Do people not know how to use their phone/ use this forum? - rant

[Zozz]

Haters gonna hate because proper grammar on an internet forum is so crucial.

I'm not upset, calling me a kid isn't quite the insult you think it is either. Not to rip on the mods or anything, I've been on multiple forums long enough to know that if you enforce some guidelines, you can avoid a cluster**** of threads relating to the same problem. Not much of a complaint towards people either much rather then the system. If you leave it alone it will organize its self.

On a side note, I'm getting better at typing on my Droid.

Edit: hmmmm I guess a guide compilation thread to issues and such wouldn't such a bad idea? I'm really procrasinating on a report I have to publish so I don't have time to make one. I haven't checked but there should be a FAQ around here

 

[sir]

the bulk of the Internet was originally driven by the porn industry.

pretty much tells you the type of people to expect when on the Internet.

but the world won't get smarter if people laugh at people or get pissed at people for trying. yes, you can search, but in reality, using something like Google or a forum search isn't as easy for people new to Smartphones and the Internet as it would seem.

for those of us who have grown up with technology, our brains were manipulated to be curious, to poke around, to break so we could fix, to dig for information, to follow logic in an attempt to solve a problem.

but not everyone is that way. it might take a leap of faith for someone to press a button on a phone for fear of breaking it because they don't fully understand the nature of what they are doing. but for others it seems rudimentary and basic because it makes sense - either from past experience or from existing knowledge about what to expect.

ultimately, it makes everyone's lives better if they just calmed down and accepted the world for what it is....80% of people who get on the other 20%'s nerves because they just don't get it and need their help, and want it as quickly as possible so they can move on.

but that's how it is, and that's how it always will be. i learned that a long time ago, and learned to just let go. the nice thing about the Internet is that no one requires you to do anything. you can look at someone's question, call them retarded out loud, and they'd probably never be the wiser. then you can go on being satisfied that you "put them in their place" without getting pissed off writing some smartass response.

 

[Zennmaster]

Zozz this is the nature of the beast. When any new device is released it is inevitiable to go through this on forums. As things settle in it will not be as bad.

But you have to remember there are A LOT of first time users here and not everybody is prone to use the search function and they are overwhelmed with the device and want answers yesterday. I agree that people should use it but they don't.

So just roll with it for now. It will settle down as everybody gets acquainted with the device. The mods can't be all over the place neither this place is crazy big and busy...

You are, of course completely correct. To add to your point, the Droid is not only a new device, but a member of a class of devices that is really quite new. These are devices that might not do what someone wants it to do right out of the box, but will do so with a free App.

In this case, spending time talking to VZW customer service may turn out to be fruitless, since every CSR over there probably isn't on the bleeding edge of what's available in the Market.

Those are the posts I find the most frustrating: "The Droid won't do XYZ, I spent two hours on the phone with VZW and they couldn't get it to work either, I'm taking this POS back!",when all that was needed was a quick search on the Market.

I think patience on everyone's part is probably the way through this, until the "phone literacy" paradigm changes to include an app search as part of the problem-solving process.

 

[Backnblack]

Welcome to the internet.

Enjoy your stay.

I been on it for like 15 years

Then you know where the Door is...Please close it on the way out. :icon_ devil:

 

[mjs31]

Every time I log into the forum I see relentless amount of threads with the simplest of issues. For sure, I would love to help out people to take care of issues on their Droid, it makes the fanbase larger and happier. But it seems like so many people don't know how to take a second to really look into their phone and how it works.

I see so many people complaining and ranting about features that are lacking on the phone, and when I test it out I usually find it by going into the Menu section.

Example: "You can't set ringtones for individuals", I seen it a lot and I responded to only one. This also flows into the matter of how unorganized the forum is, There are dozens of topics relating to the same issue.

Before I make a post, I always search first. It seems people don't know why there are different types of sub-forums. Still, there's people who'll just join to get a quick answer to an issue and never post again, they'll just post wherever.

Now I guess I'm lucky; the only real problems I've had were youtube issues that were solved with a little tinkering and something else on my end. It just feels that people don't make an effort to "understand" their phone.

Screw it, I'm gonna go :lifting:

I understand your frustration and also vent this on occasion. Especially the lack of any attempt to search. Really though...I know how to use this phone, but I still learn new things all the time. This is a completely different beast as most will admit to. It can be confusing and forums are created to help and to chat about different things. I would say use the search if it is working and if you then can't find an answer post the question. I do agree that many are not aware of the other forums though...

 

[Dan_Droid]

Yo dawg, can you give me some of ur 'roids. I wanna be buff and tuff like u.
:icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana::lifting::icon_ banana:

 

[kwyjibo3]

What bothers me is people who quote and requote the op, especially when the op is half a page long (on a mobil device). It's safe to assume that we've all read it.

 

[xfeathersx]

zoss:

Write a article? For the school newspaper perhaps? Relax, if you see a few multiple posts, whats the big deal. If this forum upsets you, hate to see you in real life. Cripes.

 

[silvere2]

What a miserable life you have. It's just an internet forum. Go outside or something.

 

[jthorpe]

I run a truck forum with close to 90,000 members and I get the same thing all the time but the reality of it is back in 2001, when I started that site, it was meant for questions and answers. It was true in 01 and it's true today. There are newbies to everything and when they are getting started, they like to ask questions. My theory is that if you know the answer, help people out. Treat them how you want to be treated instead of *****ing about it. My .02 from a long time webmaster...

 

[lauriep]

"but not everyone is that way. it might take a leap of faith for someone to press a button on a phone for fear of breaking it because they don't fully understand the nature of what they are doing. but for others it seems rudimentary and basic because it makes sense - either from past experience or from existing knowledge about what to expect."

This.

 

[reggin]

Or........the phone just came out, and it comes with next to no direction on it's use. I'm not an unintelligent person, especially when it comes to technology, but as of right now, there isn't a lot of basic information on it.

As example, I'd like to set a personal picture as my wallpaper. I have searched the homepage forum and found some basics, but I have yet to find which folder pictures have to be in for the phone to recognize as wallpaper.

Sometimes it's not a matter of looking, but patience in looking.

On that note, does anyone know of a comprehensive tutorial with more than the basics?

Mount drive then createa directory called Wallpaper on the root and copy pics to it. Then unmount drive goto home screen, press menu>wallpaper>pictures>choose pic of desire.

Thanks

 

[lauriep]

Or........the phone just came out, and it comes with next to no direction on it's use. I'm not an unintelligent person, especially when it comes to technology, but as of right now, there isn't a lot of basic information on it.

As example, I'd like to set a personal picture as my wallpaper. I have searched the homepage forum and found some basics, but I have yet to find which folder pictures have to be in for the phone to recognize as wallpaper.

Sometimes it's not a matter of looking, but patience in looking.

On that note, does anyone know of a comprehensive tutorial with more than the basics?

Long press on home screen>Wallpapers>Pictures>all pictures are displayed, not sorted by folders. Choose one, voila!

 

[MonkeyTime]

Ok, thanks to both reggin and lauriep,

The information about the name for the folder is really what I thought I was looking for. However, after reading both posts, I thought before I objected to laurie's post, I should try it again.

Low and behold, not only was the camera picture there, the picture I had moved over into a folder created and named pictures, but all of my album artwork for music as well lol.

So I went from not being shown anything in the picture gallery to anything on the phone, intended or not lol.

Either way, it's working now, and thanks to both of you.

 

[darreno1]

Zozz I feel your pain but it's like that on most forums. When I had my Pre it was the same on that forum as well. I usually have no issues with giving advice when I can, even to the simplest questions, but what gets to me is the attitude some of the newbies have. For example, rather than say "Help, I'm having an issue finding so and so......" or " Can the Droid do so and so.....", they'll write something like "The Droid can't do this " or " I hate this phone because...." . Then after that they expect a warm welcome. It's all in the attitude.

Another thing is some people are simply lazy. They're lazy to read the manual and they're lazy to search. And it's simple as that.

Also the subject of Android's complexity has come up here and in some other forums. And it's often used as an excuse. I ask, what is so complex about Android? Is it written in some foreign language that's hard to understand? Or is it written in a code that's hard to decipher? It took me no more than a few minutes at the Verizon store to figure out the basics. Once I bought it, just one evening and I had most of my questions answered. I have to say, I find nothing complex about Android, at least on the surface (where it matters to most). It may be different and might have a slight learning curve or require a slight modification of one's habits (just like any other system), but it's not complex.

My .02 cents.