A note on searching and posting [MANDATORY READ]

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Divine_Madcat

Retired Forum Moderator
Sep 9, 2005
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So, over the course of the last few weeks, Red and myself have been noticing a large increase in posts that are either duplicates, in the wrong section, or even have nothing to do with the phone all together. Because of this, i think it is a good time to remind users of XDA's community rules, and some specifics about posting on this board...

1) Like every other board, this forum follows XDA guidelines (In case people forgot, they are at the bottom) This means, when posting here (or anywhere else), you should be:
- Polite to other users
- Not using profane language
- Searching before making a new post
- ect... (read the rules!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?a=81

2) Search search search!
This has been popping up lately, and it is a little distressing. Before posting anywhere, users need to search before making a post.. odds are, your problem/question isn't new, and has been asked before. If there is already a thread, post in that already, and keep all knowledge/discussion in the same place (this helps future searches as well). If you are unhappy with XDA's built in search feature, Google is a great way to go; simply put in your search term, followed by "site:http://forum.xda-developers.com". This will tell google to search only XDA, and show your relevant results. If neither search yields anything, then you are ok to post.

3) Development board posting... This seems to be a real problem, so i am going to try to spell it out simply. The development board should ONLY have new topics containing:
- A new or updated rom release
- A new or updated kernel release
- A new or updated phone specific software feature or patch (improved touchscreen driver, improved wifi driver, etc).
- Information about hardware level phone specifics (not questions, but actual research about the hardware; such as overclocking or unlocking hidden features).

Posts in active topics need to be kept on topic as well. If you appreciate a devs work, it is ok to say so, but any further (general) discussion should be taken to a new thread in the general board. This includes things like benchmarks, themes, or tweaks. Only dev specific comments should be made in the dev thread (bug reports, feature feedback, install proceedures, etc).

With that said, and i hate to do this, we have to start cracking down on controlling the out of controll posts. I do not want to be the bad guy, but I think people are getting the feeling that they can do whatever they wish, to the detrmement of the community.. and that has to stop. Up unitl now, i have been letting alot of things slide, but consider this fair warning.. users who post without searching (if another user is able to link you to a thread with the same topic, you obviously didn't serach), or post in the wrong board, will be subject to warnings or infractions (depending on the severity and number of occurrences).

Users who flame, will be guaranteed an infraction. Believe me, i FULLY understand the frustration that many users have with what has been going on; I hate it as much as you do. But this goes for al users; following the stupidity of one user, does not mean you can too. From here on out, EVERY party involved in flaming will be held to the same accountability... If a user flames somebody, please... bite your tongue, and report it. Let us mods clean up the mess; arguging with the users only further derails threads.

As always, Myself and Red are here to help the community. If you have questions, TALK TO US. Ask us.. we really aren't bad people... we promise!
 
R

Red5

Guest
Along with Divine_Madcat's awesome announcement, I just wanted to further drive the point that we want this place to flourish with activity, but the right kind of activity. Developers developing for themselves and the public. Asking if anyone is having problems or features that they would like o have added. Members being able to read up on their device and learn how to tweak it to run they way that they want... not having to dig through countless threads and posts of mundane and repetitious whining.

To do this, we all have to work together, Mod > Developer > Senior Member > and yes, even the n00bs. The time it takes to write out a hateful message to somebody could have used the same amount of time and energy to help the member out or point them in the right direction. We all would like to see a more forceful way to make new members search and read before posting (which is in the works) but until that is put in play, we all can be a little more helpful... and when there is just too much clutter, thats where we step in and clean up the mess.

Again, thanks goes out to all of you for making XDA what it is. Lets not loose that.
 
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