dansgold said:
Hardly. There are plenty of questions so stupid they should NEVER be asked.
Absolutely, with one caveat:
There is such a thing as a stupid question. However; The fool is the one who doesn't ask, if he can't find the answer. Occasionally, it might behoove the power posters to point to the answer, maybe with a link to a thread containing the guidance required for the poster's problem, rather than just to flame the poster. This will help the growth of the community and make this a great place for newbs to come to.
I would draw your attention to the header of the advanced post page, which states:
Please resist the urge to curse, flame, degrade, insult or embarrass someone in your post. We encourage the free flow of your ideas, but believe that they can be communicated (and received) much more effectively if you keep things civil. If you have to vent, take it offline. We carefully monitor posts and will ban individuals who engage in offensive conduct within the forums. Thanks
I actually vote that the really serious content of this thread is extracted, leaving the props and cosigns behind, and compiled as a read me for the registration page. There is much good guidance contained within that could be really useful for new members.
I would also think about adding to this some guidance for using the forum search facility. I have just been advising someone on another forum about this very thing. He used search terms that were far too complex to be useful in a simple forum search engine and he consequently struggled to get useful answers. Keep your search terms simple and keep the word count down, and your searches will be more fruitful. For example (the one I just encountered), if you are having trouble with the score fonts in Cubase, don't use things like "cubase fonts changed", use "font". Always use the KISS approach to such things and you will get results. This is also true of music production in general. Often times the complicated or complex solution will give you unexpected results and, more often than not, affect the quality of your music/mixes.
I would love to see posts from newbs that say things like, "I tried using the forum search facility to find some info on Cubase fonts, but I was unsuccesful. Can anybody help me to find the info I need?"
It must always be remembered by the power posters (not that I constitute such in this place) that a) the answers seem obvious to us, because we know something of what we are talking about. b) The key to learning of any kind is the right points of reference, which is to say that, when the terms are based on what the user can understand, he will learn quicker. Recording audio is a complex subject, and very daunting to a beginner. There are many issues that must be understood. c) The new members we coach now are the power posters of the future. Let's not scare them away.
That was for the power posters
I should also say that the first place to look for the best info is the "recommended books" thread. I am aware that many peeps are not easily given to book-learning, but books are the easiest, quickest route to understanding the concepts that are discussed herein. I also realise that sometimes it's difficult to understand what you read in a book in real terms, but there are many of us here who are willing to take the time to find the right route to your understanding. I am certain that peeps like Moses, Dansgold, Dvyce, Krushing, et al, would rather spend their time answering questions like, "I have read up on the principles of compression, but I don't understand what a knee is..." than, "how do I make my beatz bang?", especially since the latter has been discussed ad nauseum.
Of course, we can never get to the point where all the questions are interesting to those users, but we must be willing to make an effort. I try to be very patient with newbs, but even I, with the patience of a saint, get bored with answering questions about why you can't hear your click track and why your MIDI is recorded early. A little mutual respect and consideration is required.
To summarise:
Newbs! Ask yourself if your question has been asked.
Power posters! Ask yourself if the question has been answered in understandable terms to someone who hasn't got the core principles ingrained.
All! have a good one!
Peace,
Tony
! I'm pretty sure there are online tools to help you learn a foreign language, but it's nothing like a real teacher that can interact with you. 
