[myTouch 3G Slide Android Development] skullkandy:
I wanted to contribute something to the development but I'm a dumby when it comes to code. For a living I coordinate techs and developers with end users, basically I'm a tech-speak translator. I've notice that around these parts there are a ton of questions that could be easier resolved by following some guidelines. So this guide isn't about how to root or rom specifically, it's tips to avoid common mistakes and make it easier to provide you with help if something does go wrong. Think of it like when you call your cable help line and they ask you "is it plugged in" if you checked to make sure it was plugged in before you called you'll get to a solution a lot quicker.

I ask that any devs who can add to this do because knowing what us regular users can do to make your job (unpaid job that is) easier benefits us all.

Back up

This is super important but a lot of us are in such a rush to play with the goodies that we skip it. Always always keep a current back up of your sd card on your pc/mac. You can create a folder called "mytouchbak" or whatever you want and just copy and paste all the files over there.

Also nandroid backup. You should keep at least 2 nandroid backups. If you're just now rooting make a nandroid back up before you do anything. Then once you have a good stable rom running make another nandroid back up. This way you can either return to a default build, or to your working rom build.

These things are important because usually if you screw something up it's usually quicker and easier to just start from the beginning rather than have someone try to figure out what tiny step out of the many involved you may have done wrong, then figure out how to fix it.

Try twice

This relates to "back up." If something seems broken start from the beginning and try it again. Most likely you missed a step, forgot a symbol in something you typed, or sometimes something just didn't quite go right. By rooting you are doing things that weren't meant to be done and sometimes some numbers just got crossed somewhere. Before you proclaim that things are broken just try it again. You would be suprised by the number of times things work the second time through.

Read the whole thread

We have all done it. You follow the instructions perfectly and something doesn't work so you run to the forum and immediately write a post saying "help, i can't get it to work" on page 80 of a thread when several other people experienced the same problem, already asked the question and a solution was posted on page 20. I know it's sometimes a pain to skim 80 pages of posts but those 80 pages are probably caused by other people not reading the thread before posting. A good tip for this is if there is something specific that isn't working like wi-fi tether, just open the search toolbar in your browser, type "tether" and then go to each page hitting search. That way you don't have to read every post but if anyone has mentioned anything about tethering it will point you right to it and you only have to read those posts.

Have a computer ready

This is one that most of us already do but the one time you forget things always go bad. Don't ever rely on remembering the instructions you read on your phones browser when working on rooting and romming. If you have a computer in front of you you can read the forums and follow the instructions word for word which gives you a better chance of success.

Read everything first

Before you start read everything from start to finish at least once. Sometimes devs skip steps that they assume we know and then mention them later. It's because a lot of things seem like something everyone should know, but we don't. In the same vein if you can find multiple tutorials read them all first. This will give you several view points on doing the same thing and will in general make the whole process make more sense to you and clue you in on things one tutorial may have skipped past.

The other benefit is sometimes a step is listed, and then right after it it will say something like "and don't do that until you do this." such as with our current rooting loop method. If you read all the steps first before starting you won't be caught off guard by things like this.

Asking for help

When you get stuck, you can't find any answers AFTER READING AND SEARCHING THE FORUM for your issue then definitely ask away. How you ask relates to how easily it is for someone to help you.

Avoid making general statements when possible, detail is a must. Instead of saying "I rooted, then did A2SD, then restarted" give the steps you took to root and A2SD by either referencing the method such as "I rooted as per the steps laid out in (link to instructions or name of method) or lay out the exact steps line for line as to what you did. If you assume you rooted right and what went wrong was you missed a step in the rooting process how is anyone supposed to tell you what step you missed.

Also format it to be easy to read. Development trains your mind to be very organized and structured. Basically don't format your post like this guide I'm writing, in large blocks of paragraph text. Instead put each command on a new line for instance:

"I did this

adb shell

adb push update.zip /sd

reboot into recovery....."

this makes it a lot easier to provide you with help.

Slow down, Find a good time

Don't rush through the process. That's how steps are missed, commands are mistyped and phones get bricked. I've done roots at 2am and couldn't for the life of me get it to work, I put it away and tried again in the morning and things went great. So don't mess with rooting and romming when you're exhausted, in a hurry, high, in the midst of an argument with your girlfriend, or any sort of other distractions.

That's all I have for now, I hope it helps. If anyone has anything to add please do.