I'm not for sure if it's just me, but it seems there is little or no help on the forums the past couple of weeks. Many of the post from newbies still go unanswered. The forum really seems to be a ghost town without the likes of Tony (tbirnseth) and others. I know Tony is on vacation, but what comments that are out there tend to be either smart alec remarks. I do see Brandon and a couple of others helping out when they can. I know I've been doing the CS thing longer, but I'm still really a rookie at code and just do not know how to help most folks with most of the questions.
So then I think back to the thread where CS admin said they were going to help more on the forums. I do see them some, but very little. Most of the time when I see them post something it is usually just telling the user to put in a trouble/help ticket. So again, is there any help on the forum?
I don't even want to get started on the attacks and criticism that comes from some forum members. Without a doubt it kills the chance of many from ever wanting to post their thoughts in the first place.
Then there is the “odd” way that CS-Cart wants to “ban” people. It seems crazy and annoying to say the least. They'll ban Brandon in a flash but then let others abuse and say flat out stupid stuff for days on in.
I know Tony will probably be back (and questions will probably start to be answered again), but I think the forum community is messed up some how. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I believe it is.
I blame the quality of the questions 
I am seeing more of “I want to do something complex, yet I don’t have the skills and don’t want to pay anyone to do it. Please spoon feed me.”.
Ah yes, I have seen the “help me rewrite CS-Cart” questions. Most of those are the ones that usually get a post from CS-Cart to contact them…well, if they get any response at all.
[quote name='kogi' timestamp='1316910720' post='122240']
I am seeing more of “I want to do something complex, yet I don't have the skills and don't want to pay anyone to do it. Please spoon feed me.”.
[/quote]
I totally agree. When cs-cart started offering the Free Community version, a lot of people without the correct skill set started using cs-cart. These people ask question after question with no idea how to use CSS, PHP, MySQL or Smarty templates. They do not even look in the Documentation or Knowledge Base before posting their questions. I know I do not have the patience to answer their questions anymore.
I wish cs-cart would create two forums. One for the Professional version and one for the Free Community version.
David
Interesting comments David.
And you have confirmed my uneasy feeling about posting my latest question … (thank you for answering it by the way)
Unfortunately, I, being owner of numerous cs-cart licenses would still be posting questions on the suggested professional forum. I understand that answering peoples stupid questions can be time consuming, but this is a Community Forum, and as such, you are going to get the widest spectrum of questions.
Speaking for myself,
I never set out to be a MySQL, PHP smarty, or even a html coder, all I wanted was to set up a few online stores, and was prepared to learn the basics of Web Hosting, Domain Management etc, and purchase the software to do the rest. What I have discovered is that Cs-cart or any other PHP shopping cart software just cannot be all things to everybody. If I had to pay someone to make all the changes that I have needed to make to the cscart front end and more so the admin back end, I would have spent tens of thousands of dollars by now…
So Ive had to become a sort of “copy n paste” coder learning as I go… and now and again I get stuck on some very simple html or smarty syntax problem because I just cant find the answer anywhere else after spending hours searching. Thanks to yourself and solesurvivor, I now know how to concatenation variable in smarty… Ill add that to my long curriculum vitae.
I guess there are a lot of other cs-cart owners in the same position, so when I do solve a problem, I always take time to post the solution on the forum … . since thats what the Community forum is for(?)
An example; (Im not being sarcastic here,this is real) now that CS-Cart 2.2.2 admin “look and feel” has, IMHO been completeley stuffed up, how much should I pay someone to go thru /admin/styles.css to fix it up so I can use it productively again. Theres a few hours of work there, would US200 cover it?
Not everyone has the money to spend on these things, so they need to do it themselves.
I always feel grateful and mach happier when I am excused for asking silly questions and I also understand from your point of view, the time consumed answering them.
Ok … there you go … hope that helps 
[quote name='Triplets' timestamp='1316913589' post='122243']
…These people ask question after question with no idea how to use CSS, PHP, MySQL or Smarty templates. They do not even look in the Documentation or Knowledge Base before posting their questions. I know I do not have the patience to answer their questions anymore…
David
[/quote]
I have been using CS for almost 4 years now. I own multiple pro versions and I utilize multiple copies of the community edition. I do not create my own mods, but I have paid to have mods created and I have donated them to the community. While I can't help you learn how to “use” CSS, PHP, etc. I can still be a part of the community and so can others. Admittedly, I still have little or no idea how to “use CSS, PHP, MySql or Smarty” templates but I try. I do know how to use the knowledge base and the limited documentation from CS. Likewise I search the forums in hopes to find answers to some questions. I'm not so sure that just because someone comes along and is “new” that they are “bad”. Likewise, just because they use the “community edition” it doesn't mean they are “bad” or shouldn't ask questions. I believe any forum community is supposed to be for all levels of experience. All levels can bring something to the community.
As an advanced user of CS-Cart, having aged gracefully over the past 5 years:
A) I no longer assist with long winded passages of text such as the first post (Nothing intended clips) as I don’t have the luxury to read the post in full, consequently even less interested to assist due to time constraints
Questions akin to “How do I…” that I see to be outside of the CS-Cart framework as it typically has the result of “Give it to me, for free” or “I can’t believe that CS-Cart doesn’t have this standard, I’m going to go back to and continue to ask these same questions on the forum” or “CS-Cart sucks” or “I’m not going to pay for it”
C) Most answers go without thanks/credit/confirmation.
D) Seasoned members really don’t have anything to benefit from the forums, without benefits there is no supply of decent members now that CS-Cart is free in community form. Go back 3-5 years and you could see the community development.
E) I’m old. (24)
Hmmm, yes , I see your point there, what is there to benefit seasons members ? And too many answers go un-appreciated or without followup from the author…
[quote name='JesseLeeStringer' timestamp='1317002413' post='122286']
A) I no longer assist with long winded passages of text such as the first post (Nothing intended clips) as I don't have the luxury to read the post in full, consequently even less interested to assist due to time constraints
[/quote]
I know what you mean. For me if it is too long my ADHD just won't let me follow the theme. Not to mention if it has too much code.
[quote name='JesseLeeStringer' timestamp='1317002413' post='122286']
C) Most answers go without thanks/credit/confirmation.
[/quote]
Yes. Or the answers get followed up with smart alec remarks.
[quote name='JesseLeeStringer' timestamp='1317002413' post='122286']
D) Seasoned members really don't have anything to benefit from the forums, without benefits there is no supply of decent members now that CS-Cart is free in community form. Go back 3-5 years and you could see the community development.
[/quote]
Interesting thought. So do you believe the community edition has hurt the forum community too?
[quote name='JesseLeeStringer' timestamp='1317002413' post='122286']
E) I'm old. (24)
[/quote]
Wow, 24. Those were the days! I had just got married at that age, now it has been over 20 years of blessed marriage and seven wonderful kids later.
Happily I can see the “problem” of the bad support here in Forum.
I have post some messages and I haven't had any answer from anyone.
At least here, we don't need to pay.
I have had a lot of problems in 2.2.2 version. HTML blocks don't work, can not translate a part of admin panel, etc.
@dragondf
I've read some of your questions and have no idea how to help you. They are way beyond me. I would have to agree with some of the post here and say that some of the questions asked on the forums should be directed towards CS and paid for.
CS-cart helps here in the forums “when time allows” (or when business gets lean and additional revenue is needed). But when a new release comes out (especially something like multi-vendor), they are going to be consumed for quite a while straightening it out. It's just the nature of the beast.
As a “seasoned” guy (more ways than one and I'm double Jesse's age) I try to help with info that I have in my head. If I know where to look for quick research, I might invest 5-10 minutes to figure something out to help someone and add to my personal knowledge. But many people's questions require substantial research to be answered correctly and I just don't have the time to invest for free.
I rely on people coming to me from the forums for consulting work, custom development and ideas for new addons that can be profitable for me. My purpose in helping is somewhat selfish in that it is a reasonable way to market my knowledge, skills and abilities for consulting work which is the mainstay of my business.
Most of the advise given here is fairly sound. At least I don't see a lot of BS answers being provided when someone really hasn't a clue. But there are some and I try to redirect when practical.
People shouldn't be offended when their question isn't answered. It simply means that no one knows off the top of their head and no one is willing to spend the time to research it for free. People can contact the helpdesk which may or may not give them a quick and accurate response (or might just be a redirect to custom development services) or they can contact people from the community who seem to know what they're talking about. But people don't work for free.
Running an online store is a business. If you can't afford to support your business by paying for costs incurred, then maybe you don't have a viable business model. I know that many will spend 5 hours trying to solve their problem when they could have paid someone $30 to do it for them. I value my time and I think others do to. So when I find myself working for $5/hr, maybe investing $100 is a right thing to do so I can go do what I'm good at versus trying to do something that is way out of my repertoire.
Biggest “problem” is I guess is that since the free version there are so many newbies, who keep asking the same questions over and over again, that some get a bit tired of answering.
A lot of people don't seems to read the knowledge base or do a simple google search (works much better then the forum search most of the time. Just type: “cs-cart your question” and most of the time the answer pops up.
@dragondf I answered your feature problem tonight.
[quote name='dragondf' timestamp='1317389173' post='122665']
Happily I can see the “problem” of the bad support here in Forum.
I have post some messages and I haven't had any answer from anyone.
[/quote]
This is a community forum. A place for us users to hang out and share information.
As a forum member I have zero obligation to help you. For support contact cs-cart.
kogi
I remember when I started on the forum 1 year ago, nobody answered my questions.
But then I start reading old post, bookmarking some current post, and pretty much I got an idea how to search and get the answers. I also learned how to ask and present my questions and when is better to hire a developer.
Just use the search and try different keywords. Organize your bookmarks, read old post and knowledge will build up. There are plenty of free addons, free small code mods and plenty of help.