Let's take this one step further: let's not look for forum MODS. Let's look for forum HOSTS who happen to have mod skill sets.
 
In fact, I'll volunteer to host the Sonar X Series forum. I'm already kinda doing that anyway and no one seems to mind. Well, except for the guy who was SUCH a professional and whose time was so EXTREMELY VALUABLE that he expected the forum to be his own private tutors because it was too much effort to type a few words into a search engine. The one thing that really WILL bring out my Mongolian blood (not a joke, it really is in there) is if someone abuses the good nature of this community.
 

bitflipper
RE: Software forum: keep it as it is. 
 
Yes, it does get cluttered. Sometimes I think I'm reading directly from Larry's email In-Box. But I'm OK with that, because within all that volume there are occasional gems.
 
Don't ban vendors. Yes, sometimes they just add clutter, too (get yer beatz makin' iOS app here, all the big producers use it!) but the majority are of interest to at least some forum readers. Example: Greg Schlaepfer's current thread re a free timbale lib. Sure, it's a gimmick to drive people to his website and generate buzz. I don't have a problem with that. Everybody thanked him in the thread. That's how you know it isn't spam.
 

+1  I don't think we get an overload of solicitation.  In fact I see more of it on other sites.  In fact, the majority of posts in software are generally Larry posting helpful links many of us are interested in. Even the debates there are pretty tame compared to main forum and those who are on different ends of it seem to be pretty civil towasrds each other most of the time.  I have seen much nastier arguments in main forum on topics ranging from staff view to the definition of a limiter. 

Anderton
In fact, I'll volunteer to host the Sonar X Series forum. I'm already kinda doing that anyway and no one seems to mind. Well, except for the guy who was SUCH a professional and whose time was so EXTREMELY VALUABLE that he expected the forum to be his own private tutors because it was too much effort to type a few words into a search engine. The one thing that really WILL bring out my Mongolian blood (not a joke, it really is in there) is if someone abuses the good nature of this community.

 
Love it! 
 
BTW - What about making a Vendor child forum?  Then make it so they can only push their wares in that one area.

Speaking of clarification, one more thing before I head off to bed...the opinions I'm expressing are my own, and do not represent Cakewalk. Nor have I discussed these opinions with anyone from Cakewalk.

I really only use the software forum. I don't think it needs much policing. Most are smart enough to know what's acceptable on a Cakewalk forum.

bitflipper
RE: Software forum: keep it as it is. 
 
Yes, it does get cluttered. Sometimes I think I'm reading directly from Larry's email In-Box. But I'm OK with that, because within all that volume there are occasional gems.
 
Don't ban vendors. Yes, sometimes they just add clutter, too (get yer beatz makin' iOS app here, all the big producers use it!) but the majority are of interest to at least some forum readers. Example: Greg Schlaepfer's current thread re a free timbale lib. Sure, it's a gimmick to drive people to his website and generate buzz. I don't have a problem with that. Everybody thanked him in the thread. That's how you know it isn't spam.
 

I could not have put it better.
 
I would like to see a bit more discussion and recommendation rather than just "here is a good deal" but people do jump in with opinions on many threads.
 
Vendors like Greg and the late Steven Howell have contributed a lot to these forums with little sense of spamming.
  
My shortcut takes me to the software forum; I look there first, and then move on to the Sonar X forum and sometimes the coffee house.
 
 
 

craigb

Ruben
 
If new mods can't ban then how will they eliminate spammers?

We can do it now.  Three flags as a spammer and they're gone.  Any abuse of the process is handled by a Cakewalk mod.  

 
IINM, this method only removes one offending post at a time - it doesn't stop a spammer from making more posts. Banning does (to a degree).
 
 

I can tell you that you DON'T want to give punishment power to a non-CW employee.

Maybe they do - it's Cakewalk's prerogative.

southpaw3473
Just my two cents but I am one who finds the Software forum to be an integral part of Sonar for me. The products that we discuss here have direct bearing on my total Sonar experience. I have gotten great advice from a ton of very helpful people. It is wicked nice to have everything in one place and not have to go to 27 different forums (none of which I find as helpful or as civil as the Sonar forums) to get plugin and software information. 
 
Many of the absolute go-to plugins that I use I picked up on recommendations from folks in the Software Forum. I hope it stays!

 
now theres a guy from New England like myself

The '3 flags and your out' policy seems to be effective as I no longer see the occasional posts about buying cheap Rolex watches or Nike shoes or Cheap Med's, ect. 
 
The forum members and Cakewalk staff seem to be doing a good job of working together here.
 
I'm just curious what is driving the desire/need to have external mod's? Are there not enough Cakewalk employees to handle the load from the 'Report Abuse' flag? As forum members we are not privy to the number of 'Report Abuse' flags that are received which is why I inquire about an issue that is invisible to me.
 
Even with External mod's I don't see how this will reduce the Cakewalk workload if the External mod's are not empowered to fix reported issues without Cakewalks involvement.
 
As a side note, given the new forum software will we ever be able to upload our own avatars as we once were? As you can tell from my current avatar my old one got whacked...
 
Kind regards,
Rick

If I lost my avatar I'd have to update it with a picture that shows my true age. I like to pretend I still have hair, and that it's not grey.
 
The #1 feature that's missing here is polling. I know that the software supports it, and I think Craig has mentioned it in this thread. Opinions, as they say, are like buttholes: everybody's got one and nobody needs another one. But if you collect enough of them, the collective wisdom of the crowd begins to emerge and has value.
 
#2 is the ability to upload images. Many times I've wanted to include an illustration with a post but decided it wasn't worth the bother to upload it to a third party host and then link to it.