Why do all support threads get moved to unseen individual phone forums?

[SamFen]

So I had asked an Android troubleshooting question here yesterday, because I couldn't find a general Android troubleshooting/support subforum. I look back later and see that it was moved to Phones -> Motorola Droid -> Droid support. Naturally it won't get any replies there, because that subforum gets two posts a day because hardly anyone has a Droid anymore.

The issue was a generic Android issue -- it's possible that the exact make of phone made a difference, but it's unlikely. More generally, though, every support question here gets routed to some phone subforum, even if the question has nothing to do with the phone.

Here are questions some that have been moved to individual-phone backwater forums in the past couple days:

- Repeating alarms for Calendar Events
- New to the Android OS, Email question
- How to sync photos
- Problem with Contacts
- Corporate Sync Question
- Apps keep re-installing after reset

Really? "Repeating alarms" is a Moto Droid-only issue? A question about deleting emails has to be in the Samsung Droid Charge forum?

We're all using the same OS here. All of these questions are OS or app questions. It's like someone asking how to open the command prompt on Windows and the thread being moved to the "Hewlet Compaq Presario CQ5700F" forum. No one's going to see the question!

Of the questions above, most of them had only one reply -- the person saying they were moving the question to the backwater forum so that they'd get "more replies." The rest had replies that had nothing what-so-ever to do with the hardware, they were replies about Android or the apps, of course.

I know, I know, this is a rant. But there's a simple solution: Have an Android support forum. Make it prominent on the main index so people don't post here (these individual phone support forums aren't even listed on the index). And if it's really a question that is about a specific phone, then move it.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

The threads are moved because not all Android phones use the same User Interface.

For example Motorola phones use a Motoblur, which has its own alarm clock, widgets, etc. HTC phones has a Sense UI, which has its own calendar overlay, clock, etc. Samsung phones has TouchWiz, which has its own calendar overlay, alarm clock etc.

So if someone asks a specific question about a phone, and it's pertinent to that phone, it's best if it is asked in the specific phone forum.

In each of the phone forums, there are "tips & tricks", "troubleshooting", etc, to help users of that phone to find solutions.

If you have issues with specific threads being moved, PM a moderator to look into the issue.

 

[SamFen]

That may be true for some questions, but if you look at the answers that people gave to the questions above, none of them are specific to a certain phone's UI or factory widgets. They are are basic "Android" answers.

I think a generic Android Support forum would be really useful. The very fact that there are 10-15 questions on this forum a day, which all get squirreled away to these tiny forums, means that there are lots of people who come to the front index looking for help, and don't know where else to post. I think if they saw an "Android support" forum those questions would all go there.

It seems silly to keep putting general help questions in these super-specific hardware forums -- forums, by the way, which will only keep multiplying as more versions of phones come out: you already have 200 hardware subforums there, and there will always be more. And are you saying that my having a Droid X means that my question can't be answered by a Droid X2 user?

The point is that having more eyes on a forum makes it more likely that a question will get answered. If someone has a question about email on a phone, or contacts, or the Google calendar, and they just happen to mention in the post that they have a Huawei IDEOS X3, and so a mod goes and puts it in that forum (which has zero posts, btw), no one is going to see it, not even the people with a Huawei IDEOS X5 or a Huawei IDEOS X6.

Again, it's like asking a question about Windows Vista and having your question moved to the "Compaq Presario CQ5700F" forum.

 

[lunatic59]

It's not a perfect solution, but it is better than the alternative, in my opinion. All of those examples you listed could absolutely be device specific. Even among similar manufacturers the menus and settings change. I was just recently trying to help a Samsung owner troubleshoot a USB problem and the solution was very simple, except that the steps to access the menu option to turn off a setting on his Samsung phone was different than Mine, even though we both were running stock versions of 2.2.

I would also note that when a thread gets moved the mod or guide who moves it get's subscribed to that thread and can watch to make sure the question is answered. I have seen more questions go unanswered in the Lounge or Applications section, but when moved to the device specific forum, there are helpful responses relatively quickly.

Also, when a thread gets moved, there are redirects left in the general forum for a specified number of days (amount at the discretion of the mod or guide) so in the first few days it's listed in both places.

Having a general support section might get more eyes on a question but it will also mean more questions. And at the rate questions are posted here, there is a much greater chance of it getting shunted to page 2, 3 or 4 before anyone who has an answer ever sees it. One of the things Google has taught everyone is that there is page one and then the rest.

With specific device sections, users know that most of the information contained in there is pertinent to them as opposed to a general support forum which would be perhaps 20% relevant on a good day.

We do appreciate constructive criticism and are constantly discussing improvements that can be made to the site. Thank you for your input.

 

[novox77]

I cannot speak for the reasons why the threads you referenced were moved. But they are not moved arbitrarily and without thought.

When I see a support question in the lounge, I will try to answer it if I know how. If I can't, I'll take a closer look to see if it's a phone-specific issue or if it's Android-specific. AndroidSPCS is correct that the manufacturer's overlay often modifies the Android version of the app. So a question about the alarm clock isn't necessarily a general Android question UNLESS the phone in question is a Nexus (Google-branded phones that run pure Android) or is running a custom ROM that is pure Android. The alarm/clock app on my HTC phone is nothing like the AOSP (pure Android) version.

If the OP mentions which phone s/he's encountering the problem on, I'll likely send it to that phone's forums, since people over there are more likely to have experienced the same or similar issue. Sometimes I look at what devices are listed under the avatar and make a call that way. If the question truly is general, I might leave it right where it is.

I can't rule out the possibility that sometimes, a post is moved incorrectly because of human error. If you feel a thread is moved to an inappropriate place, feel free to contact a moderator. The easiest way to do that is hit the "Report" button on the OP of the thread in question, and then give a reason why you think the post should belong elsewhere. A moderator will address the report shortly.

 

[ardchoille]

It's also a good idea to move phone-specific threads to the forums that deals with that phone so more users for that phone will see the issue and can help with it. More eyes on the problem usually yields more replies.

 

[woop]

Users with that same phone may also have had a similar problem (and solution); or new users to that particular device may be looking for that same answer you were a few days/weeks/months back that you eventually got answered. And when they search that device forum - they will be able to see your thread; whereas if they tried to search keywords on this entire forum, they'd be given a huge grouping of threads which might make it impossible for them to find an answer. Also, users within that forum, since they own the same device, may be more familiar with the in's and out's of the phone and can give you a more comprehensive answer/solution/etc. to whatever it is you are asking. Keep in mind that Android does suffer from fragmentation and as such, someone giving you an answer that they think may work may do nothing for you other than waste your time. Differences in Android OS (1.6 to 2.3) to UI to hardware buttons can differ tremendously and need to be dealt with on a case by case basis

The phone specific forums were created for a reason - and you are expected to use them. If everyone had the mindset that "no one even reads these subforums, so screw it, I'm going to create a thread in a high traffic area and not care," then there'd be no point in even having those subforums. That is not OK and will not be accepted, as therein lies the problem: people not attempting to use the correct forums because they feel no one will see it. Android Lounge is not a "catch all" to all support questions; and trust me, I've seen many phone specific threads posted in here that just fall to the bottom since no one knows the answer to the question as none of the readers own the device.

Edit: With that said, I'm going to close this as there really isn't much discussion left to debate