As a user of commercial software?
I know a lot of users like to see a forum, but how about a feedback portal integrated with the helpdesk?
Do you take the time to read relevant KB articles?
Do you prefer to telephone/email someone directly?
Does the look of the helpdesk matter to you?
I'm considering support options for Billr, but it's proving a headache as Billr is managed by the same WHMCS as VirtIO (to save time billing), but I'm expecting Billr to grow quite significantly, whereas I have no intention to grow VirtIO really, so Billr will likely need a proper helpdesk solution whereas I'll probably just keep giving VirtIO customers my email address to email me directly (I think it's nice and personal - there aren't many customers).
But then there's the problem of redirecting users to the correct support method for their product, and some users may have hosting at VirtIO and a copy of Billr, and get confused. So maybe I should try and manage multiple brands with the helpdesk, or even stick to WHMCS's helpdesk so it's all integrated.
To add to my confusion, the earliness of my VBulletin beta is bothering me slightly - I like the software but there are some major bugs, so a more reliable "idea" system could replace it, but I've seen some posts on Uservoice where users got frustrated not seeing a proper forum, and of course building a community aids loyalty.