"Start Here" Board?

[brandon.nickel]

One thing I hadn't considered until today: 

I came from the Yahoo message group, so I've been here since "the beginning" of the "new" FOG.  In my discussions with other woodworkers, I frequently refer them to this website.  I just went looking now as though I were a new and curious person and there's no obvious place that says "Are you new to Festool?  Looking for reviews?  Start HERE!"  The best place I see for that is the "Consolidated Festool links" post by Forrest Anderson.  I wonder if there are new users who may not even get as far as signing on to the board before they wander away, still looking for the most basic information.  Am I just missing something?

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Brandon,
Good thoughts, and I'm sure a lot of members agree with you.

What do you think this should look like?  Should I create a separate board called "Start Here" or something like that?  What kinds of posts should go there?  Can you give some examples of existing discussions that you would move into this new board?

Stay in touch,
Matthew

 

[Eli]

I think there should be a special section where we put all the threads where people ask which tools they should start with. We've made the argument for the ideal first setup for at least five people already.....

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Everyone,
I think this discussion is worthy of its own space, so I'm going to split it off and create a new topic.  If we create a new board, this topic could be the first post.
Thanks,
Matthew

 

[Eli]

Well, first of all, a start here thread should be at the top of the home page always. Maybe it should just be an assemblage of member chosen search terms. Or maybe member polled best threads?

Too bad that contest series for best threads didn't pan out.
But obviously Mirko's Sys-32 and Overtime's cabinet threads would be linked there, besides the 'unofficial' manuals. What makes them any more accessible there than where they are though?

What about a section where only new members are allowed to ask a question, and then that question and the answers become a new thread, so that each new member has a legacy? I guess you're back to your original 'how do people get involved' question. It's more sociology than tooltalk!

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Everyone,
As we debate this, let's keep in mind that I had originally created a board for new users.  It didn't get much use, so I dropped it.

If I were to do something new, it would have to be different from what has been tried before.

Matthew

 

[Dan Clark]

Matthew,

On the John Bridge Tile Forum, they have a "Welcome. New visitors please read this." sticky post.   That post briefly covers:

- rules and norms,
- how to use the "Search" feature (with a link to the Advanced Search page),
- how to post images with link to downloading IrfanView, and
- refers users to their "Liberry" (Library) of posts on standard topics. 

Their Liberry is accessed from the Toolbar at the top of the forum page and contains posts with answers to standard questions, important articles, and/or links to reference material. 

What is nice about their approach is that the moderators control access to Liberry posts.  Only the moderators or someone sponsored by a moderator can post the threads.   (They asked me to write a post about sistering joists and installing a sub-floor.)   The result is that the Liberry posts are pretty concise and well written.   

Many newbies on the John Bridge forum go through the Liberry hunting for information.   Other newbies will miss it and post standard questions.  Besides getting a quick answer from a moderator, one of the pros, or an experienced amateur, they get a link to the Liberry for further reading.   

Overall, the system works well.   It's very nice to jump to the Liberry for detailed technique and reference information.  We might want to try a similar approach, but tuned for our needs.

Regards,

Dan.