Joel wrote:

Is this massive update going to involve fixing the search function? =P

It’s not going to be using this forum or layout, it’s a complete redesign.

So it might be better to request the implementation of a good search function on the new design.

Koichi, any progress update? :)

I’ve been mulling over this one for a while, and it has started to bother me. Koichi’s personal feelings aside, this is a business and we are the stakeholders. We really need transparency on what is going on with the redesign of this site, regular updates on progress should be given so we get a concrete picture of what to expect. If he’s too busy, that’s fine, but delegate someone else to do it. If they’re being posted on another forum, then forums need to be consolidated so we don’t feel like we’re off on our own little WordPress-confined island here cut off from the rest of the tofugu-world. Fragmented communication channels do not help us one bit.

@Jason: On the bright side, all updates are free and the fee is eternally refundable, so we’re not risking much by investing in an unreliable update system.

@Aikibujin et all: If I can get a list of the places where updates/announcements are made, I’d be happy to write an app that aggregates them into one, convenient newsfeed.

When I payed for TextFugu a few weeks ago, the site said that if I decide to pass the book down to my grandchildren, who then decide they don’t want it, my grandchildren can still get a refund. So I guess the policy has been updated.

As for the app offer, I wasn’t trying to make it sound like anything. Jason said he would like announcements to be consolidated, and I offered to do that. If you’re worried about missing updates because of their rarity, I can add an email notification feature.

To me, TextFugu’s greatest asset is the community. So I’m investing my time, talent and passion in the hopes of creating a wonderful community. And if Koichi’s book gets super popular before we have time to build a strong foundation, that community could turn into a cesspool of anonymity and frustration, so at least the lack of updates allows us some time to enjoy the intimacy and malleability of the current TextFugu.

When I came back to the site, I made a massive effort to get this community going again as the forums were essentially dead. Even then I only made limited progress. It wasn’t until the New Year discounts that things really started moving again. But yeah, WaniKani has a much better community. The upside to that though is that when TF is eventually updated, there’s a good chance that the WK community will join the TF community.

As far as an update app goes, it’s a good idea, but nearly impossible to aggregate the data efficiently, as the number of sources are way to varied.

You essentially would have to read every single thread in WaniKani, as Koichi and Viet will post a random response to someone’s question in a thread, which may have nothing to do with the topic of the thread, and they will consider that to be a public communication of recent plans and updates, meaning they don’t need to bother with any more for a few months, even though 98% of Tofugu’s user base won’t have read it or even be aware of its existence.

You would also need to follow every single one of the articles posted on Tofugu and all the responses at the bottom as once again Koichi or another Tofugu staff member may make a random comment containing a tidbit on updates and apparently that’s good enough for another few months of silence.

And of course monitoring the forums here in case Koichi gets enough e-mails from users wondering if this site is now a mummified corpse (way past the dead stage) to be spurned into doing an update.

You would also need to monitor any youtube videos produced by Tofugu or possibly even affiliates who may do an interview or a tag team project with Tofugu, as Tofugu rarely mentions these directly, you apparently are supposed to know they exist because they are on youtube, which means you should have seen it yourself, because you know everyone watches every video on youtube that even remotely involves the study of Japan in any way shape or form.

So the better way of dealing with it is to assume that you will never ever see an update on TextFugu, EVER!

And then be completely blind-sided when there is one, but hope that you have already become fluent in Japanese by this point and have taught your child and grandchild the Japanese language, but can now recommend to your grandchild that they can tell their non-native Japanese friends about TF so that they can converse in Japanese together. ^_^ (Only slightly cynical :P)

@Aikibujin:

“You would also need to monitor any youtube videos produced by Tofugu”

You just reminded me that Tofugu haven’t done a new video in while. They even hired that girl to make them more frequently but maybe they fired her :P

This has happened so many times: he recognises they haven’t made new videos in ages and says they’re going to make a push to do more. In the next few weeks or a month or so, they make a number of videos and then it all trails off. 6+ months later, he makes a new promise regarding videos which goes exactly the same way. Do you know that at one point he said they’d do 5 videos a week? Ridiculous XD

I remember for a while after you came back, you were super enthusiastic but now you seem to be coming around to my way of thinking :P

@Eihiko: I agree with zeldaskitten, the community was way stronger a few years ago, not long after TextFugu actually started, when every thing was fresh and exciting and Koichi actually acted like he gave a damn. I mean, he probably still does but he was actually a regular on the forum and really involved with the users. There were many more regulars on the forum and the place was fairly active (there was also a TeamSpeak server where people could just hang out, not that I was on it much).

Hi all. It’s been a while since I last properly used the site. A lot of you might not remember me. I still lurk around the forums from time to time as there’s some good advice being given out. I’ve tried to make this post as short as possible, which was a bit hard as there’s many different points I wanted to talk about. I’ve decided to do a TLDR version and a long version.

TLDR Version
TextFugu is a mess and needs major work done on it to revive it. With the right commitment and more people helping out, it can potentially be a great resource for future Japanese learners to use.

Long Version
I first joined TextFugu back in 2011. However, I didn’t properly start using it until early 2012. In that time, I think the only update has been Season 8 and the mini ‘Advanced’ section (which was around late 2012 if I remember correctly).

In its current state, TextFugu is only good for two things. The motivation tips, and the initial springboard it gives when starting to learn basic grammar. I’m a self-learner like most of the people who bought a membership here. So, TextFugu was appealing as it simplified grammar explanations and gave enormous encouragement to keep on learning. Without those, I might have given up.

Unfortunately, other than that, there’s not much else going for the site. Here’s a few of the gripes I have. These are just my opinion and you may or may not agree with me.
1) Dictionary form verbs should be taught first. I understand some people might need to use polite Japanese from the get go, but it’s much easier to work out the ます form of a verb if you know its dictionary form.
2) てーform should be taught much sooner. It isn’t taught until Season 7 which is baffling as it’s such an important and useful grammar point.

3) Kanji. Aside from the kanji section being incomplete, the order in which you learn them (fewest strokes first) doesn’t make any sense. I don’t want to start a debate about the best way to learn kanji, but it should at least be done in a logical order such as the RTK method, or the way Japanese kids learn it. I personally prefer learning it the way Japanese kids do.
Learning both the on’yomi and kun’yomi readings separately is pointless and rather tedious. It’s just not practical in the long run to do that for over 2,000 kanji. While an extreme example, memorising all the readings for 生 alone would be a nightmare. It will eventually cause major confusion. As others before me have said, it’s much better learning vocab and naturally picking up the readings that way. After a while, you can begin to make rational guesses with words you don’t know using the loose rule of:
on’yomi reading = compound words (at least two kanji next to each other)
kun’yomi reaidng = kanji by themselves, and kanji with hiragana attached to them.

Even then, there’s still lots of exceptions which makes the rule unreliable at times.

On top of those three things, add to that, all the countless mistakes I’ve read about in the later lessons, incomplete Anki decks, missing URL links, and basic information that could of been written in to easily avoided confusion (e.g. the counter 人 not being explained properly).

As things stand, I wouldn’t recommend TextFugu to anyone. There’s free alternatives out there such as http://www.imabi.net/ and of course, Tae Kim’s Guide. I’ve learnt more from Genki and Tae Kim, then I have TextFugu. While Genki can be a bit heavy on the linguistic terms, you can easily grasp the explanations by reviewing the example sentences.

When I look back, I have mixed feelings about this place. I feel ripped off as I definitely haven’t gotten my money’s worth for what I paid for the lifetime membership (back when it was $120). I could have either saved that money or paid for better resources. There’s been many broken promises made to us members, and we keep hearing the same old story. Whenever I read any updates on the blog, I don’t hold out much hope despite how good they sound. If these updates are ever implemented, I expect a lot of us will have long passed the content that will eventually be offered. Simply put, a project this size was far too ambitious for mainly one person. With the amount being charged, higher standards and a more efficient service are the minimum expectations.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. As someone mentioned earlier, we do have a nice little community here. Props to Aikibujin and the rest of you who regularly post and help out. The flip side to buying a membership here has given me some benefits. Half the battle of learning Japanese is knowing how to learn Japanese. After using other resources, I no longer need that hand holding that TextFugu gives. I feel a more independent learner. As I mentioned earlier, that initial springboard in the early seasons gave me a strong foundation on which I’ve built upon.

In closing, this place can become a valuable tool to any Japanese learner in the future. If the right amount of money, time and effort is invested, it could potentially help out the next generation of Japanese learners.