Where Do I Get Help???

Back in 1998-1999 when I was first discovering what a Solidworks was, there wasn't much information out there.  My savior at the time was the Planchard and Planchard books I bought off Amazon.  As fun as the flashlight was to create, I always wished I could find more information.  At that time, Solidworks wasn't as popular as it is now, so the education resources we not as plentiful as they are today.

One of the main reasons for starting the Los Angeles user group was to give an avenue to those that find themselves in the position I was.  I want to be able to help them find the resources they need to learn Solidworks and to join the community of users.  Today, it's much easier then it was then.

I could list um teen sources for you to go check out, but there is one in particular that has potential to become one of the best.  Solid Mentor is an on line Solidworks Forum.  With just over 500 members, the community there is starting to grow.  So what is an on line forum?

On line forums are a throwback of sorts to the old bulletin board days of the Internet.  Imagine having a question about Solidworks.  You write down your question and pin it to a cork board.  Sometime soon, someone comes along, and pins a reply to your question.  Pretty soon, another person comes along and adds their advice too.  This is what an on line forum can do for you.  Furthermore, these forums are moderated and monitored to keep content on topic, and to keep the riff-raff out, unlike certain Google groups out there.  This site in particular is moderated by some very big names in the Solidworks Industry.  Whats more, you will find that even Solidworks developers and employees chime in to answer questions. 

I currently visit and post to about 4 or 5 forums daily.  From them I have been able to repair my motorcycle, add third party applications to my iPhone, complete complicated network tasks, and update the navigation maps on my Pioneer Navigation Unit.

The Internet is a vast source of information.  It's true when it's said you can find anything on the Internet.  Solidmentor offers a unique source for for those looking to get some answers.  I encourage everyone to head over and join today.  Look through the solid forum, and see if you can help someone with a problem you solved.

Comments

[Ben]

Wow thanks Mike!

Ben

[Jeff]

Mike,
SolidMentor goes beyond being a forum, at least IMO. There's the SolidWiki, all the blog links, the news on the front page. Ben has done a helluva job creating the site. It's up to us to continue to build on it.

[Mike]

Thanks Josh. All fixed now.

[Josh]

hey Mike, from your feed the solidmentor link goes to some weird website review site and it goes to a 404 here. at least it has the last few times I clicked it.