[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mark manning:
This guide is intended to be a starting point for noobs New Users to teach you how to start out on XDA and have a good experience and become good XDA netizens. Any input is welcomed. :D

To all new users, XDA is a great place where you can learn a lot about how to make your phone better, have fun talking to other smart people about your phone and the Android OS or Windows Phone OS, and maybe be recognized for your efforts. But first there are a few things you need to know about XDA to be a good netizen. I suggest bookmarking any of the links below which might seem helpful since chances are in the future it will be helpful to you or to someone else and you will have it bookmarked. :D

Getting Started

First, please start here by registering.

This enables you to post questions and helpful replies to other people's questions and get thanks.

The Rules

Like anything in life, there are rules here. There are also moderators (mods) who enforce the rules when necessary. [Guide] Getting a Moderators help

Here is the short version. Please:

Here is the longer version. XDA Rules

If you are having problems with XDA and need assistance from an administrator, please check here: XDA Contacts & Help

Searching

The best way to start is not by posting, it is by reading. Read, search, read, search. If you read an answer that looks helpful or answers a question you might have, bookmark it, and when you see someone else ask that question you will have the answer for them plus a supporting link.

"Always read lots post little" - mo976

When you have a question you don't know the answer to, don't post a new thread when you could post a question in a relevant open thread, and don't post a question when a few minutes reading and searching will not only give you an answer, but a feeling of accomplishment that you were able to find it yourself, and the confidence to remember and repeat the answer with the link to the thread or post with that answer when you see someone else post that question.

Consider the question you are going to post, pick out the keywords and type them into the search box. Try a few different searches with slightly different words.

New Members Guide-Get the most out of XDA!!

Search guide video

If you aren't sure what a term or acronym means, check this Excellent term definition Glossary by benjamingwynn or stempox's very helpful guide Terms Android.

Giving Thanks

Giving thanks is important. It lets people know that their work or answer is appreciated. It is a faster method of feedback than posting a reply like "Thanks for your answer!" You must have one post to give thanks, so here is a good place you can do that without running afoul of the mods for posting no content posts.

The "Say Hi" thread.

You get 8 thanks per day, and they renew after 24 hours or so. Each thanks is independent of the others, so if you give someone a thanks at 3, and then another at 4, those will renew at 3 and 4 the next day. If you run out of thanks, then bookmark that page or open it in a new tab and give thanks later when you have one available.

If you use them all every day you are doing it correctly. :D

Getting Thanks

You will see that everyone here has a Thanks Meter above their avatar. Here are the thanks counts needed to get to the next bar.

1st bar - 26

2nd bar - 51

3rd bar - 101

4th bar - 201

bug here, never gets to 5 bars, probably 501 if fixed. ;)

6th bar - 1001

7th bar - 2001

8th bar - 5001

9th bar - 8001

Maxed! - 10000

Not that thanks are an indication of a user's status or stature on XDA. Some of the most important people here have a lot fewer thanks than you might guess.

User Titles

As you go around XDA and encounter people, you may notice that they have different titles under their avatar. Speaking of which, click here to upload a picture.

Here are the user titles explained by one of our mods.

0 to 29 posts - Junior Member

30 to 99 posts - Member

100 + posts - Senior Member

Posting

Posting is something you may do a lot of here, but it is always important to remember to make your posts good ones. Don't post just to drive up your count, there is no special reward for the poster with the highest total and you won't catch the long timers here anyways.

You will find that there are some restrictions on your posting ability when you first start here. For starters, for your first 5 posts, there is a captcha prompt and a time limit in between posts. While this may seem burdensome, it does an excellent job of keeping spammers from posting garbage throughout every thread. There is a 2 minute limit between posting and editing your posts. This stops at 30 posts when you go from Junior Member to Member.

Always remember advice from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

Don't Panic!

Please post ALL relevant information. What ROM/Kernel, What you were doing when the problem surfaced, What is the actual problem (not my phone won't boot, help!!), Were the planets aligned,...

Simple information can go along way to diagnose the problem/issue and it also prevents the reciprocal post of "Need more info".

And we have all been there in Panic Mode where you freak out and just want to get some help. Noobs don't look at these devices as phones or tablets, but rather as investment because well that is what they are are $500-$800 a throw. I respect my device but that is because I know how to use and recovery it. Noobs don't. They see a bootloop and it is strikingly similar to the toilet swirling their money down the drain. That is when Panic Mode sets in.

Don't Panic. Don't be a noob. Be a New User who is smart and reads a lot and knows where things are and how to find useful and timely information.

Why can't I post in the Dev thread I want to?

It seems like everyone wants to be able to post in the Dev threads since it is the cool place to hang out or more likely, just because the message comes up and says you can't post here. However, those forums are locked down and new users who joined after Mar 11, 2012 with less than 10 posts will not be able to post there. If you see someone with less than 10 posts in a dev thread, look at their join date and you will see why they were able to post.

This restriction is not meant to be cruel or mean to you, but to prevent inexperienced people from posting in forums which are meant for Development work. Posting "Thanks for a great ROM" might make you feel good, but consider what it adds to the conversation from a Development perspective. If the answer is Nothing, then please don't post it in a Dev thread. If it adds another post to an already long thread with zero value, please don't post it on a Dev thread or anywhere on XDA for that matter.

Also keep in mind that the mods are out there reading your posts, and if they believe you are posting simply to get to 10 posts to post some non-dev comment in a dev thread, you could find all your posts missing and your account temporarily disabled.

Please feel free to thank the dev several times instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM". Rate the dev's thread with 5 stars using the rate dropdown button at the top of every page of the thread. If you feel that is not sufficient, most devs have a donate button with Paypal. I promise you that they will remember you and appreciate you far more for donating even a couple of dollars versus some post, however gushingly approving, on their dev thread.

Please do not send private messages to the devs saying "Thanks for a great ROM" instead of posting "Thanks for a great ROM". See above. :D

The best way to start is not by posting, it is by reading. Read, search, read, search. If you read an answer that looks helpful or answers a question you might have, bookmark it, and when you see someone else ask that question you will have the answer for them plus a supporting link.

You might be thinking, is there a place for new users? The answer is no, because the only non-noob areas are the Dev subforums. You can post into your devices General, Q&A, Accessories, and Themes and Apps subforums.

If you have read up to this point and still feel it is unfair that you cannot post into a dev forum thread, consider it from this perspective:

Is it so much to ask that you read for a bit first, pick up some knowledge and experience, help a few people in the 90+% of the site which is completely open to you,

to participate with quality posts instead of BS posts, in return for being able to post into any of the ROM threads from any dev on this site?

If so, then I humbly suggest that XDA may not be the site for you. The exception is if you are a proven developer coming over from another site or something, in which case please contact a mod to work out an accommodation.

For more tips on how to reach 10 posts in an acceptable way, please check here:

10 post count rule for Dev threads AKA Stop PM'ing me please :p

Posting Questions

OK, you got through all that and you have a question that you need that answer to. You have searched, and searched again, and searched again with different keywords, but you can't find the answer. The question is, where do you post it? The first and best place is to check your device's Q&A subforum for a thread posted there, either a general question thread, or a thread already posted there with a similar question. When you post into a thread, that thread is then listed at the top of the subforum it is in and the title turns Bolded for everyone else. Someone else may see that thread and know the answer and post it.

Remember, give it some time before reposting. XDA members live around the world and are not going to be on your time zone and schedule. Wait a day and see if you get a response. If you want a notification of someone else posting into that thread, click on the Thread Tools button at the top of the thread and choose Subscribe, or click the Subscribe button at the top of the page.

Getting Flamed

At some point, you are going to get "flamed" by someone who feels that your post is stupid, off-topic, irrelevant, noobish, whatever, and they are going to post something like "You are an XXXXX who doesn't know something simple like YYYYY. Don't post here anymore." It is going to happen at some time here, but the important part is not to respond in kind. It will not help the situation, or make your e-peen any bigger, or make you any tougher. It might make you feel better temporarily, but what invariably happens is that the forum mod (or a senior mod) will come in and delete those comments and you might end up on the infraction list, or temporarily disabled, or banned. Just don't reply to it. First, consider the question or post you wrote from a different angle. There is no excuse for flaming someone, but in a multi-cultural environment things may be perceived very differently than what you intended. Second, if the flame is really over the line, click on the little triangle in the upper right hand corner of the post and type in a short explanation and let the mods handle it.

Signature

Making a signature is a very important thing to do since it can help to describe your phone, it's current software, and any modifications you have installed.

A signature should inform others about your phone when you post a question.

A good signature will include information helpful to others beyond the direct target of the question/reply.

A great signature will inform the community with important information and potentially answer questions which have not been asked yet, avoiding repetitive posts.

Please click here to make a signature (5-8 posts minimum) It's cool and you will get more help and respect from us.

If you need some ideas for a signature or are willing to share yours, please check here: Share your sig code please.

Donations

Making a donation is neither expected or required, but are always gratefully received and appreciated.

There are "Donate to me" icons above people's avatar, or in their signatures.

You can also donate to XDA by clicking HERE.

When you donate 10 EUROS to XDA,you get rewarded with a STAR ,which is displayed a little below your avatar.

If you buy 10 STARS ,you will be rewarded with a .

Remember, always be respectful of other members here and considerate. Most people here are doing this for nothing more than the feeling of helping people as we have been helped by other people previously, and sometimes the occasional press of the thanks button. We aren't making money here and this isn't a job, so please don't tell people what to do or demand things of people such as mods or custom ROM configs to suit you and you will do just fine here.

I am leaving this open for now, but please, in the spirit of what I have written above, please only post suggestions you feel will improve this guide. I hope this guide helps you and makes your experience on XDA a better one. I appreciate your thanks, but I will appreciate you even more if you take this guide to heart and really do it while you are here. Thank you for reading.

This was wrote by mf2112