Well - I appreciate ANY efforts that anyone makes towards making software work better for all using it, whether Sonar support staff, the second string of Sonar employees trying to get the backlog under control, the willing forumites, or whomever.  That said, I've rarely gotten responses that fixed a problem from mailing support or filling out their online forms.  I've only done it a few times over the years.
 
I used to be a lot more active here with assisting others, providing tutorials, etc, but haven't had as much time to spend on this as I used to.
 
I currently have two issues in the problem reporting system.  They are both issues that have existed through many versions that I can't imagine others are not having - in fact I've seen a few posts about them without remedy.  They are not show stopper bugs, but seem like the kind of thing that would have gotten fixed because they both represent a problem with a feature that plain doesn't work.
 
Both are about (midi) Remote Control.  One of them allows the remote control to function in that the on-screen images change when the control is changed, but the things that they are supposed to have an effect on do nothing. In this case, it's the send on/off of a channel.  Map it to a button on my PCR800 and it doesn't turn the send on and off.  the GUI shows it being turned on/off, but audio is unaffected.
 
The second one is because the first one didn't work.  Using the same midi Remote Control concept, I have assigned a button on the PCR800 to toggle the mute on my hardware output.  I have one output for speakers, one for headphones.  I have the same remote set to each with the toggle initially set so that they are opposite of each other (one pair muted, one not).  This completely works and makes it very each for me to change from speakers to headphones with a single button.
 
Unfortunately, none of the mid Remote Control assignments are saved with the project. So every time I open any project (including my scratchpad), I have to remember to add the Remote Control assignment to both of the main buttons.  I wouldn't use the feature for anything else because it would be rendered pretty useless if I had to try to remember a bunch of CC information and which controls I had it set to.
 
Is it a bug?  Seems pretty dumb that they would intentionally not choose to save this info with the project.  A complex setup would get completely out of hand.  And the things I'm trying to control are not in ACT, so I can't just use that, which I'd prefer, but they aren't there.
 
All of this comes down to the response to my problem report when I check it:
 
Status Information
The current status of your report is
New        
This is a new problem report. It has not yet been reviewed by Cakewalk.
 
I submitted the report on 8/20/16.  That is 16 days ago and the report isn't even acknowledged.  Since I run a technical support company with a ticketing system, I can say if we had a ticket that wasn't even acknowledged as existing for 16 days, there would be meetings and resolutions, or at least communication.
 
Sorry for the rant.  Just showing ACTUAL experience.

Hi Blades,
 
Its actually not uncommon that the report isn't acknowledged for 2 weeks. A report is only marked as such after someone in support has actually had a chance to verify the behavior and this was the case even before the current backlog. Given the backlog its not surprising that it hasn't been verified since they hare handling immediately actionable issues like account problems first.
 
I found your two problem reports and we'll investigate them. There is no guarantee that they will be fixed immediately, but incidentally we have another very similar issue that was fixed last week so I will ask the developer to take a look at this one in case its related. Remote control data is most definitely saved with the project so your other issue is probably some kind of corner case.
 
 

Is there anything in the works that will allow us to check on our support cases?
http://forum.cakewalk.com/checking-status-of-Cakewalk-Technical-Support-Cases-m3400308.aspx

telecharge
nor would it be to the average Cakewalk customer.

If you are that guy who knows the three W's that apply to the average Cakewalk customer, you should apply for the position of Marketing Manager.
 
{fakeSnarkyRant}
It always amazes me how someone can so boldly claim they know what the average Cakewalk customer is like and how they think.
{/fakeSnarkyRant}
 
BTW I think I'm an average Cakewalk customer. I use their software as a hobbyist and the OPs assertion seems spot on to me.
 
 

bapu
BTW I think I'm an average Cakewalk customer. I use their software as a hobbyist and the OPs assertion seems spot on to me.

Yeah, with nearly 72,000 posts, you're the average Cakewalk customer.
 
No one has provided anything other than anecdotal evidence, but go ahead and pick apart a sentence fragment if it makes you feel good.

telecharge,
 
My post count dictates what kind of Cakewalk customer I am? Really? So now you claim to know who I am? Whatever.
 
WRT to anecdotal evidence of others... maybe you you should read your concluding section of your sentence again. 
 
"nor would it be to the average Cakewalk customer."
 
Where is you empirical/statistical evidence of who and what is an average Cakewalk customer and how the OP's assertion (actually it was just his viewpoint) is overwhelmingly not shared by that class of users?
 
It's one thing to simply not agree with the OP but to make a broad brush stroke statement about who Cakewalk's customers are does not seem like playing devil's advocate to me. It seems like you've decided your view is inherently shared by (the majority of?) Cakewalk's average customers without providing any evidence to support your assertion.
 
Had you left out that portion of your statement, IMO, you would have stated your view/opinion eloquently.
 
Again I will assert that I believe I am, IMO, an average Cakewalk customer. That's all it is. A belief. 
 
 

bapu
Where is you empirical/statistical evidence of who and what is an average Cakewalk customer and how the OP's assertion (actually it was just his viewpoint) is overwhelmingly not shared by that class of users?

 
A fact is not a viewpoint. Do you need to reread the OP?
 

bapu
Again I will assert that I believe I am, IMO, an average Cakewalk customer. That's all it is. A belief.

 
And it is my belief that the OP's claims are obvious to no one. That's not to say they aren't true.
 
I'm not into arguing on the internet, so I'll ask this as simply as I can...
 
How would someone who needs Cakewalk support know what the backlog is and how long it will take to get support?

No one can answer that entire question. Cake may know how many cases are in the books, but the resolution time per case will vary. I think the fact that Noel is online today and offering assistance to users backs up the OP's statement. There are visible signs that these folks are dedicated and working hard on the problem. It couldn't be any easier to see that that.
 
Perhaps there should be a bell that gets rung when a case is closed. We could be discussing things and every so often a little bell would ring. Just like It's a Wonderful Life.

But Noel is not "lots of people." That sentence in the OP seems like an apple for teacher for Noel and Craig. Not that I don't appreciate the help they provide, because I do.

telecharge
No one has provided anything other than anecdotal evidence...

For the record, I don't consider the following anecdotal: I know for a fact that Noel and others at Cakewalk who are not "support people" have pitched in with support (Noel did 41 cases in one day last weekend), as has Gibson's support team, and there are two new support people who have started. Also, a store glitch was discovered that caused massive amounts of problems, and that is either being fixed or has been fixed. Given all that, I would be shocked if the backlog wasn't diminishing.