[General Topics] cobraboy85:
In short, what I am trying to break out into discussion is simple - we need to figure out a way to reduce user-related/caused damaged devices.

I know we all put our disclaimers in our ROM threads, if you break your device, not my fault, etc. etc.... and before we discuss this I will say it is not our sole responsibility to make sure nobody does something dumb by installing firmware to their devices that may cause issues. What is inspiring this discussion are threads and posts such as this one, and they seem to be popping up more and more:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2056369

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=35793341&postcount=10

For the benefit of the general community and for people who, quite honestly, have almost no idea what they are doing when installing custom software to their devices, I think there should be a little more clarity and warning to users regarding what they should and shouldn't be flashing on top of their custom/packaged ROMs. And for the record I am in no sense of mind saying this could have been avoided by this user. In an analogical way I would say it is similar to teaching a child how to walk, or not play with light sockets. We cannot simply say, "oh be careful" because most people are careful, their issue is simply that they don't know. As developers we know EXACTLY what is compatible with our ROMs and what is not. This would include firmware, of all types - kernels, radios, build versions and modifications to the framework through flashable zip files in recovery.

More and more I am seeing threads like this one mentioned springing up about boot looping, lost IMEI's, and devices being destroyed because a user is (most likely) unaware of small differences between a device or installation method which if was aware, could have avoided an issues, and could have avoided another thread being posted wondering why "x" issue is happening. Of course there will always be these threads, issues, etc., but I feel like some type of quality control could be done on our part. This is what I propose, and I think we should encourage this among ourselves to avoid issues:

At the very top of our threads, the very top, before they see a download link, before they see a list of all of the exciting modifications amplifying their eagerness to flash, and dulling their eagerness to read, we should implement some "OP structure" so to speak. What I would propose is we all try to lay out our threads in this manner:

1. Name of ROM

2. List of ALL known compatible working (in this order): kernels, UI modifications (themes, etc.), firmwares. I would say that THIS is where our disclaimers should go. Right after telling the user what they should and shouldn't flash. This will strike up awareness on the other end (the user) that anything done outside of this instruction is a risk to the device and can permanently damage the device. This should be stressed even more in a thread where the developer has chosen to implement firmwares, builds/ROMs of other devices. The idea is more warning and thorough explanation of what can and can't be installed on top of our ROMs will in fact decrease user error. It is our responsibility to make an effort to decrease this possibility as much as possible. A quick list of useful information will go a long ways.

3. Recommended installation method as the developer has tested and proven - with a step by step instruction to flash.

People need to see this kind of thing before they see a download link. It will help the forum not be overridden by threads and posts of people wondering why something is broken (sometimes permanently), or not working correctly. This will also help troubleshoot issues as somebody will ALWAYS come back with "x" issue, and the first response by somebody should be "well did you follow all the instruction at the top of the OP?" and right away in a productive manner we are troubleshooting issues.

I believe we can ourselves "do some reading" and follow the work of our fellow developer members who spend tiresome hours building for various devices. Knowing what issues are going on with each other's work and thus knowing what our users are expecting will again only help everyone. Let's promote proper cautious behavior as an initial emotion when seeing a new update to a ROM, rather than the excitement of simply a new update. I know this will help, and it will make it easier on those of us who build and produce the software for our users.

I am curious to know people's thoughts about this idea - a structured method of laying out our threads with instruction and information, then the great things they have to expect after installation is complete. These are computers, not phones, let's treat them as such.

:highfive:

I am copying a thread over to this forum that I wrote up in the S3 section about proper flashing methods that have always worked for me flawlessly. There is never fault in taking extra time to make sure something is done 100% correct the first time, to rule out variables that might have caused "x" issue.

Here is the thread I was referring to. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1946701

This will be posted in the dev section as this is where people go to flash ROMs, putting it in QA is useless as that is where people go once they already have an issue.

Chime in boys, I really want to know what people think.