Forum Etiquette

When you visit a forum (like the xda forums I so often refer to in my Tilt posts), there are some rules of etiquette one should follow. I will be using examples from the xda forums throughout this post. First off, there are bound to be stickies. Stickies are threads that are pinned to the top of the forum. They will always be listed first and will be noticeable by either an image of a thumbtack or by the work Sticky: at the beginning of the subject. You should spend some time getting acquainted with those. Why? To become a Sticky, a thread will have information that will be useful for the vast majority of the users of that forum. It is important. That’s why it’s a Sticky. So read it. NOW.

Next, if you have a problem…do a search. I haven’t seen a forum without a search feature. Google also does a wonderful job if you know how to use it. For example, to limit your search results on Google to just pages at the xda-developers.com website, just add site:xda-developers.com to the search terms. As far as terms go, you want to use about 3-5 words that are pretty key to your issue. One example I can think of is you need to find the post that has the password to a zip file for one of Dutty’s ROMs…his Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM to be exact. I would try “site:xda-developers.com dutty wm6.1 password”. Odds are that I will find what I want in the first couple of results.

Also, and this is especially true of highly active threads and forums, you are not the first person to experience every little problem you encounter. It is possible you have run across a new issue. If so, wonderful, post the details so the regulars can pick it apart and find a way to fix it. But for the love of all you consider holy…search before you post!!! I can say that fully 45% of one thread that I frequent is the same question being asked by n00bs that do not understand how to read. Don’t believe me? Try this particular post I had to make. Yes, “had to make”, I cannot abide stupidity.

Finally, and this is important if you have run across something new…please be detailed. It is very hard to figure out what’s going on if the entire post is “I get an error when installing X program”. That’s wonderful. Now go away. If you want help, try explaining what ROM you are using, programs running, radio version, and what steps you took to produce this problem. This is what we need to help you out. If you don’t give that information, you will just be asked for it before you get any real help because we cannot tell what’s going on until we know these things.

Failure to follow these rules of etiquette will require the use of asbestos underwear as you will be flamed into oblivion. Why? We see the same questions over and over and we quite frankly get sick and tired of it. The example post I linked to just above was the result of a question being asked (again) when the answer was on the page where they posted the freakin question. We try to help. We try to be understanding. But stupid annoys the hell out of us. So exercise your brain cell and perhaps a few of his friends will stop by and give you some real synaptic action.

Don’t worry, those strange feelings in your skull are just thought and glimmers of intelligence. They’re in unfamiliar territory so try not to spook them.

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