Ok, for the record, I couldn't actually care less if 90% of the people on this forum are pirates. It bugs me that I paid when someone else didn't, but it's not my forum. I'm as much a guest as anyone else.

I'm also not trying to forbid (lol) anyone from asking questions about things they should have learned on day #1 from the manual...after all, it's not my forum, and I'm as much a guest as anyone else.

The original aim of this thread was to speculate as to why we have so many brand-spanking new users asking question they could have more quickly learned from the manual, or even a quick use of the search feature here. The first two thoughts that came to mind were that either their sudden abundance was due to a newly available pirated copy of S5 on the net (which I looked for and found to add credibility to that possibility), or that one or several posters are logging in under many different aliases and posting these questions for a laugh (trolling).

The aim of the thread instantly mutated into a debate on the treatment of noobs and the pirates, and I admittedly got caught up in it. I don't want to discourage anyone from asking questions...even laziness-induced inquiries. I even tried to stick up for one of the more frequently posting noobs in his first (or one of the first..?) post when it looked like he was going to get razzed.

I may have my opinions about kinds of questions being asked in here of late, but it aint my business to do anything about it. I may have my opinions about wether the forum should be open or closed, but it aint my business to do anything about it. They're just opinions ok?... and yes I know that opinions are like @$$h0!e$ and that everone has one.

I just wondered if I'm the only one wondering these things....why there's such a sudden abundance of such posts. The free-copy theory and the trolling theory were just my guesses as to possible causes. Could be just a big coincidence too. That's what I originally wanted to shoot the sh!7 about.

So please carry on...post whatever you wanna post. If I can help someone who just bought Sonar and has clearly read at least a couple of pages from the manual, or wants to ask something that isn't related to the manual, I'll be happy to help if I can. If not I ignore 'em...unless there's a wisecrack (either dumb or funny) to be made - Then all bets are off, though I've probably annoyed more high-ranking members than noobs in here. And it is possible I've tried to help users who pulled Sonar from Davy Jones' Locker as often as not. I don't wanna know though, heh heh.

Anyways, let's all get along shall we?

ORIGINAL: OldGeezer

It almost makes me wonder if it's not someone's idea of a joke.

Well - I'm a newbie Cake user. I've asked questions recently. Generally those questions have been answered by experienced Cake users and that's been great. On one occassion I was told to RTFM. As a software programmer for over twenty years (now retired hopefully, from software engineering at least) I can say without doubt it is a sure fire way to piss off new users. Cakewalk offer several services to get new users that need to be understood. I got Cakewalk Platinum with a product I bought. I also got Sonar LE the same way (with hardware). Cakewalk do this to convert people to their products. Experience in the software industry has shown me that this kind of scheme pays off. For my own case I'm putting money aside to upgrade to Sonar five or six. Cakes gamble paid off. The only reason I don't buy immediately is financial. I'm currently skint and it will take a few months to gather enough money. However tbey won me over and I look at other DAWS and find Sonar suits me best. My point is that not everybody has the same version (wth manuals) as others. Some are legit users who have cut down versions of Sonar etc. Another point is that people learn differently. I'm fairly lucky. Most programmers can intuit how to use software. It's virtually a requirement of software development where you need to be able to analyze the competition's product. So most things in Sonar make sense to me immediately (that and the fact I worked with analog mulit-track two decades ago). It is poor show to just expect a newbie to get it right out of the box. Some are going to ask "dumb" questions. If they didn't they wouldn't be newbies very long. Showing the restraint and consideration to the newbie helps promote Cakewalk. Promoting Cakewalk secures their future - and your's. Successful software companies, like Cakewalk, no this and it is a win win for all.

Scott

That was tongue-in-cheek. An equally non-Sonar post of mine got moved off this forum by whoever is in charge of such matters. Seems kind of prejudicial with all the **** I read on the Sonar forum on a daily basis.

Is it me, or are there an inordinate number of noobs in the past week signing up and asking for help with the most basic things that are covered in the manual?

Do a Search, this question has been asked at least 100 times. Noobs :-[