TBH, if you visit any of the Watering Holes (I'm active in a few), we rarely if ever even talk about the respective phone. Each one has its own following and we chat about anything and everything. I really would like to keep them in the Lounge.
If they're in a subforum there, that's fine too.
I reckon the only people who want them to be dine away with are people that at not an active member in any. But the think there is a great need for places were people can just chat we a few of there forum friends. I'll be honest if it wasn't for those sort of threads i would of never became an active member of this forum.
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So only rooted users get to discover the off-topic thread?
I think what they mean by root forum is similar to "root directory" as in the highest level in the tree, or in this case the main device forum as opposed to a sub forum. Correct me if I'm wrong squinty.
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The Lounge is a great place for off-topic stuff to be moved, sometimes en masse, from device and other tech sub-forums, as Early and others are saying.
I remember a bit of resistance to the move out of those threads from the particular device forum because they were "only for (fill in the blank) users, so leave the thread here in the general phone/tab area."
Then some resisted the "intrusion" of those thread in the Lounge. But like EM said, those that don't fly will drop out, and those that do serve the Lounge area for what the Lounge area is supposed to be: a lounge ("watering hole" always does a double conjure up for me: place of mammal or pachyderm gathering to tank up on water, and place of human gathering for tanking up on Bass Ale and gossip). <---- well, that looks like a Pepsi, but you get the idea.
I wonder if a "watering hole" sub-forum cluster in the Lounge would fly. A separate place for all device watering holes, right below or above the PCA subs.
Don't twist my words. Watering holes should not be done away with and they I feel they are a welcome place for users to go In The site.
How am I twisting your words? You said the only people who want them gone don't post in them. I agreed. Please try to understand posts before rudely barking commands like "don't twist my words". Rude and uncalled for!
I'm chalking this up to a misunderstanding this time.
Wasn't trying to be rude so sorry about the misunderstanding. But I feel just because some users don't want then they shouldn't be gotten rid of. I feel a seperate sub forum would be the bet option.
Again sorry for sounding abrupt I didn't phrase my last comment very well.
Edit: Deal real embarrassed now I can see how bad that looks.
Wasn't trying to be rude so sorry about the misunderstanding. But I feel just because some users don't want then they shouldn't be gotten rid of. I feel a seperate sub forum would be the bet option.
Again sorry for sounding abrupt I didn't phrase my last comment very well.
Ok fair enough. Yes I understand their importance to others. Sub forum was my post 1 suggestion. No hard feelings I hope
Ok fair enough. Yes I understand their importance to others. Sub forum was my post 1 suggestion. No hard feelings I hope
No hard feelings at all. I completely understand as why people wouldnt want them always occupying the the lounge. I like your suggestion as I feel that is pretty much the middle ground and the most viable solution.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EarlyMon
So only rooted users get to discover the off-topic thread?
A fair point, it really should be in the devices general forum. While all "all things root" posters seem to have posted in the general forum over in the SGS2 section it's certainly not vice versa. If we are going to have an open, talk about anything, stickied thread it should be in the devices general forum.
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I'm still trying to understand why we need off-topic threads stickied.
To me, that would be like sticky'ing a how-to-root-the-LG-Ally thread in the Android Media forum.
In other words, doesn't making an off-topic thread stickied send this message -
This phone is important enough to have its own forum, but if it's off-topic, that's more important than the biggest wifi, Play Store, or broken widget support issue today, which are not stickied.
I'm still trying to understand why we need off-topic threads stickied.
To me, that would be like sticky'ing a how-to-root-the-LG-Ally thread in the Android Media forum.
In other words, doesn't making an off-topic thread stickied send this message -
This phone is important enough to have its own forum, but if it's off-topic, that's more important than the biggest wifi, Play Store, or broken widget support issue today, which are not stickied.
I don't see it like that. I see it that having an off-topic thread stickied (although I'm not suggesting that) would prevent all the other countless off-topic threads from being created which would then need to be moved by your kind selves
The bane/benefit of an active off topic thread is that it is always at the top of the thread list so sticking it would seem moot. I think this also goes to the issue of a subforum in the lounge for them as at one point there were ~6-8 active ones cluttering up the top of the lounge.
I don't see it like that. I see it that having an off-topic thread stickied (although I'm not suggesting that) would prevent all the other countless off-topic threads from being created which would then need to be moved by your kind selves
Actually, my experience in the SGS3 forum was that letting a single iPhone thread go on turned into the need to deal with 3 new iPhone threads a day until we just shut it all down.
I understand your position, but my mileage does vary a bit on that.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EarlyMon
I'm still trying to understand why we need off-topic threads stickied.
To me, that would be like sticky'ing a how-to-root-the-LG-Ally thread in the Android Media forum.
In other words, doesn't making an off-topic thread stickied send this message -
This phone is important enough to have its own forum, but if it's off-topic, that's more important than the biggest wifi, Play Store, or broken widget support issue today, which are not stickied.
I think that is your perspective EarlyMon. A stickie I feel is seen as just another thread, just one that doesn't fall down the board. Of course if it is used it would stay up there anyway, but, and I only have the camaraderie of the SGS2 forums to go on, it would save a user having to hunt for it when wanting to share things like "I'm going to be a Dad". When it does fall down the board. Which, although great news, and I for one was happy for the poster concerned, actually came out in a custom ROM thread, and would have caused confusion to a reader wanting to find information on the aforementioned ROM, because they had to work through quite a few "congratulation" posts.
I love Phandroid forums, I came here looking for help, found it and people who are that new phenomena of the digital age - on line friends. Surely a sticky thread to talk non device talk in each devices forum is not too much to ask?
Honestly, the growth of these threads has slowed to the point where leaving things as-is seems best for now. I don't see what's so hard about scrolling past a few threads if you're not interested in them. Putting them in the phone forums keeps people without that phone from joining in, and when you only stay in your phone's sub forum you really are missing out on most of the site, so if it encourages people to venture out that's a good thing. If they start growing like weeds to where they take up half of the first page then take another look at it, but right now I'm not seeing a problem the way things are.
The S2 all things root clan, like a lot of others it seems, would like their watering hole on their own page.
Most of us don't use the forum as a chat room to make up for our otherwise dull lives. we use them to share info. but inevtibly you get to know the characters on the boards you use and occasionally want to make the odd comment/chat that is very much unrelated to the phone but IS relevant to the individuals using that thread. but no-one else is really interested in that, are they.
we are also more than aware that these comments clog up the threads and make it hard for new visitors and us all to follow what's going on. it's far from ideal. we try to keep it to a minimum, but it's always going to happen.
the fact that since being moved our "watering hole" is never visited by anyone other than mods and guides speaks volumes for the effect that placing these threads in the lounge has.
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The thing is I don't think it does. The people with that device who don't venture out, don't know about them. The people who post in them are usually the people who frequent the lounge anyway. It just seems clique-y to me.
If they're supposed to encourage device forum people out, they need to do a much better job. Most people in these threads don't have the device anyway, so why is it that device's watering hole at all? They're just one long, off-topic thread. If someone wants to talk about star wars with someone who may or may not have the same device as them, why is that not a thread in it's own right?
I see them as pointless and aggravating. Every time I scroll past one, a little piece of me inside dies. It's fine that you don't see whats hard about that. That's your prerogative. But I have been objective about this and put myself in the shoes of those who do use them, when creating this thread so I would kindly ask that you at least try the same.
the fact that since being moved our "watering hole" is never visited by anyone other than mods and guides speaks volumes for the effect that placing these threads in the lounge has.
Actual evidence would appear to run counter to this e.g.
What would happen (if we went with a change) with ones like this: The Tablet Tavern ?
I propose subforum. I'm not entirely for or against device specific threads, although it makes sense if a forum wants one to have one, but i really do think the least intrusive method would be a small lounge subforum. Moving to device forums would mean the members whom dont own said device, need to go all over the place.
I hope this doesn't get too long winded. I do that sometimes.
About a year ago at this time I spent all my time hanging out in the ATR sections of the phones I owned (D1, D2, and finally a GNex). I was always looking for new themes, roms, or whatever to more personalize my phone. I had been a member here for over 18 months, yet I had only posted once.
Well, as I was looking for some help with my wife's phone (HTC Rhyme) some random senior member tried to give me a hand. They had a link in their signature to this thing called the Galaxy Nexus Watering Hole. I thought huh, I'll check it out. So I did. I said hello and was warmly welcomed by the folks in there. I looked at the breadcrumbs at the top of the thread to see where I was in the forum and saw the lounge. Hmmm.... ...what is this place.
So, I posted in there a bit, had a long discussion with EM about forum etiquette that I assume he forgot, but knowing him, he probably could recite it word for word. See, AF was the first forum I had joined since the usenet days.
OK, back on topic. Now there was more than device forums here, so I started looking at the homepage more than just immediately navigating to my device ATR via the favorite forums link. I thought to myself, this place is huuuuge. I notices a link just below the Lounge called unanswered threads and clicked it. What did I find (you have to read the next paragraph to find out).
I spent so much time reading in my ATR forums I always thought I was the dumbest person in the room. There was thread after thread in there with folks asking questions I was more than smart enough to answer. Now, I'm no ROM Dev or Themer, or App Dev. Heck, since my OG Droid I don't even flash roms that much (my GNex is stock rooted).
I've spent the last year helping new Android users get used to their new devices whether it be setting different notifications tones for email, calls, or texts. Maybe the pro's and cons of rooting, or the differences between rooting and jailbreaking. A thanks hung on my posts is great, a thank you post in reply is better, the best is when someone says "I was afraid to ask, but this place is friendly."
So, where is all of this going? One link, in someones signature, to a watering hole in the lounge, has led me on this incredible journey. It's taught me that forums don't have to be scary places full of flame wars and noob bashing. The only stupid question is the one not asked. So when asked whether folks are better staying with their fellow device owners, my personal opinion is no. I think the benefits of folks getting exposure to whole experience of AF and its support of Android users via Watering Holes, Taverns, or Beer Gardens (I like that) in the lounge area is to the benefit of the member drawn there, the membership as a whole, and new members that may sign up.
PS. I'm still for having them segregated in a Lounge subforum.
I hope this doesn't get too long winded. I do that sometimes.
About a year ago at this time I spent all my time hanging out in the ATR sections of the phones I owned (D1, D2, and finally a GNex). I was always looking for new themes, roms, or whatever to more personalize my phone. I had been a member here for over 18 months, yet I had only posted once.
Well, as I was looking for some help with my wife's phone (HTC Rhyme) some random senior member tried to give me a hand. They had a link in their signature to this thing called the Galaxy Nexus Watering Hole. I thought huh, I'll check it out. So I did. I said hello and was warmly welcomed by the folks in there. I looked at the breadcrumbs at the top of the thread to see where I was in the forum and saw the lounge. Hmmm.... ...what is this place.
So, I posted in there a bit, had a long discussion with EM about forum etiquette that I assume he forgot, but knowing him, he probably could recite it word for word. See, AF was the first forum I had joined since the usenet days.
OK, back on topic. Now there was more than device forums here, so I started looking at the homepage more than just immediately navigating to my device ATR via the favorite forums link. I thought to myself, this place is huuuuge. I notices a link just below the Lounge called unanswered threads and clicked it. What did I find (you have to read the next paragraph to find out).
I spent so much time reading in my ATR forums I always thought I was the dumbest person in the room. There was thread after thread in there with folks asking questions I was more than smart enough to answer. Now, I'm no ROM Dev or Themer, or App Dev. Heck, since my OG Droid I don't even flash roms that much (my GNex is stock rooted).
I've spent the last year helping new Android users get used to their new devices whether it be setting different notifications tones for email, calls, or texts. Maybe the pro's and cons of rooting, or the differences between rooting and jailbreaking. A thanks hung on my posts is great, a thank you post in reply is better, the best is when someone says "I was afraid to ask, but this place is friendly."
So, where is all of this going? One link, in someones signature, to a watering hole in the lounge, has led me on this incredible journey. It's taught me that forums don't have to be scary places full of flame wars and noob bashing. The only stupid question is the one not asked. So when asked whether folks are better staying with their fellow device owners, my personal opinion is no. I think the benefits of folks getting exposure to whole experience of AF and its support of Android users via Watering Holes, Taverns, or Beer Gardens (I like that) in the lounge area is to the benefit of the member drawn there, the membership as a whole, and new members that may sign up.
PS. I'm still for having them segregated in a Lounge subforum.
This is a similar storey to mine except i returned to the forum a while after joining and i was given a warm welcome top pup and an invitation to check out the s3 watering hole. I got a warm welcome there and hung out there for a month or two. Before this that was my longest active stint as an android forums member but at that time due to outside life i was unable to visit the forums as much as i like. Basically i am trying to say if it wasnt for pup the gnex watering hole and the s3 watering hole i would never of got in excess of 3000 posts or became a guide on this forum.
Special thanks to pup for showing me that thread.
I vote sub-forums aswell so.
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Just to add some clarity to Liamo's post, I'm Pup. I did a username change several months ago.
Vague memories ebb and flow through my mind... (old user name evades me.. ).
But yes.. I hope the watering hole thing can be resolved, as it has the potential now to get out of hand. At the beginning the notion was generated by an epic thread that had a life of its own in a device forum in anticipation of that device's release. Once the release came about, the thread's community had bonded enough to want to continue with banter having little or nothing to do with the device, so...
Now we're seeing more come along, but not as "organic" as the first one I guess.
It is beginning to look like the choices are to allow the ones which lose interest to just float to the bottom and off the page (they could of course be bumped back to the top at any time by an "enthusiast" ), or place a special sub area for them in the Lounge, perhaps with a link in each device forum for "(device name) lounge chatter/chit-chat/off-topic talk". <----- doing that last thing would have Staff moving threads more, of course, or portions of threads.. or more warnings or reminders etc about where to chit-chat.. etc.
place a special sub area for them in the Lounge, perhaps with a link in each device forum for "(device name) lounge chatter/chit-chat/off-topic talk". <----- doing that last thing would have Staff moving threads more, of course, or portions of threads.. or more warnings or reminders etc about where to chit-chat.. etc.
Sorry did you mean "have" or "save"? because I think having a link would surely save staff from having to move as many threads.
I like this idea, because it would help new members of a forum to find the off-topic thread, which could also be found in the watering hole sub-forum of the Lounge. This will also go some way towards helping the members venture out of their device-specific forum and discover the larger scope of the site.
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Re: pesky watering holes... can they go?
I tried to read this all, but I'm here way tooooooo late
IMO
/lounge/water hole/
If needed, throw a link in the welcome message to new users about the sub forum. Not a thread.
Include it in the forum rules.
Maybe in the both sections of device's stickies. Atr guide and F.A.Q.
Just a little come hang out and "chit chat" here 'link' Once again, not a thread link, sub forum link.
That will do a few things, get them out of the device forum.
Promote community based discussion.
And hopefully expose them to the lounge also.
I can say for at least the first 8 months I was here, I didn't even know what the lounge was. I still don't go there to often.
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Sorry. I've been up all night trying to work out a cm10 build, so if any of this didn't make sense, l sorry
Sorry did you mean "have" or "save"? because I think having a link would surely save staff from having to move as many threads.
I like this idea, because it would help new members of a forum to find the off-topic thread, which could also be found in the watering hole sub-forum of the Lounge. This will also go some way towards helping the members venture out of their device-specific forum and discover the larger scope of the site.
Actually I did mean "have," not "save," but your point, although seeming opposite of mine, seems just as valid. We both may be right, in the sense that Staff does cruise the device areas for, among many other reasons, for topic drift that gets away from device talk altogether (we used to do that for topic drift that got away from the thread title, but that began to seem like micro-management in many cases).
I see the pivot point on a "watering hole" to be the expressed desire for one by the members in that device area, much more than Staffers thinking one is needed. And, as you say, Staffers creating one with the associated link would save having to mess with posts and threads getting chatty.
My point was more from the angle of the work we do as Staffers having an extra eye out for stuff which may have to be moved to the watering holes.
Time for coffee. Brb.
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Lol it's just an off topic thread in other words
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metroid Prime
Yeah, basically an off topic thread about a device like the Samsung Galaxy S3 Watering hole for example, but completely off topic.
Thank you
But another question.
Doesn't the android forums already have an off topic area?
Or am I wrong? Because if there is one already why does it have to be called Samsung galaxy s3 watering hole, why not just off topic watering hole?
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Good question. This, The Lounge is an off topic area, but the watering holes are like a place for people who have that device to get together and talk about it or anything else being totally unrelated. All that gets talked about in the watering holes is off topic 98% of the time I'd say. It does say Samsung Galaxy S3 watering hole or Nexus Watering hole, but all off topic stuff.
It could be an off topic watering hole, but since it's about a particular device and mostly off topic they're mostly active threads.
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Thank you
But another question.
Doesn't the android forums already have an off topic area?
Or am I wrong? Because if there is one already why does it have to be called Samsung galaxy s3 watering hole, why not just off topic watering hole?
Because each of the 'watering hole' threads is for a specific group of people, such as owners of Samsung Galaxy S3 phones. If it was just one giant thread...it would be a mish-mash mess of all sorts of disjointed topics!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MoodyBlues
Because each of the 'watering hole' threads is for a specific group of people, such as owners of Samsung Galaxy S3 phones. If it was just one giant thread...it would be a mish-mash mess of all sorts of disjointed topics!
Oh what a mess it would be to merge those 2 threads together
So only rooted users get to discover the off-topic thread?
I have no business here, except that I am here...
Being chronically non-rooted, I think the mix of rooters and nons throughout this forum can get quite confusing, especially when I think I’m helping someone and I find out, seven posts later, that the phone is rooted. Then I have to say “I didn’t catch that you were rooted – sorry, can’t help you.”
Perhaps rooters could mandatorily post in green text er sumthin...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jefboyardee
I have no business here, except that I am here...
Being chronically non-rooted, I think the mix of rooters and nons throughout this forum can get quite confusing, especially when I think I’m helping someone and I find out, seven posts later, that the phone is rooted. Then I have to say “I didn’t catch that you were rooted – sorry, can’t help you.”
Perhaps rooters could mandatorily post in green text er sumthin...
Well if it's for an app or the alike, they should be in the root forums if it is root related
Otherwise if it's not root related, being rooted shouldn't matter
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<---- well, that looks like a Pepsi, but you get the idea. 
button.
