Peter Halle said:
I can assure you that they would love to have more traffic and participation. I check it daily. They have asked members for input several times for suggestions and they are willing to listen. Let them know. They are a great group.
Thanks for the kind words, Peter.
Everything said about talkFestool here is true. It was started back in 2008 by 5 FOG members because things on the FOG weren't going too well. As Seth said, he and I worked together as moderators, along with Steve Adams (Qwas).
When Festool USA took over the FOG there was a dramatic change for the better, and the original reason for founding talkFestool disappeared. In 2010, the founding members (with the exception for Fred West) of tF wanted to close it down. Believing it to still be a viable resource for woodworkers, Fred and I took it over and now finance and operate it.
It's true that you never know what you're going to find over there in the way of discussions. Some folks like that, some don't. We have become sort of a close family, but new members are always welcome. We plan a lot of events and have a lot of fun.
As a forum we don't try to compete with anyone. We don't have to, we have no sponsors and don't take donations. We never intended it to be a "for-profit" endeavor. Of course we'd like a little more traffic, but we don't worry too much about it. We plan to be around for a long time either way, if only as a way to keep in conatct and plan events.
Peter Halle said:
As someone who is very interested in internet forums - obviously - there is a trend WHICH THE FOG IS NOT EXPERIENCING which is decreased participation. Forums were amongst the first forms of social interaction on the internet and they grew exponentially. Then other forms of interaction came along such as Facebook, twitter, YouTube, etc. The modern format of those applications certainly appealed to many.
In my opinion the FOG has grown because we (the members) continue to primarily focus on one theme - providing help and commentary on Festool products and their usage across all the ranges - from professional usage to hobbyist usage. Forums have gotten a reputation all over the internet for the flaming and nastiness that can go on in the anonymous world of the internet. We here have fought that and one of our key mantras is "keep it nice or don't post".
All good points, Peter. Another good reason the FOG continues to grow at a time when other forums are losing participation may be that the "green fever" is so contagious, and so many new Festool owners join the ranks every day.
Nonetheless, there has never been another resource for power tool owners of any brand that can compare to the FOG. No matter how it got its start, I'm so glad that it exists. I visit every day, its my information connection to the tools I love so much.
