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[Rant] Flash-Noobs And Their More-Obnoxious "I KNOW IT ALL" Friends

8K views 74 replies 44 participants last post by  2defmouze 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Are you a flash-noob?
Cool. We were all there at one point.
Learn. Follow. Experiment. You'll pick it up. And don't ever be afraid to ask for help.
You aren't my demographic here.

Hey you. Yeah. You! When you flash a new rom/kernel...Do you find yourself posting 10 times to update the ever-increasing list of bugs you're having? Do you get "horrible battery" on build 22 but not 21? Do you find your phone laggy on kernelultrah4x 2.1 but not 1.9?
Well then...you screwed up.

I'm %100 confident on this theory. And I really REALLY wish there was a developer willing to risk his/her reputation on releasing such a thing...
But I can guarantee you that this would happen.

A developer releases a rom/kernel. He then provides an "update" to said rom/kernel 10 times over the course of a couple months. These "updates" would literally be the same build...The same exact rom/kernel. Build 1 is the same as build 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,&10. The .zip might have a huge text file hidden somewhere in each build. A text file that does nothing...but changes in size depending on the "builds" that are released.

You'd have members:
"OMG. So laggy on build 4. Build 3 was so much better."
"Wow, massive deep sleep issues in build 8. Reverting back to 7 until it's fixed."
"Build 9 is much better on battery. Thanks!"
"This rom/kernel just keeps getting faster and smoother! I can't wait for build 10!"

The point is...If you're noticing that you have a lot of problems going from build to build...It probably doesn't have to do with the rom/kernel itself. You're seeing massive deep-sleep issues but L3374H4X isn't? Well...you've got something conflicting there.
Don't say "you've tried everything. It's definitely the build's fault." It isn't. Unless the reported error is widely accepted (generally doesn't happen) the 400 new glitches that are introduced on each update are your own doing.

And to be fair...
I'm not talking "Ok...dialer isn't loading in landscape."
"Me either"
"Nor I"
Type bugs.

I'm talking.
"Everything that uses data FC's upon opening"
"Google+ won't sync anymore. Please fix."
"My camera is taking really dark photos on this version. Reverting."
And nobody else is having the problem.

If you're reverting...To a Nandroid...You're going back to where you were comfortably running. Do I have to explain that concept? Something went wrong in your install. If you are experiencing it...And upon posting about it...Five people quote you saying they have no such problem...Don't then state "Plox Fix Nao Okai dev? so bad me no like." The developer is going to ignore it...And you're going to end up unhappy.

The thing is, you probably won't notice a difference between builds of kernels especially. Generally...a new kernel version is released...and the changes are minor to the end user. I'm not undermining the developer's work, here. Rather backing them up. But going from 2.0.1.3a to 2.0.1.3b isn't generally going to make you say "Wow, you've done it again. My phone is now running on its third week without charging." Expect this: Your phone will die in a day. And strive for it. Can't make it? Change kernels. Find your zen of kernel/rom/uv/clock/etc. Still can't make it? Then you're either again...doing something wrong...or are a very heavy user...and all that can be said is you need to buy a second battery. We have batteries in these things after all. There is only so much that can be done to the software to compensate for lack of a 40980984098mAh battery.

Fix your little insignificant problems yourselves. Clean installs, kids. Clean installs...and use debugging applications (in the case of "bad battery" builds) to find YOUR problem.

Ugh.
Thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
This looks like song lyrics or a poem
But I agree
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)

Unformatted to as "normal" as I can stomach. That return key is a horrible habit of mine.
Edit:
Oh, and not offended.
I kn...wait...doing it again...and the ellipses...ya. Bad habits.
 
#3 ·
I also have to agree with this. Fresh installs everytime/all the time are the best "cures" for bugs you have that no one else does. If literally "all else fails" then by all means, ask for help.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
Also, when restoring apps unless you are going to a very similar ROM you should mostly just restore the app and not the data as well as that can cause a lot of problems.

Also, also, when I first started with Android (Droid 2, Oct 2010), I read a ton of posts and watched a lot of YouTube videos, but sadly a lot of people who get Android phones and want to root them are people with little technical skill and don't feel like they have the time (Maybe 2 or 3 hours) to figure out how things actually work, which bites them in the ass when they flash a Froyo kernel on a Gingerbread ROM, then their phone boot loops and they instantly start a new thread which could be easily fixed if they would have read the first couple lines in the OP which I am sure states to only flash on a certain Android build.

But of course, we are here to help and we will continue to do so no matter what ridiculous things end up getting posted because, well, we love Android.
 
#10 ·
It'


Hey buddy...
Check my sig.
I got so fed up with the DX users...
I made a signature.
Noob-proof. And every detail included.

"OMGLULZ BOOTLOOP"
Hey punk. Check my sig.
Close thread.
Damn I'm good.

__________________
And to be clear here...
I'm not ranting so much on the noobs that DON'T know what they're doing...
But more "advanced" or "experienced" users who insist they "did it right" and it isn't "their fault."
Which...I guess means noob...but a cocky noob.
I mean...shit.
I make mistakes. I ask questions.
I had a theme that I was shitting over for 3 hours until I realized I applied a framework mod that was causing the bootloop upon 3 nandroids>reinstall attempts.
It's not that I want people to stop asking...I just wish they wouldn't demand/insist they (the %1 with this problem) are right...and everyone else is wrong.
 
#6 ·
Lmao.. this borders on "annoyed rant" but doesn't quite cross the line (ok, maybe a little, lol).. all points are 100% valid though :)

There is no fighting the noobs, they grow in numbers exponentially faster than the "educated" haha. When I'm troubleshooting for people and I find myself ready to unleash on some fool for posting a ridiculous complaint (you have plenty of good examples of them in OP) I just take a deep breath and either write something helpful or ignore completely.

But yeah, 99% of the "issues" people have are their own fault... like you said, we were all noobs at some point though, all we can do is try to help and educate, and keep it as fun as possible for everyone.. we're all just here because we love flashing shit!
:)
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
Oh god just thought of one of my Favorite-to-HATE complaints: "android OS takes up 39% battery on this build but only 12% on previous... reverting until fix"

Lol the most inconsequential and NOT ROM-controlled stat people love to go crazy about is the percentages in those battery meters...

....that and completely worthless benchmark scores..


Everytime I see someone post about either of these things I want to put my fist through my monitor lol
 
#9 ·
My favorite was back on the Thunderbolt when it got AOSP... AOSP battery life is terrible, it must be because Android OS is using 75% of the battery, but in tests they both got the same battery life. People just love to read things that they don't understand and jump on those numbers/readings/etc until they get a straight answer as to why it is what it is.
 
#8 ·
What amazes me about those new to rooting (I personally detest the term noob, but that's only because I suck at League of Legends) is the "skimping" in the process. 95% of the comments you just listed all derive from fairly simply issues--not wiping, not flashing something correctly (or in the correct order), or an app that simply doesn't work with that build of Android (or the rom). If everyone with those issues just took 3 more seconds to wipe cache and dalvik before flashing a kernel, a radio, hell, a theme--or even just making routine nandroids, then we (and by we I mean the Android community) would see less of this.

But, people get excited, they rush, and it's hard to hold them back. I was there at one point, so I understand.
 
#12 ·
Oh my god where is this kernelultrah4x 2.1? Does it work with with the nexus?

I am so joking, lmao!

Agree with everything in the OP, but its lost cause. People are lazy.
that says it all. when i first got my og evo, i must have read and read and read some more for months before i even posted a question. What's worse is, "i dont have time to read all that" then how/why do you have time to even root to begin with and flash new roms and log in to bitch and complain.....anyway
 
#15 ·
'nother one (this is now the official ranting about forum people thread):

People that ask a stupid question (sorry, there ARE stupid questions) then bump their question multiple times when nobody responds.. because they don't realize people are usually not responding because simply:
1. Its been asked and answered a million times already and everyone is trying to ignore you rather than yell at you for not reading a page back..
or
2. Nobody knows the answer or your question is phrased poorly.. and rather than give you bad info everyone is just politely sitting out..

Everyone can see your question the first time! If it isn't getting answered there are reasons.. quit being a nuisance!

/rant
:)
 
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#17 ·
+1..
AND.... Those lovely informative and helpful thread titles like:

"Help"
"Can I"
"Why is this happening"

But all in all I agree. Most folks are just too lazy to do the research and somehow feel entitled. Not sure what the community and Dev's owe these people, but they think they do.
#justsayin'
 
#18 ·
+1..
AND.... Those lovely informative and helpful thread titles like:

"Help"
"Can I"
"Why is this happening"

But all in all I agree. Most folks are just too lazy to do the research and somehow feel entitled. Not sure what the community and Dev's owe these people, but they think they do.
#justsayin'
Haha especially when it's a ridiculous question too! Often I won't respond even if I can help them, if I suspect they aren't idiots and just titled the thread that way to get attention
 
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#19 ·
When people ask me about rooting/ROMing I always tell them there are three simple rules to all of this.
1) Read the instructions.
2) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS
3) Make a backup.

The devs in the Android community have made everything so painless & fun that it really doesn't warrant all the over-posted, under-read, questions. Most folks don't want to read & want everything handed to them because they feel a dev made something & shared it so now they are owed support. It comes down to the fact that people are lazy and thus makes them ignorant. Most people just post issues with no attempt to fix or find out what is even wrong. I always see the "your new feature is broken" but rarely see "but I tried X-Y-Z to fix it with no luck." Some one needs to go around and start hitting people with tack hammers. All this hobby/addiction requires is a little time & effort.
 
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#20 ·
Its not just the Android community. I work in the IT industry (and I'm certain this prevails in many other industries as well) but this is a constant battle I fight with my users. Yea, I understand its my job to know everything about technology, and no I don't expect everyone to know everything, but good grief. As soon as something doesn't go exactly as expected they come screaming to the experts, even if its as simple as waiting another few seconds for an application to load.

Personally, when I have a question about Android, or anything, the first thing that goes through my head is "I wonder how stupid I'm going to look if I ask this question." That prompts me to DO A LITTLE RESEARCH. Do a Google search, read the OP, skim over the last couple pages of a thread, anything. Someone else has had your problem, and they've put it on the internet. You can find the answer to 99% of the questions you may have in your entire life on any subject just by doing a Google search. It takes less time than it would to ask someone else and wait on a response, and you better yourself for having found the answer on your own.

Once again, I don't expect everyone to be an expert on everything. There are plenty of things that I know nothing about. In that case, ask a question and get some help if its too overwhelming for you right now. But when you ask that question, be humble, open minded, and appreciative of those that try to help you. Do everything in your power to help others help you (that means being descriptive, using a little punctuation, etc). Even if the advice someone gives is incorrect be appreciative that they took the time to try (unless they were being intentionally malicious).
 
#71 ·
As someone that owns a tech support business, has managed small business IT support groups, and has worked in IT departments of fortune 100 companies... I don't understand why techs are so frustrated with novice users. This is why you have a job. If you can't except that then you need a new line of work.

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus.
 
#21 ·
This thread is pure gold. Being a 'retired' dev coming from the Fascinate and Inc2 , some users with the Galaxy Nexus now still remember my work on the Fascinate I've experienced almost every single one of these points in my threads. And I'd have to say, sadly that they're all true. People don't read the OP. And then ask questions about something that has already been addressed in the OP.

But overall, even as an end user now we all share the same gripe when people don't read and get flash happy and when something doesn't work they're automatically right about it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki
 
#22 ·
Despite my deep disdain for things like tapatalk sigs, emoticons, "l33t" speak, and the phrase, "lol" (including it's variations and when people use it reference to their own joke), I continue to read these forums, in order to continue moding my phone. The trick that I have learned in order to deal with these things, is simply to ignore them. None of these things are going away, so there's no point in drawing attention to them.
 
#28 ·
lmao +1 lol
I agr33
 
#23 ·
On the topic of people trying to fix things on their own (or rather, NOT trying)... Always amazes me too how many "issues" can be completely solved with a REBOOT
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
+1 to the OP!

I'm a relative newb and was experiencing some battery/lag issues. Did I whine on the forums? Write the devs a note? Even ask for help here? NOPE!

I took the opportunity to educate myself and troubleshoot. Using only Google and the search function on this site I found answers to all of my questions. The answer was all my rom flashing and unclean installs had left alot of garbage lying around. So I installed the toolkit. Took the phone to stock and flashed only my fave rom/ kernel. Then tweaked a bit with the toolkit. Result? 17+ hours on battery and a buttery smooth phone.

From one newb to another, do your homework.
 
#25 ·
Gold star and a cookie for this man :)
 
#29 ·
MAPS KEEPS RUNNING IN BACKGROUND FIX PLOX GOING BAK TO OLD VERSION UNTIL U FIX
 
#33 ·
Or "+1"
 
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#36 ·
Lol funny because it is true. My fav is "I can't get to work and that is a deal breaker. I'll try again when you fix"

Ahem, we didn't break the app. Clearly something else is going on there. No one writes a feature to remove functions or compatibility it is just silly.
 
#39 ·
I believe Kejar did a placebo type thing once with a "battery fix." He posted a file which done absolutely nothing, then he came clean with what he done and plastered it here and on Twitter. It was pretty funny. However, I could have easily fallen for it because I was VERY new to ROMS and root at the time (I was using ROM Manager way more than I should have been). I'm still not an expert and I screw up. In fact, I made the mistake of installing a theme over the top of another theme the other day. I knew better, but I just wasn't thinking. The thing I hate to see is people complaining about their Quadrant scores. There's a thread around here somewhere which is nothing but a guy complaining about this. Every time I see this, I want to drown puppies in mushroom gravy.
 
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