...just like how it is for the articles appearing in the portal...
The news writers have guidelines, but these aren't public...but if you'll notice closely, they follow a quite vague trend...
And regarding raising the post limit to 50, I feel that it would drive out potential devs...sure they would find it easy to hang around and participate before they can post in dev section, but most devs have ego's...some may find it insulting that they have to "prove their worth"...
I believe that if we can hammer out all the weaknesses, than this idea can surely blossom into something useful...
a.cid said:
There won't be any guidelines as such, but instead, we can have a group of members on the lookout for such posts...only they shall posess the vague guidelines...no need for it to become public in that sense...just like how it is for the articles appearing in the portal...
The news writers have guidelines, but these aren't public...but if you'll notice closely, they follow a quite vague trend...
And regarding raising the post limit to 50, I feel that it would drive out potential devs...sure they would find it easy to hang around and participate before they can post in dev section, but most devs have ego's...some may find it insulting that they have to "prove their worth"...
I believe that if we can hammer out all the weaknesses, than this idea can surely blossom into something useful...
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Hopefully one of the news writers might chime in here at some point and offer some advice or tips since I do like the idea.
That is a good point, perhaps 30 would be a good number since that is when they go from Junior Member to Member. It is still high enough that they can't really spam to get there without being noticed. I guess if the new member is a really good dev, they could always contact one of the mods and work something out as it mentions in the Postcount limit in developmental fora thread.
mf2112 said:
Hopefully one of the news writers might chime in here at some point and offer some advice or tips since I do like the idea.
That is a good point, perhaps 30 would be a good number since that is when they go from Junior Member to Member. It is still high enough that they can't really spam to get there without being noticed. I guess if the new member is a really good dev, they could always contact one of the mods and work something out as it mentions in the Postcount limit in developmental fora thread.
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I was leaning towards more posts actually. I was thinking about 100 posts, i think that's when they become a senior member. That way they would truly appreciate being able to post in the dev thread and they would probably know better than to post "HEy thanks for the ROm!!1." Usually roms have a discussion thread in the general forum (at least for my device) and they should be encouraged to post there.
I dont know if that's too harsh, but I'm just tired of seeing people with 11 posts posting useless posts in the dev sections.
Avilove.Cullen said:
There should be some hard bound rule. One major setback in my opinion is that the "10 post rule", which encouragez them to spam thread everywhere.
This should be somehow modified.
Press Thanks on getting Helped by me
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EXACTLY This forum is damn stupid, I have a qns to ask the devs of my rom but now? I have to get 10 post filled???!!! WTF seriously, this forum is just encouraging spam. Honestly, if you dont have a qns to ask the devs, why would you wanna create an account? Im still a ''newbie member'' and this post will prolly be scanned by a mod. Mods, I hope you change this stupid rule.
beerope said:
EXACTLY This forum is damn stupid, I have a qns to ask the devs of my rom but now? I have to get 10 post filled???!!! WTF seriously, this forum is just encouraging spam. Honestly, if you dont have a qns to ask the devs, why would you wanna create an account? Im still a ''newbie member'' and this post will prolly be scanned by a mod. Mods, I hope you change this stupid rule.
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Dev area is not for newbie questions...
Your post is what justifies the members wishes of increasing the post count limit...while I'm here lobbying to not increase it...
And the first 10 posts aren't necessarily supposed to be spam...you can contribute at a lot of places and get 10 constructive posts as easily...
Anyways, that not the point of this thread...guys, please be on-topic...
Hello,
I understand you must stop the spam on the forum, but you don't think to the "non english" users !
For me for example, it's really difficult to understand all the long text on certain answers.
I know I must have 10 posts for my counter. OK
For now, i have some answers very helpfull to say for my smartphone (and a official rom to share (chineese N9000)).
But, before making my helpfull posts, I must make 10 reply to any "free forum" and it's seem to me so unnecessary...
So, you are the master and I am the slave... And I would like to share my knowledge... I must have 10 posts before...
thank you
patyan38
Was not able to resist posting in this thread.
So hey, even though I'm an old time lurker in here I started posting just recently and consider myself being a new member on this forums.
To be more specific about the lurking; I rooted about 20 different device models for friends, family and myself over years just using this forums as a guide. So thanks a lot to all the people who made all the custom ROMs and guides!
The reason why I post in here, is because in my opinion no clever forum/reward system on earth can defeat human laziness and stupidity.
You just can't do anything about it. Period.
How do I come to this conclusion? I'll explain!
The problem with ignorant new users is not an xda related problem, it's everywhere.
I come from a very technical field; VFX and 3D graphics and count myself in as a long time (5-10 years) and active user on lots and lots of forums about CGI, VFX, 3D, cinematography, video encoding, computer hardware and overclocking etc. etc.
Before I got my 24/7 job I was moderator on various smaller forums as well.
Now, one would expect that on a forum where people talk about 3D software which costs 5K$ onwards and is mainly used by professionals there shouldn't be too many new people asking stupid questions close to absurdity. Of cause there are, and they will gladly ask their questions which are all answered in stickied FAQs just one millimeter above their useless thread! Again and again and again...
The more specific the niche the forum is about, the less lazy and uneducated members.
(For example doom9 forums about x264 encoding)
More mainstream leads to more 1 time posters trying to get their question answered without even thinking of using a search function.
This is my experience on different forums and I guess mobile phones are mainstream.
What I'm trying to say in this lengthy post is that a new user who is willing to be a part of a community, will follow rules and not behave like a total **** out of free will, regardless, if there are any fancy reward systems or anything else on the forums.
Someone who just wants to ask one question and go will give a flying damn about noob friendly portals, encouragement and whatnot.
Same as he will give a damn about anyone's carefully written FAQ.
It's the internet.
I really gave that a lot of thought myself and I don't know why it is like this.
Maybe it's the society teaching people to get maximum gain with no effort if possible.
Maybe it's:
"Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence."
beerope said:
EXACTLY This forum is damn stupid, I have a qns to ask the devs of my rom but now? I have to get 10 post filled???!!! WTF seriously, this forum is just encouraging spam. Honestly, if you dont have a qns to ask the devs, why would you wanna create an account? Im still a ''newbie member'' and this post will prolly be scanned by a mod. Mods, I hope you change this stupid rule.
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Ask questions in Q&A or general. Development is not for asking questions by users.
The rule is not stupid, and it will not change.
Was not able to resist posting in this thread.<br />
<br />
So hey, even though I'm an old time lurker in here I started posting just recently and consider myself being a new member on this forums.<br />
To be more specific about the lurking; I rooted about 20 different device models for friends, family and myself over years just using this forums as a guide. So thanks a lot to all the people who made all the custom ROMs and guides!<br />
<br />
The reason why I post in here, is because in my opinion no clever forum/reward system on earth can defeat human laziness and stupidity.<br />
You just can't do anything about it. Period.<br />
How do I come to this conclusion? I'll explain!<br />
<br />
The problem with ignorant new users is not an xda related problem, it's everywhere.<br />
I come from a very technical field; VFX and 3D graphics and count myself in as a long time (5-10 years) and active user on lots and lots of forums about CGI, VFX, 3D, cinematography, video encoding, computer hardware and overclocking etc. etc.<br />
Before I got my 24/7 job I was moderator on various smaller forums as well.<br />
<br />
Now, one would expect that on a forum where people talk about 3D software which costs 5K$ onwards and is mainly used by professionals there shouldn't be too many new people asking stupid questions close to absurdity. Of cause there are, and they will gladly ask their questions which are all answered in stickied FAQs just one millimeter above their useless thread! Again and again and again...<br />
<br />
The more specific the niche the forum is about, the less lazy and uneducated members. <br />
(For example doom9 forums about x264 encoding)<br />
More mainstream leads to more 1 time posters trying to get their question answered without even thinking of using a search function.<br />
This is my experience on different forums and I guess mobile phones are mainstream.<br />
<br />
What I'm trying to say in this lengthy post is that a new user who is willing to be a part of a community, will follow rules and not behave like a total **** out of free will, regardless, if there are any fancy reward systems or anything else on the forums.<br />
<br />
Someone who just wants to ask one question and go will give a flying damn about noob friendly portals, encouragement and whatnot.<br />
Same as he will give a damn about anyone's carefully written FAQ.<br />
<br />
It's the internet.<br />
I really gave that a lot of thought myself and I don't know why it is like this.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's the society teaching people to get maximum gain with no effort if possible.<br />
Maybe it's:<br />
<i>"Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence."</i>
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Click to collapse
Well, to be frank, you've hit it spot-on...I thought about it, but the only conclusion that I could have is that there is no solution to stupidity and ignorance, as you pointed out...
But atleast we could try and think of other alternatives...
As a regular here, it is really dis-heartening to see the constant barrage and batter of really dumb smartphone-owners, who have certainly no right to own a gadget which has more "brain-power" than most of them have ever possessed, cribbing about stuff that is no one else's problem yet doing nothing possible to show that they have atleast TRIED helping themselves...
I have stopped even bothering to help such people, because the flood just doesn't end..!
The only close-to-feasible solutions that has been suggested to counter that is to make xda-invite only, or raising the dev area limit high enough to deter less dedicated members to even try (though both of them don't find too much support with me)...
Surely, there must be something somewhere...maybe a magical combination of everything suggested so far...
The current system wouldn't be able to hold up much longer...
And as one of my fellow rc, kuzibri, pointed out:
You'll never miss unless you shoot
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Making XDA invite-only would sort of defeat the purpose of having such forums, most roms and works would remain "confined" to those who have been invited.
The 10 posts limit was supposed to (I think) encourage newbies to discover the different forums, ask questions, employ correct grammar (lol), but instead I see them spamming in the Off-Topic section.
There are two solutions IMO:
1. Enforce the 10 posts by limiting to General, Q&A and Apps&Themes forums, making Off-Topic, well, off-limit. Have mods specifically for newbies, erasing any post that doesn't follow the XDA guidelines.
2. Erase the 10 posts, but have a mentor. Attribute one person that during a lapse of time will "accompany" the newbie, give him advice, and if deemed "worthy", give him a green light.
-----------
"You can overclock as much as you want, your phone will always seem too slow."
I like the idea of a system that will reward good noob behaviour, how you could make a system like this work without members manipulating it would be the hard part. Also as for increasing the post count i think an increase would be welcome to most members, but trying to keep it fair also, so a compromise of 25 i think could work. One of the main problems is that the Mods are having a hard time keeping onto of the work load as it stands now (doing a great job though), so maybe in order to help maintain new members and take of some of that work load, XDA could have a new Moderator type, a Junior Moderator whos job is to monitor new members only, making sure they stick to the rules and dont spam to increase their post count, but limiting the Mod powers of these Junior Mods, so they can only remove posts of members who have a post count of 30 or less.
I would like to put forward my two cents in this topic.
HTC one x was my first smartphone and xda completely new. My first day at xda I did not knew that I cannot post in development thread untill i have 10
posts and kept posting in general session regarding development so that I can inc posts to just get pass 10post
From my above experience, I feel few ppl people come to xda for short period of time, for instant results such as rooting unlocking are one of the reasons for spam because since number of posts requirement is 10 they spam , post silly stuff because they need answers fast and cannot wait or lazy to read similar posts. So increasing no of posts requirement will inc in spam . One solution would be create a new user topic in every device thread , which contains all info regarding rooting unlock and faqs, and make this new user topic, rules mandotory for every few user to read it once(instead of 10posts ) . I know ppl are lazy still they gonna post but it will stop spam for someextent
From beast called HTC One X
abhipati said:
I would like to put forward my two cents in this topic.
HTC one x was my first smartphone and xda completely new. My first day at xda I did not knew that I cannot post in development thread untill i have 10
posts and kept posting in general session regarding development so that I can inc posts to just get pass 10post
From my above experience, I feel few ppl people come to xda for short period of time, for instant results such as rooting unlocking are one of the reasons for spam because since number of posts requirement is 10 they spam , post silly stuff because they need answers fast and cannot wait or lazy to read similar posts. So increasing no of posts requirement will inc in spam . One solution would be create a new user topic in every device thread , which contains all info regarding rooting unlock and faqs, and make this new user topic, rules mandotory for every few user to read it once(instead of 10posts ) . I know ppl are lazy still they gonna post but it will stop spam for someextent
From beast called HTC One X
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Click to collapse
Virtually every General and/or Q&A device forum has such "new user" guides written by members and stickied to the top of the forums. Users unfortunately do not read them and thus do not post in them.
The problem is that people have the wrong idea that the dev threads are support threads. Those questions do not belong in the dev threads, so by increasing the post limit to a number much higher than 10, those users will not be able to spam their way in without being seen and having their posts deleted so hopefully they won't try to do it and will search and post questions if necessary in the General or Q&A forums.
As a new member here, I have no problem whatsoever with the 10 post limit. I actually didn't even know about it until I saw this thread.
I think the simple fact is that there are some of us that know they have no business posting in a dev thread whether allowed to or not and there are some people that have a sense of entitlement which can't be broken (me me, help me, do it for me, etc.).
I just got my first smartphone and immediately found XDA. I find myself reading thread after thread trying to soak up the vast knowledge on the site and it seems like the correct place for my questions is the FAQ thread in Q&A, not the dev thread. My post count just hit 10 but you will not find any posts from me in the dev threads until I can find something useful (actual test results from a update, information that will help them, etc) to contribute as a way of thanking the devs for their hard work.
I administrate a forum with a couple thousand users and up until now, the only solution we have had to combat the same type of problems is manually approving members 1 by 1. When users apply to the site, they are put in a guest / new user group. Our members report on each new member as they make useful contributions. At some point, an admin promotes them to the members group.
This is a very labor intensive process and most likely will not work for XDA, just wanted to share what we do.

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