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Gary1980Arb
Channel Surfer

Lack of Assistance = Frustration

I have had several instances which I desperately needed assistance.
At the same time I've accidentally developed new codes that would benefit a lot of co-developers.

That being said: The SDK documentation is about as useful as toilet paper to a newbie..
The lack of assistance and sharing is the worst in this forum than I've EVER seen ANYWHERE !!
It is as if everyone is out for themselves, thinking they have "The Golden Goose".. Simply throw a bunch of Public Domain content together, get Adrise to monetize it, and sit back and draw in the cash!!

I am willing to share what I've learned in exchange for assistance on issues that I have yet to overcome.

TOGETHER, we could make some Wonderful Networks, simply by assisting each other and helping each other.
Roku would prosper and so would we...

End of Speech.
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7 REPLIES 7
TheEndless
Channel Surfer

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

Not really sure what you're referring to. Looking back at your posting history, 5 of your 8 posts are thanking people for their help. Only one post is actually asking for help, and you received a response to that one, that you subsequently thanked the person for (a week later). The 7th post was a response to that thank you post stating that you messed something up (4 days later). And your 8th post (over a week and a half later) is this one condemning the community as being non-helpful and non-sharing, then stating that you have code that could be helpful to others, but you won't share it unless you get help (kind of hypocritical, don't you think?), oddly without describing what you actually need help with.

There are a number of us on these forums that try to help out whenever we can. If you need help, ask. If you don't get a response, or you need more help, then expand on the problem and ask again. Insulting the people you're asking to help you probably isn't going to get you very far.
My Channels: http://roku.permanence.com - Twitter: @TheEndlessDev
Instant Watch Browser (NetflixIWB), Aquarium Screensaver (AQUARIUM), Clever Clocks Screensaver (CLEVERCLOCKS), iTunes Podcasts (ITPC), My Channels (MYCHANNELS)
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Gary1980Arb
Channel Surfer

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

I mean no disrespect.

As the Title suggests.. Simply frustration.
I was merely venting over the fact that there is so very little co-operation in the form of code snippets and "Layman's terms" assistance.
By answering someone with "look at page 22 of the SDK documentation" is of no benefit to the beginner.

By searching over the forum, I found numerous, actually an Enormous amount of unanswered requests for help.
Those requests, I know, if answered, would have helped many others.. I have seen several requests pertaining to the same thing.
As far as sharing what little I've learned, I sent the individual's PM's with my info in the hopes that it would help.

Again, I mean no disrespect, and I apologize to anyone who might be offended.
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RokuJoel
Binge Watcher

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

When we have time, we attempt to answer all specific questions. Some questions are more general, and some questions seem like they would be best answered by a member of the community. Some questions are posed in such a way that it is nearly impossible to understand what the author is asking. Some older questions went unanswered because of staffing issues here at Roku.

If you have a specific question you would like answered, please ask, as clearly as possible and I or someone else will attempt to answer it. If you don't get an answer in a reasonable number of days, then send a private message to myself, RokuRobB or RokuKevin.

- Joel
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Solisive
Visitor

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

On the contrary, I find the community here to be very responsive and helpful. It helps sometimes to just read the forum threads, you find alot of useful tips etc that you will no doubt be able put into action down the road.
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Mr__E
Channel Surfer

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

I've only just started, and I agree, the documentation is subpar, and the community here is small. But we're willing to help.

Might I suggest that as you go along, try to keep a blog or something of the things you had to do and figure out to get your projects working? That way you could save others some frustration.

Just a thought.
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onevoisses
Visitor

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

This is Unfair Statement.
I find this to be one of the best development platform and well documentated you can find.
Let me say that if you come from even a basic programming background you should be able to see whats happening.
What you need to do is chose an example then follow the flow of the documentation and you will see how to develope your channel.
The greatest problem you will have is when you want to make your channel custom to your design.
Nobody can do that for you and you can only cut and paste a limited amount of the code.
this where the forum comes into play,You ask questions relevant to where you need the help.

[quote="RokuJoel"]If you have a specific question you would like answered, please ask, as clearly as possible and I or someone else will attempt to answer it. If you don't get an answer in a reasonable number of days, then send a private message to myself, RokuRobB or RokuKevin.
I have found this to be 100% true.Joel and Chris was precise in helping me and I could move forward.
My greatest enemy is/was time like I wanted my channel to have a loading screen similar to WSJ,Netflix etc.Then bam one day i saw RokuRobB wrote an article about it.

All I am saying,You will never find all your answers in any manual,documentation etc.,It all lies with your dedication,compiling running testing and asking questions.

I myself sometimes read what I wrote in my earlier questions i asked on the forum,I said to myself,"boy,i was dumb" but non the less destuk,endless and many others never consider me this way.So ask question someone will answer and stop complaining.

Compliments to the team of Roku engineers,staff and forum collegues.
Channel: Goaheadmission
O/S : Linux
Home media: MYTHROKUPLAYER With Homerun
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joetesta
Roku Guru

Re: Lack of Assistance = Frustration

I agree with the above - I've developed apps on several platforms and of all of them, Roku was one of the better documented and easier to learn and develop on. There is a learning curve, you can't expect to launch an app in a week, maybe 4 if you are dedicated.
if you want a challenge in frustration you should try developing something for BD-J
aspiring
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