It's no problem differentiating between problems with the development tools and the other two categories. If it's a hardware problem, it should include a schematic. If that's not there, there's no point in posting it. If it's listed as a firmware problem, it should included a code listing. If it doesn't, there's no point in posting it. More sophisticated criteria can be applied to such things. Further, perhaps instant posting should be eliminated from the main forum.


There's never been any effort put into "qualifying" new threads. They should, after all, have meaningful titles. They certainly shouldn't have names like "help me" or "project". If they don't include an obvious feature requirement, e.g. schematic or listing, don't post 'em" or, if they have a title that's obviously meaningless (can be selected form a list) don't post 'em.



The place I'd look first would be whether the new thread has a definitive title. That can be determined, in part, from a list of meaningless titles that are already known. After that, one cold look for a schematic, a code listing, or a reference to a limited number of development tools. That would do quite a bit. I'd probably also look for words such as "urgent" or "hurry" to help spot homework requests.

RE