Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | page.title=Android Community |
| 2 | @jd:body |
| 3 | |
| 4 | <div id="qv-wrapper"> |
| 5 | <div id="qv"> |
| 6 | <h2>In this document</h2> |
| 7 | <ol id="auto-toc"> |
| 8 | </ol> |
| 9 | </div> |
| 10 | </div> |
| 11 | |
| 12 | <p>Welcome to the Android community!</p> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 13 | <p>The key to any community is communication. Like most projects, Android |
| 14 | communicates via mailing lists. Because Android is an extremely large |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 15 | project with many components, we have many discussion forums, each focusing on |
| 16 | a different topic.</p> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 17 | <p>Check out the groups below and join any that seem interesting to |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 18 | you. Note that if you're a user looking for help with your Android device, |
| 19 | this page probably isn't for you; you should contact your carrier or retailer |
| 20 | for help with your phone.</p> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 21 | <p>If you're looking for information about building applications for Android, |
| 22 | you can find a separate set of groups at our sister site |
| 23 | <a href="https://developer.android.com/resources/community-groups.html"> |
| 24 | developer.android.com</a>.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 25 | |
| 26 | <h2 id="open-source-project-discussions">Open Source Project discussions</h2> |
| 27 | <ul> |
| 28 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 29 | <p><em>android-platform</em>: |
| 30 | This list is for general discussion about the Android open-source project or |
| 31 | the platform technologies.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 32 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 33 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 34 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-platform"> |
| 35 | android-platform</a></li> |
| 36 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 37 | <a href="mailto:android-platform+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-platform |
| 38 | </a></li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 39 | </ul> |
| 40 | </li> |
| 41 | <li> |
| 42 | <p><em>android-building</em>: |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 43 | Subscribe to this list for discussion and help on building the Android source |
| 44 | code, and on the build system. If you've just checked out the source code and |
| 45 | have questions about how to turn it into binaries, start here.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 46 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 47 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 48 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-building"> |
| 49 | android-building</a></li> |
| 50 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 51 | <a href="mailto:android-building+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-building |
| 52 | </a></li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 53 | </ul> |
| 54 | </li> |
| 55 | <li> |
| 56 | <p><em>android-porting</em>: |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 57 | This list is for developers who want to port Android to a new device. If |
| 58 | you're wondering how to combine the Android source code with your hardware, |
| 59 | this is the right group for you. Discuss here the specifics of porting Android |
| 60 | to individual devices, from obtaining toolchains and merging kernel drivers |
| 61 | all the way to configuring or modifying applications for your specific |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 62 | configuration.</p> |
| 63 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 64 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 65 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-porting"> |
| 66 | android-porting</a></li> |
| 67 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 68 | <a href="mailto:android-porting+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-porting</a> |
| 69 | </li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 70 | </ul> |
| 71 | </li> |
| 72 | <li> |
| 73 | <p><em>android-contrib</em>: |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 74 | This list is for developers who want to contribute code to Android. This is a |
| 75 | working list, and is not appropriate for general discussion. We ask that |
| 76 | general discussion go to android-platform (and contributors to the Android |
| 77 | kernel should go to android-kernel).</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 78 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 79 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 80 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-contrib"> |
| 81 | android-contrib</a></li> |
| 82 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 83 | <a href="mailto:android-contrib+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-contrib</a> |
| 84 | </li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 85 | </ul> |
| 86 | </li> |
| 87 | <li> |
| 88 | <p><em>android-kernel</em>: |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 89 | This list is for developers who want to contribute to the Linux kernel used by |
| 90 | Android devices. If you've downloaded the kernel code, know how to compile it, |
| 91 | and want to write kernel code to support Android, this is your place. This |
| 92 | group is <em>not</em> for user-space topics (see android-platform); people |
| 93 | will shake their fingers at you and call you naughty if you ask user-space |
| 94 | questions here.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 95 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 96 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 97 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-kernel"> |
| 98 | android-kernel</a></li> |
| 99 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 100 | <a href="mailto:android-kernel+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-kernel</a> |
| 101 | </li> |
| 102 | </ul> |
| 103 | <li> |
| 104 | <p><em>android-ota</em>: |
| 105 | This list is for developers working on the Android OTA system (the recovery |
| 106 | image and the scripts that generate OTAs).</p> |
| 107 | <ul> |
| 108 | <li>Subscribe using Google Groups: |
| 109 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-ota"> |
| 110 | android-ota</a></li> |
| 111 | <li>Subscribe via email: |
| 112 | <a href="mailto:android-ota+subscribe@googlegroups.com">android-ota</a></li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 113 | </ul> |
| 114 | </li> |
| 115 | </ul> |
| 116 | |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 117 | <h3 id="audience">Audience</h3> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 118 | <p>These discussion groups are intended for developers working with the Android |
| 119 | platform. Everyone is welcome to join in, provided you follow the community |
| 120 | policies described below. Our users help each other, and many experts post to |
| 121 | these groups, including members of the Open Handset Alliance.</p> |
| 122 | <p>No topic is off-limits, provided it relates to Android in some way. However, |
| 123 | since these are very busy lists, search the archives before posting your |
| 124 | question; you may find your question has already been answered.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 125 | |
| 126 | |
| 127 | <h3 id="getting-the-most-from-our-lists">Getting the Most from Our Lists</h3> |
| 128 | <p>Please consider the following before you post to our lists.</p> |
| 129 | <ul> |
| 130 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 131 | <p><em>Read the <a href="#mailing">Charter for our forums.</a></em> This |
| 132 | explains the (few) rules and guidelines for our community.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 133 | </li> |
| 134 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 135 | <p><em>Search the group archives to see whether your questions have already |
| 136 | been discussed.</em> This avoids time-wasting redundant discussions.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 137 | </li> |
| 138 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 139 | <p><em>Use a clear, relevant message subject.</em> This helps everyone, both |
| 140 | those trying to answer your question as well as those who may be looking for |
| 141 | information in the future.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 142 | </li> |
| 143 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 144 | <p><em>Give plenty of details in your post.</em> Code or log snippets, |
| 145 | pointers to screenshots, and similar details will get better results and make |
| 146 | for better discussions. For a great guide to phrasing your questions, read |
| 147 | <a href="http://www.catb.org/%7Eesr/faqs/smart-questions.html">How to Ask |
| 148 | Questions the Smart Way</a>.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 149 | </li> |
| 150 | </ul> |
| 151 | |
| 152 | <h3 id="mailing">Mailing list rules</h3> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 153 | <p>We love simplicity and hate restrictions, so we keep our policies minimal. |
| 154 | The rules below describe what's expected of subscribers to the Android mailing |
| 155 | lists.</h2> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 156 | |
| 157 | <ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 158 | <li><em>Please be friendly</em>: Showing courtesy and respect to others is a |
| 159 | vital part of the Android culture, and we expect everyone participating in the |
| 160 | Android community to join us in accepting nothing less. Being courteous does |
| 161 | not mean we can't constructively disagree with each other, but it does mean |
| 162 | that we must be polite when we do so. There's never a reason to be |
| 163 | antagonistic or dismissive toward anyone; if you think there is, think again |
| 164 | before you post. Mobile development is serious business, but it's also a lot |
| 165 | of fun. Let's keep it that way. Let's strive to be one of the friendliest |
| 166 | communities in all of open source. |
| 167 | </li> |
| 168 | <li><em>Allowed discussion topics</em>: Most of our groups are for technical |
| 169 | discussions of Android or users helping each other. Generally we don't put |
| 170 | hard restrictions on the topics discussed in the group: as long as the topic |
| 171 | is relevant to Android in some way, it's welcome on our groups. We welcome |
| 172 | announcements and discussion of products, libraries, publications, and other |
| 173 | interesting Android-related news, but please do not cross-post. Post only to |
| 174 | the most relevant group for your message. We even welcome (polite!) discussion |
| 175 | of articles and ideas critical of Android—after all, we can't improve if |
| 176 | we don't listen. |
| 177 | </li> |
| 178 | <li><em>Working Lists</em>: Some of our groups are considered "working lists", |
| 179 | by which we mean that the list is intended to be used in support of the |
| 180 | completion of specific tasks. On these groups, we don't welcome off-topic |
| 181 | conversations, and will generally ask you to take general discussions to a |
| 182 | different list. Since these are lists where people are trying to get work |
| 183 | done, we will be pretty aggressive about keeping the noise level low. We ask |
| 184 | that you respect our contributors' time and keep general discussions to |
| 185 | appropriate lists. |
| 186 | </li> |
| 187 | <li><em>Spam</em>: We hate spam almost as passionately as we love courtesy and |
| 188 | respect, so we reserve the right to limit discussions that amount to spam. |
| 189 | Outright spam will result in the spammer being immediately and permanently |
| 190 | banned from the list. |
| 191 | </li> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 192 | </ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 193 | <p>The most important rule is friendliness. Remember: disrespect and rudeness |
| 194 | are not welcome in our community under any circumstances. We don't have a |
| 195 | formal policy on dealing with troublemakers, and we hope we never need one. |
| 196 | That said, we do pledge to do our best to be fair, and we will always try to |
| 197 | warn someone before banning him or her.</p> |
| 198 | |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 199 | <h3 id="contacting">Contacting the moderators</h3> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 200 | <p>If you see anyone being rude, call them out on it. This is your group too, |
| 201 | and you don't have to accept someone else being disrespectful just because it |
| 202 | wasn't directed at you. Just remember to be polite and courteous yourself! |
| 203 | Don't add fuel to the fire.</p> |
| 204 | <p>But if you see an outrageous violation, want to report spam, feel strongly |
| 205 | about something, or just want to chat, then contact the mailing list owners. |
| 206 | It's what we're here for!</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 207 | |
| 208 | <h3 id="using-email-with-google-groups">Using email with Google Groups</h3> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 209 | <p>Instead of using the <a href="https://groups.google.com/">Google groups</a> |
| 210 | site, you can use your email client of choice to participate in the mailing |
| 211 | lists. To subscribe to a group without using the Google Groups site, use the link |
| 212 | under "subscribe via email" in the lists above.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 213 | <p>To set up how you receive mailing list postings by email:</p> |
| 214 | <ol> |
| 215 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 216 | <p>Sign into the group via the Google Groups site. For example, for the |
| 217 | android-platform group you would use |
| 218 | <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-platform"> |
| 219 | https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/android-platform</a>.</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 220 | </li> |
| 221 | <li> |
| 222 | <p>Click "My membership" on the right side.</p> |
| 223 | </li> |
| 224 | <li> |
| 225 | <p>Under "How do you want to read this group?" select one of the email options.</p> |
| 226 | </li> |
| 227 | </ol> |
| 228 | <h2 id="android-on-irc">Android on IRC</h2> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 229 | <p>Android has a presence on IRC via |
| 230 | <a href="http://freenode.net/">freenode</a>. We maintain two official IRC |
| 231 | channels on <a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/">irc.freenode.net</a> (access via |
| 232 | the web at <a href="http://webchat.freenode.net/">freenode webchat</a>)</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 233 | <ul> |
| 234 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 235 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android">#android</a> - dedicated to |
| 236 | general Android discussion and porting concerns</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 237 | </li> |
| 238 | <li> |
| 239 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android-dev">#android-dev</a> - dedicated to discussion about writing Android applications</p> |
| 240 | </li> |
| 241 | </ul> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 242 | <p>The community also uses several <em>unofficial</em> channels that are not not officially moderated or managed. The Open Handset Alliance does not endorse unofficial channels and there's no warranty express or implied, so use them at your own risk. Here's a list of a few unofficial channels (many more may exist):</p> |
| 243 | |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 244 | <ul> |
| 245 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 246 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android-firehose">#android-firehose</a> - |
| 247 | displays in real-time the commits to the Android Open Source Project</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 248 | </li> |
| 249 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 250 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android-fr">#android-fr</a> - pour discuter |
| 251 | d'Android en français</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 252 | </li> |
| 253 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 254 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android-offtopic">#android-offtopic</a> - |
| 255 | for, well, off-topic discussions</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 256 | </li> |
| 257 | <li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 258 | <p><a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/android-root">#android-root</a> - for |
| 259 | discussion related to off-label uses of hardware</p> |
Robert Ly | 35f2fda | 2013-01-29 16:27:05 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 260 | </li> |
Heidi von Markham | 70ec4de | 2015-03-06 13:15:35 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 261 | </ul> |