Any feedback on my conduct?

sweetbeats

Reel deep thoughts...
So I've never really done anything like this, and, Moderator, please pull the thread down if it's not appropriate, but I'm a bit upset and I don't like feeling this way, and I'm seeking perspective on whether I could have done something better with the conversation below. In short, was I a jerk? I don't want opinions about the other guy...that's not fair to ask, but rather whether I was out of line.

I get PMs and emails from people asking for help, and when that happens on this forum I always, unless it's from an established member regarding an established issue, encourage the person to start a new thread...make it a community thing. I really care about fostering a humble and helpful culture here. Did I just act like I'm full of myself and shun somebody? To varying degrees this forum has typically felt different than other forums I'm a part of...more friendly and safe...helpful. I feel like maybe I just treated this fella the opposite of what I appreciate about this forum and it's making me feel a little sick at the same time I feel frustrated by what I perceive this new member was asking for and expecting and how he/she reacted. Was I a jerk?

Here's the conversation that started a couple days ago...

New Member:
hello sweetbeats!

I really wanted to reach out with this issue I'm having.

Okay.... thanks for reading and hopefully leading me in the right direction with this question......

I am getting great line input signal and mic line signal to the channel card on 7.
No signal when I assign a bus track to 7, record ready on 7, lift the odd pgm fader and it's not hitting the meter for 7. However, I do get signal coming in on the pgm input for 7.

heres more info

I can assign all the bus tracks 1-8 and lift the PGM faders up with the REC function in the ready position. All the meters move but channel 7 is not moving and not recording sound (that i can hear). Also, The heads have recently been relapped.
I decided to swap the REC play back cards to see if some fault moved. Nothing changed. still CH 7.
Then I decided to remove the odd PGM fader and take it apart to give it a good cleaning and inspection...it was dirty but everything checked out. I reinstalled it...and still same result. This time I decided to send signal into the PGM ins on the back of the machine. I was able to get the meter on channel 7 to register the signal coming in on PGM 7 input.

Let me explain what I was hearing when monitoring the PGM input on 7.
I clicked the monitor button (pgm/cue)
by doing that, the monitor fader knobs are now what controls the volume I am hearing through the headphones.
I'll have the monitor knob for ch7 at 10. As I lift the odd ppm fader up I have to bring it almost all the way up to get any signal on the meter. It sounds pretty blown out.... maybe a bad capacitor somewhere on the monitor A PCB? The signal on channel 7 is significantly more quiet than the others when I switch over to a new PGM input.
With Line in and Mic input- channel 7 sounds nice and loud....yet no signal to the meter when I assign the bus tracks and go to record ready.


So my question is....Where is the fault...? somewhere in the monitor section? on the Monitor A pcb? Maybe the monitor pot is bad for ch7 on the monitor A pcb.....

what do you think?

Me:
Hi. So...I get frequent private messages like this where somebody joins the forum just to message me with their complicated issue and wants my help to fix it.

While I appreciate your confidence in me, I ask that you post your issue to the forum and be a part of the community rather than side-stepping what we're all about. Your problem and the possible community solution to that problem could help others in the future...and that's a fundamental point of the forum's existence.

You've done some good background work to define your problem, but I can't quite follow your message...I don't fully understand your issue. Some of that I believe is due to your use of certain terms and semantics. Regardless, what I can glean from your message is it will take some time to address your issue. Like many hours. And I can't afford to allot that kind of time...I'm not trying to be a jerk, but like everybody I'm spread thin, have bills to pay, blah, blah, blah.

So start a new thread and we'll see where we can go from there.

And do you have the ability to capture a video of your problem and post to YouTube or something? It might make it much more clear what the problem is you are experiencing and what you have done so far.

Thanks.

Cory

New Member:
Thanks for the reply.

I am new to the site.
I decided to message you because i couldn't figure out exactly how to post on the thread. I'll make sure to do that and I wanted to. I replied in a thread with the same message i sent you. I posted the message in a thread about 388 faders but it was a thread from 2015. I definitely didn't have the intention of side stepping i think maybe its a user experience thing and thats why i messaged you directly.

Okay I figured this is a complicated question I have and theres only so much I can do in a thread to describe it. I am also working and paying bills so I know asking for free help and advice is fairly absurd.

I'll try and post a video about my issue...
thanks again...

Me:
Posting a new thread: there's a button at the top of the forum page labeled "+Post New Thread"...click that to start a new thread.

I'm not seeing you posted anything in any of my threads including the thread on 388 faders. Your forum stats say you joined yesterday or today and you have 0 posts?

New Member:
Okay. I'm not sure why it's not coming up in my "stats". I definitely posted it on the thread but maybe it didn't post for some reason. But Don't take my word for it because you don't know me and I just joined two days ago right?

I think I'm going to pass on this whole thing though. I'm afraid I am not pro enough to get people to follow my messages. Semantics and all.

When I figure out my problem I'll post it in a new thread for anyone else who has a similar problem. I'm taking my 388 to rainbow electronics. I'll have them tell me what happened.

Then I'll let the people here know what happened. And the world will be a better place.

Me:
Hey...no need to get all offended. It's not a "pro" thing. I'm a hobbyist myself. I'm just telling you I can't quite follow your written account of the problem...I didn't say that was your mistake, I just said I couldn't follow it as well as I'd need to in order to help you, stating I was hanging up on terms you used and maybe semantics. I asked if you could capture video because, in my experience helping people for free it seems to save us both time, frustration and confusion...helps reach the solution faster. So...I offered to give you your free help, I just asked for your consideration to help me help you, part of which was giving others the opportunity to help too which could A. take some of the burden off me, and B. maybe get you your solution faster.

Try and look at it from my perspective: I could have a greater than full time job that pays nothing if I jumped in with both feet every time somebody joined the forum and, before doing anything else, sent me a message asking for help with a complex problem. You came to me and asked for help, complete unknown, all I can see is you joined 10/2017 and have zero posts. I didn't make that up. I didn't say "no", but rather "could we start with X-Y-Z". What do expect? You're asking for a favor...you're not entitled to the help, but I'm willing to help, and you having an attitude about it helps nothing. So, I hope your choices work out for you. If you change your mind and want to follow my advice, you'll get some help, but at the same time I'm not going to accept you treating me or any other established forum member like your servant.

Cory

Thanks in advance for any feedback. I purposely left the New Member's forum handle out of this. I definitely don't want to start any fires, but rather I want to keep myself in check.
 
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Cory, you came across like a well spoken, patient member of this forum. You're definately not in the wrong here.
The other member did come across a little snarky in his responses.
You have put in many, many hours helping people out here. You don't always have to feel obligated to either.
Don't feel so bad. You did nothing wrong.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I just really, really don't want to do anything that wards new members off. That's fundamentally counter to the purpose of the forum.
 
You dick...


;)

:D

Man...you are without a doubt one of THE most mellow, level headed guys around here...I don't think I've ever seen a comment from you to anyone that was even in the ballpark of you "being a dick"...
...and I should know, 'cuz I've played in that ballpark many times when the opposing team got off some good shots. :p
 
Was I a jerk?

Hey Cory,
I appreciate the way in which you've presented this but also, perhaps more, the fact that you felt the need to.

Your conduct shown here is, in my opinion, impeccable.
I'm just grateful that our knowledgeable members would choose to emphasise the importance of public discussion and inclusion of the community.
Thank you for that.


So I've never really done anything like this, and, Moderator, please pull the thread down if it's not appropriate.

I don't think there's a problem, unless it becomes glaringly obvious who the other chap is or something.
 
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Well, as wordy as I can get sometimes in my emails and posts, it can add confusion and I am guilty as charged. No matter how careful, people can easily take things the wrong way.

Maybe just your second paragraph telling them to post to the forum would have sufficed. You were direct and to the point there.

But you did the right thing and certainly presented yourself in a proper manner.
 
You dick...


;)

:D

Man...you are without a doubt one of THE most mellow, level headed guys around here...I don't think I've ever seen a comment from you to anyone that was even in the ballpark of you "being a dick"...
...and I should know, 'cuz I've played in that ballpark many times when the opposing team got off some good shots. :p

lol that's funny right there...that first part. :D

Thanks. :)
 
Hey Cory,
I appreciate the way in which you've presented this but also, perhaps more, the fact that you felt the need to.

Your conduct shown here is, in my opinion, impeccable.
I'm just grateful that our knowledgeable members would choose to emphasise the importance of public discussion and inclusion of the community.
Thank you for that.




I don't think there's a problem, unless it becomes glaringly obvious who the other chap is or something.

Thanks, steen...I appreciate that. And yes I'll be just fine this getting pulled down if it heads in a wrong/unintended direction, and I'll apologize now for creating unnecessary work! :o
 
Well, as wordy as I can get sometimes in my emails and posts, it can add confusion and I am guilty as charged. No matter how careful, people can easily take things the wrong way.

Maybe just your second paragraph telling them to post to the forum would have sufficed. You were direct and to the point there.

But you did the right thing and certainly presented yourself in a proper manner.

Thanks for that fstrat...yeah, yeah...good point. A former supervisor of mine taught me if something was heated and I was responding in email, to type it out, then let it sit for an hour or two and then go back and read it. I'd always tone it down after I'd had time to simmer down and I didn't do that in my replies to him/her. Point well taken...there was some non-essential fluff in my replies. Thanks, man.
 
Thanks for that fstrat...yeah, yeah...good point. A former supervisor of mine taught me if something was heated and I was responding in email, to type it out, then let it sit for an hour or two and then go back and read it. I'd always tone it down after I'd had time to simmer down and I didn't do that in my replies to him/her. Point well taken...there was some non-essential fluff in my replies. Thanks, man.

That's something I do myself, quite often.
I notice the second draft takes longer the older I get....
 
Certainly didn't seem out of line to me at all Cory. I think you were respectful with all your replies.

And, as others have stated, your contributions to this forum are immeasurable.
 
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Certainly didn't seem out of line to me at all Cory. I think you were respectful with all your replies.

And, as others have stated, your contributions to this forum are immeasurable.

Thanks, Beagle. We all contribute. I donit because it's fun and interesting and I like helping. Honestly I'd do it more if I had more time. Me contributing doesn't give me or anybody the right to be disrespectful IMO, but I'm capable of that and I don't want to do that. If I do have some influence because of my contributions then I want to make certain I influence the right kinds of things which I think include patience, respect, encouragement, and keeping it fun. Not trying to be all rainbows and butterflies but those *are* important aspects of "community"...so...anyway...this is good. I appreciate this place and the activity that occurs as a result of the collective interests.
 
Just thought I'd add that I think you acted impeccably Sweebeats. It is a measure of your kindness that you are so worried - for nothing in my book.

And on another note, I've asked many a dumb thing here and been met by wonderful, courteous responses from you and everyone else!
 
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Cory, I figured you for a top man back in 2008 and 10 years later I have no reason to change that view. :thumbs up:
 
Thanks, jedblue. I appreciate that.

Thanks for the feedback everybody...both positive and constructive. I've gotten a couple other helpful PMs from members too.

I think it wouldn't hurt to temper my response a little when this comes up again.

In the meantime the New Member did PM me back with a reconciliatory tone, and I tried responding the same and encouraging him/her to post a new thread, but I'm blocked from PMing him/her. So I guess that's that. A learning opportunity.

Thanks again for chewing on this with me a little, everybody.
 
You’re a credit to this site Cory..... I’ve had problems with misunderstandings because of language barriers on other sites. ....maybe something like that happened here?
Anyway..... I thought you went above and beyond helping me last year and am extremely appreciative of it. (......get ready for round 2........ :) )
 
One of my jobs is running productions, and I get all the incoming stuff from the public. Some of it I sort myself, not even letting the 'names' know I've even done it, other things I sort, but tell them, and other things I give 100% to them. The results are frequently weird. I'm not trained in psychology, but a friend who is, tried to explain. Asking questions in public is not personal, and some people therefore interpret any answer as suspect. Asking direct makes it very personal and there is a feeling of extra quality in any answer. However negatives, dismissals and worse of all, no response from the person are almost painful.

This person wanted privacy one way, but in another post responded by saying how a result would be shared publicly.

I get things like this all the time. Gentle and not a problem at first, but then when the responses become more open and honest after one or two back and forths, they start to get stranger, and before long, anything negative is taken as almost an insult to the newly established friendship. I've had to talk to these people, who become increasingly irrational and offended - and I then have to be the barrier between them, sadly eventually becoming the absolute enemy and destroying the persons feeling that the other party is a real friend. This kind of relationship can't be built without two way private communications, but builds amazingly quickly, and I now can spot the trends and common phrases and wording.

In this example, it looks to have fizzled out quickly, which may be a good thing. Public posts help multiple people, which is rather the point of forums. Private spoils the community ethic. A new member, searching out another established member for personal one to one is a warning - because logically this person may have the best knowledge, but so may others, and a public discussion can work better sometimes.

I doubt this person meant anything at all, and was just seeking the best advice. Some people can't read feelings within textual responses as well as others, and as a result, get grumpy.


Best advice - move on, forget it and pay not attention whatsoever.
 
A former supervisor of mine taught me if something was heated and I was responding in email, to type it out, then let it sit for an hour or two and then go back and read it. I'd always tone it down after I'd had time to simmer down and I didn't do that in my replies to him/her. Point well taken...there was some non-essential fluff in my replies. Thanks, man.

A former supervisor of mine taught me the value of 'constructive engagement': deal with the content, not the emotion and not the person. Deal with the other person as if they are behaving honourably (and if they are not, they are the ones who disgrace themselves, not you). Don't react defensively to criticism (which is harder than it seems). Look for the positive in how you respond.

I have found all these things really useful in life at work and life outside of work, and it certainly makes for a more pleasant existence, not just for you , but also for those you interact with.

I thought your correspondence was restrained, polite and constructive.
 
Good reply

Certainly didn't seem out of line to me at all Cory. I think you were respectful with all your replies.

And, as others have stated, your contributions to this forum are immeasurable.

As was pointed out, putting a complicated question out to a group may reap more and better answers that just one recipient. For example, I know nothing about recording music, but a fair amount (20 years worth) about editing voice tracks. Someday someone may need some help on that, but if they had sent a message to a person well-versed in music mixing, they might not get the best advice.

So your reply was in order and well put and nice.
 
I have been chastised/corrected/whatever many times on the forum for comments/suggestions that I have made from years of being in the professional recording/live sound industry and on some of those times, I have privately disagreed with what has been said, BUT at no time have I ever felt abused or felt that I needed to say anything negative to or about the responder. This entire forum is about "amateurs" in our business --- why it is called "Home Recording" and not "Professional Recording" --- who are giving their time and experience to other "amateurs". So why someone who has just joined the forum should get annoyed by a long standing member asking to make the request public, I do not understand.

As with Sweetbeats (I read the initial posting by the new member three times), I do not understand exactly what the poster was stating and as Sweetbeats stated in his reply to the poster, that placing the request on the forum, could get a response from a member who had experienced the same or similar problem.

I do find it interesting (or maybe it is just the way I think !!!!!) that the initial poster has not responded, identified him/her self, or placed the initial posting on the forum -- or if it has been posted, I can not see it !!!!!

Sweetbeats, I am on your side.

David
 
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