This thread is aimed at teaching new users the way to be able to post in a development thread WITHOUT spamming or posting rubbish and help you get along better in the development threads.
I know that this thread will probably be ignored by most users who this is aimed at, BUT if it helps teach even a few users then this has been worth it.
**As of January 2016, you no longer need to have 10 posts to be able to post in development threads. To be able to create your own thread in the development forums you will need to have 50 posts though.
If you have a thread you'd like to post into the development forum but you don't have enough posts, you can create your thread in the General section for your device and then ask a Moderator of that forum to move it into the Development forum for you.**
First, let's look at why new users generally want to be able to post in a development thread ;
*They think it's the cool place to hangout.
*They think their question will be answered quicker.
*They want to say thanks to a developer for the work that they've done.
*They think their question is important and should be posted in development.
Now, let's explain the truth about the 4 points above ;
*Development threads are NOT the cool place to hangout. As this is a development forum there's no need to hangout but if you really feel the need to relax and hangout with other members, then participate in some discussions in the General section of your device.
*Your question will NOT be answered any quicker by posting it in a development thread. If you take a look at every single device forum on XDA, you'll see that the Q&A forum will always have more posts and threads than development forums will.
*While it's nice that you want to thank the developer for their hard work, making a post saying "Thanks" will only fill up the thread with useless posts. To stop this, XDA admins added a Thanks button which you will see at the bottom of every post on this forum (as long as you have made 1 post). If you're using the XDA app, just click on the relevant post and you'll see a few options appear. One of those options is "Thanks".
If you think that clicking the Thanks button is not enough then you could always donate to the developer to help them carry on development.
*While your question may well be important, it still doesn't belong in the development section. You may get flamed if you post your question there as all questions should be posted in the Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting forum. Development is only intended for development.
What's the best way for me to make 50 posts?
*As is mentioned a lot when talking about new users, the best way to make your first 50 posts is to go to your device forum and see if you can help some people in the Q&A forum. This is a great thing to do because it means you can help others learn more from you helping them with their questions. You may also gain some Thanks along the way.
*If you can't answer the questions, either because they're too hard OR others answer them too quickly, you go into your devices General forum and get involved in some discussions about your phone. This is a great thing to do because it can teach you some things which you didn't know about your device + you may be able to share what you've learnt which others may not know about. It also gives you a good introduction to your forum and the people you will see there.
*If you can't contribute towards any of the discussions either then you can also have a look around the following forums and see if you can help people in the forums aswell - General, Questions & Answers, Android General and Android Q&A.
*If you can't answer the questions, either because they're too hard OR others answer them too quickly, you go into your devices General forum and get involved in some discussions about your phone. This is a great thing to do because it can teach you some things which you didn't know about your device + you may be able to share what you've learnt which others may not know about. It also gives you a good introduction to your forum and the people you will see there.
*If you can't contribute towards any of the discussions either then you can also have a look around the following forums and see if you can help people in the forums aswell - General, Questions & Answers, Android General and Android Q&A.
How can I get involved with the development community?
Well, being active is the simple answer.
As you'll notice across XDA, the type of posts allowed in development threads are decided by the developer. Some developers want dev talk only. The won't want any kind of questions or general comments. Most, however, don't really mind what kind of posts go into their thread. Most will allow questions and a small amount of off topic chatter to happen within their thread. This allows a small community to grow - one who uses this certain piece of development and can help out others along the way. Getting involved in such small communities is great because you can learn a lot, help people a lot and even make your way towards those 50 posts needed to create your own thread in the development forums.
As you'll notice across XDA, the type of posts allowed in development threads are decided by the developer. Some developers want dev talk only. The won't want any kind of questions or general comments. Most, however, don't really mind what kind of posts go into their thread. Most will allow questions and a small amount of off topic chatter to happen within their thread. This allows a small community to grow - one who uses this certain piece of development and can help out others along the way. Getting involved in such small communities is great because you can learn a lot, help people a lot and even make your way towards those 50 posts needed to create your own thread in the development forums.
Now that you've read through this thread, you will know the best and easiest way to make your first 50 posts. If you see any other members who are not following this guidance, feel free to link them to this thread so that they can learn from it aswell. Now you're good to go!
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