[Hero CDMA General] hilaireg:
In reading this thread, I recognize that several members have expressed frustration at the level of moderator interaction of late. Rest assured, most moderators would prefer not having to moderate to this degree and would much prefer working on various XDA contributions of their own. Most moderators are as frustrated as you; we just want everyone to get along and when a thread "falls of the rails", we want our fellow members to let us know so that we may step in and assist.

IMHO, the Android related forums are still in this stage of growth. The issue however, is that these "growing pains" show no signs of subsiding - this is a problem. As I am sure many of you have noticed, there continues to be a significant amount of animosity in the Android related forums. I'm not certain as to why this is, nor is there any justification for it; what I do know is that it is unacceptable behaviour from fellow XDA members.

Although I may not be an Android device owner, I should be able to pose questions in an Android forum and be greeted by members in such a way that I feel like XDA members are mature and professional. Responses should be helpful and constructive as there is absolutely no reason (or value) in responses that imply a rude tone or make someone feel stupid ... it is not constructive and serves no purpose, why stoop to that level?

When acting in the capacity of a moderator, I should be able to assist my fellow XDA members without being told that only Android moderators are welcomed. IMHO, this is not how one creates a uniform community of great talent.

When I first joined XDA - over a year ago - I was astounded at the helpfulness of members in my native Raphael forum ... the device which I had just purchased. Newcomers would ask questions that could have been asked before and seasoned members would generally respond with referral links to an existing thread where the question had been answered and sometimes, even provide the answer. This willingness to help others encouraged me to want to contribute to XDA in a positive fashion.

There were instances of rudeness and/or flamming, but those were quickly addressed by senior members stepping in and "guiding" the conversation such that it was quickly back on-topic. If the problem persisted, a moderator would step in and issue a warning ... and if this failed, closure of the thread occurred and/or punitive action was issued to the offenders.

As my knowledge grew, I started frequenting other areas of XDA; once again, I was impressed as to how folks would generally want to help each other out. There were occasions were some members would look to incite arguments but for the most part, members would choose to ignore such attempts and keep on-topic. There were instances were the inciting member would succeed in goading fellow members; once again however, a moderator would step in and issue a warning ... and if all else failed, closure of the thread and/or punitive action was issued to the offenders.

When I was given the opportunity to further help XDA in a moderator capacity, I learned from long standing moderators than new device forums would experience a "growing pains" of sorts. Dissention would often occur within the new forum but in a matter of a few months, stability would ensue and members would help one another.

In the many months of moderating, I have learned that moderating a forum of over 2.2 million members is not an easy task. Moderating XDA involves managing threads, addressing abuses such as spam and fraudulent activities, ensuring that members remain respectful of one another, as well as trying to keep a general semblance of order, cooperation, and peace within the various sub-forums. For those who may not be aware, moderators contribute several hours per day of their lives to XDA ... without compensation.

And we're not perfect; far from it in fact, we are human just like everyone else. We try our best but we have our personal bad days, we misread situations, and sometimes, we make an incorrect judgement call. That said, we want to know that we have the support of our members when performing the duties appointed to us. And when a moderator is disrespected, we arrive at these types of situations where everyone's "back is up".

Lastly,

XDA is about bringing together folks who have similar passions about mobile technology. As the forum is accessed worldwide, you will encounter all types of folks from different walks of life; some of these folks will be extremely technical, others not. In all cases, I feel it is the responsibility of all members to remain respectful of one another. We all have different opinions, we do not all have the same level of knowledge, and some folks are looking to feel like they are contributing while trying to learn.

My expectations of fellow Android XDA members can be simply stated: I feel that it is the duty of each and every member to serve as a positive example; be it in the form of helpfulness, contribution of knowledge, and/or development efforts.

Respectfully,