Idea For A New Section Or Pinned Vital Info

[JJ1234567]

Ok two ideas.

1) Ive noticed that when people are thinking about buying a product they ask the board about it to see if anyone has it. This takes quite a bit of space and time (ill admit Im guitly of it too). Now I know we have the search function but I personally am not good enough with it to really narrow things down. So I have a suggestion. Create a section for "User Product Reviews" you can sperate it into hardware catagories. Like "Heater", "skimmer", "lights", etc. People can state what application they are using the product for (i.e. freshwater, marine, planted, reef, fowlr, etc) and if it has met their expectations and why or why not. Think it would be useful tool for someone who is shopping.

2) I think there should be a pinned topic somewhere in the newb section, or the hardware sections that outlines tank sizes. That way when someone says "50 breeder" you can just go check real quick the dimensions they are refering too. Here is a link to a page that has an example of the table I was thinking of. http/www.alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm

just some thoughts.

 

[Bignose]

I definitely second the idea for user reviews. I occasionally browse through some golf forums and every single one of them has an equipment review section. Now, obviously golf is more equipment-driven than fish, but there are enough products and enough people asking for product advice, I think that it could be a very useful/well-trafficked part of the forum. There could be lots of categories including medications, food, how an online broker handled a customer, etc. in addiiton to the ones above. Basically, any good sold in an LFS could have a review.

This is a very good idea, I only wish I had thought of suggesting it first.

 

[demonmagus]

sounds like a good idea, I think there may be a problem if something is crap and the review says that, and the company may get involved - that would be crap lol

 

[Mr Miagi]

In theory the idea is great (Product Review) but is it going to be productive and work?

Bignose, the majority of your Golf forums will have an older member base, hence product reviews may be written with more maturity.

This hobby is very touchy, and people can get offended really quickly, especially when they are manufacturing products. Statements made about products have to be factual, and have to be backed up with evidence, otherwise if they are just heirsay, word of mouth, or non-factual, manufacturers can have grounds for legal action. So what do you decide is factual and not a load of rubbish or user error? Very hard to moderate.

 

[steelhealr]

We've been down this road before. There are 'issues' to think about re: evaluating a product. Better left to individual posts for now, IMO. SH

 

[Bignose]

OK, I'll bite. What 'issues' would arise from having a dedicated sub-forum to reviews that would not occur in a regular thread? Specifically, why could I say a product is bad (or good) in general chit-chat but not in a reviews forum? If you don't want this posted in this thread, please PM me, because I'd really like to know.

In terms of legality, we make sure that it is very clear that these are just the opinion of the poster and not of the forum or the administrators. If these issues were so hard to take care of, how could the golf forums, or heck, for that matter, how could Amazon.com have product reviews? I mean, no manufacturer wants to see their product slammed, but there is also the issue of free speech. And, Re: Miagi, sure it is hard to administrate, but so is a forum with 20,000 members, but it can be done. You just delete the posts that all they say are "it sucks!" and make sure the rules state that all such posts will be deleted without good reasons given. The reviews are all just opinions, I don't expect someone to have to carry out a scientific study to prove their opinions, I just think that it could be a very nice service for members to share their experiences with products.

 

[JJ1234567]

I agree that you could easily avoid the legal issues with the disclaimer, they do it on every single dvd I buy for the comentary and such. I also agree its simple enough to delete posts that dont back up any of their opinions.

But at the very least could we get the pinned thread on tank sizes?

 

[steelhealr]

Can you post the tank thread link here? SH

 

[JJ1234567]

http/www.alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm

 

[Mr Miagi]

OK, I'll bite. What 'issues' would arise from having a dedicated sub-forum to reviews that would not occur in a regular thread? Specifically, why could I say a product is bad (or good) in general chit-chat but not in a reviews forum? If you don't want this posted in this thread, please PM me, because I'd really like to know.

In terms of legality, we make sure that it is very clear that these are just the opinion of the poster and not of the forum or the administrators. If these issues were so hard to take care of, how could the golf forums, or heck, for that matter, how could Amazon.com have product reviews? I mean, no manufacturer wants to see their product slammed, but there is also the issue of free speech. And, Re: Miagi, sure it is hard to administrate, but so is a forum with 20,000 members, but it can be done. You just delete the posts that all they say are "it sucks!" and make sure the rules state that all such posts will be deleted without good reasons given. The reviews are all just opinions, I don't expect someone to have to carry out a scientific study to prove their opinions, I just think that it could be a very nice service for members to share their experiences with products.

Fair enough. Some good points brought up. Like I said, great idea, and it could be beneficial. Id like to see a trial.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i think it could be really useful, maybe you could have it as a mod review forum like the fish index, so people can't just post in it all the time, it has to be approved before it goes on.

 

[Bignose]

So, has this idea been completely nixed? No interest/No desire/Not wanting to deal with some of the issues brought up above by WIlliam?

I'd like to just see something official, even if it is "I don't want to do it," because I'd hate to see this good idea just go unnoticed.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

while we've been down the "product review" road in the past, the second idea of a "tank size database" is something i like. maybe someone could just develop a topic discussing what dimensions one should expect to see for certain volumes of tank? that particular relationship can be tough to visualize sometimes for the uninitiated (like me )

 

[Majjie]

Just thought I'd say that I'm in favour of both ideas. I've done searches on here recently for comments on different tanks and it takes ages to look through all the stuff that comes up.

As long as it was made clear that all posts were personal opinions and that TFF wasn't officially endorsing any of them - I don't see a problem.

It would be really useful if the sub-forum was split up into titled sections for aquariums, filters, lights etc. If the title line of each post had to have the name of the product in it - then it would be really easy to scan through - and members could add their comments for each product.

The tank size database could be pinned in the aquariums section.

Anyone who just posts a comment saying "this tank is crap", or whatever, is bound to get a load of other people jumping in to say they love theirs. And any members wanting to seriously research a product will ignore those remarks anyway and look at the helpful ones that give reasons for their opinions.

 

[JJ1234567]

I havent been online for a while, and this will be my last comment about this suggestion. I see no difference in potential liablity if the posts for product reviews are scattered throughout the forum, or gathered in one place. The posts and peoples opinions remain the same either way. the only difference would be that it gives people looking for info on a RO unit, or a Halide fixture, a place to search that doesnt include scrolling the main boards. Plus when people buy the unit they can add on to each units thread with observations and praises, or stuff they didnt like when appropriate.