I am a new user to 3ds max (ver 6) and I have taken a number of online
tutorials.  I continue to have some specific questions from time to time
about certain features and how to do certain tasks with the program.
I'd like to have the option to ask specific usage questions from up
to 3 sites (free or fee based), and would like to know what sites are
the most popular and provide the highest level answers currently available.
Responders on these sites should include "experts" in the field of computer
animation who are adept in using 3ds max 6.

The answer to this question will give me 3 specific URL addresses to
the top 3 (popularity) websites that provide some form of question-
answer interaction.  Message Boards, Chats or online email submitted
question formats would all be acceptable, as would direct customer support
sites.

Dear timeforhelp321-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.

DISCREET.COM offers live one-on-one technical support for a fee on a
per-incident basis.

Contact Technical Support for Per-Incident Support
Hours: 8 AM to 8 PM EST, Monday - Friday (excluding certain international holidays)
Per-Incident support hotline: 1.877.347.2733
Direct Dial: 1.514.954.7550
http://www.discreet.com/support/per-incident_text.html

You can also purchase a comprehensive annual support plan and get
access to one-on-one communications with highly qualified technicians:

Annual Support Plans:
Monday to Friday, 8 AM ? 8 PM EST (excluding certain international holidays)
Support Hotline: 1.877.347.2733 (Toll-free within North America)
Direct dial: 1.514.954.7550

?Besides emergencies, can technical support really help me? 
Yes. We can help in many ways. When you purchase a support contract,
you receive individually crafted responses to your particular
questions. Since time is money, have Discreet support help you solve
your problems while you spend time experimenting or researching on
another project. An inexpensive support contract can end up saving you
a small fortune.?

?What is the extent of Discreet support? 
Discreet Support answers general usage questions about Discreet
software products. Our assistance includes:
Helping you with the documented features of Discreet software
products, including how these features can be used.
Helping you troubleshoot unexpected behavior encountered while using
these features.
Helping you understand how the products works - not directly
implementing the product features in your projects.?
http://www.discreet.com/docs/support/contracts/faq.html#bds03


DISCREET.COM also offers a ?peer-to-peer? discussion forum:

?These forums were created to encourage discussions regarding Discreet
products and to favor the exchange of related experiences and opinions
between customers and other interested parties.?

http://www.discreet.com/products/forum_text.php?color=2

In addition, there is a ?webboard? that you can join by sending an email to:
lustre-news.moderator@discreet.com - you must include your full name,
location (city, country), and company name.


Alternatively, you could contact a 3ds Max Training Specialist like
the ones mentioned here:

http://www.discreet.com/education/dts_profiles.html

This is undoutedly the absolute BEST way of obtianing reputable,
accurate and skillful instruction and the latest avilable guidance on
a vareity of 3ds topics.



Alex Monteiro is one of these Training Specialists, located in Boston,
and has his own separate web page. He provides both customized and
online training to ?students? and he can be contacted here. If it
turns out that he cannot provide you with exactly what you need, no
doubt he knows where it can be obtained:

http://www.alexmonteiro.com/education/education.htm



Pia Maffei also happens to be a Training Specialist in this field and
is actually credited with pioneering the concept of the tutorial
plug-in for 3d Studio Max. She offers training in both v5 and v6 from
her site:

APPLIED IDEAS, INC
http://www.applied-ideas.com/
http://www.applied-ideas.com/training/max6newfeatdvd.htm

Applied IDEAS, Inc.
Temecula, California
Phone: 909-587-8245
Fax: 909-587-8255
Toll Free: (800) 929-8155


Derek Elliott is yet another Training Specialist, and former animator
for television commercials with a very impressive resume. He is
located in Canada, but he specializes in instructing people in the new
releases of software and animation techniques.

http://www.discreet.com/education/dts_profiles.html#Elliott

RESUME
http://careers.awn.com/resumedisp.php3?userid=nowhereman



Here is a well-done forum where you can chat, post messages and
interact with others on various subjects related to 3d Max. Unlike
others, this one is a clean, serious enviroment, and the forum is
mentioned on several sites as the place to go if you need help:

MAXFORUMS ? 3D STUDIO MAX ARTISTS LEARNING RESOURCES
http://www.maxforums.org/

Take a quick glance at some of the topics being discussed and you'll
see what I mean:

http://www.maxforums.org/forum/forum.asp?g=2


These methods appear to be the most popular and successful methods of
obtaining live support, one-on-one and peer-to-peer assistance and
guidance on this relatively new software. I hope you find that my
research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my
research please post a clarification request prior to rating the
answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your final comments and I
look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you
for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above

SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

DISCREET, 3DS MAX, 3D STUDIO MAX 6, SUPPORT, ASSISTANCE, LIVE,
TECHNICAL, ADVICE, TRAINING, FORUM, BOARD, ONE-ON-ONE, PEER-TO-PEER

Exceeded my expectations in speed of response and depth of response