I tried to attach a file to share with a forum helper (not a staffer, I don’t think), and Steinberg’s mail bot rejected it as not an allowable file.
It was an XML file generated by Dorico.
So I responded to the notification of rejection, and the response was rejected. So I went back to try again on this part of the rejection letter:
“If you believe this is an error, [contact a staff member].” So I clicked on that last part and got a Forum screen that had a few staff member profiles on it, without any apparent email addresses.
So I’ll try to reach you here. I don’t believe this was an error. I’m quite certain of it.
Am I the only one who has trouble with your company?
I can probably save it as a zip file from the project, if that’s the only way to send it.
But why the hell should I have to do that? And where are the instructions that so direct me, before the aggravation of having to wade through the bullshit to get there?
It’s simply for safety reasons that you can’t just upload any type of file. Zipping is a minor inconvenience IMO. In earlier forum days, even .dorico files weren’t allowed. Fortunately, that restriction was lifted eventually.
I understand safety issues. But this was a file generated by Dorico. That it was rejected is clearly wrong, and the notion that the company makes it difficult to tell them that is worse.
But the server doesn’t know that, and xml files are used by things outside of the music world, and I’m sure it’s trying to filter out any potentially malicious code. It’s nothing to lose sleep over, honestly, even if it was annoying/perplexing at the time.
My understanding is that our forum platform is Discourse. I don’t know the details, but it’s at least possible that file-type restrictions are outside Steinberg’s control.
I’ve edited the thread title to make it easier for anybody else who might encounter problems with attaching MusicXML files here on the forum.
In general, you will have a better user experience if you reply directly on the forum rather than by email. When you send your reply by email, you won’t get immediate feedback from the forum software about what you have just posted. Any error that would be shown to you immediately on the forum, for example telling you that the file type you have attempted to upload is not permitted, has to be sent to you by email, some time later.
If you want to contact a staff member, you can send a private message using the forum: you don’t need our email addresses. Just click on the name of anybody whose little forum picture is adorned with the Steinberg logo (like mine, for example), and click the Message button to send us a message. We will be pleased to assist you.
The error message regarding your rejection of my attaching (not failing to attach) a perfectly legitimate file generated by your software came to me via email. I attempted to respond by the same route.
Am I supposed to learn all this stuff by some weird form of osmosis?
I totally understand the point, but I was attempting to gently de-escalate.
I’m sorry that the operation of the forum is not completely evident. I will certainly think about how we might be able to make the email that comes to you in the event that you attempt to attach a file that cannot be attached provide a clearer set of steps to follow.
This was a musicxml file that came from Dorico. For Steinberg’s own forum (which I can only assume is somewhat within Steinberg’s control, and which they monitor closely) to reject Steinberg’s own file type is simply stupid and needs to be fixed.
It’s not steinberg’s file type, which is the point. It’s a type of file that some Steinberg software uses, yes, but this forum is governed by non-steinberg software, and there’s no way for that software to know that the xml file that you generated came from dorico, or was safe, for that matter. It would have to open and scan it to have any awareness of its contents.
In any case, you CAN share xml directly via the forum. It appears to be an issue with your attempt to email it in, rather than directly upload.
Are you on their payroll? Why are you making lame excuses for them?
The file was created by Dorico’s export function. And I don’t give a poopies what software Steinberg’s forum uses. It’s Steinberg’s forum, and they need to fix it so it doesn’t block files created with its own software.
And the attempt to send the attachment was through the forum, not email. (Email might have worked.) The email exchange started with Steinberg notifying me that my attachment was rejected.
You would be foolish to squander the good will of the many fellow users who give of their time to help one another. None of us is happy to see a fellow user struggle, but no one here is likely to prioritize the questions of someone who issues demands and rhetorical assaults.
If you give yourself time to calm down a little, you’ll find that this is one of the best support forums out there. You have direct access to the developers in a way that is not at all usual.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the idiot in this particular room. I’m immensely grateful for the users who have offered generous and invaluable assistance as I wander through Dorico’s very dark and winding tunnels. But I’m also disappointed when many others seem to be so mesmerized by the Steinberg cult that they don’t appear able to recognize or acknowledge a problem that’s glaringly obvious. Hence the attitude.
This is a place of work for many of us, @willforrestercorbin — an important extension of our professional workspaces where we come for assistance and to give back in assisting others. Your blatant rudeness is absolutely unacceptable here. Come back to post when you are prepared to be courteous, and not a minute before.
I strongly recommend you review the forum’s FAQ before you find yourself booted out for poor citizenship:
