One of those things are manuals. What we currently have is a very active, friendly and lively community where information is shared and where applicable stored in tutorials. However, what we don't yet have is solid manuals for people about how to work with the forums. Surely, posting in topics or starting new ones and / or your basic formatting options are easy enough tasks for most people. Yet there are so many other possibilities the forum has, but are perhaps unknown by people. So we are currently working on manuals and tutorials to show people how to make to most of the forums.
We truly hope that now and in the future this community will grow to become the best it can be and continue to share SketchUp learning materials in a continued friendly atmosphere.
At the same time we apologize for too much change which has occurred in the past. Please keep in mind that just as we are now simplifying the forums, those previously added forums were also requested by people. I think it is safe to say we have found our equilibrium now.
As we reported in CheckUp above, the SCF now hosts a number of Local Area User Groups (LAUG's). This is actually a recurring feature that more forums about other topics than just 3D design have. It's a way for people to introduce themselves and organize get-togethers/meet-ups in their own area, in forums designated to their own country.
SketchUcation likes this initiative and we want to promote it in the best way we can. So we have a number of ways in which we can help people that want to meet each other live.
The first is of course the forums themselves. One of our Moderators, Dylan Morton, has taken on the role of LAUG Administrator. If you have any questions about the LAUG's or you want to see a certain country included, or you perhaps want to have a state or county included, or have other questions, you can contact Dylan here.
Another way in which we promote these meetups is by limited logistical support. We can't make any promises, but since this is a community - and people are always willing to help each other out - we can provide the means to organize carpooling or make other logistical arrangements. Being a member of this community means you know a lot of people. And a lot of people know a lot more people. So if you want to organize something and need our help, then you can also ask Dylan and he will then relay it to SCF Management. We can then try to set something up.
Another way we can help is to encourage others to organize user meetups. And what better way to do this than to post photos of past events in the forums themselves?! We can have a dedicated section of the LAUG forums for this purpose.
Many people have already started posting in the LAUG's. Want to know more? Check out the Local Area User Groups and start participating and organizing your local meet-ups!