Ableton should communicate with its users

[jlgrimes]

Dear Gerhard Behles, Dear Ableton,

This is a Meta-Feature Request.
A request for a new way to deal with Feature Requests, in particular within the Beta Forum.

1. There are dozens of highly upvoted Feature requests in the Beta Forum since many years.
Ableton is not actively engaging with the community.
Ableton is not moderating the Beta Forum, merging Feature requests
(some of those are quadrupled just because people don't realize they've already been started YEARS ago).

2. To users who have asked about a specific Feature since (in some cases) up to 10+ years, Ableton appears to be ignorant and careless.

3. I m sure Ableton is not ignorant and cares about its community. My wish simply is: for Ableton to actually show it. Communicate with us. Show us at least a glimpse of a roadmap, a glimpse of your future visions. Moderate the Beta Forum, merge Posts, communicate about whether you even CONSIDER implementing those Feature requests, and if yes, give us a HINT of when it might happen.

Last year (2022), the CEO of Ableton, Gerhard Behles, said the following at a Conference:
“The transition to steward ownership is a long term Project for Ableton. How is this relevant now, and for who?
I think it’s all about trust.
Think of a music maker investing huge time and energy into our instruments, achieving mastership. Think of an employee who puts in the most productive years. (...) I think it’s important for all these stakeholders to know that Ableton will stick around and stay true to its purpose.”

I absolutely agree, it's all about trust. And since i m one of those music makers investing huge time and energy into Ableton since 14 years, i m desperately asking Ableton to change from the ground up. Not by finally implementing Bounce in Place which has 450 upvotes since many years, no. Not by finally implementing the Feature Requests about Shortcuts, about better Browsing, better Midi-Editing and Audio-Editing tools, no.
By communication.
PLEASE communicate about whether you even CONSIDER implementing those Feature requests, and if yes, give us a HINT of when it might happen. Please make Ableton stay true to its purpose by actually listening to the community - or at least communicate why you are not listening.
Thank you!

While I would like a certain amount of transparency, Ableton has to protect themselves from competitors and from not meeting difficult deadlines. In the world of software coding, this can be very difficult to maintain as priorities change do to changing staff, bugs, challenges with implementation, OS updates, new technologies, competition etc.

I think overall Ableton do listen to their user base. These feature requests I'm pretty sure don't get ignored. I bet someone in Ableton knows very deeply what users want from feature requests, surveys, conversations with users, and from using the program themselves.

I'm sure features are scheduled to get added, delayed, moved up etc depending on various circumstances. Just keep putting your suggestions here and take surveys when they offer them.

In the end it is a competition and I'm sure they try to meet expectations as over the 16 years I have been using the program, they have implemented alot of requested features (as well as adding innovative features)

[Rootxp]

I wonder why some people define “growing and getting better through community feedback” as “tyranny by majority”? How could someone support the complete and utter lack of communication with the userbase as something of virtue? I absolutely understand the fear, that Ableton MIGHT get pushed into implementing too many feature requests which don't fit together or make the program worse. But this a) would NEVER happen, because even if Ableton decided to implement every highly upvoted feature request in the beta forum, this would only result in Ableton being faster, more beautiful and more intelligent. If you fear a cluttered interface let me remind you of the possibility for a "let me live in the past with less options" button which could be used by you anytime. The downgrade Button for fearful people, so to speak.
b) my initial post is not about asking Ableton to implement ANY Feature request at all. It's about Communication.

I m not requesting “Ableton should be forced to implement every Feature request”, or "Ableton should tell everything about its roadmap and let every user decide the course of direction".

Let me repeat my request:
PLEASE communicate about whether you even CONSIDER implementing those Feature requests, and if yes, give us a HINT of when it might happen. Please make Ableton stay true to its purpose by actually listening to the community - or at least communicate why you are not listening.

Let me also repeat what the CEO of Ableton said:
“I think it’s all about trust.
Think of a music maker investing huge time and energy into our instruments, achieving mastership. Think of an employee who puts in the most productive years. (...) I think it’s important for all these stakeholders to know that Ableton will stick around and stay true to its purpose.”

Ableton as a tool has the purpose to SERVE. Who? Its users. Ableton as a company has the purpose to serve … who? Its users, who PAY for it and are the only ones who USE it and NEED it.
YES, it is totally fine for any company to choose a certain way of approaching change, and keep any kind of change/improvement a secret till it’s released. A company can choose to ignore the most upvoted Feature requests since MANY YEARS, without a single word if and when this MIGHT ever be implemented. But please, if Ableton wants to continue doing this, at least close the Feature Wishlist and Beta Feature Request Forum, will you? Because human decency requires acknowledgement where it is due: when there’s a rational, meaningful, reasoned, well-though-out idea about improving the program shared with the company, there’s a Dialogue coming from OUR end. By engaging in the Beta Forum, the users enter a Dialogue with Ableton, share really good and helpful ideas about how to improve. Ableton does not share back. Not even a word.
I agree that a one-sided approach can be beneficial for a company to “stay true to its vision”, but only when it comes to the decision of which features are implemented. When it comes to human communication, ignorance is commonly agreed upon as being indecent. ESPECIALLY in this case, where the CEO is wholeheartedly talking about “trust”. Trust has to be built by actions - in this case the action of communicating.
Users who are waiting since years for the SLIGHTEST sign of life of Ableton in the Beta Forum have lost trust, and understandably so, it’s logical, it’s rational. Ableton would not be where it is without the continuous effort and communication of its userbase. Ableton is doing a great job at bugfixing, but not when it comes to the area of engaging with the community about feature requests.

I fully understand that people (who were commenting in this thread) exist, who are absolutely fine with the current state of Ableton. I guess i m not speaking for you people.
I m speaking for those frustrated users, who in parts don’t even visit the Beta Forum any more, because they GAVE UP YEARS AGO. They gave up hope that Ableton will ever communicate about their requests. They saw that Ableton does not engage with its community AT ALL. They saw that Feature requests which have many upvotes do get ignored since a DECADE.

And let me repeat once again: my focus here is not about whether Features do get implemented. It’s about letting us users get a glimpse of the reasoning behind whether something gets implemented or not. It’s about getting to know the reasoning behind ignoring Feature Requests.
This would build trust. And clarity. Because then we as users get to hear, finally, that a certain feature will or will never be implemented due to Abletons “vision”.

If you want to get an example of a one-man-company which is highly successful with a completely different approach to feature requests: Check out Loopy Pro. The developer has a public roadmap, you can see the Feature Requests which are "under review", "planned", and "in progress".
Not only that. He often takes time to even read and reply to comments/discussions to each one of them. He is ONE developer.
Despite what some old fashioned people fear, engaging with the community doesn't destroy your vision or your product. It improves it, if you take the right actions and are open for rational discussion.
I m not saying Ableton should be as open as in the example of Loopy Pros Roadmap. My hopes for Ableton are much lower. I would be happy if Ableton would post one Thread per Month into the Beta Forum, where the devs tell us what Feature requests they have actually SEEN. You know, which Feature requests they have seen with their eyes... Yes, we don't even know if Ableton ever read the "bounce in place" feature requests with more than 400 upvotes. We do not actually know.

[jonljacobi]

Would be nice, but it just doesn't seem to be part of their DNA.

[[erm]]

Here is some communication directed towards our users. Thanks.

- Ableton

[jonljacobi]

LOL.

[Forge.]

Here is some communication directed towards our users. Thanks.

- Ableton

erm....

[goose3000]

Here is some communication directed towards our users. Thanks.

- Ableton

April fools is in 2 weeks