i'm wondering what threads are left for him to read...

I can take a hint.

no, sorry, wasn't meant like that at all!

more like - you usually have something thoughtful to say on many interesting topics, and i'd have a hard time avoiding those threads

Heh... I'm kidding you SubCore. But thanks.

Hey all,
I'm a lurker who joined on hearing about Nokia's new PHONE (not tablet, ugh! ;-) ), and while I feel I occasionally have contributed in a very small way, I get more from reading these threads and just listening than I do from opening my mouth. However when it comes to this thread, I've just gone back and read all 20 pages so I can feel knowledgable enough to comment, and I have a few quick observations:

1. Everyone seems to be on the SAME side!
Seriously, we're all after the same thing - no-one wants this community to fail, and for the most part, the ideas as to how to push it forwards are all fairly similar, or along similar lines. Best of luck to Texrat, Kathy, GA, and/or anyone else who is working on this, because it is a hard job, and it is definitely appreciated!

2. Some people have LOTS of energy directed towards this, and that means emotions sometimes ride high also:
That's totally fine - this type of thing happens a lot, and people should maybe just be a bit more understanding when an old hand blows off a bit of steam because he's had the same question asked, or same complaint to deal with 100,000 times...

Anyway, I'd be useless (and part of the problem!) if I didn't offer some possible solutions -
1. Make more mods / admins etc!
Right now there are HEAPS of newbies running into this forum (myself included) - and they don't know a lot about Maemo, Mer, the Tablet series or even the N900 itself. But there are probably quite a few with common sense, and enough of an idea of what to do to moderate a forum and keep it polite/non-toxic. Recruiting more people to deal with the trolls/flamebaiters etc would lessen the load for the people who ALSO deal with the inevitable "OH HAI MY N900 WON'T WORK LIKE MY IFONE PLS FIX NOW KTHXBAI" complaints and requests.

2. Promote the off-topic forum and keep it friendly!
The forum I read most in all the communities I am a member of is the "General/Conversation/Offtopic" forums - because they are usually where the funny, daily interesting/amusing stuff is to be found. Many users like and appreciate that stuff, and don't feel scared to post new topics or replies there. It lets people get to know each other, and cut their teeth in getting involved in a new community. An example of a healthy community is the ski.com.au forums, where the conversation threads are HILARIOUS. Often these lead people into taking more active roles in the more closely modded forums such as 'weather' where expert comments are common, and noobs are frequently flamed away.

Here, the off-topic forum (for whatever reason) just doesn't seem to be as active, and to tell the truth, I barely see it down the bottom of the list. Maybe it is just me, but encouraging users to speak here / moving useless threads there, could help create a seperate environment for users to get to know each other, and then slowly grow out from there, while keeping the useless threads away from critical technical ones..

Anyway, just my 2c - and can I just say while I have been a little daunted at posting in a few of these threads before, it is only due to the generally very high quality of the comments made, and I certainly have not felt unwelcome in my time here! Thanks!


EDIT: Ok, one more suggestion - the Talk.Maemo.org seems to be very interested in feeding the trolls: ie: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=44146. Personally, I think that this only gives them traction, and makes their comments more visible. I think that the Maemo.org community, and the N900 in general would do better if posts like Kurts were ignored, deleted, moved to a forum labelled "whine", or something like that. If people want to leave feedback, both positive or negative, they still have the choice to do so in a constructive or non-constructive way: if they choose to do so by saying "This sux, prove me wrong" then they don't deserve to have others jump in and say "you can't ignore just because he is disappointed" and try and help him - instead we should ignore him because he is not providing constructive feedback. Feeding the trolls will only solve their hunger, flaming them only keeps them warm. Cast them out into cold, bitter ignorance or deletion, I say...

;-)

leeyam I think I love you.

I, for one, look forward to serving our new Texrat overlord.

Oh dude. No.

Are you saying "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected"?

No, I'm saying no to overlording. I don't mind serving.