Ok, so this is probably pretty dumb, but I never underestimate my ability to miss the obvious.
 
I've been using forums for years to get help with issues, and Cakewalk in particular seems to have a kind and knowledgeable community. I always get great help here. I don't tend to answer other people's questions because, well, I've always been a noob and didn't have the experience or knowledge to help others.
 
But now I feel like I'm looking for help with more advanced questions, and I'd like to give back and help the newest noobs ;) So, if you are one of those people who answers a lot of questions, how do you go about doing this? Are you lurking on the forums a lot of the time? Do you have alerts set up to email you when there are new posts? Do you have some other system for interacting with the forums? Or do you just check in once in a while to skim what's new and see if there's anything you know how to answer? Basically, what do you find to be an efficient use of your time when helping others on forums?

I've never been a person who hangs around a forum regularly, just the occasional visitor. So it's kindof like learning a new culture for me. Thanks for any advice you have!

First, I applaud your desire to contribute.
 
When I first came here I was essentially useless as far as all this fancy digital audio stuff... but I was hell bent on learning because I lost my old music release of playing in a buttload of live bands. I got tons of help here and made many friends so I, like you, thought it only right to help where I could (kind of been slacking on that lately because I've been ballz deep in actually putting the things I've learned into action... but that's likely making me more useful/experienced so I can give better advice in the future).
 
Whatevs...
 
Here's what I try to do and it's pretty simple. When I'm feeling helpful and have the time to type up one of my long winded responses (such as this one... lol) I just check in on the SONAR SubForum, look at the thread titles and try to find topics/questions I am comfortable enough with to provide an answer. If/when I find one I click through to see what's up and if the OP seems genuine* and I can at least point them in the right direction I do so.
 
By doing this regular scanning of the forum I of course also find topics/discussions about things I need to learn and/or have never even heard of so it keeps my dumbass moving forward too.
 
There's an old Simpson's where Marge decides she's going to teach piano to help save the family finances. When it's pointed out that Marge doesn't play the piano she replies "I just need to stay one lesson ahead of the student".
 
I think that is a good philosophy to take if you want to become a more active member of the forum.
 
eg: As you learn and gain experience (as you have done) look for folks struggling with something you've gone through and figured out already and try to help. At the same time keep experimenting and asking questions of your own as well as exploring threads on topics that are new or not so clear to you.
 
So you keep moving forward and the pool of users you can help (via your own experience and studies) grows.
 
 
Anyway... that's my advice but I'm a weirdo.
 
*re: genuine... There's been a lot of increasing silliness in the SONAR sub. Some folks just want to freak out and get attention. Trying to help some of these folks can end up being frustrating to the point that you simply lose heart. Don't fall into that trap.
 
Cheers and good on ya.

And do you actually play viola? I would really like to own a viola (violins just look way too tiny for me and honestly I think the screechiness would drive nuts and/or deaf).
 
Mostly I want a cello... but for a smaller bowed stringed instrument I think I'd definitely go viola over violin.
 
:-)
 

PS: Be sure to keep an eye on the Techniques sub forum as well. There is lots of cool general audio tips to be found there. I'd say the Computers section is the next best place to learn (or if you are good with teh computorbs... contribute).
 
Dog's speed.

Beepster
 
First, I applaud your desire to contribute.
 

 

 

Beepster
 
Anyway... that's my advice but I'm a weirdo.
 
 

That too! 
 

If I find any questions in the sonar forum that I actually know the answer to scook has usually beaten me to it. They should just rebrand it as  "ask scook" and be done with it IMO. 

Also dont forget to help people who misspell words by correcting them.

It's 'don't', not 'dont'.
 
It's a contraction of 'do not', hence the apostrophe.
 

jamesg1213
It's 'don't', not 'dont'.
 
It's a contraction of 'do not', hence the apostrophe.
 

Fanks.