Organized User Gear Reviews - feedback welcome

3136 Views 31 Replies 15 Participants Last post by fettouhi, Aug 2, 2005

jemsite

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2005

I wanted to get some feedback from you guys about adding an integrated "user review" module to the site/forum. The idea would be to have an organized "review" database which integrates with your forum username/profile.

There reviews would be categorized, organized & searchable with ratings. It would not be used for "discussion" just user submitted reviews.

All comments welcome... glen

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

fettouhi

· #2 · Jul 27, 2005

Sounds like a great idea

.

Regards

André

Wis Redz of Silvanost

· #3 · Jul 27, 2005

I like the idea

It will be really helpful to people searching a new piece of gear.

markg5150

· #4 · Jul 27, 2005

Great idea, not everybody lives near a decent shop where you can try things out.

geetarmonkey

· #5 · Jul 27, 2005

Great idea

jemsite

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 27, 2005

cool. keep 'em coming.

it's most likely a done deal, but i'm still interested in comments... glen

PS - (i'm glad i posted here in offtopic and not the "help" are - LOL)

rgr

· #7 · Jul 27, 2005

Sounds like a Harmony-Central thing, except moderated(?) Meaning no reviews like "This amp f***in' rocks dood!". Not meaning to bash HC, there are some helpful reviews there, but you have to filter through the (gear) prejudice and stupidity.

What about discussion about reviews? Like "I saw your review on xxxx, you said you didn't like feature xxxxx, can you explain that more? I was thinking it might work well for me." Where would that go? Still in Gear and Equipment?

Just throwing that out, it sounds like a good idea, because we could interact with the people that wrote the reviews, and since we usually have a good idea where most of the people here are coming from, it could be really helpful.

Glen, you are a most fargin' righteous forum type dood!

jemsite

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 27, 2005

Sure, there could be some logical followup... the review software would allow for that as it's established and a commercial software (like vBulletin is to forums).

What would not be enouraged would be followup stuff like "i was thinking about buying this amp, what pedals should I use with it to sound like Vai"

I could also set it up the "reviews" approval in several ways. For example it could allow "guest" reviews (ala HC) but that first pass thru a moderation bin and must be approved. At the same time established jemsite member reviews could go right in without being checked.

ScottB

· #9 · Jul 27, 2005

Great idea Glen!

Would the review area be located in the forums or on the main jemsite page?

bonehead189

· #10 · Jul 28, 2005

Cool glen, you can do it! Sounds awesome.

bammbamm

· #11 · Jul 28, 2005

It would definately provide a solid area to reference when looking for new gear.
I'm game.
So would there be specific areas such as Amps, Effects, guitars (all sorted by brands), etc? This could get HUGE quickly.

bonehead189

· #12 · Jul 28, 2005

bammbamm said:
It would definately provide a solid area to reference when looking for new gear.
I'm game.
So would there be specific areas such as Amps, Effects, guitars (all sorted by brands), etc? This could get HUGE quickly.

I like that idea bammbamm. Company, Part, Model, etc. would be a good way to manage a search for the Organized User Gear Reviews.

bpd111

· #13 · Jul 28, 2005

Great idea. Period.

Jemsite is the first place I check when I contemplate a purchase. Good info though, even using the search function, can be tricky to find.

I like the idea of moderating it somehow, but I'm not sure how it would be accomplished. It amazes me how many singular products can be considered the be-all-end-all for one guy and destined for the scrap metal bin post-haste by the next. It would be nice if we could lessen that phenomenon.

Some debate may be useful, but it doesn't sound like that's what you want. Anyway, it's a great idea and I'm sure it will be put to good use here.

jemsite

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 28, 2005

good stuff. When i mean "moderating" i mean disallowing pointless/joke posts, not censorship if that makes sense.

yes, these "products" will be organized
Guitars
--Ibanez
--Fender
--etc.
Effects
Amps

Once the "products" are categorized they can be moved around so that should not be an issue.

If you guys want to post some main category ideas that is welcome as i get this setup... glen

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jemsite

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jul 28, 2005

you guys can see a preview here...

http://www.jemsite.com/reviews/

...glen

bonehead189

· #16 · Jul 28, 2005

Nice setup, I like the way it's coming together!

bammbamm

· #17 · Jul 28, 2005

Yeah, youu could sort amplifiers by type such as Tube, solid state, modelling, along with the brand, perhaps a sub category of each mfr or have it cross referenced a couple different ways. Multiple search methods would be a plus, such as guitars/trem equipped/piezo equipped/hard tail, single coil, double and so on, mix and match etc.

More search options will yield more accurate results should your query be more verbose, such as: "6 string" Piezo, you'd see the Ibanez DE models and maybe Parker Fly and the PRS Piezo models pop up. (provided there is a review)
Recording gear too eh?
Of course then you get into DAW's, deck units, etc...
Like I say, could get quite large.

jim777

· #18 · Jul 28, 2005

It sounds like a great idea to me; there's just soooo much stuff out there, there's no way to try it all. And that AR2000 is smokin

jemsite

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jul 29, 2005

bamm, it won't be possible to have that much database integration & queries (without writing a completely custom product database & review application). Likewise, i don't forsee much "bass guitar" listings for now anyways.

but there are customizable fields and keywords available so if you click on a keyword it will find other products (that are reviewed) with similar keywords.

I also want to steer people to review categories. For example if they're looking for a 7-string they probably know that and don't need to sift thru 6-strings. And vice versa

here's how the reviews will works...

a "product" (that will be reviewed) must be added to the database. I will allow soon anyone to input a "product" but probably they will require validation before being viewed. I might seek some help if people want to help input products or check their validity... add keywords, check typos, etc. to make sure things are correct. this creates a "product info" database. Much like how idbm.com started years ago cataloging movies.

there are a half dozen axes in there now.

THEN people can REVIEW the products. Click on a product (such as the AR2000) and click REVIEW and you can see the template that users will follow. there are no reviews in the database now.

Regarding the actual gear/product catalog-ing i added some custom fields

List Price ($USD):
Color choices:
Model Year(s):
Country of Origin:

if anyone has some other fields they recommend please post ASAP before the catalog is built

...glen

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megadeth

· #20 · Jul 29, 2005

OMFG !!! it's awesome !! goodbye google.

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

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