TalkFestool?

[Daver]

Thanks John for all you've done to keep talkfestool online to this point and thanks to everyone who is stepping up in an effort to preserve the content.
All your efforts are much appreciated.

Dave [thanks]

 

[butzla]

Jim,
  Acrobat grabs the pages nicely. Links to outside content travel well right in place. On your first few pages your photos are posted right on the page and this worked well. When you started posting photos as thumbnails it becomes problematic because the thumbnails are links to the photos. Any links to content on that site will become broken when the site goes off line. I can download and append these photos to the end of the document but it's not convenient for the reader. Would it be a difficult task to go back in and switch the photos to "in line" rather than thumbnails? If not, I can probably figure out how to re-insert them back to the location of the thumbnail.
  If there are any Acrobat gurus reading this that see that I'm heading in the wrong direction, please nudge me back on course.

  That thread is what started me down the long green slope and I'm very appreciative.
-Charlie

Hi Charlie,  thanks!  I will look into that.  I don't think it will be a problem.  Unlike SMC, the beauty of TF and the fog is that I have the freedom to edit my posts indefinitely.  I'll try and get it done by sundown here..  If I have a PDF file of it, it'll be easy to transfer to here or maybe I'll start my own blog.  There have been over 170k views of that thread to date.

 

[Wonderwino]

I setup a TalkFestool facebook page where the members can keep in touch and continue to share ideas & projects.  The thing I will miss most about tF, besides my good friends, is the abundant content about fine hand tools.  I haven't found another forum where so many small makers of fine tools have been discussed.

https://www.facebook.com/talkFestool

I hope to see many of my friends at Handworks in Amana, Iowa in May!

 

[Paul G]

John,

I would be willing to work to set up the forum hosted on my internet hosting locked to new posts so that it could be searchable.  There is so much knowledge in so many arenas that it would be a shame to lose some of it. 

Peter

Similarly I've made an offer via PM to assume the responsibility to keep it live, though I wouldn't lock it down. Maybe others have made similar offers as well. At this point there is no reason I can understand that talkfestool and it's content should cease to exist from the web.

 

[teocaf]

it's like a huge ol' stack of magazines in the basement.  it takes up room, gets in your way, keeps you from storing more stuff there, etc, but you just can't bear to throw it out because of all the great information, real or imagined, that you might need or want someday down the line.  some of the info is outdated, some is duplicated elsewhere.  sure, some may be valuable if people take the time to read it, although my experience points to someone starts a new thread on a more active forum and the old good info gets updated into better info.  and of course the bulk percentage is just filler that you have to sift through as you reminisce about the glory days. 
the questions that spring to my mind each time this comes up are:
1.  if the content is so valuable, why are visits to the site almost nil?
2.  if the forum is titled "talk festool", why do most people refer to the valuable info on it as having to do with anything but that?--should the forum be reincarnated to "talkFinetool" perhaps?  it might then have a chance to rise from the ashes and be found by fine hand tool aficionados, some of which may abhor power tools, no matter how fine they are.

it is an interesting predicament not just about this particular forum, but about how to keep any forum/online cache vibrant and relevant over time. 

 

[joraft]

1.  if the content is so valuable, why are visits to the site almost nil?

Actually, tF has remained fairly busy as far as visits go, it has been the participation that has dropped to almost nil. There's still a whole lot of reading going on, but not enough writing.  [wink]

2.  if the forum is titled "talk festool", why do most people refer to the valuable info on it as having to do with anything but that?--should the forum be reincarnated to "talkFinetool" perhaps?  it might then have a chance to rise from the ashes and be found by fine hand tool aficionados, some of which may abhor power tools, no matter how fine they are.

talkFestool was originally founded as a possible alternative to the FOG (there was some turmoil going on back then), then it morphed into a place where there was something for almost everyone. The posts we amassed over the years contain a wide variety of information, posted by a lot of very knowledgeable folks. We're still looking into the best way to keep it available.

We always talked about changing the name to something more relevant, just never got around to it.

it is an interesting predicament not just about this particular forum, but about how to keep any forum/online cache vibrant and relevant over time.

I think today's popular social media sites (like Facebook) have made it tough for the small special interest forums to survive. Much like with night clubs, the quality of the content is not as important as being the "place where everyone hangs out".

 

[joraft]

John,

I would be willing to work to set up the forum hosted on my internet hosting locked to new posts so that it could be searchable.  There is so much knowledge in so many arenas that it would be a shame to lose some of it. 

Peter

Similarly I've made an offer via PM to assume the responsibility to keep it live, though I wouldn't lock it down. Maybe others have made similar offers as well. At this point there is no reason I can understand that talkfestool and it's content should cease to exist from the web.

Peter & Paul,

We're still sorting things out, I will definitely be in touch with you both very soon.

 

[kelauben]

I setup a TalkFestool facebook page where the members can keep in touch and continue to share ideas & projects.  The thing I will miss most about tF, besides my good friends, is the abundant content about fine hand tools.  I haven't found another forum where so many small makers of fine tools have been discussed.

https://www.facebook.com/talkFestool

I hope to see many of my friends at Handworks in Amana, Iowa in May!

I'm just up the road in Cedar Rapids.  Let's see if we can get some Festoolian's together sometime that weekend.  Anyone else interested?  I'll post a note at the local Festool store and see if some of the nearby ones might do the same.

Karl

 

[teocaf]

I'm somewhat familiar with the history of tF because I think I joined it around the same time as the FOG when I got my first Festools and was looking for sources of information about them--although I can't remember my password so I haven't logged on in a while.

Without being presumptuos, the more I think about my earlier idea the better I like it.  Rename it to something like "talkFineTools" and perhaps make a section entitled "Best of talkFestool" which will hold a number of threads that were the hits of yesteryear.  Then to add new content regularly, at least at the beginning, post a ton of links on a regular basis pooled from other places on the web: wood forums, youtube,--kind of like a reader's digest version of woodworking related stuff, etc.  For example:  new thread--have any of you seen the new video, a new tool offering, a new review of "this" and then post a link.  perhaps that will be a good way to build readership and in time original new contributions.  it is still boom times for hand tools, high end power tools, the maker movement, 3d printing etc etc.  From there perhaps it could grow and follow a bit of the light monetizing model of places like sawmill creek.  if nothing else it could end up as an updated repository of information.

It looks like there are a few on here that are quite serious about getting it saved in some form or another so that's a good start--deputize everybody that's interested in doing something so that it doesn't fall all on one person.

 

[peter halle]

John,

If I can help, I am here.

Readers,

If you read my previous post and thought it a strange offer, here is an explanation:  For some strange reason I was in the right place at the right time to become a Moderator here.  Over the past 6 years it has become part of me - you have become part of my life.  Heck, even MacGyver my dog was revealed here before my brothers saw him.

I made my offer because so many of those members were the ones who taught me.  They were why I learned to understand the "system" and began to experiment with things not previously explained.  I try to offer my interpretations of what they all taught every chance I get.

I have no interest in having my own internet forum.  My heart is here.  Weird or not.  But the information there at TalkFestool deserves to be preserved.  Too many hours, too much information and too many emotions to go to waste otherwise in this world measured in nano seconds.

The internet is changing and forums like this are disappearing if they can't find a source of continuous contribution.  Without stimulus we all will go stale.

To all those who contributed to TalkFestool and made it what it was - THANK YOU!

Peter - A PROUD TalkFestool Member

 

[jacko9]

I'm a member of TalkFestool but it seems like I'm never online there and I think the reason is even though the content is very interesting the membership seems to be dwindling and at times it looks like a "ghost site".

One of the things that seems to differentiate the two sites is the ratio of in general terms of "furniture woodworkers" to "cabinet construction workers".  Not saying that this is bad just saying that the content does differ quite a bit.  I visited today and the site is still operational and well as far as I can determine.

Jack

 

[Wonderwino]

We had talked about changing the name of the forum several years ago and I came up with "talkFinetools" as an alternate as many of the active discussions were about custom hand planes, premium chisels and other "fine tools."  As John said, we never got around to changing the name, despite the evolution of the site away from an emphasis on Festools to hand tools.

There is lots of great timeless and relevant content there; Roubo bench builds, Dan Clark's "polishing a vehicle with the RO sander," connections to small tool builders and much, much more.

If someone does offer to take over the forum as Administrator, I would be willing to continue as a "Super Moderator," a role I have filled for several years.  Surprisingly, or maybe not so, very little moderating has been necessary.  I mostly boot spammers who somehow get registered despite the application of Stop Forum Spam. 

 

[Paul G]

Peter & Paul,

We're still sorting things out, I will definitely be in touch with you both very soon.

Thanks, I look forward to your thoughts. Hate to see the content vanish and am happy to take on the responsibility to keep it live and active for future new members as well.

 

[semenza]

    With less than two days left I am wondering if there has been any movement on preserving the tF content?

    I am also wondering about the exact shut down time?  Midnight ?    30th/31st ?  or 31st/1st?  Pacific Time? etc.

  Seth

 

[Paul G]

    With less than two days left I am wondering if there has been any movement on preserving the tF content?

    I am also wondering about the exact shut down time?  Midnight ?    30th/31st ?  or 31st/1st?  Pacific Time? etc.

  Seth

Seth,

I'm happy to say that John has accepted my offer to assume the responsibilities for keeping the talkfestool forum live, so the content will be preserved online and accessible just as before. We're now sorting out the details of the transition so it goes as smoothly as possible to minimize any downtime.

 

[semenza]

That is EXCELLENT news !  [thumbs up]

Regardless of whether the forum is active or not it would be a shame to lose the content. Some is dated but much of it is as relevant  as the day it was posted.

Seth

 

[RJNeal]

Thank you Paul, for stepping up.
Lots of good stuff on that forum.
Rick

 

[Paul G]

That is EXCELLENT news !  [thumbs up]

Regardless of whether the forum is active or not it would be a shame to lose the content. Some is dated but much of it is as relevant  as the day it was posted.

Seth

That's precisely why I made my offer. It really saddens me to see quality content go away, I've benefited from it personally and am willing to manage the back end, so it seemed like a good opportunity to help.

 

[waho6o9]

That's fantastic many thanks to everyone involved.

[big grin]

 

[butzla]

Great news, indeed, Paul.  I'm confident that with your experience TF is in good hands.  Thanks so much!