Update from the update... OK got it to work - just not in IE (used Chrome).
 
Thanks..

I think the suggestion of adding more moderators might work well and will allow the Baker's to spend more time fine-tuning SONAR however, the suggestion of adding Community Forum Moderators has the potential to make matters worse ~ one example, moderator decisions will indeed be scrutinized by several or more fellow users; this certainly has the potential to escalate issues as indeed occurred in the past and this was a moderator action by the Baker's, so imagine if this occurred involving a Community-Moderator handpicked. I think the saying "You can't please everyone" has claws in many areas. That said, seriously, just considering possible scenarios.

Alternative Solutions? There are several or more, for starters; anyone who participates on the forums can be part of the solution,
 
I suggest;   

1) The objective is to focus on the best forum policy of all and that is to avoid any form of enmity; it's best to ignore (don't reply), just simply  move along. It be ideal if a reminder notice can be displayed on all forums sections; if possible, displayed just above the compose/message section of the forum.

2) Forum modification if possible; when using the report feature the comment in question is Highlighted (/); to remind users to ignore and move along however, there needs to be a clear message that this report feature can only be used to report obviously serious violation of the TOS. In addition, also remind users that moderator action may take up to 14 days (or state whatever time-frame that best suits a busy Baker's schedule), users should be more considerate (patient)!

3) If the Baker's decide to add more moderators, particularly Community-Moderators? I strongly suggest these types of moderators use a separate forum ID that must be kept confidential and all direct forum intervention requires the use of copy/paste messages in a accordance to admin rules; the objective for example, moderators clearly demonstrate they are strictly following the Baker's rules. User-Moderators should not engage in further discussions particularly after action is taken because this has the potential to unintentionally cause more problems than it's worth, as explained earlier (scenarios). With all that said and considered, this should make the moderating process easier and keep it strictly professional.  

4) {gulp} {deep breath} now for a more dramatic alternative suggestion/solution:

. Archive the forum and; 

. Consider the greater benefits of using the best Blog software you can find that will allow the community more forum-like options, better ways to interact and much easier options to find solutions.

A well planned, categorized and searchable database based on a Community Blog. There are many plugin tweaks to meet just about any requirements, and there are many advantages to a community blog such as;  

. Each member manages (moderates) their own blog page for example; offensive comment? Flag it; this will hide the comment from view (only the user of their page and the Baker's can view flagged comments. Other users can flag a comment but in this case it's hidden from that user. Flags allows the Baker's to consider if further action is required e.g. (1) serve a warning notice, or (2) suspend account.

. Word and Spam filters addon (Blogware plugin).

. Flag (hide/report) and for possible further action by the Baker's.

. Rewards i.e. Star Rating, also added to searchable filter options.

. Embed Google Advance Search; http://site: {url} by default, which will beef up search options, therefore user's shouldn't have any issues finding exactly what they want.

. Of course categories are useful, further enhancement / expansion of options is possible, there are probably a ton of useful blogware plugins available to meet requirements.  

. Of course the ability to embed YouTube videos and/or use the blogware uploader plugin.  

. Further Blogware plugins such as, User Profile (profile photo, photo gallery, audio and video player, biography, personal interests, link to user's official site and favorite list: blogs, comments and fellow blog pages.

. Blog Feeds and Sharing plugins, apps/options; link (embed) on other sites or shared on social networks; this also helps spread the good word about Cakewalk; shared content includes a link back to the main Cakewalk's site. Anyway, in some way as it is now, sharing forum content is possible i.e (link) included in the url cakewalk.com/topic/post.

. Summary: Of course these are all just my suggestion, the overall focus by default should primarily be Cakewalk products and support, this gets priority by default; such as an update feed that is displayed in a section (page frame) on all pages with filter options. Select categories and filter by e.g. date and add Blogware plugin for star rating. Yes, options for all topics and comments to be rated or flagged.

That said, I'm sure almost all users will try their best. So, every year Cakewalk as an incentive, have a 'Baker's Award', for all users to not only behaving in a civil manner but also strive to contribute great content and support. In addition to an award; possibly receive a Baker's coffee cup? If none available, a black T-Shirt will do.  


In regards to the forum update/changes ~ I also suggest categories / forums (though some unchanged) as follows:

Cakewalk Support:
- Store and Site issues (including how to contact Cakewalk)
- Special Announcements (i.e. reminder of great deals / links/img)
- Cakewalk TV (i.e. Video Tutorials)!

Feedback and Report:
- Feature Requests (for Cakewalk products)  
- Problem Reports (i.e confirmed /#: error dialog. User license required to post in this forum)

Products:
 - SONAR Producer, Studio, Essential & Base
 - Music Creator
 - Cakewalk Instruments
 - Cakewalk Hardware (including V-Studio, Audio & MIDI devices)
 - Classic Cakewalk (including pyro, Pro Audio, Kinetic & Project5)
 
Community:
 - Coffee House  (off-topic, no religion, no politics, no blurting, no foofaraw, oh and... no snoring and remember, the last one out must feed the dog becan and turn off the lights)!  

 - Songs (critiques of songs and performances, including discussions about e.g. composing, arrangements and music theory)

- Music Career
(helpful topics relating to film placement, events/bookings, marketing/promotion, media/press and distribution.(include a sticky-topic; tutorials, news articles and links to reputable sites)

- Studio  Technicalities
(helpful topics regarding room construction/acoustics to studio gear setup and recording techniques; tracking, mixing and mastering, include a sticky-topic; tutorials and links to reputable mastering services)

- Hardware (helpful topics, components, builds, tweaks/tips, include a sticky-topic; tutorials and list of reputable/professional builders)

- Software (helpful topics regarding audio, graphics, photography and video; Relating to the art of A/V production (include a sticky-topic; Baker's and user's submitted tutorials)) 


Anyway, just tossing in my 2 cents worth of suggestions. Can't please everybody! Seriously, I'm not entirely interested in forums and social networks (no offense intended by that remark, no doubt this is a great (best) community compared to others). I also have my health and family to consider. I've had more than enough years of experienced as a licensed security officer and forum moderator. I feel sorry for anyone taking up the task of being a forum cop lol! I would always say to the police; I wish people would simply use common sense and behave in a civil manner {sigh}! Oh well!

So, either keep the forum as is with some changes or move to a more pleasantly visual and engaging platform; specifically a Community Blog format (multi-user blog), it be interesting since each user blog will have their unique style of presentation; some may delve more into topics such as, guitar building, studio tips, or computer builds whereas others will of course be devoted to sharing great tips about SONAR, along with video tutorials.

Disclaimer: I may have typos and grammar errors in my post, although I try to explain my suggestions as best I can there might be unintended miss-wording, followed by misunderstandings {ahem}, an unfortunate side effect {cough}, likely to cause a paradox {uh'oh}, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the space time continuum. Oh well {sigh}! Sorry about that! 
.

Very thoughtful post Songcraft. Clearly you put a lot of thought into it. 

I have asked in the past that we try to keep the forum family friendly.  
There are still posters that think it funny to allude to all kinds of sexual connotations that just don't seem to be necessary in a public forum.  
Racial and ethnic slurs, political jabs, and other non-music related comments seem out of place here as well.
 
The issue is not one of limiting one's free speech but it is of making sure that appropriate language is observed so that people of all ages that could or will read on this forum are not offended.  I am sure there are other forums where it will be welcome but I just don't see it appropriate here.  For what is offensive, we only need to refer to the TOS for what Cake has written terms for.  
 
For the few times this actually occurs, if the offensive language is not permitted by our TOS, then it should be addressed by Cake or the new moderators or the TOS should be changed to allow it (I hope not).  This forum is very good now for people of all ages, ethnicity, and background but the times where it is not needs some attention.  I hope the new moderators can help with these kinds of issues or at least bring it to Cake's attention.  It is sad that these kind of issues exist at all.    

I guess I must be missing all this inappropriate content.  Any sexual innuendo is mild enough to be on daytime tv and far below what any kid would see on prime time tv daily. Considering the forum has language filters that already censor completely harmless words that may contain letters of possibly objectionable words. In fact, i have seen more sexual innuendo in modern animated films. There are occasional posts that venture into politics but that is mostly in the coffeehouse area and not a big deal because that area is mostly filled with a fairly homogenous demographic that probably considers their political talk "normal" .  Even some of the more bizarre rants are more weird than political.  Again, maybe I am missing something. I think "family friendly" is highly subjective anyway.  "Family friendly" to a 50+ conservative white male from the bible belt is probably different than what  a 22 year old liberal female Berkely grad considers family friendly. I struggled with this issue when I was responsible for policing content on a tv station.  I finally settled on allowing anything that would not be censored on daytime network tv.  Bottom line is it seems like a request to address a problem that does not actually exist.

I worry that mods would ruin a good thing here.

I think we do a good job of policing ourselves. We get out of hand sometimes. But what family doesn't? And that's what we are like here, family.

Mods to get rid of spam? Ok. No problem.

Mods to "moderate" the users? Nope. Bad idea.

My worries Mr. Anderton is that you know how to handle forums. You have been doing it for years and I've seen you in action. What happens when you are replaced? 

InstrEd
My worries Mr. Anderton is that you know how to handle forums. You have been doing it for years and I've seen you in action.

 
Fortunately, it's a learnable skill. If Cakewalk wanted me to provide basic training to the other hosts/mods, I'd be happy to do so (another reason for a private forum).
 

What happens when you are replaced?

 
I don't know if CW has plans to replace me, but the forum runs so smoothly it doesn't require much of my time...I can keep doing what I'm doing if requested.
 
 

paulo
Don't try to fix what isn't broken.

I admit that removing typos, deleting duplicate posts, initiating more threads, and providing another conduit to Cakewalk ("hey Noel, there's a thread you should check out") don't qualify as fixing things that are high-level "broken." But, I do think they qualify as improvements. While I agree it's not good practice to fix things that aren't broken, I do believe there is always room for improvement. 
 
 
Also, think of all the people who come into this forum asking questions that are more appropriate for other forums, specifically because this one gets more traffic and is more likely to furnish an answer. If people could count on more answers and focused dialog in all the forums, that would be an improvement as well.
 
Forums with a strong tendency toward self-policing are the ideal environment for moderators. They don't have to spend time being hallroom monitors, which gives them more time to be hosts. It seems premature to dismiss something with at the least the potential to be beneficial. In the first post, Willy specific mentions doing this for a trial period. If it sucks, you stop doing it. If it's great, you keep it.
 
Maybe I'm just naive, but I can't imagine that people drawn from this community would create a doomsday scenario of incompetence and agenda-driven vendettas. Nor do I think they would create a utopian forum that dazzles people into a state of mind-boggling amazement. Maybe Cakewalk has more grandiose goals, but I think a modest improvement in the user experience would be sufficient.
 
 
 
 

I'd rather talk about forum options rather than crime and punishment.
 
Like, how about the forum makes it easy to post pictures in support of our posts. I have lots of cool things that this crowd would find interesting but posting pictures is a pain right now.

One thing's for sure - I personally don't want to relive the nightmare of how the previous (and thankfully, now departed) regime at MF screwed up Harmony Central (twice!!). But in this case, I think Cakewalk as a company is very respectful of the community. They know it's a huge asset for users. Keep in mind the first two sentences that kicked off this thread:
 
"Today we'd like to share with you our first round of ideas for some changes to the forum and get your feedback. We understand that many of you call this home so we want to give everyone time to provide input or point out any horrible ideas we may have conjured up." 
 
It really doesn't sound to me like they want to establish a police state, nor would they want any moderators to do so on their behalf. 

 
I'm all for moderation, but I think fixing spelling mistakes is a bit much.
 

CakeAlexS
If you want to see an example of bad moderation go to the ZoneAlarm forums. It is supposedly a community forums but in effect all community discussions around the product are deleted unless it is a user error issue that they can give a simple answer, and moderators feel they should be the only people answering posts. They did have independent mods once but a lot of them left in disgust.

Yeah but, it IS ZoneAlarm. They don't want anyone to know just how terrible the product really is.
 
Regards,
Dan

Anderton

jm24
Forum moderators should NEVER be allowed to mark any response as an answer. ONLY the OP should be allowed to identify what actually was useful.

The problem with that is there's no guarantee that after the problem's solved, the person will come back and mark it answered. Sometimes they'll even say in the thread "thanks, that solved my problem" but not indicate the issue was solved or answered. This makes it more difficult for the people who need to find answers to the same problem.
 

How about (Moderator Suggestion) vs. (Solved or Answered)? The reason I suggest this, is that even the best Moderators are not directly connected to the OP, and therefore still subject to an incorrect assumption in the solution.

Paul P
I'm all for moderation, but I think fixing spelling mistakes is a bit much.

I fix them only in the topic headlines. It just doesn't look good to scan the list of topics and see misstykes. People might think the person doing the post is stoopid insted of understanding English is not they're native language.