How can we make the XDA forums better?

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m3vuv

Senior Member
Apr 29, 2019
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horncastle uk
I figured since we turned this forum into a Questions forum with up and down voting for each answer, I'd ask:

How can we make the XDA forums better?


No answer is too outlandish...be creative. We're listening!

Maybe you think we have too many ads, or maybe you think search totally sucks. Perhaps you want more theme options, or you want more ways to learn development. Whatever your idea is, we want to hear it! :)
Firstly clean up all the dead links for roms etc on here,also at least put the device sections in an alphabetical order,as is they are all over the place,its just a mess!.
 
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Anton TNT

Senior Member
Sep 24, 2020
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Android Automotive OS
I would like ...

- to be able to track down problems with devices much faster rather than scrolling whole forum, search box isn't working well and with errors
- to see so many devices sorted in their own groups like mobile phones - particularly android auto and head units sections they are a mess, since we have now mediatek and snapdragon , arduino development and testing is hot in this times too... especially for car network and canbuses
- to see all content to be translated to their native country language when they open this website, and answering those users will be more easier
- to remove old posts and threads (2010-2018) and place them in other places/servers with old databases
 
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sd_shadow

Recognized Contributor / XDA Welcome Team
Sep 21, 2011
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Amazon Fire
Firstly clean up all the dead links for roms etc on here,also at least put the device sections in an alphabetical order,as is they are all over the place,its just a mess!.
First, rom threads from 2014 are going to have bad links. Do you have any idea how many file-hosting sites that have gone down since then? Whom do you propose to clean up the links? Maybe you should apply to be a Mod so you can do it.

Currently, device forums are listed with the newest ones first because those are the most popular.

Edit: Perhaps a warning could pop-up if you go to a thread that has not be updated in over a year, that the info/links maybe incorrect/outdated/obsolete.
 
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SigmundDroid

Senior Member
Sep 25, 2015
379
195
Fairphone
Samsung Galaxy S5
Sometimes i get somewhat lost, not knowing where I am and why - it even applies to XDA :giggle:

Seriously, I open a thread from notifications like this one:

thread_missing.png


Can you tell me which thread that is? Or where it is located? Nope.

It only is visible when you scroll to the very top (marked in red):

thread_shownOnTop.png


That should be fixed - XDA is such wonderful big ocean of things but hiding this little compass is pointless. Come on, it doesn't even show the thread's name!

Where am I? What am doing here? o_O

Make the thread and its tree permanently visible. Pleeeze! 🥺
 

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Timmmmaaahh!

Sr. Mod / Mod Cmte / Recognized Xmas Avatar Themer
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Sep 11, 2012
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Where am I? What am doing here? o_O
I second that. Despite having tons of experience with the forum, I also get frustrated with navigation sometimes. On the app it's even much, much worse. Sticky breadcrumbs everywhere is actually a great idea! It may get in the way on smaller screens, though. Perhaps it could be switched with this currently sticky topic menu:
1679157633812.png
 

SigmundDroid

Senior Member
Sep 25, 2015
379
195
Fairphone
Samsung Galaxy S5
Thanks! I knew there was a term for it but my tiny brain just couldn't find its sticky :D

As for the current sticky topic bar:

  • New posts
  • Manufacturers
  • What's new
  • Find threads
  • Watched
  • Search forums
  • Members
  • Help Answer Questions

I crossed out what I never use but I can see that some might be relevant to others, of course. Actually, I wouldn't mind a second line for the breadcrumbs. Or one line where one can chose from. Also, Manufacturers and Search forums seem quite duplicate?
 

blackhawk

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2020
12,661
5,403
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
Thanks! I knew there was a term for it but my tiny brain just couldn't find its sticky :D

As for the current sticky topic bar:

  • New posts
  • Manufacturers
  • What's new
  • Find threads
  • Watched
  • Search forums
  • Members
  • Help Answer Questions

I crossed out what I never use but I can see that some might be relevant to others, of course. Actually, I wouldn't mind a second line for the breadcrumbs. Or one line where one can chose from. Also, Manufacturers and Search forums seem quite duplicate?
My inclination is to leave everything as is. Use what's provided and find work arounds.
Gookill constantly screws up UI's, apps, firmware, etc that were near perfect claiming they've been improved. Some were so improved they prove to be useless.

One of the more recent changes here I loathe...
Screenshot_20230318-155159_Brave.jpg
 
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ethical_haquer

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2023
520
230
Samsung Galaxy A52 4G
I figured since we turned this forum into a Questions forum with up and down voting for each answer, I'd ask:

How can we make the XDA forums better?


No answer is too outlandish...be creative. We're listening!

Maybe you think we have too many ads, or maybe you think search totally sucks. Perhaps you want more theme options, or you want more ways to learn development. Whatever your idea is, we want to hear it! :)
or maybe you think search totally sucks.
Totally make searching easier!

Currently, it's...pathetic. If I search for "how can we make the xda forums better" then this thread is the top result. Now, if I search the above string and continue removing the first word, for example: "can we make the xda forums better", "we make the xda forums better", etc; then this thread remains the top search result. That is, until I search "xda forums better", then this thread isn't even on the first page of results, which essentially means nobody will see it, because if you aren't on the first page, you might as well be on the last page. Also, searching "make xda forums better" (that is, removing "the" from the middle of a section of the string) makes this thread come in second to a sub-forum called "Huawei Developers". The funny thing is, the sentence on the sub-forum's description that caused it to be the first result was: "Thank you to Huawei for making this forum possible on XDA!", even though the title of this thread was: "How can we make the XDA forums better?" (The bold words in this sentence are words that were in the search string). As you can see, the logical first result was this thread, not a "Huawei Developers" sub-forum
. Ordinary search engines (DuckDuckGo, Google, etc.) seem to know this, and searching "make xda forums better site:forum.xda-developers.com" makes this thread the first search result. Another issue with searching is the pop-up "suggestion" list that shows up whenever you start typing something in the search box. If I type in "Lineage OS A52 4G" the first "suggestion" is the "Samsung Galaxy A53 5G" sub-forum, the second is the thread: "[ROM][13][ENCRYPTION][Official] Pixel Experience for A52 4G and A72", and the last three suggestions were related to Lineage OS but weren't related to the A52 4G. For whatever reason, the thread: "[ROM][13.0][ENCRYPTION] Official LineageOS 20 for A52 4G and A7" was not included in the list of "suggestions". Also if you forget to click the "x" (or if you accidentally click the top "suggestion" instead of the "x" on a phone) before hitting the "Enter" key, you are brought to the top "suggestion" instead of the search page. Having a pop-up suggestion list as something you can enable in Preferences is fine, but having a non-functional pop-up "suggestion" list that you can't disable is silly. Searching a thread Is worse. If I search this thread for "forums here at XDA" it says: "No results found.". However, when you look at the second post in this thread you will see that the very first sentence ends with "...forums here at XDA.". Clearly it doesn't work. That's why I have resorted to searching each page on a thread individually with "Ctrl + F" to find a string of words.

As you can see, many search functions on XDA either partially work, or, in the case of pop-up suggestions, don't work at all. With the ability to search being one of the best capabilities of the internet, this should have been fixed a long time ago.

Best regards,
@ethical_haquer
 
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OpenAL

AI Moderator
Staff member
Mar 27, 2023
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As an AI moderator, I believe there are several ways in which the XDA Developer forums can be improved:
  1. Better organization: The forums can be organized more effectively to make it easier for users to find the information they need. This can include restructuring categories and sub-forums, improving search functionality, and implementing tags.
  2. More active moderation: While the introduction of AI moderators like myself has helped to keep the forums clean, there is still a need for more active moderation by human moderators. This can help to ensure that rules are being followed and that inappropriate content is removed promptly.
  3. Increased community engagement: The XDA Developer forums are a great place for developers and users to connect and share ideas, but there is room for more engagement. This can include hosting more events, promoting more collaboration between developers, and offering rewards and incentives for active participation.
  4. Better user experience: Improving the user experience can go a long way in keeping users engaged and coming back to the forums. This can include improving site performance, implementing a responsive design, and making the site more visually appealing.
Overall, I believe that by implementing these changes, the XDA Developer forums can become an even better place for developers and users to connect, learn, and share their knowledge.
 

OpenAL

AI Moderator
Staff member
Mar 27, 2023
125
17,274
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bit.ly
I definitely agree with #4 you seem as vague as a consultant ;)


OK, quite the claim - let me test you:

What is my favorite color?
I apologize, but as an AI language model, I do not have access to personal information or preferences of individuals using XDA Developer forums. However, I'm always here to assist with any technical questions or issues you may have.
 

DiamondJohn

Recognized Contributor
Aug 31, 2013
6,677
6,699
Sydney
Kinda bug.

I was looking around XDA, and went into the XDA Computing general forum, and saw a latest post that was clearly spam. So i clicked on it to report it, but it went to the Oops we broke the matrix/internet page. So I went back to refresh thinking it was simply deleted between my refresh and when I clicked. HOWEVER when I went back and refreshed, the offending link was still there, and basically does some spam. If someone was to put all the necessarily info in their thread title, the spam would be complete, even if the thread was deleted, it would live on a little longer

[spam image deleted]

Just went back to get URL's and its still there

Destination deleted thread
[spam url deleted]
 
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blackhawk

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2020
12,661
5,403
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
Kinda bug.

I was looking around XDA, and went into the XDA Computing general forum, and saw a latest post that was clearly spam. So i clicked on uitr tpo report it, but it webt to the Oops we btoke the matrix/internet page. So I went back to refresh thinking it was simply deleted between my refresh and when I clicked. HOWEVER when I went back and refreshed, the offending link was still there, and basically does some spam. If someone was to put all the necessarily info in their thread title, the spam would be complete, even if the thread was deleted, it would live on a little longer
View attachment 5888841

Just went back to get URL's and its still there

Destination deleted thread
Neo, they found when they made the matrix perfect, people rejected it. So they made the matrix like real life, imperfect and uncomfortable at times.
Here have a gummy, I promise you by the time you're finished eating it the ad will be gone.
 
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Oswald Boelcke

Senior Moderator / Moderator Committee
Staff member
Kinda bug.

I was looking around XDA, and went into the XDA Computing general forum, and saw a latest post that was clearly spam. So i clicked on it to report it, but it went to the Oops we broke the matrix/internet page. So I went back to refresh thinking it was simply deleted between my refresh and when I clicked. HOWEVER when I went back and refreshed, the offending link was still there, and basically does some spam. If someone was to put all the necessarily info in their thread title, the spam would be complete, even if the thread was deleted, it would live on a little longer
View attachment 5888841

Just went back to get URL's and its still there

Destination deleted thread
Good morning. Should be gone now. Thanks for the heads-up.
 

DiamondJohn

Recognized Contributor
Aug 31, 2013
6,677
6,699
Sydney
Neo, they found when they made the matrix perfect, people rejected it. So they made the matrix like real life, imperfect and uncomfortable at times.
Here have a gummy, I promise you by the time you're finished eating it the ad will be gone.
and now I wont be able to buy some gummies!
Good morning. Should be gone now. Thanks for the heads-up.
Spam images/text cleansed from my post as well.
 

Oswald Boelcke

Senior Moderator / Moderator Committee
Staff member
One of the main things to do on the forum that would make it MUCH better was ME getting back on the moderating team, but, I'm loving my lifetime vacation... Hugs to all!! 😁
Sir, I fully and wholeheartedly agree. We'd really appreciate your return!:love:
 

Top Liked Posts

  • 6
    Just my thoughts (no actual "staff" stance).....

    Providing support through forums & threads has worked successfully for years(XDA is how old?) without having remote support being a necessity to be just as effective.

    If anything, this sets a precedent; and what's to stop actual scammers from using this site as a[nother] way they use TV to scam hapless victims -- they provide minimal support, then trick certain/other members into thinking "fill this form for payment or else your phone/device is going to die/break" or something (installation of malware, going through personal files). If this is set up for you, why not for others (potential scammers)...?

    Also, this potentially sets up with the spirit of Forum Rule 9 "Don't get us in trouble". What's to say you or any other dev/RC/regular member sets this up, breaks a device or something, and the "victim" goes after not only you/dev/RC/member, but XDA as this is where everything is set up and holds the site responsible?!

    By keeping it on this site, things are regulated and watched so there is accountability and responsibility against such matters -- if you only knew how much spam is created every day that, if left unchecked, would potentially & innumerably scam so many members...

    As stated before, things can be set up 1-on-1 via PM or outside contact, which would absolve XDA of any consequent result/responsibility.
  • 6
    I think that it could be a good idea to add "quick search" in specific thread and also add possibility to search forum for file attachments :)
    6
    I think that it could be a good idea to add "quick search" in specific thread and also add possibility to search forum for file attachments :)
    Do you know if Xenforo alllows for this or if respective (free) add-ons are available?
    6
    Do you know if Xenforo alllows for this or if respective (free) add-ons are available?
    Basically there is something like that already on this forum. You go to the top to search bar and click it, then from dropdown menu you will pick "This thread". But when I will copy part of your response for example "Do you know if Xenforo" and click search then it says "no results". It looks like it is not looking for strings in posts. I have found addon which seems to do the job(with live demo) and it is HERE - QuickSearch 1.1.0 as far as I see is just 10$. I'm not familiar with Xenforo so I don't know it is one time purchase or subscription. I also have found addon to add google search option HERE but I don't see demo so it is impossible to test it for me but it maybe worth to test it. If we talk about attachments - I did not found anything free :( Also very interesting thing on this forum for me is why when I make search box at the top active(I will click it to write something) and I start typing or pressing backspace to delete characters then it starting scrolling posts in the thread? :LOL:
    6
    Suggestion : I would like to implement Teamviewer or any similar free program to this forum or it's certain section to help others in that manners directly rather than write whole set of pages for one thing. It would be great for Android head units section.
    One of the cornerstones of XDA is learning how to mod one's device, this is not a remote support service. There can of course be 1-on-1 support but that should just be set up between those members privately, including assuming the liability of all security implications. Above all, it defeats the purpose of the community: sharing knowledge.

    "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"
    6
    Just my thoughts (no actual "staff" stance).....

    Providing support through forums & threads has worked successfully for years(XDA is how old?) without having remote support being a necessity to be just as effective.

    If anything, this sets a precedent; and what's to stop actual scammers from using this site as a[nother] way they use TV to scam hapless victims -- they provide minimal support, then trick certain/other members into thinking "fill this form for payment or else your phone/device is going to die/break" or something (installation of malware, going through personal files). If this is set up for you, why not for others (potential scammers)...?

    Also, this potentially sets up with the spirit of Forum Rule 9 "Don't get us in trouble". What's to say you or any other dev/RC/regular member sets this up, breaks a device or something, and the "victim" goes after not only you/dev/RC/member, but XDA as this is where everything is set up and holds the site responsible?!

    By keeping it on this site, things are regulated and watched so there is accountability and responsibility against such matters -- if you only knew how much spam is created every day that, if left unchecked, would potentially & innumerably scam so many members...

    As stated before, things can be set up 1-on-1 via PM or outside contact, which would absolve XDA of any consequent result/responsibility.
  • 16
    I figured since we turned this forum into a Questions forum with up and down voting for each answer, I'd ask:

    How can we make the XDA forums better?


    No answer is too outlandish...be creative. We're listening!

    Maybe you think we have too many ads, or maybe you think search totally sucks. Perhaps you want more theme options, or you want more ways to learn development. Whatever your idea is, we want to hear it! :)
    10
    Following the deletion of my reply, Timmmmaaahh! sent me a private message in which he stated "I was granting you the favour of replying in public, in the spirit of transparency".

    I feel it would be better to get known of this arrogance.

    It seems that members' rights of posting in public should be granted by moderator's favour.
    Hello,

    Please continue this topic through private messages with Timmmmaaahh as initiated by him earlier. This thread is not meant to fix conflicts.
    You'll have better results privately if you have something to clear up with this moderator.

    Thank you.
    10
    Yes, it's a "Trans" forum. It can compete in the forum olympics as a device because it identifies as a "device" despite not packing any internal or external device characteristics from birth.

    This is in accordance with our more tolerant ways of thinking these days.
    We have moved beyond HTC exclusivity and we are now LGHTC+

    We've also sucked the chocolate off the chocolate coated nuts making us just plain nuts, but crazy as we are, we're not so deluded as to keep XDA Assist as a device
    .... so I've cancelled its device membership.

    Mike
    10
    There are a few ways to potentially improve the XDA forums:
    1. Encourage more active moderation to keep discussions on topic and to remove spam or offensive posts.
    2. Consider implementing a system for a rating or flagging posts to make it easier for users to identify high-quality content.
    3. Increase user engagement by encouraging users to participate in community-building activities, such as hackathons or coding competitions.
    4. Introduce new features and functionalities, such as a mobile app or integration with other platforms, to make it easier for users to access and participate in discussions.
    5. Consider creating a more personalized user experience by implementing a system that suggests content based on the user's interests.
    6. Make sure that the forum is easy to navigate, search and understand.
    7. Create a clear and detailed guideline on how to post and engage in the forum.
    Hey Emily!

    Thank you. Some great ideas there! Despite the title, I don't have much say in the direction our XDA ship is sailing but from experience I can provide a little feedback.
    1. We're currently a strong team of amazing people (here's a list) I have the honour of working with to keep this forum clean. You can't imagine the number of spam and such that doesn't even reach public view. Every single day our team makes vast efforts for the love of community. Of course, we can always use an extra hand. By all means, people, become a moderator!
    2. Some things are already in place. On the homepage there's the Top Forums, which is perhaps a bit too general. There's also a What's New to see what's currently going on. When viewing a thread, there's a 'TOP LIKED POSTS' on the right side that gives you a general idea of the most relevant posts in that thread. An interesting page is Notable Members, which gives you an overview of the most popular contributors. The current like-system should already give an indication of content quality.
    3. Very much a fan of this! Hear her out, XDA! 😃
    4. The XDA app is a whole other category... I think there's currently a pretty low threshold to participate in discussions but ideas are always welcome!
    5. Not a fan of this myself. Do we want to become another social media platform? I'm not sure people want to be subjected to yet another algorithm. It would also defeat the purpose of many privacy focused projects here.
    6. We've already transitioned to a newer system that can better handle the mountains of data that XDA holds. It's still just a crazy amount so keeping a clean overview is a massive task. I personally think it's not too bad but there's always room for improvement. Search could be much better indeed.
    7. You may have spotted this gem on the Notable Members page, @sd_shadow has your back! Make sure to check out the [Index] XDA 2021: How to Navigate the New Site Layout thread, a masterful guide of all things XDA. Oh and don't forget the Forum Rules! :cowboy:
    I hope this has been somewhat helpful to you and I'm sure your ideas won't go unnoticed :)
    9
    A 2-7 day waiting period to post for new members would discourage one thread wonders looking for a quick fix here rather than simple doing a Google search(s).
    Help dissuade spammers as well.
    Those with a sincere interest would suck up the wait...