XDA DevDB FAQ / Feedback / Bug Reports

This is really cool.

Thanks a lot. :good:

That's why this is my favorite forum.

Some characters aren't showing correctly in FF 22.0. They show up fine under Chromium. I'm using Linux.
The characters are located:

• Just before the device's name;
• Near each of the table's columns' titles;
• The stars also seem hidden (didn't check if those were ASCII characters or images, tho);
• There's a weird "fi" showing in the search bar. It's in black when using the normal theme, so it may be less visible than on my dark theme.

Also, the bottom bar ("Total Results: X") has white text on a white background using the default theme (on both browsers).

Awesome idea!

GermainZ said:

Some characters aren't showing correctly in FF 22.0. They show up fine under Chromium. I'm using Linux.
The characters are located:

• Just before the device's name;
• Near each of the table's columns' titles;
• The stars also seem hidden (didn't check if those were ASCII characters or images, tho);
• There's a weird "fi" showing in the search bar. It's in black when using the normal theme, so it may be less visible than on my dark theme.

Also, the bottom bar ("Total Results: X") has white text on a white background using the default theme (on both browsers).

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

that's a weird binary character. It's actually a hexadecimal representation of a character which is not present in the font you are using.

I have a few issues to address. What about tools which can be used for all devices? The CASUAL project just started a new IDE called CASCADE. It will eventually allow for users to create their own CASUALs easily via guided use of the CASUAL language. Also, there's plenty of CASUAL scripts which will work on all, many, some or one device. Is it possible to link these tools cross-forum?

This is frigging awesome.

Feature requests:

1) Can/will this be enabled for [APP] threads, too? Has anyone SEEN the Nova Launcher thread lately?! But, not just for clutter--the feature request, Q&A, etc. will be very useful, too.

2) Can a FAQ tab be added? Not essential, but may keep 1st post of ROM threads from overflowing with paragraphs and paragraphs of text. Also, related to idea 6, below.

3) In bug reports, can we enter our hardware somewhere so we don't have to re-type it every time? Also, can multiple devices be selected, a la Google Play website app installing?

4) In bug reports, can we have a separate, but REQUIRED TO FILL OUT, text box for steps to reproduce?

5) Can bug reports be edited? Many times we think we know the issue, but then another user discovers the actual regression, and then instead of two bug reports, one can be made?

6) The biggest one is the last, hehe. Can we somehow have user-editable FAQs for threads? I seriously think XDA needs to implement Wiki's IN THREADS. People check threads (nobody, IMO, sees or even knows that XDA has a Wiki) and there are a handful of users who are nearly as knowledgeable as the developer who post. Maybe only OP-approved people can edit. But, seriously, you guys can make XDA legitimately 100x better if you implemented Wiki-style FAQs for these special threads.

Many people know the answer, but don't want to retype it 500 times. Now, let them put their answer in a very EASY TO FIND place in the FAQ. You seriously harness the power of this extremely knowledgeable community. If you don't, then you leave smart people upset at multiple people posting the same question.

Question:

1) Are

My two cents

Hopefully this isn't looked on as the ultimate sin or put me on any list hahaha BUT I have a question for any admin/moderator that's directly involved in this project....

How is this helping the developer?

I see a lot of things that users would love and want because they see this site more of a ROM shop then a development site but I don't see how this helps the developers, the ones doing the actual development.

I mean, judging from threads like the NOVA thread which ikjadoon pointed out above....users don't read or even search before posting which in turn causes developers to take more time away from the development process to answer questions that have been asked and answered about 100000 times if not more.

They also ignore warnings in OPs unless they're in BIG RED letters. They post in the wrong sections time after time even though there are stickies and is written in the XDA rules. The list goes on and on and on, how users repeatedly prove that they can't read 2-3 paragraphs if not less of information that will help them and/or follow simple instructions.

I'm not on any high horse here but if you ask anybody that's willing to be truthful if this is true or not, they will answer HELL YES.

With that said, by encouraging users to be even more lazy and giving them tabs is not only making it more difficult for the developer(s) by having him or her fill out these tabs BUT is not in my opinion going to fix the clutter/searching before posting issue.

This will also (in my opinion) send a wave of users harassing developers if they chose NOT to take part in the whole tabs project.

I don't have all the answers nor do I expect any of the admins/moderators that are directly involved in this project to have them BUT I believe this would be a step in the wrong direction if organizing the forums is the ultimate goal here.

ONCE again, this is my opinion. At the end of the day, is your site and you will do as you want. I'm just a member throwing my two cents in...don't shoot! :good:

svetius said:

This is relating to the announcement of DevDB: http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/introducing-the-xda-devdb/

Please use this thread to report bugs, request features, and offer feedback. :highfive:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

How about a field in the DevDB that indicates if the ROM passes Google's CTS (Compatibility Test Suite)? Some people may not want to install something that deviates too far from what Google intended Android to be like (or if something fundamental got broken), if you know what I mean.
Just my humble $0.02

ref: http://source.android.com/faqs.html#compatibility-test-suite

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

@Mazda

Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.

The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.

If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.

ikjadoon said:

@Mazda

Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.

The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.

If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I believe they tried that with the WIKI's and it didn't turn out that well....

Some wikis did well and some were ghost towns.........the clutter remained none the less

OH and I would like to say that I'm not here to piss on the idea of this project or just say "none of this will work", I'm simply stating my opinion based on what I've seen as a member since I've joined.

I would LOVE to see XDA live up to it's potential and maybe remove some of the clutter and trolls BUT I just see it going a different direction at this moment in time...

Exactly! They were ghost towns because nobody knew about them and, if you did, why take the time and energy to edit something that like 10 people would see?
Thus, place them as a tab on the OP like the others are now.

Same...XDA has ridiculous potential!

This is a great idea and one I've wanted to see in XDA or any other forum for a long time. Since I own a Note 2 N7100, I contributed my part by using Google docs and forms to provide much of the same information in the DevDB for the Note 2. I would say now much of my work is obsoleted, but I agree it is a good thing for XDA.

However for improved granularity, instead of just 1 ranking rating, can DevDB also include 1 other rating for Screen On Time as an indicator for battery life?

My sig links to the thread where I made the index, you can see what I've done.

Well, more of the same, haha:

Threads are great for a few users having a semi-cohesive discussion. With many users, many important issues are somewhere within hundreds of pages.

A user-editable FAQ would fix that. I'd like to also stress the importance of having the FAQ as a tab and NOT a link, as otherwise we'd have fewer users editing and fewer users reading.

It doesn't have to use the exact wiki format. But, maybe, a community-editable post that is otherwise normal.

Some threads that could've used it:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1727052

Galaxy SIII Annoyances Megathread

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1984126

The AT&T Jelly Bean Release Thread (4.1.1 released; Kies and OTA)

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1739426

[HOWTO] [ROOT] No Tripping Flash Counter - [ATT / Bell / Telus / Rogers / Sasktel]

Mention @ tags don't work with DevDB.. Rest it ok needs improvement though

Not the s3? wow.

AdamOutler said:

that's a weird binary character. It's actually a hexadecimal representation of a character which is not present in the font you are using.

I have a few issues to address. What about tools which can be used for all devices? The CASUAL project just started a new IDE called CASCADE. It will eventually allow for users to create their own CASUALs easily via guided use of the CASUAL language. Also, there's plenty of CASUAL scripts which will work on all, many, some or one device. Is it possible to link these tools cross-forum?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Actually we are considering this as some tools are multi or pan-device. Working on a way to show this correctly across multiple devices without getting confusing. Honestly we wanted to make sure that this system works in the first place, find out where we need to expand it, and then do it. @AdamOutler don't know if you noticed but one of the download options (if you have edit capabilities on a download file) is to set it as a CASUAL file. You can also set a specific board for the download. Our API will allow you to ask XDA to "send me all CASUAL package files for 'mako'" and then allow you to download those directly. More TBA.

Mazda said:

Hopefully this isn't looked on as the ultimate sin or put me on any list hahaha BUT I have a question for any admin/moderator that's directly involved in this project....

How is this helping the developer?

I see a lot of things that users would love and want because they see this site more of a ROM shop then a development site but I don't see how this helps the developers, the ones doing the actual development.

I mean, judging from threads like the NOVA thread which ikjadoon pointed out above....users don't read or even search before posting which in turn causes developers to take more time away from the development process to answer questions that have been asked and answered about 100000 times if not more.

They also ignore warnings in OPs unless they're in BIG RED letters. They post in the wrong sections time after time even though there are stickies and is written in the XDA rules. The list goes on and on and on, how users repeatedly prove that they can't read 2-3 paragraphs if not less of information that will help them and/or follow simple instructions.

I'm not on any high horse here but if you ask anybody that's willing to be truthful if this is true or not, they will answer HELL YES.

With that said, by encouraging users to be even more lazy and giving them tabs is not only making it more difficult for the developer(s) by having him or her fill out these tabs BUT is not in my opinion going to fix the clutter/searching before posting issue.

This will also (in my opinion) send a wave of users harassing developers if they chose NOT to take part in the whole tabs project.

I don't have all the answers nor do I expect any of the admins/moderators that are directly involved in this project to have them BUT I believe this would be a step in the wrong direction if organizing the forums is the ultimate goal here.

ONCE again, this is my opinion. At the end of the day, is your site and you will do as you want. I'm just a member throwing my two cents in...don't shoot! :good:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hey @Mazda, this is ddrager from Twitter.

Well these are all good points. We did a lot of thinking about what XDA does, what we stand for, and what we provide for developers. For a developer, we are oftentimes not only for discussion but also a platform both for distribution and for feedback on ROMs and other applications for mobile devices. In this regard, DevDB is a platform for users to find the right ROMs and applications for their devices, which hopefully keeps them off of the threads with questions about downloads and whatnot. Sure, we can complain all we want that n00bs don't read, don't search etc... but complaining about it doesn't fix the issue. We wanted to present a way that is easier to follow for those looking for new ROMs and how to modify their devices. A sort of 'device central' where you can get all the information on your device for everyone from those new to Android to those who are veterans at flashing ROMs.

For developers, not much has changed. You still have the development forums, and this is totally optional. DevDB adds some features like built-in reviews, bug reports, a torrent tracker/download system etc. This is mainly for those devs who wish to have additional promotion of their projects, and to make it easier for end-users to find and interact with those projects.

Regarding the issue of users not reading, this isn't a problem unique to XDA. You can point people to search as much as you want but there are 10 people behind them asking the same questions. We've all been guilty of this to some extent at one time . What we can do as a site is make the important information as easy to see and find as possible to help reduce the amount of extraneous questions sent to developers, that have already been answered.

XDA is a site full of information overload, and the best thing we can do is make that information categorized and easy to read.

ikjadoon said:

@Mazda

Some of your points are EXACTLY the reason I think each of these threads needs a user-editable (aka wiki-style) FAQ.

The developer, here, does NOT need to create and edit the FAQ themselves. Many knowledgeable users can do that and the developer is free to simply curate it.

If the FAQ is readily available in a tab, I think you will see a significant decrease in thread noise.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

This has been brought up a few times. I think what it comes down to is that we currently have a wiki, and nobody really uses it for something like that (that I know of). You can create a page on there and link it to the thread as it is right now.

Great feedback all, keep em coming! :highfive:

awesome feature. when can we expect it to be available on other forums
not asking for an eta although

Just wanted to say this is AWESOME!

I browsed around a bit in the "db-test-areas" and I really like it! The benefits are clearly visible:

• Better overview
• makes it easy finding stuff for your device
• no need to browse pages and pages of devices sections when you are searching for something specific

I'd love to find it in the whole forums!! Keep it on!