That would be a major help. Part of the problem is "up to date". For example, when researching opinions about putting the device in standby versus turning it off, I came across a number of posts regarding problems with metalayer-crawler but they seem to be a year or more old and tended to reference the N800. I still don't know if the problem was resolved by OS2008 or Diablo or the N810 or changes to the service or the apps which call it or if the problem still exists. I only know that I haven't seen it. I assume that an experienced user has an internal knowledge base that includes knowledge of where things stand now but that is hard to access if nobody writes it down.

First things first, we need to listen. When someone gives a critique of the site, its best not to enter into denial, but seek what makes them get that impression. The user friendliness is mostly a reference to the deluge of information that could probably be better organized.

I went from a user to an ambassador, advocate, and hacking resource for S60 in a short period of time. I appreciate the knowledge I gained, because I got it from the various forums over the years. It is this which breeds the service mentality in me. I feel obligated to share my knowledge of Symbian, and seek it for those in the lurch.

I think the best thing we can do is be more helpful and respectful of the new people coming in, and realize we are unintended mentors and guides. People don't come here for news, but help. This is supposed to be the official home of Maemo, and we have to carry that ambassador torch for that reason. This isn't like AAS and SF for Symbian, unofficial portals. This site is a Nokia sponsored initiative for all Maemo user's benefit, not just the elite.

On the idea support front, its bad business and PR to oppose any user features, especially if its a senior member here. By default, you're smarter and more influential in the Maemo space, and attempting to block anything on any open source platform is counterproductive. It repels newbies and frankly turns people off to this venue. As I now know, there is a brainstorm for opposing or promoting things, and blasting ideas in Talk instead of merely suggesting the idea be posted as a Brainstorm is a bad idea.

There is almost too many resources available on this site, but they aren't categorized or presented properly, imo. I understand this site is a work in progress, and that work needs to continue. And we can't deny our positions as sherpas. We need more moderators here, too. We need to help each other more and flame and blast much less, and someone needs to be an outside voice that doesn't favor anyone but is just a voice of reason and a "cooler" or "bouncer" to keep the peace and quell the regular firestorms I see here. I've experienced many of them, having been the center of most of the ones mentioned in this thread. Many posts have been sanitized, but the treatment of me and other new users has been outright bad sometimes, and there is bad blood between many of the new and old heads. I get pretty defensive and vicious when I feel attacked or disrespected. I'm a pretty reasonable guy, but I don't like being treated badly for trivial reasons.

On the identifier issue, we still need it, and not just something based on thread count. I'm a notorious "chat style" poster, and I don't think thread count can be a good identifier of knowledge. Why not give everyone a USER badge by default, and anyone with advanced experience can earn the "power" or "master" user badge, and anyone with "any" coding experience the chance to earn a DEV badge, with a senior member being the one recommending them.

We also need a "promoter" badge. I've been a Nokia proselyte for almost 4 years now, at my own expense, and not paid as many assume. I serve by nature, also participating as a mentor to various youth groups as a former gang member. I like helping people. We are here to help YOU as well as ourselves, and it hurts the Ricky Caddens and others of the world to be so ill received and abused here. We're free commercials for you guys apps and devices, and we bring visibilty to the OS that can't be matched. We should at least get a pass on some stuff. We're in the trenches, and have to find out about stuff and still find time to disperse news and whatnot, and then we usually have to work regular jobs to fund all of that. It'd be nice to be appreciated once in a while, but I've seen most of the bloggers talked about like we don't read these posts. We're new here too, but we're on the same team, guys. This stuff is foreign to us, and we're doing the best we can.

I know geek speak is not always friendly, but we all have home training. Politeness and respect are universal, and not too much to ask. There's a difference between geek speak and being called stupid, having ideas called useless, and having others have side discussions about you as if you are invisible. We're a community, which means we live here together. Not everyone is going to play all the disrespectful talk, and it usually gets the same thing back in return. People will say,"You seem to be the one starting so much crap..." but don't realize the posts that started alot of the drama are now gone, and people do so much "behind the back" talk about others without stating names like we're stupid, and I know it makes me livid. In the streets, we say, "respect every man's gangster", which means we're all men and women, and should be treated and treat others that way, no matter how we differ on a subject.

The issue isn't the speed of solutions provided to users so much as the way people are rude with newbies, and not helpful but condescending. SF is a community of young users, and I'd be mad if my 15-18 year old child was involved in some of the flame sessions and rude comments spewed around here. This is a community, but its not home. You live with others, too. And the rude comments disguised as jokes are just as bad BRATAG.

"New user here and it seems fairly user friendly to me. Like myself it seems to have a fairly low tolerance for idiots, but that's just natural selection trying to rid the world of *****s. A good thing in my opinion.

If you cant figure out how to use a search button on a forum, perhaps you should not be looking at getting a cell phone and maybe we should hide the sharp things in your house "

That was so tacky. Rude as hell. So new users that find this site formidable are idiots and *****s?! They don't need a cellphone?! This is classic apathetic behavior, and that's the stigma around here from the word around the Symbian community that coud easily be fixed with a little empathy and manners. We can read, you know? I'm sure you probably meant it in jest, but it isn't funny if you're the one referred to. I fight for the little guy everyday, and i don't like the elite attitudes that flow around here.

As for YoDude, this isn't just your forum. It is all of ours. And you can't enforce rules that don't exist because you don't like them. And approaching me calling my efforts to gather people together "crapping" isn't going to get you far with most people. I'm a pretty headstrong guy, but I'm always open to suggestions if put the right way. I never saw an alternative of how I could've drawn the audience for my thread and Brainstorm. I got alot of "answer me" and "how dare you", not a single "let me find some people that can help you" or "next time, just...".

You have to realize new users are lost here, and we get little help from the coders and designers. Brainstorms aren't getting much exposure without some sort of beacon to draw them there, and that was what I was trying to do. I don't see how finding threads where people had experience with screen rotation code and asking them to help on a similar project for Fremantle is so offtopic.

I see the threads as chat rooms of people with similar goals. Communication here is easy if we all act as brothers and work together and end the crony class that rules here. I got a big response by suggesting something that may interest others in a very much related thread, and only you complained, so maybe we should allow what I did, or maybe you should post a Brainstorm asking that "cross posting and thread crapping" as you so rudely call it, be banned. I don't see any harm done, but maybe you see differently. I see you in most of the same threads as myself, and rarely hear a helpful word from you, with actual dev experience, and still am waiting for you to join in the Brainstorm mrojas and I have worked on, but you can sure police me just fine. If you're the police making all the unwritten rules, I don't doubt you'd find it friendly here, but that others don't should open your eyes that something is broken. We DEFINITELY need rules and a code of conduct, and some authority to enforce them, not just some "other forum member". Structure and governance is good, especially for an independent free thinker like myself.

In regards to links in our siggies, I noticed them here even a year ago, but now that I have one, you find issue with it. My link is a site to promote YOUR WORK, this site, and Maemo and mobiles as a whole. I put it there so people would know I was a promoter, and stop thinking I was just asking questions for my own pleasure. It shouldn't matter, but evidently it does here.

I really think we should bury the hatchet and let go, but it starts with you. I don't like beef unless its on my plate, but I seem to be a cause you want dealt with. Why not work WITH me. I could use your help...

We're mostly all grown men and women, and we should be able to work together. Just remember being wiser than another is a gift, and with such gifts come humility and service to others. Its our obligation and in the best interest of Maemo that we work for a common goal, and that's that everyone have a say, and the platform is an OS controlled by the community, not an oligarchy of super geeks. Its bigger now...

omfg chris, not everything revolves () around your incessant desire for screen rotation.

YoDude has every right to voice his opinion.

Where? Please point to the post or posts.

What I did do was ask you this:

What I don't get is the fact that the forums you advertise in your signatures have rules that forbid the behaviors I questioned yet you target me as if I'm the man or Suttin'



http://www.symbian-freak.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=227

http://www.symbian-freak.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=398


Now instead of an answer to my question you follow me into threads and make unsupported accusations and implications.

I get it.

You're an ambassador and have diplomatic immunity or something...

I'll keep my mouth shut from now on.

...but please leave me alone.

Everytime I hear the term Diplomatic Immunity, my mind goes to that guy...





("It's just been revoked!")

I'll only respond to this portion and withhold comment on the rest.

In general, you are spot on, and in fact this is a pillar of my summit presentation.

That said, I'll be the first to admit I fail at it. That's why I added "Listening without judgment" to my signature. That's not an admonition to anyone but me-- persistent reminder of what *I* need to do. It's just a suggestion for anyone else.

Change doesn't start with others, as I keep telling my kids. It starts with ME. So now I'm listening to myself. And if I'm the only one here who does, so be it... but I will work hard at being more of a solution than problem here. Feel free to call me out, anyone, any time I don't measure up to that standard.

Let's form a community, folks.

your all as bad as each other and need to grow up and work together.
It's all started over the portrait stuff and i must say i was appalled to see some of the comments from older users in the original thread it made this forum look like the most user unfriendly forum ever and i commented about it at the time.
The ppl who don't want portrait mode can just switch auto rotation off if it did become supported so i see no reason why they needed to gather support to kill the support for portrait to happen.
but theres no such solution for people asking for portrait they cant just flick a switch in settings to make it happen.
The only way nokia can keep everyone happy is make Portrait happen and put a switch in settings to turn ASR off like there is in s60.
Work together on ideas instead of against them and this will be a much better place

(this is somewhat of a general statement, but...)

Regardless of attitudes, this is (and IMHO will continue to be) the single GREAT place for information and help in regards to Maemo and Maemo devices.

I just visited *a well-mentioned Maemo forum that is currently residing inside of an existing phone-tech forum, but will soon be made into it's own*, and I have to say that there is no way that it will ever replace (or come close to) replacing this one. There's no expertise there.

Maybe the price for great advice and information is dealing with a little rudeness.

It's fine by me.

who ever come up with them tags killed the whole spirit of this debate when we are talking about user friendliness of the site
well done you just proved the case for it being user unfriendly by trying to provoke people by using a Chris vs landscape tags

Would anyone else like to put forward any thoughts on user titles?
Are you against them?
For them?
Do you like christexaport's suggestions (above)?
Do you have ideas on an alternative scheme?
Would you like to have each user's karma displayed? (an option discussed in the past)

And just for a bit of history, the thread and poll that led to our current, title-less state:

• "Improving Member Levels: Less Threatening, More Fun"
• "Poll: Member levels, let's decide"