[About XDA developers] quicksite:
My thoughts: extended view

Well that makes sense to me if that is the philosophy of the Site Owners. I realize the slow erosion over the past year toward UNOFFICIALLY supporting Omnia and Xperia just due to sheer demand eventually forced the issue to finally come to the table and be dealt with upfront. That is what's great about your elevation to Mod/Admin for User Experience, and I totally applaud the way you have methodically been proceeding. I've been very impressed by the rollout of the portal page (as you know, I am big supporter of the design, where there are others "beating up" on you about "why isn't it X, why isn't it Y, why is it too much like Z?"), and by this forum.

I also think the way you established specific criteria for adding new forums was smart and again, methodical.

My post was surely way too "shoot-from-the-hip"... but I guess I have a soft spot for XDA being known as the ultimate place for crack problem solvers, usability extenders, ROM makers, innovation. As for the droid already being supported in several places in this kind of "XDA-style" total way of "if it can be solved anywhere at all, then surely it would be at XDA", then I agree it would be non-productive to re-create the wheel here.

But in that case, this is my thinking as a UX Designer:

I would structurally add the forum here, and the contents of the forum would include a statement to the effect of "For the best Motorola Droid development community on the web, we recommend you go to _____________.com ", along with a simple FAQ, which could be compiled by existing droid users who are here at XDA already... providing a basic orientation about what is possible with that device, and just a few key links of "where to go for".

The reason I say this is because sometimes the best way to serve consumer demand is to place a sign up saying "For help with XXXX, go here" --- vs not having a sign up at all because, well because help of that nature is not provided here. It addresses the demand in a very efficient, but even more than that, a very helpful way. It acknowledges the TRAFFIC of people who come here, right or wrong, expecting to see a droid forum, and prevents wasting their time hunting all through forums, searches, FAQs to find "it's not supported here, but they tell you where to go to get the bet support".

How many times have we gone to an electronics store, or other specialty store, looking for a specific item we think must be carried there, only to find they don't have it, yet the salesperson knows what the item is. You ask "do you happen to know where they carry this?"

At this point there are 3 kinds of management, or individual salesperson, philosophies one encounters typically:

(a) the asshole type: "No. sorry. We don't carry it" (yet they know that right across the street Store B has it, but their philosophy is: If I can't make a sale, then F them). This translates to the "who needs a bunch of dumbass newbs here clogging up the works with dumbass questions that I may know the answer to but i'm not about to tell them. Let them figure it out on their own, LIKE I HAD TO" type of person who unfortunately pop up here at XDA a little too frequently for my taste.

(b) the helpful type: "They have them at Superstore right across the street... In fact I think they're on special right now so it's a good buy" (Most customers, not all, but most remember this, and feel even greater brand loyalty to this Store A, because they know that they can shop there in total confidence, knowing then that if Store A doesn't have it, they'll help you find it if they know where to get it". Every now and then you even get stores that will call the "competitor" store to check to see if they have it in stock, before sending customer on another unsuccessful quest.

(c) the lazy "dude, I don't really give a **** one way or another" type whose knowledge is confined to an LCD transaction screen or manager's direct orders, and nothing else. They answer "hunh??" or "I dunno; we don't have it". Same people who wear blinders and can't even tell the customer where there is a public restroom/ WC nearby. "I just work here; I don't know the area."

Sometimes all it takes is just a simple little sign to save hundreds of people hundreds of hours and countless unnecessary irritation. Airport Flight Gate Area; you're running late. Long line to service counter with one service rep working the counter. Another line of people heading onto the plane at the gateway. You might miss the flight. You're not sure if you have to check in at counter because you have a print-from-home boarding pass. Should I wait in line for the counter? Should I go try to board and see if the printout works?

Simple helpful sign: Passengers with print-from-home boarding passes can proceed directly to the aircraft. No check-in necessary".

Helpful Philosophy B: This is how I would like to view XDA-developers. If we're all about open source and community help, then let's be good neighbors and make it easy for droid users to find the place that CAN help them. (I know, I know, Mr. "Why don't we have iPhone forums then"'s answer would be: "Oh, so then that means we should have iphone forums too, just to point people to Apple fanboy sites for their crappy iphones". My answer: No. That demand does not exist here. The difference is, in the case of the Droid, the demand DOES exist here.

That's my best thinking. Hope it helps spark a good conclusion. And thanks again, svetius, for doing an outstanding job.