Everyone,
Over the past few days, I've been reading all your comments and trying to think of how better to explain what I'm trying to do in the next phase of the Festool Owners Group. Rather than focus on specific design technicalities, I'm thinking it would be more effective to explain the point behind all this and see if that helps move the discussion forward.
Consider this my pitch to the forum community. Your response, positive and negative, will help move all this in the right direction...
My Main Rationale:
The Festool Owners Group has grown rapidly. The central feature of the FOG, of course, is the forum. But my long-term plan has always been to have something beyond just a forum. I envision an information and communication zone, with the forum at the heart of it all. The forum is where we communicate with each other and form a community.
However, the Festool Owners Group has gathered a lot of information that goes beyond what can be conveyed in a forum-type structure. Just to name a few examples, we have member-created manuals, diagrams, photos, projects and inventions, and all kinds of other materials. A lot of what we share naturally leads to discussion, but a lot of what we share is not necessarily discussion-oriented (think of the "reference library," for example). Even the discussion-oriented material, over time, gets covered under more recent high-energy topics; non-discussion materials have almost no chance of being seen. Many of our members only check the "recent posts," which means anything below the newest material is essentially invisible to them. That runs counter to my whole idea of what the FOG could become.
The question is, how to leave the forum the way it is, while adding greater visibility to static material that has value? Of course, I could create more forum boards, but that becomes cumbersome to navigate, and it does not solve the problem of bringing good material up front.
My answer is to build something more akin to a complete site. In this scenario, the forum continues to be the heart of the community, and forum discussions continue to be the main generator of information. But new site elements would allow all kinds of information (discussion-oriented and non-discussion-oriented) to be more easily visible and useful.
Other, Smaller Goals:
In addition to the larger goals of arranging all the available information better, I'm looking for ways to get more people to join rather than remain as guests, and ways to put notes and instructions in specific areas of the forum to help remind members of important points in various boards of the forum. I'm also thinking about features members would like to have: just one example that comes to mind is a "bookmark" function that allows you to keep track of your favorite discussions. Going a little further, there is a system where members can upload their own documents, or even post blog entries on their experiences using the tools. There are additional reading options for members, such as RSS feeds and customized news from the FOG. All of this is just a quick list of features I'd like to see. Of course, we won't see all of it right away! But the first step for any of it to happen is to make a few structural changes we've been discussing.
No matter what changes, the forum will always be at the heart of what we do, and I want to make sure it is always easy to access. And I won't do any of this until I get a sense of what the community wants. That's why it's important for everyone to know what I'm trying to do, and for me to hear how you think we could proceed. We're taking this slowly, and perhaps it will be months before any of this happens. I'm not in a rush!
Examples of Sites Using the Proposed FOG Structure:
The kinds of features I'm proposing have been in place in many successful forum-based sites. The best way to get a sense of what I'm hoping to do is to look at examples sites that already use the elements I'm proposing. I spent some time researching sites that do a good job with at least one element I'm interested in. I've collected several of them here for everyone to review. These are not woodworking sites, but they share a certain approach.
Just to be clear, I'm only showing you the
kinds of features we
could have in the FOG. Each site does something well, but we would not include all the features shown in any one of these sites. Looking at the examples as a group, I think, helps give a sense of the possibilities for the FOG. As you're reviewing these sites, try to look with an open mind at particular home-page features, and think of how we could do something similar, though with different content, here in the FOG.
I do not endorse any of these sites. I'm only including them because they use at least one feature I like.
Browse these and see how they use design elements that might be good for us:
Pet Growth
7/8ths Scale Trains Lounge
The Hobby Lounge
Fish New England
American Anglers Fishing Network
Rewind North West Bikers
Camera Craniums
The Photo Rooms
Nikon Gear
Offroad Reviews
Hybrid Jungle
Second Page Media
The Political Capital
Grieving Center
Matthew
For sure a script can do it.
