In response to this thread, among others, by angry members who want friendlier forums by posting angry threads I have taken the liberty to try to summarize what I think they're actually trying to say.

I have compiled them to a list of guidelines for making maemo.org a friendlier place to visit and ask questions (and yes I know it's been discussed earlier but as shown previously telling people to search it doesn't go down too well, and perhaps it shouldn't):

1. Don't just tell people to google their problems, at least not without tips on what to search for.
Chances are that they've tried this before posting, but perhaps they didn't quite know what to search or the answers were too technical for them or whatever.

2. Let's try to use the same sort of feedback that people use to friends.
It's perfectly OK, in my opinion, to have some sarcasm as long as it's followed by something friendly and useful. don't just post sarcastic remarks, it's just as unrewarding as posting angry rants.

3. If you want help ask for it in a civilized manner, please.
Understand that the people in this forum wrote a lot of the programs and infrastructure that you're using, so they can help you a lot better than most other people could. But as a general rule, don't start a plea for help by insulting the people who can help you.

I keep it at three because I think that'll be enough for significant improvement and also you won't have to read a three page post.

Hope this helps clear up the the swamp of angry posts from people who want friendlier posts, and the angry posts that sometimes follow them.

EDIT: I really didn't think it had to be said but (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=38318)...

4. Please try to be constructive with posts and don't be openly hostile to the community, its members, its rules etc. be critical if something isn't working well and you think it can be improved, but not in a hostile manner.

Oh, for crying out loud!

We're turning into a society of Politically Correct Vaginas! God forbid, someone gets their widdle (little) feelings hurt on the Internet.

Well...

I'm working on a program to bring more developers into the Maemo fold. Community outreach stuff. Raising the maturity level should help in that regard, which will benefit us all.

That said, I realize many of my own posts haven't helped. They've been made in frustration over moderation policies, but that doesn't excuse it. Mea culpa.

I'm against political correctness, but I'm definitely for more civility all around.

Well I'm not saying that it has to be PC, you can post about whatever you'd like, it is an open forum after all, but please let's try to keep the posts above the waist at least!

I've made posts myself that haven't always followed these guidelines when I've been frustrated or just tired, but making the effort to go back and put something useful in the next day helps a lot I think.

If and when N900 will get more popular, I hope new communities will raise. Forums targetted to plain users and maybe for commercial software developers are the kind that will take some noise away from this forum. People will be less frustraited, since same topics are not opened over and over again...

I'd like a "No Thanks" button to be added. Then the silent majority could meta-moderate as seen on other forums. First candidate post: #2 in this thread

Yawn....

And I'd like for some people to grow more than the two brain cells that seem to be having enough of a hard time regulating their breathing, let alone other mental functions necessary for daily use. But chances are, it will never happen for some.

How about you go sign up to be a moderator and actually moderate, instead of "meta-moderating" silently?

I still think this is a non-problem. We have 29,074 registered users, and maybe every other month or so I see one of them complaining about how bad the tone in this forum is. So that would be 6 complaints a year... let's be generous and make it 12... and let's also assume it's 12 distinct users who complain. Out out 29,074.

I admit there may be a few forum members here who just don't follow the rules of civilized communications. Well, you can always ignore these. I think there's currently two or three nicknames on my ignore list, and that was it. Again, two or three out of 29,074.

What I'm trying to say is yes, there may be single incidents that you could point your finger at and say "Here! Look! That wasn't nice!" - but compared to the mass of posts generated here each day, it's not worth dealing with them more than we do now.

I think this is a good idea, generally. Question is if it is necessary, though.

Well the 'Thanks!' button doesn't get used much by most people but would be nice to see a pair of 'Agree' and 'Disagree' to reduce the number of 'Me too' and 'No way' posts that appear.