I appreciate your work on the forum Stuart, I think this is a great idea. I know this will be a side-project to the main blog, but I thought it could be useful to have a thread dedicated specifically to suggestions related to the forum.
So what do you guys say, what would you like to see added/changed/etc?
To start things off, I think it might be useful to have a Top Category called “User Review” or something similar. Some could argue that reviews can just go under “Tool Talk” and while I’m sure that will work okay, I think a dedicated category would be better.
Make it available on the app Tapatalk… Thanks
How about a sticky topic where everyone can post about deals they find?
I guess I could make it myself but I’m new to forums and don’t wanna mess it up so I’ll leave it to the professionals! x3
Maybe a manufacturer section where reps can post and answer questions? Would need to be careful that it didn’t just become advertisements though.
Good idea, thanks! I’ll take these requests under advisement.
I’m still working on category ideas. So far I’m thinking:
For the time being, and foreseeable future, the fewer categories, the better, hence just a single Tool Talk one for now. Right now, everything is visible on the first page of topics. After the first 50 or so, the direction things are going in will be more obvious.
There might also be a members-only ToolGuyd sneak peek section only open to registered members.
I don’t think it’s functionally possible right now. The developers seem to be against the idea, as the software was developed to be extremely mobile-friendly, but I’ll consider it if Tapatalk integration is ever possible.
The problem with a single topic is that it has to be checked all the time, or you’ll miss something. Starting a new topic in a deals forum should be just as functional.
Plus, if you noticed, topics don’t have traditional “pages,” which would make scrolling through long deal post compilations quite a nuisance.
That’s actually a great idea, and one that crossed my mind. Recent posts on ToolGuyd showed that readers are very interested in talking directly to brands when they have a chance.
If You Could Ask Milwaukee Tool One Thing, What Would it Be?
Dear Dewalt, We Want You to Come Out With a [Fill in This Blank] in 2016
What Could Bosch do to Become Your Favorite Power Tool Brand?
If I could get brands to talk or interact directly with readers, that would incredible. But, many will likely point to existing social media platforms and profiles as their preferred means of communicating with fans and users. The forum would need to age a little bit before I can explore something like this with any hope of success.
What also seems possible is opening a category to friendly independent retailers, but there’s great potential for abuse.
On the topic of apps I too was looking for an forum app, but there doesn’t seem to be any for this forum software.
So what I did is to press the three dot menu in the address bar of my phone browser (chrome on Android) and pressed add to home screen. You should be able to do something similar on IOS. This will give you an app like button on your home screen.
As for user name and password, you can have the browser remember passwords (I think it’s the default setting) or use something like last pass.
The editing on my phone isn’t bad. And the forum is pretty usable .
I like the preview function.
I don’t use Tapatalk so I’m not sure what else I’m missing.
Sent from my phone
True, I didn’t think far enough. I’ll instead cast a vote on adding “Deals” to the categories.
@ToolGuyd I like the idea of brand representatives even doing something similar to an AMA thread where they are live for a designated period of time. That would be awesome! Could be done with any number of pseudo celebrities too.
Maybe instead of “questions,” it can be “Tool Advice” or similar.
Reader Questions?
Tool Questions?
A lot of email questions I get asks for tool selection advice. For example:
Is this Dewalt 18V drill better for me, or that Milwaukee 12V one?
I need to [do a task]. What tools should I buy?
Things like that.
What might sound better than Reader Questions?
Maybe just like “Ask Stuart”, or “Ask a pro” ?
How about a link to the forums on the main ToolGuyd site?
The “Ask Stuart” is part of the reason for the forum - I want to channel some of the tool selection questions from email (which could be considered Ask Stuart) to a more public place for quicker responses until I get to them, either for a personal response or posting to ToolGuyd as a Reader Question.
I like “ask a pro” in theory, but what if it’s a DIYer looking for DIY tool suggestion?
Sorry, I’ll try to get at least a sidebar link today.