Being as phone issues are never related to a particular OS or device, come up very frequently, and therefore get scattered all over the place, how about a phone forum with rules?

Rules enforcing titles like
"<model x> on Verizon: DUN, FTP"
"<model y> on Sprint: DUN"

and stickies like:
"Generic Verizon Instructions"
"Generic Verizon-Motorola Instructions"
"Generic Troubleshooting Walkthrough"

etc.

P.S. If I have to repost the details on EVDO vs 1X vs QNC again, I'm going to scream

Ack, no.

(wiki instead)

Wiki doesn't work for troubleshooting sessions =/

I agree with OP - a newbie who has never tethered a BT/DUN phone is kinda overwhelmed by it all and no place for help in troubleshooting, tips, tricks, ideas, workarounds, which phones work etc. There are some who do not realize that the phone must actually be BT.

I have had to re-tether because of upgrade/flash once and again because of a reset and either time didn't back-up - just didn't know. I still really have no idea what I am doing when I am pairing the devices but it seems to work each time.

I vote for the phone forum.

Nitpick:
So there are. And they are right.

After all, the N8x0 has 2 peripheral interfaces, BT & USB. RS-232 adapters are available for both of them. So, in theory, any phone that may be tethered by BT, USB, or RS-232 may be tethered to the N800. (Software req'd may not be ported in some cases, of course.)
I believe I did see a report indicating that someone had made a USB-link tether work, not sure though.

Still, point taken, there are some who have no clue (i.e. do not realize that the phone must be BT or that they must be hackers), and resources to help them would be nice.
As texrat says, sounds like a job for the wiki.

As for troubleshooting sessions, those could go in the "Troubleshooting" forum? Hopefully with any resulting tips placed in the wiki for further reference.

What Benson said.

Except phone problems are not being put in Troubleshooting, and Troubleshooting is already pretty dense as it is.

I really don't care about what should or should not ultimately go in the wiki, I care about making iTT more useful for me, and by extension, everyone else.

ATVL split troubleshooting into software/hardware/accessory or novice/expert/master subforums?

Again, if the wiki's such a perfect solution, why isn't it already in use? Wikis are supposed to self-create and self-organize when they fit the problem...

A pretty specious argument. There are a lot of explanations beyond just dismissing it. Lack of wiki experience for a lot of users, lack of knowledge about the wiki, the sorry state the wiki's in right now, etc. We really just need to hit the point of critical mass where there are enough users contributing quality stuff (and the wiki is in a clean enough state) that it's useful and will begin to attract people rather than drive them away.

Don't blame the tool for the lack of its use. It can't really "self-create"-- you know a human being has to take the time to do the work. For some reason we just can't make the shift from posting dozens of times in the forum to posting once in the wiki... and that's what bears analyzing.

But I have a suggestion: anyone who has a problem solved in the forum after asking a question bears the responsibility for adding the solution to the wiki once they fully understand it. Seems fair enough.

I think before something like that gets going, the wiki really needs some leadership and organization. The articles in there right now are (by and large) quite horrifying.