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Root Reality check for root pros.

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Newbie is someone who doesn't know.
Noob is someone who doesn't know and doesn't care to find out.

As for search, it's a common thing on any forum. Thank God these people didn't ask a question on XDA. Those guys are hardcore about the search function.

But telling people to search for it (politely, of course) is "teaching them to fish." It's good for new users to search and find out on their own. They learn more. With that said, there are great guides on this forum that help them out (such as the one a couple days ago by Kirch21).

The information is out there. Nudging them to use the search function by themselves will help them be more reliant and learn on their own, even if they're following a guide verbatim. They're still doing and learning on their own.

I'm going to use an example from the WoW Druid forums (I'm that big of a geek). When someone asks a basic question, we say "read the FAQs." Because it's in there. What we hope to have is discussion beyond the FAQ basics. So a new comer will read the FAQs, have a basic understanding of the Druid class, then have pertinent questions we can elaborate on.

EDIT: Oh, and I am a newbie for rooting Android. But I'm willing to search and learn.
 
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I've been a member here since I got my Droid and this place is great. Quickly I've seen a great divide since the Droid's been rooted and that divide has the tech geeks on one side and the noobs on the other. When the Droid came out everyone wanted this phone to help the Android software to grow as much as possible and were way more helpful. I am in the middle of the noob/geek divide because i've scoured all the forums/youtube videos imaginable before I rooted. But the tech geeks need to realize is that the noobs need to be able to enjoy their phones just like you so the buzz about Android continues to grow. Instead of bashing people for rooting with SMu (which i do understand why) help them by showing how to go from Sholes to pete's THE EASY WAY because noobs don't have time to scour these forums and don't get the terminology with rooting the hard way. If they screw up later then they will have no choice but to learn how to fix it themselves and in my experience, people only change/learn when they HAVE to not when they WANT to. Other than that, this is the best Android forum around.

IMO, this post is as inflammatory, or even more so, than someone giving you the "search" advice.

I am not a "root pro" or a "geek". I have had plenty of people help me and am willing to help others who ask for it.

But having a sense of entitlement on any forum or in any arena of life gets you nowhere, sorry. This was my first android device. I knew nothing about root. I needed a lot of help from some very gracious members in order to get there. Yet somehow, no one EVER told me to search, to go away n00b, or ever refused one of my requests for help. There's a reason for that.

I agree that this forum has no place for inflammatory language or posts. However, this is the internet, and one needs a bit of a thick skin.

Help is always available for those who ask it.

Help is rarely granted for those who demand it.

I am not saying that this applies to the OP, as I have never read one of your posts before. This is just a general statement.
 
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What it all boils down to is this:


Some of the regulars are like this...
l_dbd6dc4416ce4994bc4864a25217b44b.jpg




And some of our new friends think this is how it works...
l_0029aeb8235d4f5ba3088e7966d7ca6c.png





On a serious note, though...

The forum rules are great, but the room for er from the middle line is a bit too much. The new members are invited to post freely without searching, and the regulars are told that if you don't feel like answering the same question repeatedly not to respond. What we end up with as a result are threads that start off with a new member posting a question which is often times one of the most common questions on the forum... 5 new threads about the same thing on the same page, 10 links to the 2 stickies covering the subject... and because it is so common, none of the regulars answer. The new guys get upset about the lack of answer and start new threads like this one to bash the regulars for not being helpful.

With that in mind, here is my thought on the subject.

Regulars - you have to understand that everyone here was the new member at one point in time. Be respectful and helpful.

New members - you have to understand that the regulars here are people too... not paid employees who will be forced to answer your question or be banned.

If everyone understands those two things, then this place will run very smooth and everyone can still love everyone else. Ok? Group hug everyone...
 
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I think Fadelight captured my point very well. I am very grateful to all the great people i followed when i first came here:

CRPer
Fabolous
Gonzo
Fade
Joe
Caddy etc..

When i got here, the most advanced phone i've ever owned was a flip phone that texted period. Now i feel a lot more informed and surprisingly more interested on how these phones operate. My only intention for my post was to get regulars to remember that it's easy to get frustrated with the same ol questions everyday when youve been here everyday for weeks, months etc. but the question is new to someone and i dont like seeing so many first posts saying "Please dont bash me can someone help me with yada yada yada" I bet for every one post like that there are three of four people that thought it wasn't worth posting a question just to get bashed. And let me say again, all the people i mentioned above are great guides and i've never seen them be nothing but helpful to all. But there are still some out there who are doing some bashing and turning people off to this site. Just sayin...
 
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This was an amazing thread to read...I can't believe I read it all.

Where is Dr. Phil in all of this? I am a big guy and I people usually don't say sh*t to my face in real life that would piss me off. On the internet...I have found that everyone is Billy Badass! 16yr old never been laid boys get online and act like king ding-a-ling cause they got "root"...Is anyone surprised?

I just find it funny that there are all these "feelings" :thinking: being discussed... weirds me out! Argue, fight...do something other than wine! :D
 
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I am going to hell, I know... But I laughed quite hard when I read that. You see what you did there?

:D

Haha! You gonna flip it on me? Good thing I have this sensitive thread to help me though this difficult time!:D

You know what I mean though. In the military I met all kinds of people that thought they could talk tough cause they didn't play when it came to assult. I heard a guy say "You know you can't hit me cause you'll get in trouble." What is that?

Yes inssane...that is the guy!:D
 
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Haha! You gonna flip it on me? Good thing I have this sensitive thread to help me though this difficult time!:D


lol. I see everything from a much different perspective than most people here. I am quite laid back and easy going, so I can't help but laugh when the "I'm big and mean and I could kick your ass in real life" threads come out of the woodwork. More entertaining to me is the fact that you usually see posts like that in random spots where no one even said anything to them. Luckily, that very seldom happens around here. If it does, the powers that be are very quick to rectify the situation.

Just my opinion, but I would sit here all day in this "sensitive" forum. Quite relaxing compared to the horridly brutal car forums I also frequent.

And I didn't mean any insult in my last post... but then again, I see you took it for the joke it was. This makes me happy. I guess I can skip todays therapy class. :D Although, I do enjoy the peer to peer hugs at the end. :(
 
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Here is a lot better than a certain Laser Forum I am a member of..

There is a guy in there who seems to think he can insult anyone he pleases for anything. Especially the minors in the forum. The language he uses and the degrading things he says(yes including sexual harassment) are just plain ridiculous. Bad thing is he has an online store and is one of the forum's sponsors, so the Admin lets him get away with it..

I actually have not logged in there for a long time, as I had a nice reputation for myself there for being helpful, building nice quality lasers and selling them with happy customers, until I crossed his path for sexually harassing a minor. He then used his "Godlike" reputation and pull to get me banned temporarily and then ridiculed by the rest of the community:rolleyes:

This place is a ride in the park compared to there..
 
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Okay, I'll get this back on track...sorry for the detour. I didn't mean to imply there is anything wrong with this forum. I like this place. I have accounts on different droid forums but this is the only place I really contribute anything to. I was just talking about this particular thread.

I hear what the original poster was saying. There isn't any reason to just be a jerk to someone looking for information or read something but can't figure out what he's doing wrong, etc.

BUT...be considerate when asking for help. Understand that if you have a question, it has probably been asked and answered several time on this forum. I have a YouTube channel and people ask me questions that take me about 2 hours per day to answer. It doesn't matter if I make a video that will obviously answer their questions...they don't watch (or listen well enough) and ask the question anyway. I don't mind helping, just be proactive and try to get the answer on your own first. You'd be surprised how much you can learn by reading...much more than just asking a question and getting an answer.

The only specific question I asked anyone on here was pertaining to how to post bigger screenshots on this forum (attachment size limits are too small for screen shots IMO). Having said that, I learned almost everything about rooting, overclocking, theming, from this forum. Lots of good info out there and you can find answers to questions you haven't even thought to asked yet if you aren't lazy.

I'm off to steal some little kids lunch money now! :cool:
 
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Yeah, I tipped Fade's scales for making a double reference to Munroe's XKCD in the same post...

The basic issue is that as regular members of the forums, we have a lot more to lose by being rude (intentionally or unintentionally) to new users / posters.

The mods & admins have this one right. I consulted with fellow mods elsewhere and their ideas were the same - no site that is worth its weight in anything can afford to have a first bad impression on any user that posts here for the first time. Or 10th time. Or 100th time (I'd think after 100 you can safely remove the new status on them).

Mods rule.
 
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Ok, I'm just saying all this is new to me and prior to the easy Sholes way, I was beginning to learn the hard way (although I don't have that kind of time) but I started to get bored with my Droid. You know coming from a BB Background where I designed BB Themes, and even put some out on the net for Sale, I became accustomed to changing my Themes often. And when I found out that unless you Root your Droid your choices are basically very scarce.

So, this easy way came out and I took it, I'm happy - the few instructions that was needed to get it up and running on my Droid was enough, the instructions to over-clock, monitor and maintain a good temp, was enough. I don't need to learn the basics of Rooting, why would I? I paid my little $5 bucks and it did it all for me, and even then that was all new to me, but its forums like this that has given me the confidence to even consider rooting.

Some of us Noobs, just want a little faster phone with nice changeable Themes, and with this 1 2 3 Easy Update, hey! its enough for me.
 
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Ok, I'm just saying all this is new to me and prior to the easy Sholes way, I was beginning to learn the hard way (although I don't have that kind of time) but I started to get bored with my Droid. You know coming from a BB Background where I designed BB Themes, and even put some out on the net for Sale, I became accustomed to changing my Themes often. And when I found out that unless you Root your Droid your choices are basically very scarce.

So, this easy way came out and I took it, I'm happy - the few instructions that was needed to get it up and running on my Droid was enough, the instructions to over-clock, monitor and maintain a good temp, was enough. I don't need to learn the basics of Rooting, why would I? I paid my little $5 bucks and it did it all for me, and even then that was all new to me, but its forums like this that has given me the confidence to even consider rooting.

Some of us Noobs, just want a little faster phone with nice changeable Themes, and with this 1 2 3 Easy Update, hey! its enough for me.

I definitely have no problem with someone using the smupdater, and it makes things very easy. The only thing is when something goes wrong how will you know what caused it? If that thought doesn't bother you then no problem, just don't expect anyone to be able to help you fix it if you don't even know what caused it.
 
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I definitely have no problem with someone using the smupdater, and it makes things very easy. The only thing is when something goes wrong how will you know what caused it? If that thought doesn't bother you then no problem, just don't expect anyone to be able to help you fix it if you don't even know what caused it.

This is about the smartest thing posted here (and I think it has been posted twice)! Not to be a smartass but everyone wants things to be simple and easy. If you actually take the time to learn what you are doing to your $600 phone, you will probably be able to recover from any problems you run across. Simple and easy could become a really big pain in the ass or even worse...the wallet!

Now if you are bored with your droid when its stock, I can see that. You think that will change with Sholes latest relase? What happens when everyone starts talking about different ROMS and all you have is an updater? The updater is a "nice to have" but Sholes is the only one I know of that has one. In that case, don't get bored with Sholes like I just did. I'm running BB 0.7.6 - quick and easy change for me cause I learned the basics...took me 5 minutes! If you had spend a few hours truly learning then you would know how to quickly and easily check out the latest ROM that will get you interested in your phone again (I see "I don't have the time" as "I don't want to read" but then again, I only get 3-4 hours of sleep per night).

Hell, I'm half tempted to make some "How To" vids for all of you visual learners. I don't mind helping...but I can't program your droid for you through the internet...well for $50 you could send it to me ;)
 
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I definitely have no problem with someone using the smupdater, and it makes things very easy. The only thing is when something goes wrong how will you know what caused it? If that thought doesn't bother you then no problem, just don't expect anyone to be able to help you fix it if you don't even know what caused it.

Thank you for the response, at the same time I do understand what you are saying about "..when something goes wrong, how will you know what caused it.." honestly I may be a new jack when it comes to Android's OS, but I am not new to learning the ins and outs as well as or even more so than the next guy/gal.

I mean it is not a big issue, I for now chose the easy way and because of that it seems that those that are familiar with the OS look at us as though we were less than. We're not, we just chose the easy way (for now).
 
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...If you actually take the time to learn what you are doing to your $600 phone, you will probably be able to recover from any problems you run across.

Now if you are bored with your droid when its stock, I can see that. ...(I see "I don't have the time" as "I don't want to read" but then again, I only get 3-4 hours of sleep per night).

Hell, I'm half tempted to make some "How To" vids for all of you visual learners. I don't mind helping...but I can't program your droid for you through the internet...well for $50 you could send it to me ;)

:) Yes, I learned enough to make it happen, and if something goes wrong, than I will learn enough to fix it. And Yes, I got bored with my Droid's native stock, and I'm sure I will get bored with this Update (that is a given) we are never fully satisfied, thats just our nature.

Now what you see (obviously through tainted glasses, that are covered with far to much pride in yourself for having learned something that anyone on these boards can before some of us.) is flawed. I work overnight and my position gives me the luxury of READING all night, logging into and participating in sooo many mobile sites, that this one is just another click of the mouse. And like yourself I too may get 3-4 hours of sleep during the course of the day, and than guess what its back to READING whats the latest in the Tech world.

"Visual Learners" how did you learn your little bit of knowledge in Rooting, oh yea, you may have SAW something and READ it - Visual Learners, not that different is it.
 
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I mean it is not a big issue, I for now chose the easy way and because of that it seems that those that are familiar with the OS look at us as though we were less than. We're not, we just chose the easy way (for now).


No offense intended, but if you think others are looking down at you for being lesser, then you are sorely mistaken. I don't know how else to say it.

Think about it like this. Someone else took literally hours and hours of their own time to figure out root on their own. They then found a way to code an app which was easy to use... which also required at least months (if not years) of knowledge to learn... all so you could take the easy way. They spent more time than you can ever imagine spending yourself just to do something to help the masses of people who don't want to learn themselves... and they did it for free. And here you are talking about how they are looking down at you?

You, my friend, have a very strange outlook.
 
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No offense intended, but if you think others are looking down at you for being lesser, then you are sorely mistaken. I don't know how else to say it.

Think about it like this. Someone else took literally hours and hours of their own time to figure out root on their own. They then found a way to code an app which was easy to use... which also required at least months (if not years) of knowledge to learn... all so you could take the easy way. They spent more time than you can ever imagine spending yourself just to do something to help the masses of people who don't want to learn themselves... and they did it for free. And here you are talking about how they are looking down at you?

You, my friend, have a very strange outlook.

My response was to the person I quoted on points that he presented and in the manner that he presented them it was of one on a high horse, sort of like yours "...I have a strange outlook.." The reason (I believe) behind the Dev making these Easy 1 2 3 Updates is so that most that purchased the Droid and feel a little adventurous could enjoy their Device a little more. I don't believe they did it with the understanding that "...people who DON'T want to learn themselves...." As I have stated, the issue is not WANTING TO LEARN, in my case TIME did not permit it at the time when the Update became available.
 
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