I have always been wondering about this odd vibe I got from Rack. VCV had already been most peculiar when I first ‘joined’ the community.
I come from a perspective of political activism (analog&digital) and underground rave culture and have stumbled through a lot of groups, communities and projects before.
But I have never seen anything like this.
I immediately felt this double-sensation which to this day persists:
- this here was sensational. after two short weeks it was obvious for an on-looker like me how much ingenuity, skill, ideas and concepts were just flooding in.
- that the software (mostly) held up to this , made it clear that andrew kept working it out.
- the small but growing user-base was literally fighting it out with the module releases, experimenting as best they could while trying to make a home for themselves in this wonderful mess.
it was then that I, hopeful to find more than “strange attractor” or “blabla operation as proposed by MIT graduate”, “envelope stages … with a twist” (WHAT IS THE TWIST?)… kept churning through github repositories, MD & cpp files, youtube and forums looking for manuals… first asked how? and why?
some where asking at the bottom of their absence of explanation for donations by writing their paypak e-mail. A look at the non-descript and lazy library/module browser. At the half page long manual and one and a half page of a compiling and coding tutorial.
There we were: all enthusiastic and constantly at work in our corners with great sincerity && between us this provisional and impersonal “hand-off space”.
Why doesn’t he try to centralize the donation system with 1-click integrated payment in the library and the software to make donating a pleasant eperience?
why not add a 1-page “developer & collection” page that pops up when you click the developer name?
one where developers would gladly write on, because ithey see that donations are coming in?
why not feature modules on a regular basis, get some community managers on board who would provide a platform?
where is the community driven “manual”-wiki and the expanding coding database with snippets and quick-guides to make modules easy on the hardware with a bit of copy+spit+paste?
It is unthinkable how scattered everyones work, knowledge and priorities are.
Community-wise we are still mainly kept together by the same 4 guys who more or less professionalised their torch-bearing roles.
The VCV site is still a junkyard where the only thing that’s remotely convenient is to pick modules for their panel design.
It wouldn’t have been that much work to make chances to bring it all together.
I am still very bitter about this. For the developers most of all - but also for the unseemly amount of time and energy I spent trying to learn about their modules, their work while spending another unseemly while trying to get better. To keep making music that incorporates, tackles and works with the traits, strengths and oddness of this environment - to make sense of it all.
This situation we’re in, has been in the making since 0.6 - and we all have a part in it.
We knew that Rack would try to move to the professional stage (and would have to) for 2 years, as many have stated already.
I think the question shouldn’t be wether to split the library or placing an obvious donation button on it.
It should be time to tackle the long overdue problem of access.
There is still no other source to learn about the Rack SDK than dissecting other peoples modules.
When you want to learn about VCV modules and patching your big hpe is Omri.
Maybe VCV Rack Ideas and Artem.
When you visit the homepage here for the first time - you will not leave informed.
The whole approach: design, language, emphasis,must change if this transition to a “market contender” is supposed to become a good thing for all involved.
VCV can’t keepshandling itself like a public library with a flashy poster at the entrance.
We need centralized information, a consise donation system (i.e. opt for monthly auto-withdrawals or instant mini-donations) and an atmosphere that is informing, teaching and open to get involved…