[Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III Windows Mobile ROM De] bigstick:
I noticed that this thread (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=437576) was closed recently and to be honest I didn't think it was entirely fair.

Yes, it's true that we should all read the guidance, and yes, it's also true that individual preferences will determine which might be the 'best' ROM.

However, there are 2 reasons why I think that closing the thread was unfair.

First of all, there is too much information, and a lot of it is simply too technical. I want to update my 6.0 ROM because I am using one of sleuth's old ROMs from January. I'm not sure whether to go for a 6.0 or 6.1 ROM. I haven't seen any post which summarises what the strengths and weaknesses are. My understanding is that the benefits of improved usability and battery life are offset by greater instability and slower response, one of the big drawbacks of WM6. So for me, I want usbility, stability, speed, speed and more speed. I don't want to wait a while after pressing a button and I don't want to have to use the stylus. What is the point of having all this cool hardware if it's painfully slow and awkward to use?

For me this is more important than free RAM, video dialling and YouTube. I have no idea which are the fastest ROMs, or whether a WM6.1 ROM can be as fast as a WM6.0 ROM. Also, how bad is the instability? Does this mean crashes every day, couple of days, every week?

There is a lot of mention of Hyperdragon and Manila but I have no idea what this is. Actually I think that Manila is some form of accelerated 2d driver. But what is 'a 2d driver' and how does it differ from 'a 3d driver'?

You can get lots of detailed technical information, but the more basic issues don't seem to be documented. There are so many ROMs, how is a newbie supposed to choose? Flashing the phone and reinstalling/reconfiguring everything is not an instant process and it can take quite a while to get your phone configured just right. Even if you read all the detail, I suspect that newbies will still be somewhat in the dark. Most of us don't have time to try out 3 or 4 ROMs before we settle on the right one.

Finally, the original poster specified (some of) his particular preferences or selection criteria if you like. It should have been possible for people to make recommendations based on this. If some think the question is a bit lame, they will say so. More enlightened users might post links to some information that is genuinely useful, instead of posting something like. "Search the forum, the information is there". Yup, sure, but the phone will probably be obsolete before you find it. Leaving the thread open will allow the debate.

I understand how you might not want lots of posts about the same thing, but if that is the case, then it indicates that the information is not as accessible as it could be. I think it would be useful if for each ROM posted, the chefs could summarise the main points and benefits. For example is the OS 6.0 or 6.1, how fast it is compared the standard. Is there a benchmarking tool? What are the unique benefits? What are the known issues? Some ROMs posted have really excellent documentation, some not, but it doesn't give me any basis for comparison in relation to the things that are important to me - and others I suspect.

This kind of debate is interesting and relevant to me and I suspect some other too.

So if anyone would care to comment on their views on ROM choices, particularly in relation to speed and stability, I would be really grateful.