>> You make it encumbent on the client to post in a manner which you like
Which is quite difficult, even for bug reports, requests for clarification of poorly-documented aspects, and UI feedback. Over the years (and recently) I've reported several issues with MC that have not been addressed, nor disproven, or even rejected as "live with it" -- just ignored. Because....?
Fortunately, fellow users often try to help, and sometimes have the perfect answer. But some product issues can't be addressed by users, other than to confirm that it's a legit question. Those of us who have been using MC for years (I started with MJ7) might be used to it. But what is the impression on a prospective customer who prowls this forum to evaluate the product and the company?
The typical scenario, quite visible in this forum, might be: User tries to do something, following UI or wizard or Help and/or Wiki info. It doesn't work as expected. User experiments, and maybe gets it to work sort-of, or not. User posts a message explaining all this. Maybe the product has a documentation error. Maybe there's a bug. Maybe the user is just stupid. But when MC doesn't respond, it suggests an attitude that greatly undermines the impressive effort of the product's developers.
To MC's credit, the forum is rarely censored to hide the complaints. But the need for complaints also degrades the product's merits, doesn't it?
Saying that the product price doesn't include support is like saying this is a hobby, not a business. Taking money requires taking responsibility too: document the product thoroughly, or responsibly answer all legit questions ad-hoc. Otherwise, how can customers be satisfied that they got what they paid for -- which is the ability to do what the product promises, nothing more, nothing less -- whatever the price?
I think MC is under-priced for what it potentially provides, if only the documentation and support were stronger.
A solution could be to focus on and beef up the wiki. Lots of fabulous advice and explanation is posted in the forum but absent from the wiki. Posting it there, ONCE, could make it a lot easier to reduce individual support. And when responding to requests for help, point to the wiki where the complete answer resides, OR use the question to realize what's missing and add it to the wiki.