Forum Decorum

I was just over at the UAD Forums and thought ‘Wow, what a difference’ in tenor.

This seemed to be the perfect post to offer as an example:

Plugin Advice for better sound.
“I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on which plugin to look at for better quality sound.”
http://www.studionu.com/uadforums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16198&sid=7fdf3aca3277be3bb8f379666117f319

I come to forums for tips, heads-up, and just to see what other engineers are up to. I don’t really care what level of expertise a poster is at, or if a question has been asked a hundred times before. As many mention, hard drive space is cheap. My experience is that searches are sometimes like looking for a key you’ve never used before. Sometimes a fresh take sheds a new perspective. The link subject usually tells me whether it’s worth my time. I’d never assume it’s not worth someone else’s.

The only thing that tees me is when a post is nipped off for being dumb, already covered, or not at some bugger’s level.

Check out all the great conversation among peers over the ‘dumb’ question posted. Three pages of interesting tips and povs, and not an RTFM among them. The general warmth and comraderie separates the pros form the posers because we all started somewhere and no one should have to feel like apologizing in advance for a level they have not yet reached. What a way to introduce a newcomer to Cubase.

The bud-nippers have been irking me for some time because not only do they insult newbies with no useful info or encouragement, the thread sometimes gets derailed or cold-watered for the rest of us.

The UAD thread linked above shows better than anything else I can add. Damn, it’s just plain interesting hearing experience speak freely on a posted topic.

There, I said it. And I only say it because I, for one, want to read what engineers at every level have to say, and not have them give up, apologize in advance, or not post in the first place because they have a feeling what the response will be.

Kinda not a good example.
The post you linked was asking for advice on a very broad topic that wouldn’t be covered in any manual.
Also coming from an unofficial forum for quite a “high-end” product. Price tends to separate “posers” from “pros” (due to the fact that pros tend to get a return [monetary] on their product, thus being able to afford “higher-end” products).

However, here on the Cubase technical forum, the answer sometimes CAN be found in the manual.

It comes off as being lazy if the answer is clearly spelled out in the manual and yet they ask for the answer. Hence, people’s attitudes towards certain topics.

Good points all in all; and, yes, this forum (and any forum) could have people with better manners. But then again the human population could also do with people who didn’t enjoy the (relative) anonymity of the internet and feel so strongly about people with differing opinions.

And what about the thousands of posts that do actually provide real help to new and old alike?

Look, just rftm and get on with it, ok?

Sorry, just kidding. :slight_smile: But I did want to point out that there really are a lot of kind-hearted knowledgeable people here who give amazing amounts of their time to help newbies or “relative” newbies. They may not seem to stand out as much as some other posting types perhaps, unfortunately, but these goodhearted people will much more often than not give some words of guidance.

FWIW, it used to be much worse!

[Edit: I’d just add, hang in there, after a while the ear learns to compensate and ignore the noise, and the good quality signal seems much more prominent! :wink: ]

There are a few trolls who spoil it for everyone, agreed. Personally my input to this forum has decreased drastically in recent years because I got tired of having to deal with arrogant, over-the-top responses to what should have been relatively simple technical discussions.

If I think I have knowledge in a specific area, I share it. If what I share turns out to be wrong, I have no problem if someone corrects me, because I thereby learn in the process. The reason I want to share is because I have learned an enormous amount over the years by simply reading other people’s contributions, and it makes me feel good if I can give something back and help someone – and it makes me feel really good if someone says thanks!

I think a comparison with the UAD forum may be a little questionable, as the number of people with access to Cubase in some form or other (yes, read between the lines …) is far greater than the number of people with access to UAD plugins, which, let’s face it, is a huge dongle with a bit of software tacked on, as opposed to Cubase, which is huge software with a dongle tacked on. My point is that the amount of a-holes on a forum rises with the number of users, and below a certain threshold, you might not have any at all.

+1

Spend some time there and you’ll see that it’s just like most other forums.
There are people that don’t mind sharing their knowledge and answer newbie questions in a civil tone.
There’s also the winers, the trolls and the downright rude.

It’s the beauty and the curse of the internet.
The main difference is in the way a forum is moderated.

As I said in the other thread. The likes of Sequel and Reaper (although pros do use it) are cheap and should be the territory of the new DAW user.

Cubase is a much more complex animal and if you’re not serious about it you get more problems than results.

Depends on the attitude of the new poster. If he knows what Cubase, plus all the computer-build and set up involves AND accepts that there WILL be a bug or two involved then they usually get the right answers.
But if you think Cubase will do everything for you and then when it doesn’t do “beats” say, in the style you’re accustomed to hearing down the Dog & Duck Disco then on ANY forum you’re going to run into a smartahs like me who’ll point you to the manual instead of wasting your time trying to explain. I might even look up the page number you need.
If the manual is quicker than the forum then use the manual. And don’t be offended when someone suggests it.
You’ll not get RTFM off me, just RTM because I’m never that offended by other posters and I try not to be that rude.

What an odd thing to write.

Anyone ever heard of a copy-protection dongle with SHARC® DSP Processor chips on board? No? I didn’t think so.

Anyone ever heard of a copy-protection dongle that can take load off the DAW CPU processor, freeing up its’ resources for running the host application, whilst simultaneously handling a staggering amount of top quality FX processing?

A UAD card is not a dongle. It is a highly functional piece of equipment that does what it’s supposed to do; and it does it very well. It is an excellent compliment to a Cubase based studio. And it accessorizes very well with any studio decorum … even Baroque. I was quite Baroque for a while after I got my card. :wink:

It may not be your cup of tea, fine. But your comment is highly disingenuous.

LOL – I sold both mine to finance an engagement ring. Now THAT is baroque :laughing:

No Doug, that’s renaissance :wink: :laughing:

renaissance is futile…