Nexus 6 Anonymous Question Box

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wrongway213

Recognized Dev & Contributor / Retired Forum Mod
Jul 27, 2014
5,123
9,011
35
Canton, OH
Google Pixel 7
Have a question but don't wanna ask it publicly? You're in luck. I do answer technical questions via PM!

One phrase I see a lot of, in one way or another, is "I don't answer technical questions through PMs". That could be for a multitude of reasons, I suppose. A user may have trouble keeping track of who is who, have a full inbox, or prefer to help publicly for the thanks and such that come from it. Regardless of why, this can put a lot of us in uncomfortable situations at times, knowing precisely who we want to ask what but having no way to do so privately. It can be really discouraging to go from helping ~15 people in a row with their issues, some complex, to not knowing where to even start on an elementary issue on your own device. Today I am hoping to put an end to that, at least for users of the Nexus 6. This thread seeks to offer assistance in a new way - I DO offer technical support via PM. I also bet some other users do too, and they are more than welcome to join in helping so long as spreading correct and helpful information remains the central goal. I welcome any user to offer support to another, just please do indicate the issue is resolved as to avoid multiple PMs from multiple accounts. If a user (or multiple) is interested in really becoming a part of this,I am not at all opposed to that either. I have no interest in doing this alone or anything like that - the more of us here helping people, the more actualized my vision for this thread has become. I will never compromise quality of answers for quota - if I am not totally sure, I either will not offer you suggestion until I am, or I'll preface it with a very clear indication of the fact that I am uncertain.

PMs aren't to be used here to walk througgh configuring someone's device, decrypting their phone or recovering from a brick, where one person's oversight could really mess things up. Directing these users to where to get said information from the guides provided and answering any subsequent questions they may have after reading said guides - that's what I am about. However, I would like for users who feel genuinely stupid or simply shy asking a certain question to have a place to ask it without feeling judged. I'd like to point you to the right place to ask your question and not second guess if it's in the right forumor thread or tagging the right dev. If your question is of a simpler nature and I am able to just answer it for you and provide helpful links/references if possible, I will. If you have a log but don't know who to submit it to, I'd like to help you figure that out. From new members who are shy to RCs who are just stuck on stupid for the moment, this thread is open to you all.

We can do this anyway you wish. For starters, my inbox is open to anyone. Please do let me know you are coming from here, as I receive a good deal of technical questions via PM as is. Or, if you prefer, simply post in here asking for a PM. I will check this thread quite regularly. If users find use for this, provisions may be made for a more organized system in the future, To all those with questions, don't be shy, now is your chance. To those of you who wish to get involved, again, don't be shy. Feel free to jump right in and start helping or to contact me, whichever is preferable. I hope to start a good thing here for the community that I have never seen done before, as this is what this is all about - the XDA community. Thanks for reading - I hope to hear from you guys!
 
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danarama

Senior Member
Aug 22, 2010
31,277
18,811
Oxenhope, West Yorkshire, UK
Very nice offer of you.

I'll explain my reason for not answering PMs..well, several actually.

1) I spend all my time responding to PMs. I don't get to enjoy the forum

2) The PM relies on me only for support, when there may be better people to help

3) Questions asked in open forum benefit other members too
 

wrongway213

Recognized Dev & Contributor / Retired Forum Mod
Jul 27, 2014
5,123
9,011
35
Canton, OH
Google Pixel 7
Very nice offer of you.

I'll explain my reason for not answering PMs..well, several actually.

1) I spend all my time responding to PMs. I don't get to enjoy the forum

2) The PM relies on me only for support, when there may be better people to help

3) Questions asked in open forum benefit other members too

Oh yes, I definitely appreciate that it's not something members do to be less than helpful or anything like that, especially due to #3. I would definitely rather answer a question in an open forum so others can see it than through PM. My whole reasoning for making this thread is that I think some questions will go unasked if users don't have a place they are comfortable asking them - I myself have had questions but just simply not known where to ask, and by not asking, I learned nothing. So for those cases, niche issues, etc., I am hoping that people who normally would just deal with their issue and silently be unhappy about it, or hop from ROM to ROM or kernel to kernel trying to fix something that's really a GPS issue or something, those people can hopefully find what they have been looking for - or at least a pointer in the right direction to get there. I definitely appreciate that the open forum is the best way to handle most issues most of the time - as I have yet to see this type of thread for our device, though, I'm hoping to serve the needs of the few as the masses are already being served elsewhere. I appreciate you shining some light from the perspective of someone who gets a lot of technical questions aimed at you and does not answer them via PM - definitely a good jumping off point for users to see what this thread is not for, i.e. issues that are likely gonna help other users too.
 

simms22

Recognized Contributor - R.I.P
Jun 4, 2009
34,053
25,934
BROOKLYN!
www.androidcommunity.com
I'll answer a few hundred questions via pm, yearly. but I would rather answer them in the public forums, for everyone to see. first off, you end up helping out more people if its answered publicly. plus, if you do answer with something that's wrong, someone will come by to correct you. that way the person gets the right answer, and you will as well. I know I'm not 100% right all the time, I'm not perfect, I'm just a human being, but I still try :)

edit... but no matter what, I will not refuse to help anyone via pm.
 
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danarama

Senior Member
Aug 22, 2010
31,277
18,811
Oxenhope, West Yorkshire, UK
I'll answer a few hundred questions via pm, yearly. but I would rather answer them in the public forums, for everyone to see. first off, you end up helping out more people if its answered publicly. plus, if you do answer with something that's wrong, someone will come by to correct you. that way the person gets the right answer, and you will as well. I know I'm not 100% right all the time, I'm not perfect, I'm just a human being, but I still try :)

edit... but no matter what, I will not refuse to help anyone via pm.
I just had to turn off PMs all together. There are a few sticky threads in a few device forums by me, so people pm me to help fix a problem on a device i haven't even owned for years. I can't remember that far back.
 

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    Very nice offer of you.

    I'll explain my reason for not answering PMs..well, several actually.

    1) I spend all my time responding to PMs. I don't get to enjoy the forum

    2) The PM relies on me only for support, when there may be better people to help

    3) Questions asked in open forum benefit other members too
    2
    I'll answer a few hundred questions via pm, yearly. but I would rather answer them in the public forums, for everyone to see. first off, you end up helping out more people if its answered publicly. plus, if you do answer with something that's wrong, someone will come by to correct you. that way the person gets the right answer, and you will as well. I know I'm not 100% right all the time, I'm not perfect, I'm just a human being, but I still try :)

    edit... but no matter what, I will not refuse to help anyone via pm.
    I just had to turn off PMs all together. There are a few sticky threads in a few device forums by me, so people pm me to help fix a problem on a device i haven't even owned for years. I can't remember that far back.
    1
    Have a question but don't wanna ask it publicly? You're in luck. I do answer technical questions via PM!

    One phrase I see a lot of, in one way or another, is "I don't answer technical questions through PMs". That could be for a multitude of reasons, I suppose. A user may have trouble keeping track of who is who, have a full inbox, or prefer to help publicly for the thanks and such that come from it. Regardless of why, this can put a lot of us in uncomfortable situations at times, knowing precisely who we want to ask what but having no way to do so privately. It can be really discouraging to go from helping ~15 people in a row with their issues, some complex, to not knowing where to even start on an elementary issue on your own device. Today I am hoping to put an end to that, at least for users of the Nexus 6. This thread seeks to offer assistance in a new way - I DO offer technical support via PM. I also bet some other users do too, and they are more than welcome to join in helping so long as spreading correct and helpful information remains the central goal. I welcome any user to offer support to another, just please do indicate the issue is resolved as to avoid multiple PMs from multiple accounts. If a user (or multiple) is interested in really becoming a part of this,I am not at all opposed to that either. I have no interest in doing this alone or anything like that - the more of us here helping people, the more actualized my vision for this thread has become. I will never compromise quality of answers for quota - if I am not totally sure, I either will not offer you suggestion until I am, or I'll preface it with a very clear indication of the fact that I am uncertain.

    PMs aren't to be used here to walk througgh configuring someone's device, decrypting their phone or recovering from a brick, where one person's oversight could really mess things up. Directing these users to where to get said information from the guides provided and answering any subsequent questions they may have after reading said guides - that's what I am about. However, I would like for users who feel genuinely stupid or simply shy asking a certain question to have a place to ask it without feeling judged. I'd like to point you to the right place to ask your question and not second guess if it's in the right forumor thread or tagging the right dev. If your question is of a simpler nature and I am able to just answer it for you and provide helpful links/references if possible, I will. If you have a log but don't know who to submit it to, I'd like to help you figure that out. From new members who are shy to RCs who are just stuck on stupid for the moment, this thread is open to you all.

    We can do this anyway you wish. For starters, my inbox is open to anyone. Please do let me know you are coming from here, as I receive a good deal of technical questions via PM as is. Or, if you prefer, simply post in here asking for a PM. I will check this thread quite regularly. If users find use for this, provisions may be made for a more organized system in the future, To all those with questions, don't be shy, now is your chance. To those of you who wish to get involved, again, don't be shy. Feel free to jump right in and start helping or to contact me, whichever is preferable. I hope to start a good thing here for the community that I have never seen done before, as this is what this is all about - the XDA community. Thanks for reading - I hope to hear from you guys!
    1
    I'll answer a few hundred questions via pm, yearly. but I would rather answer them in the public forums, for everyone to see. first off, you end up helping out more people if its answered publicly. plus, if you do answer with something that's wrong, someone will come by to correct you. that way the person gets the right answer, and you will as well. I know I'm not 100% right all the time, I'm not perfect, I'm just a human being, but I still try :)

    edit... but no matter what, I will not refuse to help anyone via pm.