[General Questions and Answers] therealduckie:
Wall of text incoming!!!

I think I understand better why this thread keeps getting derailed & why very few are willing to help us achieve root. so if you will bear with me, here are a few facts and thoughts on the matter and how I think we can fix it.

1st, the majority of those purchasing this phone are not the usual educated, seasoned XDA members who seek out the best deals with the best hardware and the most options. The ZMax is primarily being purchased by people who saw a sign for a low price at a discount dealer. It's almost always a spur of the moment purchase after they went to the store looking for a new phone. Admittedly, I was one of them. I went from a Galaxy device to this when I saw the price.

I personally verified my findings with 3 separate phone stores(TMO and Metro), asking no less than 10 sales reps. It's a very common thread.

2nd, those coming here, as you can see in their post numbers, are new to XDA. In fact, they are new to rooting in general. Most have little to no experience in it, very little understanding of it, and are the least technical grouping of any phone owners on this site.

Look at everyone's post numbers. They are very low. Also, look at what they are posting. It's usually elementary-level understanding and steps most older XDA members took when rooting began with the G2. Nothing is new. It's all a rehash of the past.

3rd, the average age of users is either really young or really old. No one in between. Therefore, it points to the 2nd (above) answer in education. I am 45, but have been rooting and modding phones since the early 2000's. However, most people my age are luddites or not very tech-savvy. The younger users have an excited exuberance, but they lack the discipline and long-term involvement in the rooting community. The missing majority of seasoned members in their 20s means a lack of seriousness and knowledge in the thread.

Some in this thread have shown off how old they are, either by putting their obvious birth year in their username or by admitting to working with BBS's and old computer hardware, while the younger ones have been the most vocal, edgy and volatile.

So, how can we fix it? How can we stop from the emotional outbursts? How can we keep on track and get back on target?

The best way is to acknowledge the above is true. Accept that most everyone here was just looking for a cheap phone and feels oddly entitled to root. Then, we move past that and educate ourselves.

Next, we apologize to those in the community who were willing to help us in the beginning but our actions and ignorance ran them off. We accept that we were harsh, disrespectful & pushy.

Finally, we re-read the rules of the forum. Better acquaint ourselves with the proper way to post, the proper way to respond, and not repeat ourselves or post for attention.

When I put up a post to defend the abuse and outright nonsense that was pointed at jcase, many of you clicked 'thanks'. When I posted to defend the powerless, I was summarily pummeled and then had the first post in my 3 year history deleted. That moment showed me how emotionally everyone is taking this thread. We're obviously allowing it to overcome rational thought - me included. Let's all check those emotions. It's just a phone, not a primary bodily organ. Let's be reasonable, too. Being prone to outbursts, selfishness & poppycock is only going to push the better members and rooters away. We have a long road ahead of us if we want to earn their trust again. That journey begins with the first step.

So, we should all educate ourselves a bit more on the community and the phone. Maybe not hit "Submit Reply" before we think through our posts.

Thanks to the 5 of you who will actually read this. Sorry to those of you who think it is crass. I was extremely specific in my wording to avoid generalizations.

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On that note - AND BACK ON TOPIC... I know [MENTION=5749364]Planterz[/MENTION] said he was probably done with this thread, but - Can we append the top post with all the common fallacies, fakery, nonsense, jibberish and questions we're all tired of answering for the 20th time? As a first step, mentioning all the links to fake roots like "unlockr" will stop the many "Has anyone tried this yet?" posts that seem to permeate this thread.

We can also add all the other common items that keep getting repeated by those who do not (or are unable to) read the entire thread...which, to be fair, is 46 pages at 50 replies per page. We can not just assume everyone has the hours needed to go through that many posts. A summary of items would help everyone.

tl;dr - New person comes in asking a question we have had 20 times, we reply with a link to the first post -- and done.

Cheers