Sorry for the long post but as this forum has evolved and site traffic has grown exponentially, I believe it is necessary to provide a guide that new (and old) members need to follow when using this forum in order to make it a productive experience (a large portion of the text below is adapted from xda developers and I have altered it to fit this site). In addition to these posting guidelines, you need to also be aware of the Site Rules available HERE.

1. Use a CLEAR thread title

So you're going to post a message, and need to think of a thread title. Try to keep in mind that many people actually use that thread title to determine whether they will even look at your message. Titles such as "HELP!!!" or "Newbie Questions" or "6700 won't work" or "Just got my 6700, couple of questions..." or "argh!!!" or "Issues with my 6700" are not allowed and are the worst possible kinds of titles as they describe nothing about the problem, and many people will not read those kinds of threads. DO NOT try to be cute with your title by titling like "Does anyone know if..." or "I was surpirse to find..." - all that does is create more work for the mods/admins to have to come in and change it. A title like "I upgraded to 4.00.16 and now I can't downgrade anymore" is much better: it will get the attention of other people that have solved the same problem, and you are much, much more likely to get a reply. Also, if you are having a problem with a particular program, say SPB Pocket Plus, don't title your thread "SPB Pocket Plus Issues" as that isn't really helpful. Instead, say exactly what the problem is like "SPB Pocket Plus is causing my 6700 to run slow." People use thread titles to make split second decisions as to whether or not they will even click on your thread so using an unclear title will more than likely cause many to simply pass your thread over. Putting things like error codes and error messages in the thread title will also help. If you have a clear question, ASK IT IN THE THREAD TITLE. The more information you can put in the thread title to convey as much unique information about your particular problem, the better. However, be careful not to limit your responses by putting unnecessary information in the title. For instance, say your new Verizon XV6700 is stuck on "connecting" when trying to sync. Don't title your thread "XV6700 stuck on connecting when trying to sync" as that implies you believe it is a Verizon specific model problem when it probably is not. Instead, just title it "6700 stuck on connecting when trying to sync" so that you get responses from both Sprint and Verizon users, unless of course you think your issue is definitely specific to your carrier's model. Make sense? When titling your thread, think: if someone else had a technical issue similar to mine, what key words would they search for - those should be some of the words you put in your thread title.


2. Check if something hasn't been asked before by SEARCHING FIRST BEFORE STARTING A NEW THREAD

Many questions just keep popping up over and over. Please use the 'search' function in the menu above each and every page in the forum. Try entering a few keywords to see if your question has been asked before. If it has, please read the threads and see if you can figure it our from there and if not, post to the most appropriate of the pre-existing threads that may be discussing your problem (only start a new thread if your issue is really unique and deserves its own thread). Even if no solution is posted to your particular issue, if a thread is discussing it, you should post to that thread instead of starting a new one. One problem people complain about is getting too many hits from the search function. To avoid this problem, you should always do a title only search using the advanced search page to get only really relevant hits (its an option in the menu under the "keywords" drop-down menu) :

http://www.pdaphonehome.com/forums/search.php

This is another reason why appropriately titling your thread is so important because it allows your thread to be easily indexed and located in the event someone does a title only search or searches for it using google. If you do not appropriately title your thread, this means I have to go in and change the title so please help me out and title your thread in an informative manner and you should get some helpful replies if you did it correctly.

Additionally, the search function has a four character minimum so if you are looking for a three character word, say GPS, you should tpe in "GPS*" or "*GPS" into the search box. However, sometimes this technique will not give the results you are looking for. In that instance, you should use the Google advanced search page and limit your results to pdaphonehome.com and add "6700" to whatever other search terms you had in mind. This is also the technique to use to search when the search engine goes down. The google link with all the search parameters already filled in is located here:

http://www.google.com/advanced_searc...lr=&as_qdr=all

Finally, please do not create threads that cover multiple unrelated topics. For instance, say you are having problems with the phone running slow, want a recommendation on a case for the 6700, and have a question about push email. PLEASE DO NOT ask it all in one new thread. BREAK IT UP - threads with no clearly defined subject ALWAYS end up in one giant mess and SCREW UP THE SEARCH RESULTS of other people's searches.

3. Please try to write your message so that other people understand

This board is in English. We know English isn't everyone's native tongue, and we certainly do not nitpick about spelling and grammar. But please try to be somewhat articulate about what you want to say or ask. A long message is likely to be more readable if it has a few commas or at least a period every now and then so do NOT type your message in one long run-on sentence. ALSO, DO NOT USE SENTENCES MADE OF ONLY CAPITAL LETTERS, as this is annoying to read! When you are done, read your message again, and try to see if someone else would understand what you just wrote.
The use of online translation services to translate a message from your own language to English before posting it is discouraged. Please use this as a last resort only.


4. Be courteous and respectful of everyone

Be polite when you ask something. "I need RSU 4.21 now!" is less polite than "Does anyone have RSU 4.21 for me?". If you ask a question and there is no answer, it may be that nobody knows the answer, or that everyone reading your message knows the question has been answered a few times already and that the simplest search would find the answer.
You're welcome to reply to your own message with a small reminder (a "bump") after 48 HOURS have passed, so that it goes to the top of the list again. But please do so only ONCE, and do NOT keep nagging. It may be that nobody knows, and you truly can't expect people to answer "I don't know" to all questions they can't answer. Whatever you do, do NOT start a whole new thread again asking the same question simply because you did not get any replies to your previous thread. Also, please do not take it personally if a moderator closes, deletes, or moves one of your posts/threads. There is a good reason behind it (more than likely a similar thread already exists) and if you wish to discuss it (or have other forum administrative type questions), please feel free to Private Message (PM) that moderator in a calm, respectful tone for more information. We do not air out our dirty laundry in public on this site. To that end, calling out a moderator/admin or other forum member in public is definitely not the way to go about voicing your concerns and will not be tolerated. If you have a problem with another member or admin/moderator and wish to address it, you need to use the PM function of this site.


5. Post a message only once and try to keep things on topic

This place has multiple message fora, and you will have to select which one is most appropriate. If two fora are equally appropriate, pick one but don't post in both. Lots of people read their messages using the 'view posts since last visit' button, so they see your message no matter what forum you post it in so do NOT crosspost your message to multiple forums on this site. Also try to keep threads on topic. This means you should be very careful about "hijacking" someone else's thread, which usually happens when someone asks a question that is not within the same context as the current discussion going on in that thread. Asking an unrelated question can change the entire focus/discussion of the thread and thus the thread starter and others following the thread are robbed of the information they were originally seeking.

In addition, try to avoid creating threads that address multiple, unrelated problems. For instance, if in a new thread you start you decide to ask a couple of questions like one about alarms not working and another about email and another about a car charger for the phone, you will likely get some helpful repsonses but the end result will be a thread that addresses multiple, unrelated topics and be one giant mess that no one will be able to search for unless they have already read that thread. Instead, you should look for threads that are at least discussing your issue and post the appropriate question to that pre-existing thread. If you cannot find a thread that is discussing your issue, then you should start a new thread on just that one topic.


6. Fill out the details in 'Profile'

If you click 'Profile' in the menu above every page, you'll get to a page which allows you to edit what the system knows about you. Make sure the correct device type and wireless carrier are filled in. It really helps people help you if they don't have to ask these things first.


7. Post in the forum about your device if appropriate

There's special forums for the specific phones this site deals with. If you know your message only applies to one model, please post it in the appropriate forum. The general forum may grow too large if everybody posts everything there.


8. Help others if you can

If you see posts from others where you can help out, please do. This place exists because people are helping each other, and even if you are relatively new to the matter, there's probably already quite a few people newer than you that would benefit from what you've learned. Don't be shy.


9. Stay cool and don't get banned

Think of this as a on-line temple. A sacred place, dedicated to collaboration, learning and collective wisdom. Don't shout and try not to get angry. Maybe the world should adhere more to the basic philosophy of Internet protocol design: "Be strict about what you send, and liberal about what you receive". This forum has people from all countries, cultures and levels of mental maturity. This means that no matter what you're like, you'll have to adjust to people that are most definitely not like you. But on the other hand, try to be gentle with people, even in the event they're not gentle with you. It will gain you many reputation points if you help to keep the peace. To that end, personal attacks and flame wars will not be tolerated at all. This is an easy way to get a one-way ticket out the door. Advertising/for sale type posts are also not allowed in this forum. If you would like to buy or sell a pdaphone or pdaphone related item, you should visit and/or post to our Garage Sale forum located here:

http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59


Ok, now you are ready to post that message. We hope you enjoy the site and if you have any concerns, please feel free to send a PM to a moderator or admin.