I came across the above statement on reading a post on the the forargyll
'why did they spend a quarter of a million?' thread (that thread comes alive again from time to time and there are some interesting comments that have appeared recently)
http://forargyll.com/2009/02/mygaelicco ... mment-3985
Saoghalbeag raises some very interesting and important points in the post on forargyll.
'saoghalbeag Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 am
What I wanted to say is that I am still reading this - linked to it from Foram na Gaidhlig.
I first came across Gaelic after travelling/living in Scotland for a few years as a backpacker. At that time I felt my interest in Gaelic was not taken seriously by the hardcore clasarch/camanachd playing locals and after getting caught up one summer in a nasty battle between the Fios and SYHA (insert smiley lol) I figured an Aussie learning the language was a (bag)pipe dream.
However, back in Australia I discoverd there was an ONLINE Gaelic community with learners from everywhere. I started learning ‘BBC Gaelic’ and visiting sites such as Taic, as well as joining a local self-help class (too far away to visit regularly). I also spent a small fortune on An Cursa Inntrigidh. SMO’s course was good, but insanely expensive in Aussie dollars and the real benefits seem only to come via a visit to Skye for in-person workshops - a journey beyond my means.
The most valuable resource by far has been Foram na Gaidhlig, except they don’t have a course attached to the forum, or tutors taking skype calls and checking assessment each week (although there is a wee bit of this). In my opinion, as a struggling distance learner, what the online Gaelic community needs is something that blends the content of the BBC and Taic with the community of the Forum - preferrably FREE to allow access to anyone (indeed many people have been flabbergasted to hear that I have paid to learn Gaelic, saying that it should be the other way around!)
As far as mygaelic.com goes, I am not sure it is bringing anything NEW to the table, and I am curious to know whether the creators even realised FnG existed before constructing their new site, and if so, why were resources not put into making it more useful to learners, rather than creating a new site?
I hope it is not because FnG is not explicitly linked to any one Scottish organisation and therefore ‘out of the control’ of the higher powers of Gaeldom, because in my mind the best thing about mygaelic.com is that the Scottish Gaelic community finally appear to be acknowledging the international Gaelic community. I hope things become more tangible, such as allocating points for migrants who speak Gaelic, or extending the current Gaelic teacher recruitment drive to include overseas teachers.'
The most valuable resource by far has been Foram na Gaidhlig
Just felt this was worth a bump! 
In the current climate of extremely parochial and petty 'debates', the international view of 'smallworld' is a breath of fresh air.
The Gaelic community reaches across the world, and there are learning opportunities to suit a variety of pockets, on-site and on-line, e.g. the free resources of Beag air Bheag and TAIC, the voluntary Skype sessions offered on this forum and others, the SMO Cùrsa Inntrigh and Adhartais, the Skype-based programmes of both the Atlantic Gaelic Academy (definitely cheaper than SMO) and the Loch Lomond School in Nova Scotia.
As well as learning sites, there are Gaelic groups and users active on Facebook, Twitter, this forum, the German Gaelic forum, Abair Thusa, , Scotster, mygaelic itself, LinkedIn, etc etc....not to mention all the reply posts to articles in the papers; you name it, there are Gaelic members and groups doing their own wee bit everywhere out there.
There is little or no awareness of this world of Gaelic demonstrated by the players in the tiny but headline-grabbing Gaelic-related dramas in Scotland today.
In the current climate of extremely parochial and petty 'debates', the international view of 'smallworld' is a breath of fresh air.
The Gaelic community reaches across the world, and there are learning opportunities to suit a variety of pockets, on-site and on-line, e.g. the free resources of Beag air Bheag and TAIC, the voluntary Skype sessions offered on this forum and others, the SMO Cùrsa Inntrigh and Adhartais, the Skype-based programmes of both the Atlantic Gaelic Academy (definitely cheaper than SMO) and the Loch Lomond School in Nova Scotia.
As well as learning sites, there are Gaelic groups and users active on Facebook, Twitter, this forum, the German Gaelic forum, Abair Thusa, , Scotster, mygaelic itself, LinkedIn, etc etc....not to mention all the reply posts to articles in the papers; you name it, there are Gaelic members and groups doing their own wee bit everywhere out there.
There is little or no awareness of this world of Gaelic demonstrated by the players in the tiny but headline-grabbing Gaelic-related dramas in Scotland today.