subtlearts
Here's the pattern that I notice: 
 
1) a completely unheard-of member, whether new or of the silent-lurker variety, posts an incoherent micro-rant about how Sonar is useless garbage and Cakewalk are criminals, and usually demands a refund. Almost without exception there is no specific problem mentioned, and no indication that they are looking for a solution. 
 
2) active forum members respond with a mix of bemusement and annoyance, and usually someone picks apart the original post in some level of detail, noting its aggressive tone and lack of specificity.  
 
3) someone else steps up and begins screaming loudly that somehow this proves that the forum is actually a den of fanboy fascists who will not tolerate dissenting voices, or indeed anyone who has the audacity to mention that the software might have any flaws at all, or that the forum is not a blissful utopia of happy collective self-congratulation. The fact that there are at any given moment over a hundred active threads of people discussing bugs, proposing features or improvements we'd like to see, and above all helping each other sort out problems, is immaterial to this poster, who also siezes on any disagreement with their vitriolic rant as proof. 
 
4) the OP however rarely if ever reappears. Their work here is done. 
 
5) some of us can't help but wonder if the OP troll and the anti-fascist champion are in fact the same person. Others wonder if the OP is a mole representing a competitor, or just a fanchild of a competitor's product. 
 
6) Life goes on, we turn our attention back to more interesting/productive pursuits, but the place is a little diminished.
 
I have to say, I think in general it would be better if we just collectively tried to overcome the impulse to respond, and let these threads that are obviously going nowhere slide gracefully down the page into oblivion. I know I've just done the opposite here, but I'm going to try to adopt that stance in future. 
 
EDITED for one spelling correction

 
There are other forums online that call this the "Sonar Forum Beatdown".  Lmao!!!!

subtlearts
Here's the pattern that I notice: 
 
1) a completely unheard-of member, whether new or of the silent-lurker variety, posts an incoherent micro-rant about how Sonar is useless garbage and Cakewalk are criminals, and usually demands a refund. Almost without exception there is no specific problem mentioned, and no indication that they are looking for a solution. 
 
2) active forum members respond with a mix of bemusement and annoyance, and usually someone picks apart the original post in some level of detail, noting its aggressive tone and lack of specificity.  
 
3) someone else steps up and begins screaming loudly that somehow this proves that the forum is actually a den of fanboy fascists who will not tolerate dissenting voices, or indeed anyone who has the audacity to mention that the software might have any flaws at all, or that the forum is not a blissful utopia of happy collective self-congratulation. The fact that there are at any given moment over a hundred active threads of people discussing bugs, proposing features or improvements we'd like to see, and above all helping each other sort out problems, is immaterial to this poster, who also siezes on any disagreement with their vitriolic rant as proof. 
 
4) the OP however rarely if ever reappears. Their work here is done. 
 
5) some of us can't help but wonder if the OP troll and the anti-fascist champion are in fact the same person. Others wonder if the OP is a mole representing a competitor, or just a fanchild of a competitor's product. 
 
6) Life goes on, we turn our attention back to more interesting/productive pursuits, but the place is a little diminished.
 
I have to say, I think in general it would be better if we just collectively tried to overcome the impulse to respond, and let these threads that are obviously going nowhere slide gracefully down the page into oblivion. I know I've just done the opposite here, but I'm going to try to adopt that stance in future. 
 
EDITED for one spelling correction

You deserve an award, both for this briliant summation and your uber-cool user name Tobias! Subtlearts indeed:)

pinger7
I would like my money back

Ok, I'll help you.
 
AFAIK, Cakewalk software are NFR (Not For Resale).
 
See? Easy.
 
Next question?

pinger7
I'm not a Beta tester....while you get rich.
Step up to the plate and prove me wrong.
I started with you because your name was ROLAND...and
now look at us on Forms always trying to resolve your mess.

If I am allowed to make a comment:
I. Its not that easy to qualify one as a beta tester.
ii. It requires command over the subject, process, the software itself, analyzing capability and most of all The Temperament [... not Temper]
iii. This a forum of users, some are very experienced and helpful as well as some are struggling to understand and trying to take the best of the software [like me]
iv. There is a demo version available which I think 90% functional [I am not sure]
v. No one here is sitting with a cashbox to disburse refund, but plenty are here to help in case of queries/problems/questions.
 
 

subtlearts
Here's the pattern that I notice:
 

+1000 Thanks for that, Mr. Tinker. 
 
As much of a chuckle as I got out of the first few responses, I look forward to the day that one of these one-post wonders sinks into oblivion without a single response.
 
I've seldom contributed to the mayhem, myself, and I hereby pledge that this will be the last one I read, much less respond to.

gswitz
I suck and I'd like to return the software.

I'm an embarrassment to the elegant bakeware.

Please post your specs, reboot and ask a proper question if you expect to get help with your problem.
 
Rocky

jih64
But true to form on these forums it is only the posts that praise Cakewalk/Sonar that are accepted, any sign of decent or unhappiness is pounced on by the overzealous hoards.

That is absolutely not true. This forum has helped identify bugs, confirm bugs users have found, and assisted people who came in here with rants not too dissimilar to the one here...but because they engaged after the initial rant, ended up finding solutions.
 
Others have found out that some specific functionality they want isn't possible with SONAR, and gone on to other DAWs...and not all of them feel compelled to issue a dramatic "I'm leaving SONAR" grand exit. Some of them have work to do, and find nothing particularly remarkable about some tools being more appropriate to their needs than others.
 
This is a solutions-oriented forum. However if someone offers nothing that will allow a solution to be proposed, that person is wasting our collective time. Furthermore, no one in this forum has the ability to give someone's money back, so any frustration will be compounded by no solution being available. The correct approach would be to contact Cakewalk tech support. If the problem can't be fixed, it can be escalated to a potential refund.
 
If the person hasn't contacted tech support, that's hardly Cakewalk's fault. 
 
I don't think it is negativity about SONAR per se that upsets people. There are plenty of people here who have negative things to say about SONAR, and they get along just fine because they're not rude, and demonstrate a basic understanding of manners. Some also offer constructive solutions that end up being adopted. Everyone benefits.
 
The person posting here has two choices. Disappear and not respond, which will not provide a solution, or engage in an attempt to find a solution. The reality is that SONAR is indeed a complex program that is highly dependent on its host environment, but it's perfectly capable of working reliably, and the community here is more than happy to try to help people realize that goal. But they can't provide a solution if they have zero idea of the problem they're trying to solve.

I don't have a problem with these threads being locked out.  This guy didn't even ask a question.  "Cakewalk sucks" and "I'm not a beta tester" aren't questions about issues anyone can help to resolve.
 
I have to laugh at the "I bought you because of Roland".  If this guy started 9/14, I thought Cakewalk was spun off from Roland a year prior, but  I could be wrong.  I guess it's possible he had an old boxed product that still had the "Cakewalk by Roland" logo on it.
 
In any event, if you have an issue, just ask a question.  Chances are someone has run into it before.

If he gets his money back I hope he shares it with us.

I haven't read much of this thread, but: I wrote to customer support 2 weeks ago, created a "ticket" and everything. Haven't heard one word. So, the headline did catch my attention. 

pinger7
I'm not a Beta tester....while you get rich.

Hi all,
It has been an entertaining forum to read but looking at the original post it appears that the main issue being raised by pinger7 is contained in the first line, the rest seems to be the poster's emotions taking over and is probably best ignored.  If I read this correctly, pinger7 is unhappy about CW taking his/her money up front and then delivering monthly updates which are at a "post-release Beta stage" and do not meet his/her expectations. 
 
The good news is that CW seems to be focussing more effort on cleaning up the Sonar code over the last few months.  My preference would be to introduce new features quarterly and then tidy these changes up and fix bugs in the intervening months.  That way users who like to participate in the post-release beta effort could do so and the rest could wait till the dust settles. 
 
Cheers

Musikslayer
I haven't read much of this thread, but: I wrote to customer support 2 weeks ago, created a "ticket" and everything. Haven't heard one word. So, the headline did catch my attention. 

That's not normal in my experience. I live outside the USA but my first thought now is to pick up the phone if it's a problem I need to resolve quickly. The support folks are really good to deal with once you have a contact. If you can, pick up the phone to get things rolling. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.