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Okay, I've been cruising these boards in one form or another for nearly a year now and I've learned a couple of things that I think most, if not all of us, would benefit from having posted in writing. I'm gonna go ahead and called them "Rules of Crackberry". For lack of a better explanation, they are exactly what they sound like. Before you start posting some random rumor, or asking some question, or starting some discussion or topic, I suggest you read these rules and rethink what you are gonna say or do. It's not that we don't want to hear it, or answer your question, it's just that there's a fairly good chance that it's either been said before, been asked before, or been posted before. Nevertheless, here they are....
Rule #1: Do not believe the CSRs at whatever store you are in or over the phone. Cellphone CSRs are the used car salesmen of the 21st century. The training they undergo is sales training, not "how can I be the most helpful to customers who don't intend to spend a dime today" training. Most of them are good people of course, but they aren't there to make you happy. For most intents and purposes, assume everything they say is a fabrication and get your insider information elsewhere. Harsh? Yes. More reliable? Yes.
Rule #2: No, you can't use your GSM ATT/Tmo Bold on a CDMA Verizon/Sprint network. Generally speaking, you wouldn't be asking if you could, if you had the technical knowledge and skill to do it in the first place (aka if you have to ask, you can't do it). This holds true for just about any phone. If you live by the understanding that GSM and CDMA are not compatible, you won't be failed (there are exceptions...I know, but this is a general rule. If you know the exceptions, the rule isn't intended for you)
Rule #3: You need a data plan. I have no idea why you would want a Blackberry without a data plan. It's like getting a car, but never putting gas in it. Occasionally some bug happens or something gets messed up and some lucky SOB gets data service while not paying for it, but you better bet as soon as his or her provider finds out, he/she is gonna be getting billed for it (and if they are feeling particularly badass, they'll charge for the unpaid data). The rest of us have to pay for our data plans (and they generally are never over $35 a month). If price is the issue, you probably shouldn't have purchased a Blackberry in the first place.
Note: It's possible to do it through Wifi if your phone has it,
however most carriers charge for that or require a data plan as long
as the blackberry is activated on it.
Rule #4: There's a 50% chance whatever is wrong with your BB can be fixed with a battery pull. It's pretty much a good idea to do it once a week anyway.
Rule #5: Cite your source. If you make some wild claim about some wild phone that no one else has heard a word about, you'd better have more than just "A friend of mine said...." This isn't the Washington post. There are no ethics about turning over sources. The more you cite where you heard something (ie: link or picture or whatever), the more reliable people will find you to be and as a result, the more likely you won't get flamed by someone like yours truly.
Rule #6: Please attempt to utilize the native tongue. The number 4 denotes a numerical value somewhere between the numbers 3 and 5, not a 3 letter preposition meaning the purpose or object of. Capital letters belong at the beginning of a sentence and the first letter of proper nouns such as Blackberry or Jack Daniels. A period belongs at the end of probably 70% of sentences you will write. Much like rule #5, the more you follow this rule, the more people will respect you and listen to what you have to say. No one is asking for perfection, just effort.
Rule #7: Use the search tool. While I am sure many of us could talk at length about Blackberries, there is an extraordinarily good chance that whatever question you have has been asked and answered by a fine crackberry addict before. If you search and still can't find an answer, give Google a shot. I found my great grandfather's college graduation photo on there, so there is an equally awesome chance the answer to your question is floating around the internet already. If you can't find an answer that satisfies you, then by all means ask.
Rule #8: Type, reread, edit, post. Follow this and you will make life much easier for everyone. In fact, use rule #7 before making it to step 1 of this rule.
So there you have it, 8 simple rules for reading and using Crackberry. Follow them and you will pretty much be good to go. If anyone has any amendments, please say so and we can see if they work
Last edited by Norsk; 01-25-09 at 06:02 AM.
01-25-09 05:39 AM - Yeah, I think this is pretty much useless. You spent your time on something that nobody is really going to pay attention to. But, Thanks for spending your time none-the-less.
You're always going to have people who are new to the CB world, who are going to want to explore. (knowingly or unknowingly) This site needs to be more open and not so harsh on people. It's the "interwebz" people. Calm down.01-25-09 07:51 AM
