I feel the same way about the Forum. Even when I ordered my Test Kit it sat on my desk. I was very intimidated by it. Now I use it quite often, even testing other people's pools. The reason is that my friends are terrified of the Pool Store. Each time they leave it costs them a lot of $$$. I have used the test kit so often that I need refills.
Luckily I found this place because I could not imagine the problems I would have been faced with long term if I did not get rid of the FROG SYSTEM. I already had one small stain (probably because of the frog) on my liner that has taken me hours to remove. Running the frog on empty with the dial all the way up. I do like the liquid chlorine method and do not mind this work daily or every other day. Yes, the bac pac and other methods are very easy to use, but I feel this is what takes people away from proper testing as they kind of allow the pool to go unattended and then one day wake up with algae.
I do not plan on having to SLAM my pool EVER! But if I do have to, I clearly know the problem will be taken care of quickly.