Festool Owner's Group Transition

[FOG Moderator]

Post your thoughts on how we can make this forum a better place for members.

 

[Les]

Keep the current boards and maybe add one for service questions. Will Festool answer direct questions?

We have a board  that is the Festool Wish List. Will anyone from Festool comment on  the wishes?

Would like to be kept more up to date on new tool and accessory releases.

 

[nclemmons]

Thanks for asking for input.  I think what you do with the forum partly depends on your objectives for it.  If it's about new product ideas, that takes it in one direction.  If it's about product demonstration and education, that takes it in another.  If it is about showscasing the craft possible with Festool, that takes it in yet another direction.  So the crisper you can be in what you want to see out of the forum, the more the community can help you to achieve it.  Perhaps it's all those ideas and more, which is also fine.

That said, here are a few ideas:

Short term:
Build the community into your core marketing activities.  Continue to encourage community and integrate links to the forum from your other web and email efforts.  Example - you were at AWFS and I'd love to hear about what you demonstrated or announced there.

I was not very impressed with some of the Festool 'how to' books that I have seen at Amazon and some of your dealers.  To the extent that you can gain traction here, the book idea translates to an online experience that really captures everything from cabinetmaking basics to museum quality work opportunities. 

Encourage broader participation from internal Festool experts around tips, Q&A, etc.

Continue to encourage 'projects' to show what is possible with the tools. 

Intermediate term:
Poll the group around gaps or new opportunities in the product line or accessories and let that feed new product development.  The wish list ideas are a great start and I'm sure due to confidentiality you can't say 'everything' you are doing for fear of tipping your hand.  Posting concept ideas here for feedback would be a great way to solicit customer driven thinking with a broader audience. 

For new products:
Share more in-depth tutorials and details or other videos that walk through the product capabilities in specific situations.  The step by steps that John Lucas or Brice or others have done are outstanding.  Bridge City is using Youtube effectively to demonstrate their products in in-house demos that are low cost but bring the capabilities to life. 

Longer term:
Would love to see the posts 'tagged' for easier retrieval.  So tips for the MFT table as an example.  Or those for the 1010 router.  Or the Rotex.  Tag for basics, intermediate, or advanced techniques.  I find 'search' to be one of the weaker points of any forum so the better you can help to organize the information, the easier it is to put it to use.  Matt spent a lot of time with the boards moving and organizing.  But I can see an opportunity to go deeper.

Encourage chats or other periodic open-dialogs here with the membership - Christian used to do it on the old Yahoo group.  Maybe following a major new product release you get the product manager to do a demo via video and then open to questions.  There are so many tools for live streaming to embrace 'distance demos and education' and then archive them here for replay.

Would love to see member profiles built out - their tools, experience level, sample photos of their work, favorite resources or links, etc.

You have FAQ's on your website today.  There is a significant opportunity to organize community input around questions the community can answer, but in a more structured - by tool - fashion. 

Again, thanks for asking -

neil

 

[ForumMFG]

I would love to see a Live Chatroom to be able to get quicker answers and talk about whatever in greater depth. Or live Personal Messages? Like AOL's Instant message feture? Also, maybe having the website do automatic updates for new posts so we don't have to keep hitting the refresh button?  I agree with having tagged posts, thats a wonderful Idea.  I think it would answer a lot of questions easier for new users to find their basic questions.  The search engine does not do it's justice.

 

[Mike B]

You know, I think the board is basically fine the way it is. Sure, minor tweaks could be made but only those that serve to improve the forum as it already exists - perhaps with a more controlled management of the membership to avoid further debacles leading to splinter-forums and the like.

There seems to be a lot of slightly Utopian suggestions relating to product development that overlook the reality of commercial confidence and the fact that these are German tools.  I can't see Festool USA (let alone Festool DE) opening their doors here to anything truly worthwhile without the existing dealer network already being in the loop. Those guys already do a pretty good job of keeping us informed of whats going on so what's a few extra hours of advance notice going to give the forum?

Essentially I don't think trying to "grow" this forum in so many new directions is a good idea... particularly just because Festool USA is now running it. A lot of these suggestions sound great but I wonder how well they can be implemented without some sort of financial input from its members or more overt advertising. ???

Sorry if this sounds like a whole lot of cold water. I'm certainly not against Festool USA taking ownership of this forum, just wary. I'd just hate to see the forum become a extention of the company's marketing department when I think most would hope it's run by a member of a more "technical" department within the company.

I guess the first big test will be to see how the new moderators handle the next product challenge e.g., the US Kapex introduction...

 

[Brice Burrell]

I think Neil has some great ideas. I'd add a couple of things. First Neil mentioned Festool internal experts, I'd like to see David or Lester check in on the forum once in a while to answer questions on problems with tools. Maybe have them write something up on the more frequent or recurring issues showing up on the forum. Also mentioned was member profiles, there is some room for improvement here. How about having the member's country be a mandatory requirement in the registration process and have it show up when they post. Expanding the profile further isn't a bad idea either but the member's country is a good place to start. I'd like to see larger files sizes allowed for files other than pictures, PDFs, SketchUp files and the so on.

A longer term goal might be to see if Festool USA can encourage the participation of other Festool branches to join the forums. As the FOG grows so does it international membership it would be nice for them to have a more direct connection to the Festool branch in their country through the forum.

Well that's what comes to mind of the top of my head. I'm sure some of the other members have ideas too, lets hear them.     

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I can say unequivocally that the forum needs better smileys!!!! How in the world can one person pick on another person without giving the appropriate smiley to signify the jest of the situation?

The SMF (Simple Machines Forum) software (which is free) is great for its sole benefit of showing all new postings at the bottom of the home page, but when it comes to authoring a postings, the software is very poor. That single benefit is very big, but I do like the vBulliten software when it comes to writing a reply to a posting. 

This would be a huge change to the forum that would not sit well with users at first, but I would support it for its long-term benefits.

 

[sw1211]

I can say unequivocally that the forum needs better smileys!!!! How in the world can one person pick on another person without giving the appropriate smiley to signify the jest of the situation?

My personal opinion is that other forums use way too many smileys, they just aren't needed and are more of a detraction.  :

 

[Brice Burrell]

I can say unequivocally that the forum needs better smileys!!!! How in the world can one person pick on another person without giving the appropriate smiley to signify the jest of the situation?

My personal opinion is that other forums use way too many smileys, they just aren't needed and are more of a detraction.  :

Sorry Rick, I have to agree with Steve. Just say no to smileys. I've gotten used to how the FOG functions but if there is real merit in changing software I'm all for it. 

 

[joraft]

My personal opinion is that other forums use way too many smileys, they just aren't needed and are more of a detraction.  :

How can you say that?

 

 

 

 

[Forrest Anderson]

[My personal opinion is that other forums use way too many smileys, they just aren't needed and are more of a detraction.  :

I agree with Steve and Brice. The limited use of smileys, the (usually) on-topic posts, and the general lack of bar-room chit chat and banter keeps the Festool Owners Group looking professional.

Forrest

 

[joraft]

I agree with Steve and Brice. The limited use of smileys, the (usually) on-topic posts, and the general lack of bar-room chit chat and banter keeps the Festool Owners Group looking professional.

All kidding aside, Forrest, I agree with you 100%.

That's the "personality" the FOG has developed over the years, and I think it should stay that way.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I think John gave a very description of the differences of the two forums in a reply on talkFestool (reply #38). Someone asked: "Also, I keep hearing that the 2 forums are different in many ways. How so?"

Good question, let me take a stab at an answer:

1. A bunch of Festool fans get together at a local coffee shop. They talk a lot about Festool products and woodworking, but the conversation can also go off on many other subjects, families, barbecues, sailboats, dogs, cats, cars, trucks, the evironment and other current events, and yes even politics. Any conversation may start off on one topic and wander all over the place before it ends.

That's talkFestool. Fun for some, frustrating for others.

2. A bunch of Festool fans form a club and set up a clubhouse. Meetings of this club have agendas on the subjects to be discussed, and it is expected that everyone will stay on topic. There's no doubt that this is the most efficient way to exchange maximum information in the shortest amount of time. Members can go to meetings knowing what they're going to get, and not waste time on idle chit chat.

That's the FOG. Very useful and no nonsense to some. Too structured for others.

Luckily, Festoolians have a choice on where they want to be, they'll now find themselves very welcome at either place. And, they can also make that choice depending on how they happen to feel on any particular day.

The two forums are quite different and like John I'd like to see them stay the way they are. I'd encourage anyone to head over there and see if you enjoy the setting over there too, make sure you put your smiley sunglasses on to protect your eyes.  ;D I find the members there to be very friendly just like the people here. 

 

[joraft]

I find the members there to be very friendly just like the people here.  

Thanks, Brice. And I'd just like to point out that many of the members there are the SAME people who are here.  

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Congratulations! You guys have fallen into the classic false cause/effect conclusion.

90% of all traffic accidents occur within 1 mile from a person's house, therefore, the roads closest to home are the most dangerous. No, it is because most of a person's driving is focused close to home.

Just because better smileys are available does not mean that a forum's personality will change. Mike Holt's electrical forum is a good example. This forum has all of the smileys available as any other forum using the vBulliten software, yet the forum remains very fact-oriented.

Smileys help each person convey more of what they mean than their words alone can portray. Even though I am a professional writer, I know that many times what I write does not portray the emotion behind the words. The "poking" icon

is a classic example, and that is why I chose it in this discussion. The same phrase written with this icon and without this icon means the difference between making someone angry versus making them laugh.

When I make postings to the FOG, they are still going to be fact-based, because that is the environment of this forum. However, sometimes I will throw a lighthearted jab into an answer to keep a serious discussion light, and that is where smileys can be helpful.

 

[score0matic]

As we have taken a total bunny trail right here 

Craig

 

[ForumMFG]

I agree with Rick.  So many times has an argument come up because the person receiving the message cannot hear the tone in the other persons voice which turns it into a misunderstanding.  I tend not to have to many serious conversations through email with my wife/friends/coworkers/customers/contractors because they can easily take a message the wrong way.  I'm all for use the smiles ;D

With that said, I try to use email as much as possible to record conversations with my customers and contractors so it can be documented and have a paper trail.

 

[mwhafner]

I don't think that much needs to change with the FOG's layout/organization, but always enjoy hearing other's ideas.  Several of Neil and Brice's suggestions were great.  The participation of Festool employees has added a lot great information and assistance in the past.  Hopefully the new arrangement will only further their contribution.  

It is my opinion that the available "Smiley" options are adequate, and hope that their use continues to be limited.  

I hope that the moderation of this forum can keep the atmosphere of the FOG intact.  John's comparison of TalkFestool and the FOG are right on the money.  I belong to and enjoy both, but prefer the "on-topic" nature of this forum.

 

[bruegf]

In my opinion smileys should follow the same rule that applies to so many other things in life:  "everything in moderation"

Fred

 

[ForumMFG]

To those of you that would like to see them used in moderation or don't like them at all,  How distracting or upsetting are they?  It's never crossed my mind.  Using smileys does not effect the content or accuracy of a message.  I guess I'm just trying to understand the issue.