Seeking recommendations on how to improve the FOG.

[Administrator_JSVN]

At Festool USA, we are excited to be more actively involved in supporting the forum.  We want to provide members with the resources to help this become a thriving online community.  It?s also important to us that members take an active role in determining the future of the forum.  So, we would like to hear your ideas on how Festool can add value to the forum and support its members.

There had previously been a forum section named ?Ask Festool? that gave members a place to communicate directly with Festool USA employees.  We see great value in offering this venue to members so we would like to add that section back to the forum.  This is just one example of how we can contribute to the forum?s future growth and success. 

We look forward to reading your recommendations.

 

[ForumMFG]

Shane,

I like the Ask Festool feature as long as everyone can see it.  On the other hand, if festool answers all of our questions then it would take a lot of communication away from this board.  I enjoy reading how other people fix their problems besides the technical way festool recommends it.  So I think you would be taking away something from the forum, maybe.

I would like to see:

-The search feature on this forum enhanced.  You can never find what you really need..
-More organization in threads that have a lot of meaning and information.  Maybe have a sub thread under each topic for this..
-A expiration date on posts that are not moved to this location as stated above.
-Maybe not possible but a chatroom would be awesome
-More enforcement on moving off-topic posts

I currently like the layout of this website as well if that means anything to you.

 

[johnsonri]

I really like the forum the way that it is. I think that there is a very good flow to the way things are setup here.

I think that the gallery could use more promotion and organization. What if there were themed gallery sections? Like 'Show us your workshops' or 'Festools in Action' or whatever proves of interest...a SketchUp theme comes to mind here as well.

Sure, the posting have pics and all, but sometimes it is nice to have all pics of a certain type in a single location. That's not to say get rid of the personal galleries.

Chat would be nice....but I could see people wanting to opt out.

For those of us who like to go crazy with pics sometimes, it would be nice to have a slightly larger file capacity for posting.

 

[Neill]

Shane,

Not to brown it up too much, but the apparent greater involvement of Festool personnel, especially you, has been a real bonus to this Forum.

Neill

 

[Mac]

I really like Rey's idea about a more prominent gallery role. I think many of love seeing other people's workshops, and it'd be great to be able to find such things easily and in one place. I also second the point about a larger file size for posting pictures, although I do understand there are technical considerations to such things.

In a way, I like that there's no chatroom function. I always liked libraries, and libraries are quiet..!

Thanks for the continuing evidence of your commitment to the FOG, Shane.

Mac

 

[AlexThePalex]

The number of pics per post should be higher. I plan on a couple of reviews of the tools I have but the 10 pic limit really puts me off. I'd like to make a review a single article like I am used to write on other forums, and I'm not to keen on having to split it up in multiple posts just because of the picture limit. I also agree that the file size should be bigger. 

I would welcome a special thread where you can ask Festool employees directly. Would be a great enhancement of this forum.

Improved gallery functionality would be great also.

A chatroom? Could be fine, depending on how you incorporate it. I really dislike those forums with a chatroom right on the comments pages. With every single page you load you have to load the chatroom and that's not nice.

IRC chatrooms are better. ForumMFG, if you want one, you even have the possibility to start one yourself. Anybody is open to start, host and administer one.

 

[justinmcf]

hi shane, i think the forum is going great. when i found this forum last year it was a fantastic place for information on new and existing products from festool. i can honestly say, from i have found this forum, i have spent a lot more on festool than i had ever intended to spend!

matthew did a fantastic job, and it had reached a certain level, i can now see how festool want to bring it to the next level. and for that i congratulate you all. it is inspiring and i am proud to be part of this community.

"ask festool" would be a fantastic feature to bring back. i totally disagree with forummfg who has stated it may take something away from the forum. i think it will be a huge positive step forward to have this feature.

i also disagree with forummfg statement about the search feature needing to be enhanced.(sorry forummfg). as a person who is not very good with computers, i find the search feature very easy to navigate and i have never had any trouble finding what i am looking for. i reckon i use the search feature once a day, every day, and i rely on it for fast answers.

i do agree that the layout is fine.

also, no advertising is a huge, huge positive. i dislike all advertising, i find adverts on news websites and yahoo, etc, to be very disruptive and i lose interest in those type of sites very quickly. please dont go down that path, although as a business, i am sure it is very tempting for you.

regards, justin.

btw, keep up the good work shane and the festoolusa team!!!

 

[peter halle]

Good evening Shane:

I believe that the Ask Festool Section would be great - if - we can get the posts there where people are having issues with tools to post there and if there is regular feedback.  To have a dark hole is not conducive.  Possibly also there you could have a Suggestions for Festool section.  People always have thoughts and suggestions.  In this section there should be a disclaimer that a response may not be forthcoming - many times in life people ask rhetorical questions that can't be answered or frankly shouldn't be answered.

Another suggestion would be a section for brand new offerings.  Festool could either provide links to advertising or reviews in that area.  Also a place to concentrate on questions and answers for brand new stuff.

The ability for members to save a draft of a post should be opened up to everyone - maybe you already did that and I didn't notice.

One feature that I like better than other forums and frankly would be something that if changed would make me spend less time here is on the home page the ability to scroll down to the bottom and see the most recent posts and the posters.  That is how I started really using the forum but there were frankly some posters whose comments I didn't want to read.  Who knows, maybe some feel that way about me.

If bandwidth isn't an issue anymore, allow more pictures but keep a limit on file size for a picture.  We really don't need people putting super hi res stuff here that the average display can't display the difference and slowing down load times.

Guess that's all.

Thanks,

Peter

 

[ForumMFG]

I got the chat room idea from "The Woodwhisperer".  His forum is setup so that you can enjoy the forum portion of it or you can enter the chat room.  So you have a choice.  My idea behind having a chat room is to communicate faster for people who need answers right away.  Some people log on and answer/post a question and get right off, so then it's possible you would have to wait until the next day to finish your conversation or get an answer.

Thanks for the tip Alex.. If we get some feedback on this, I would be willing to do that.  But if no one is interested then there is no point.

Justin, I to use the search feature everyday.  I always search for a post that will answer my question.  If I don't find it, then I post it.  But there have been so many times that after I post, people refer me to a previous posting.. A lot of other people have complained about this as well.  Maybe I should have said it different.  The search feature can be improved..

The reason why I think it will take away something from this forum is because if Festool answers a question then some people might think that their answer is set and stone and their way is the only way.  Ya know, coming from the horses mouth?  Other people may feel like they shouldn't post since Festool already did.  I'm not saying this shouldn't be done, I love the idea and I will use it but I think this will happen, thats all.

 

[danrush]

How about anyone who hits exactly 248 posts gets a big ATTABOY!  ( I was gonna go for a Domino, but didn't want to look greedy) ;D

Dan

 

[GreenGA]

Since the spellchecker has been addressed, I feel compelled to offer up another suggestion. 

This forum is a terrific resource.  Not only for Festool users and wannabes, but woodworking and carpentry in general.  I think it would be a great service for everyone, member and nonmembers alike, if somehow we could capture all the suggestions and recommendations into a TNT (Tips and Tricks) forum.  If the TOT (Tip Or Trick) were Festool related, it could be stored within a category for the Festool in general.  Others could be stored in a general category.

I'm not suggesting we repeat the entire thread that contains the TNT's, just the TOT itself.  A forum which would contain the essence of the the "How To Forum" and combine it with the Festool Link's thread.

Gotta tip on how to tweak the MFT/3, place it in the MFT/3 section/sticky.  Found a YouTube video showing how to use the Domino, add a link to it in the Domino section/sticky.  You get the idea.

As I said, I think this would be a terrific resource for everyone.  The only problem I see is how to gather all that information and organize it properly.  It's not something that can easily be quantified and categorized so the process could be automated.  This would require real human hands-on management.

JMTC.

Oh yes, one more thing regarding the spellchecker.

When the pop-up for the spellchecker appears, the dialog box contains the grab-handle in the lower right hand corner to allow one to resize the box.  It doesn't work; it never did.  I would suggest either the dialog box property be changed so the grab handle is not there or enable the feature.

Thanks for listening.

 

[score0matic]

1  Ditto on scrolling down and looking at new posts.
2  Larger pic size pls.
3  A "thumbs up" smiley

4  I dont think you need to have an Ask Festool section per say- as  Festool USA monitors the threads closely now ie  the square drive bits..thus if there is an issue that Festool needs to answer it is already being addressed.  

5  Incorporate   festoolownersgroup.com into your advertising and printed manuals.  
   5.1  What better advertising/referral can you ask for than having your potential/new buyers questions being answered by passionate enthusiasts.
   5.2  Providing super fast and direct feedback on problems, be they equipment or dealer related  through the Festool Problems Area,  can make angry customers  happy to drink the Green Cool-Aid  
   5.3  You would be inviting thousands of other users to come and add new ideas and insights to this forum

Thanks Craig

 

[bill-e]

Hi Shane,
I could go either way on an "Ask Festool" forum.  I'd also be very happy if we saw feedback from Festool in the user threads.  An example of manufacturer feedback which I think has been done well over the years is Freud on Woodnet via CharlesM (Charles McCraken).  Charles seems to monitor threads which talk about Freud and interjects as he deems necessary.  His feedback is sometimes considered authoritative like when dealing with user problems but is also often simply integrated into the thread just as the other replies.  I think a low key, tempered response in threads might serve to both give us the Festool USA visibility we need as well as not stifle the interaction of the members.

I'm also big on IRC chat so the suggestion for a chat room gets my vote as well.  The only thing I dont like about Chat services integrated into message boards is when you must use the Message board's built in chat client to access it.  I much prefer being able to use my standard chat client.  Thanks.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I think Bill comments on the potential "Ask Festool" section are right on. When we had the ask Festool section previously it didn't always work as some members expected causing some frustration and it suffered from the "dark hole" syndrome Peter mentioned. The concept is a good one but the actual execution is a bit hard. I suppose we could try it out and see how things go (although, if it doesn't work out removing it might cause controversy too). I favor allowing Festool to choose when and where they respond to member questions without the ask Festool section.

The chat, I like the idea if you can have an option to turn it off so it doesn't have to load on each page or if you simply don't want to see it. I'm not much for chatting but it could be a fun feature.

I happen to think the search is fine as is. The search here works like any search, the more specific your parameters the better the results will be. I find it to work perfectly for me but I'm always looking for specific threads or information that I know are on the forum. If you are looking for general information on say the Domino you'd be overwhelmed, if you're looking for a thread on a stuck registration pin on the Domino you find exactly what you need. You may need to reword your search a couple of times to get to the info you want. Remember the search is only going to look for the words you type in, it can't read your mind to magically know what you're looking for. Give a little thought to the words you use and your results should improve.

Matthew tried to get members to take better advantage of the gallery and it never happened. The problem is the members don't always know exactly how to use it, I'm not sure how to make that info more readily available. In the past a member only had to ask for a gallery of their own (I'm assuming the process is the same now). The gallery is all member driven, we only get out of it what we put into it. Sure a few new galleries could be added as Rey suggested but if the members don't take advantage it's going to flounder. What can Festool do to improve the gallery, I'm not sure, I do like the idea of increasing the file size if possible, maybe a provision for larger files like PDFs or SketchUp files.

The number of pics per post should be higher. I plan on a couple of reviews of the tools I have but the 10 pic limit really puts me off. I'd like to make a review a single article like I am used to write on other forums, and I'm not to keen on having to split it up in multiple posts just because of the picture limit. I also agree that the file size should be bigger............. 

Alex, the solution is to first get a gallery set up (ask Shane if he can do that for you) then upload your pictures there. Then you can insert as many pictures from the gallery as you want in you post. I believe there a tutorial on how to insert picture from the gallery into your posts. 

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

How do members envision Festool being involved in the forum beyond it's current role as a contributor - answering member questions?  Or, is our current role now just right?  We just want to support the forum in whatever capacity we can.  Obviously, we are moving to get moderators in place so they can help manage the day-to-day site administration.  And, yes, I completely agree with the comments so far that moderation needs to be done in, well, moderation.  ;D  I assume everyone likes the idea of members moderating.

Obviously, we have connections within the industry and could try to offer members exclusive opportunities.  Examples might be a free woodworking plan or discounted magazine subscription.  I know there has been mention about advertising.  If members view that as advertising then we won't consider it.  I view it more as perks for being members.  Any other ideas are welcome.

There had previously been some contests.  Did you like the contests or not?  Would you change anything about them (i.e. having a random winner selected from all entrants versus voting on a winner)?

Again, I'm just trying to learn more about how members want the forum to grow.

 

[justinmcf]

hi shane, i dont see the exclusive opportunities you have talked about as advertising, in fact, i think it is a great idea!

i would love to see the monthly competitions coming back. the random winner idea is great. some of the work that is presented is awesome, and i find it a little intimadating to put forward any of my pieces.
as i know, there is a lot is talented people here on the forum.

i wish i had more free time to make quality furniture/woodworking, but as a general carpenter contractor, i am working 7 days a week.

maybe it would be fair if the voting was random, i will be interested to hear what everybody else thinks too....

regards, justin.

 

[sw1211]

and it would be good if the competitions would involve those that live outside of the US too.

 

[peter halle]

Shane:

Although I posted some thoughts before, I don't remember seeing anything regarding the "Far Side".  Bye Bye.  Realistically it was established primarily to cater to one member who isn't actively involved anymore.

Contests are great, but what ended up happening towards the end was that if it was based on the project itself, people were not going to post if they felt that the prize wasn't worthy.  IMHO monthly project contests are too often - they become normal versus something to create a buzz. 

Thanks for listening,

Peter

 

[bill-e]

I'm actually OK with advertisements, heck, I've even been known to click the occasional link and sometimes even click on the "buy" button   As long as the advertisement is in the form of banners not popups and doesn't impinge too much on the amount of space used for viewing the board I'm fine with it.  I don't understand what the issue is with it.

Offers are fine as well but again as long as they're not too obtrusive.  Nothing I hate more than having to click on "No Thanks" before I'm taken to where I want to go.

I like the idea of random contests.  It allows both be beginner and expert to have the same chance.

But back to Festool participation in the message threads, that might be the best benefit you could offer.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Shane, I generally think Festool's involvement in the forum is a good thing. I think what members might object to would be Festool aggressively market/advertise to us. I don't think we wouldn't mind being a focus group on occasion. I don't want to see pop up surveys or tacked threads in every board with Festool soliciting feedback.

If it was done in a conservative manner, a section on the forum specifically for Festool to solicit feedback would be a benefit to the members.  It might even generate some good discussion. If it was in its own section members that didn't want to be involved wouldn't have to see it.

Do you have something specific in mind in regards to Festool being more actively involved or was this just a general question?

Again, I agree with Peter, contests are good but too much of a good thing can be bad. The whole contest theme was getting stagnant last time so some thought to prevent that would be in order. Maybe instead of a contest or giveaway every month for a smaller tool how about one every 3 or 6 months for a larger tool like the Kapex, OF2200 or tool vac combo package. It would be great if the contests could be international.

Unlike Bill I never click on ads and I would prefer not have them here. Member privileges sound like a good idea as long it doesn't generate advertisements (banners or pop ups). 

Members as moderators, I don't care one way or another. If Festool would like some help from member moderators with the day to day moderation of the site that's fine with me. Of course members doing the day to day moderating to shape the forum may be viewed as more pleasing than Festool admin.