Anderton
I started this thread because I wanted to encourage forumites to follow THambrecht's example, give him and the forum props for their detective work, and I wanted Cakewalk to take better advantage of what this forum has to offer. I'm sorry I ever started it, which is why I've cut back my participation in the forum recently, and will scale it back further going forward since I apparently cannot convey what I want to say with sufficient clarity. 

I didn't have any trouble understanding what you were saying, Craig.  And I'm sure there are many more of the same opinion.  I do hope you stick around!
 
Paul

This is how you do it.  "My Splat is broken".
 
Yup...
 
LOL!

I hope you do not cut back participation in the forum Craig. You are such a valuable member and knowledgeable resource. It would be a terrible loss if even one person misses some info that you share, and insight you reveal, or a problem that you solve. Or any number of other positive contributions you have to give.
 
The perpetual pessimistic crowd will always be there, somewhere, in some capacity, but I'd wager they are far outnumbered by the users who are genuinely looking for an enriched SONAR experience. Let us not be diminished by the negative Nancy's, rather let us keep SONAR moving forward with positive interaction and feedback like you shared with us in the beginning of this thread.
 
You are not alone brother,
-Charles

abacab

Sycraft
People should also take note that the best way to get bugs fixed is to have a reproduce-able method for causing them that you can thoroughly explain and that works all the time. QA for more places isn't lazy, stupid, or uncaring, it is just that issues are often not something they can reproduce. Someone says "My system does X," their system does NOT do X under the same circumstances, near as they can tell, so they don't know where to go from there.
 
Sometimes software bugs are an obvious thing, lots of users report a fault, developers look at the code, and it is a very simple mistake that they can fix no problem. However often the bug is subtle, relying on the interaction of a number of pieces of code, all of which function correctly in isolation. It can be hard to nail down, unless you know just what to do to cause it, and thus what to look for.
 
If a bug is something you really need fixed it can take some persistence on your part, not in convincing QA to fix it, but in really figuring out what the bug is.

From the beating a dead horse department, this is how you really do it!

yes, i hope cakewalk QA team are paying attention!

Paul G

Anderton
I started this thread because I wanted to encourage forumites to follow THambrecht's example, give him and the forum props for their detective work, and I wanted Cakewalk to take better advantage of what this forum has to offer. I'm sorry I ever started it, which is why I've cut back my participation in the forum recently, and will scale it back further going forward since I apparently cannot convey what I want to say with sufficient clarity. 

I didn't have any trouble understanding what you were saying, Craig.  And I'm sure there are many more of the same opinion.  I do hope you stick around!

although i expect most users aren't expecting to have debug/troubleshooting skills like a beta tester does

WTF happened to this thread? 
 
Craig, your forum contributions are invaluable and having you participating is definitely are a competitive advantage that Cakewalk has over other DAW companies. 
 
I do have a suggestion though, which is to make a conscious decision more often to say "let's agree to disagree" and move on.  I don't think your time and efforts, which are valuable to users because of your experience and your position within Cakewalk, are well-spent in threads exchanging multiple rounds of page-long arguments back and forth.  Even worse, it seems to be causing you frustration and burn-out lately.
 
Just a suggestion :)
 
 
 
 

that's not the first time someone has suggested that ;-)

rlared
WTF happened to this thread? 
 
Craig, your forum contributions are invaluable and having you participating is definitely are a competitive advantage that Cakewalk has over other DAW companies. 
 
I do have a suggestion though, which is to make a conscious decision more often to say "let's agree to disagree" and move on.  I don't think your time and efforts, which are valuable to users because of your experience and your position within Cakewalk, are well-spent in threads exchanging multiple rounds of page-long arguments back and forth.  Even worse, it seems to be causing you frustration and burn-out lately.
 
Just a suggestion :)
 
 
 
 

Here here. I would miss Craig's contributions but sometimes being here just does your head in and you have to get away even if only for a while.

Anderton
I know hostility when I see it, and my hostility meter's needle didn't move.
 
But let's get reality out of the way. Games and artist programs outsell DAWs by multiple orders of magnitude. For example Electronic Arts has 7,645 employees. Adobe had somewhere around 10,000 last time I looked. People don't seem to understand the market for DAWs is a tiny fringe of a tiny niche in a tiny market, and that alone imposes constraints. Unless people are willing to pay $2,000 - $3,000 for a DAW, these constraints will continue to exist (and not just for Cakewalk by any means). Other DAWs don't deserve to get the crap they endure on their forums.
 
I've been thinking about something else...music. There are bands that are sloppy but exciting. There are bands that play to a click track and reproduce what's on their CD. I think the people who like SONAR like that the company pushes limits and take chances. Yes, that can lead to occasional fails, but also to elements that no other DAW has. 
 
I can only say what I've said many times. It is not a company's responsibility to conform to an individual's needs. It is the individual's responsibility to find a program that conforms to their needs. With few exceptions, that will not be possible - which entails making compromises.
 
I started this thread because I wanted to encourage forumites to follow THambrecht's example, give him and the forum props for their detective work, and I wanted Cakewalk to take better advantage of what this forum has to offer. I'm sorry I ever started it, which is why I've cut back my participation in the forum recently, and will scale it back further going forward since I apparently cannot convey what I want to say with sufficient clarity. 

No, don't do that! 
 
It's useful to remember that when any kind of information is published, a small minority will complain about it, a small minority will gush over it and the vast majority will silently appreciate it and make use of it. Your real audience lies within that hump in the Bell curve and not with in the noisy-Nancys (like me) at either end. The fact is that the your posts exhibit the most favorable signal to noise ratio here and the value I have personally received from them is literally incalculable, and not just because I suck at math. Well, mostly not.
 
Your absence from this forum would seriously diminish its value. Indeed, your presence here enhances the Cakewalk and Gibson brands themselves and clearly demonstrates why companies absolutely must have a fully-fledged social media strategy in this new uber-connected world. It's incomprehensible to me that Gibson hasn't seen fit to fund you or someone like you to work here on a permanent basis.
 
To everyone else I'd suggest that if you don't understand Craig Anderton's clear, informal  and highly informative writing style, you would probably benefit greatly from a reading comprehension course.

I think it is clear there are some people on this forum that simply love to stir the pot.
Some im not even sure are still even using Sonar or have it loaded on their PC.
 
There are some people on this forum who have helped me (not only solve my problems) but have also given me some really good direction and ideas. This forum is only as good as the people you have in it. This forum became 10X times better when Craig started being a regular here. Its as if you were given a gift.
Just remember, If you drive away all the good users who have good knowledge, you are only hurting yourself and others that need good help.
 
With all this being said, I've felt frustrated lately with this forum. I feel like there are some who don't appreciate the time people put in to help them and then there's the negativity. Im part to blame myself as well. I control my own destiny.
The past week I've cut my post count in half. I just don't care as much anymore. There's some threads I know the answers to but simply don't feel like responding to, unless its someone I respect on these forums.
 
Its one thing to explain your problems productively and bring attention to your issues. But the complaining, negativity and selfishness I can do without and that is what will drive away good people from offering help and being a regular on this forum. Without those people who will you complain too ?