[General Questions and Answers] quicksite:
An introductory video example: to orient a new user

Thanks for replying. :) ... Here's the video I recently added to YouTube just to show in a non-technical way WHAT one could do on their T-Mobile Wing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSc0Qz8tf_c

As I told the Google Maps Mobile product manager, I don't think a tiny fraction of people know about the GPS functioning just via Google Maps usage. This video would not appeal to the vast majority of XDA Members, however, because it is meant to be a soft-introduction to "outsiders", vs an information-packed walk-through or installation guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSc0Qz8tf_c

My area of professional expertise is usability design, consumer content design, information design. I spent over a year getting the feel of XDA site before I jumped in to try to mod my Wing. I learned the culture, realized there were LOTS of preliminary things which I had no idea about, and had to first assemble a macro knowledge set up: what is Hardl SPL, what is an RUU, what is a radio rom, does a ROM have Windows Mobile OS in it? If so, Is it a legal license? what does "brick my phone" mean? ... I went to the Herald wiki, I saw guides for noobs to read, I read them, but then circular questions like: "Be sure to read XXXXX's great guide to flashing"... So I read this guide, many of them, and they'll say "be sure to make sure whether you have version x or version y; if X, never Hard SPL, if Y, it's okay; then a thread "Hard SPL working on WING!", then more guides how to Hard SPL your phone. Then you're supposed to pick a ROM.

If you ask for advice, you're told "start reading; everyone has different needs". SO you read up, use search, end up on a thread you think applies to ROMS for your phone, only to be 12 pages into the thread before you grasp the concept that this thread and this ROM is only for an HTC Himalaya. ANd it's completely irrelevant to my quest.

But senior people here would say "It's obvious, you were in the wrong area; look at the wiki, it has a list of phones, only search for ROMS for that phone"... but some ROMS are for many phones. Anyone, this is nothing new to those experienced with XDA. And I understand the frustration of senior members who keep posting stickies to help Newbies prep properly and not just dive in to ask "how do I get iphone on by HTC Touch?" etc.

But as can be seen very clearly from THIS SEMINAL THREAD, "Let People Ask Whatever They Like", that there is a culture "war" developing on XDA between those who feel adamantly: this site is for tinkerers, and if you've come just to get "kewl" stuff for your phone, you're in the wrong place. While other senior members are adamantly in the other corner of "why not help people? So what if they ask stupid questions? Just move on, ignore them, you don't need to chastise everyone."

This is nice to hear. The biggest problem with any knowledge base is in formation design. Despite the wiki, despite the sticky threads, despite the SIG LINES with links to Help Guides, despite the warnings, it is my professional opinion that this spectacular knowledge-base called XDA-Developers, is like a big tinker-toy project with new arms constantly being added, and nodes that even everyday users don't even know about, because they are specialized areas for particular phones etc. And now there is a whole new initiative ( A GREAT ONE!) to develop for the Android platform.

To me, creating some landing pages that help orient newcomers without overloading them with a huge maze of a dense site -- helps everyone:

* for sure helps the newbie

* helps the senior members (who will see yet another 100 threads open per day with same old new questions) from having to constantly look at "101" type questions.

* helps the software authors in getting donations for their works by more easily shuttling newcomers to the specific kinds of apps they have been looking for.

I think we are seeing a crossroads right now, with the launch of the Apple Apps store, the Android Apps store, Blackberry's store, and Windows' expected entry (what's it called, Skyapps ?)... Critical mass has now been reached in the marketplace for owners of toucscreen devices to now embrace specialized apps and functions that fit specific needs, and manufacturers and carriers are finally figuring this out. XDA sits is a very unusual place amongst all this, given the open-source spirited "knowledge-share & donate" philosophy of the site. I think there will be longtime veteran members here who will not be happy with influxes of even MORE news trying to get the latest & greatest. I just believe the dam has broken, and it might be good to filter newcomers and orient them (my interest), vs having them flood in and irritate the **** out of the people who built this community...

Sorry for the lenghts of these posts. I'm just wanting to be clear.:D