Pipereviews.org NOW OPEN in BETA

[Bub]

Martin,
Can people include pictures of their pipes?

 

[MartinH]

That's something I'm working on. I can allow uploads, but posting a picture to a review might be complicated. Right now, if you host an image on flickr, or some such site, you can embed the link and that should appear in the content. But, I haven't gotten there yet.

Let me see what I can figure out.

Thanks for the comment.

Martin

 

[MartinH]

Thanks to all the great feedback from you fine folks, here are the things I'm currently working on. I will update this thread as this work gets completed.

I really, REALLY appreciate all your feedback.

-Martin
==========================================

Beta Updates

Here are the issues I'm currently working through:

1. Correction all forms after the review is entered. The current text display is difficult to read. (Top Priority)

2. Adding "Upload a Picuture of your Pipe". I am going to allow registered users to attach an image of the pipe they are reviewing. Currently, there is no method of displaying the content inline. Users will have click on the "attachment link" to see your pipe. This is due to a strange limitation with Drupal.

3. Once 1&2 are completed, I will continue to add links to resellers for all pipes (as they are available).

 

[Bub]

If people post pictures and describe a pipe a) you could trace the history of a pipe b) offer a place for people to sell/trade a pipe c) have documentation for a pipe

 

[MartinH]

Bub - That is a really cool idea.

Here's a question - BoB has been such a treasure trove for me and such a nice place to be as a new pipe smoker, maybe there is a way to incorporate BoB in this idea. Maybe the trading and selling of pipes that occurs here, can somehow be linked to my site and give people a better idea of what they are purchasing.

I think it's definitely something to think about.

Thanks,

Martin

 

[Bub]

Martin,
If some people are reluctant to show there very extensive and expensive collection on the Internet you could have some face-book like feature. In other words you could share your collection with people you accept as friends.

 

[Bub]

Will you be able to search by
pipe type (e.g., bulldog, rhodesian, pot, etc),
finish (e..g.,rusticated, sand blasted smooth,etc),
grade (e.g.,1k, 2k,etc.),
etc

 

[MartinH]

Bub
-I wrestled with that for a long time. I am not sure I have a good way of doing that, but I do have the system setup to allow people to select their pipe shape.

Do you think this will help?

I'm thinking of setting up either tags, or taxonomies to allow people to identify their pipes in multiple ways.

Thanks,

Martin

 

[LL]

I think messing with sales in any way would be a mistake. It would increase the complexity of the site by an order of magnitude, introduce legal issues, and color the perception of the reviews.

A separate, free-standing "classifieds" site would make a good next project if you're so inclined, but I definitely wouldn't try to combine the two.

As for pictures, a big YES if a user-friendly way can be found. I deal with trying to explain details/concepts/problems every day over the phone to customers, and it can be very frustrating without illustrations. One picture can definitely be worth a thousand words. Pix also provide anchor points and jumping off points for comments when writing reviews.

 

[sand18f]

Martin,
The site looks great so far. I left a review under Peterson.
The suggestions provided by others and mentioned by you will take awhile.
My opinion on the seller link is that it kinda takes away from the overall (pickaword) of the site.
I love the BoB site and characters here :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Just my opinion.

Bill

 

[MartinH]

Sand18f- Thanks so much for your response to this thread, and for leaving a review. I looked at the layout of the Peterson review, and I'm still working on improving the readability of those. I've only gotten up to Dunhil so far.

Thanks,

Martin

 

[MartinH]

Morning Everyone,

I tend to agree that the "sales" or "trade" aspect of a site would interfere with my intended purpose of the reviews site. I don't think I'm going to go that route. I really want the site to be more about information sharing than anything else. Maybe down the road I could pick your brain about a "trade" site.

I'd like to update this fine group on the changes I'm making and provide examples.

Here is what the new form will look like:
http://www.pipereviews.org/?q=node/95 - (Unfortunately, you'll have to login to see the new review form.")

You will see an "attachment" option for pictures, but the image cannot be displayed inline with the review content, unless I can figure out a way to program that.
Update: Max upload size is 2MB. I think that should be enough for a standard picture.

Here is what the new review layout will look like. Forgive me for using the review mentioned earlier in these posts.

http://www.pipereviews.org/?q=node/95/submission/19

I hope that these changes, while maybe minor, will make a significant difference in the use of the site.

Please bear with me as these changes have to be made numerous times for each pipe listed and therefore take an inordinate amount of time. I'm working on it as fast as I can.

Again, I really appreciate the brothers on this site helping me tweak the reviews site and making it the best it can be.

As always, if you have any more suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Many thanks,

Martin

 

[Bub]

Will you summarize results for a pipe maker?
Since a lot of people can smoke the same tobacco, individual reviews can vary.
If someone gives a pipe they own a bad review no one can criticize their review.
If you summarize reviews for a pipe maker then some will get better reviews that others.
Should pipe makers be able to respond to reviews?

 

[MartinH]

Bub-

Yes, exactly. You can click on "Analyze" after you look at "Results" and it will give you a total statistical analysis of all reviews.

Here is an example. This will mean much more, of course, once there are multiple reviews per pipe.

http://www.pipereviews.org/?q=node/95/webform-results/analysis

It appears that I also will need to include a few more fields for each pipe.

1. Pipe Shape
2. Other Description
3. Tobacco most smoked in this pipe.

As I'm still only 50% through with updating the layout as you see it for the Peterson, I'm only on Kai Nielsen, this will take a while but it's in the works.

Thanks for your very valuable feedback, Bub!

Martin

 

[MartinH]

Thanks to the fine folks here at BoB, I've been getting wonderful suggestions for the site. Please see my beta update below.

http://www.pipereviews.org/?q=node/315

Thanks to all of you who are helping me tweak this site and make it what it needs to be for the community.

Here is what I'm currently working on.

I'm indexing all pipe brands so that they can be browsed by first and last name of the maker. I will also add a "Search" feature, but I want to make sure it is optimized before I activate it.

You will see the left hand menu change to two menus

1. Browse Reviews

2. Submit a Review



The first menu will link you directly to the reviews, without requiring additional button clicks. This should make things much easier for site users.

As always, if you have any suggestions, or issues with the site, please contact me through the contact menu, reach out to me at BrothersofBriar.com or email me at martin.house at gmail dot com.



Thanks,

Martin
http://www.pipereviews.org/?q=node/315

 

[MartinH]

Has anyone attempted to upload an image of their pipe yet. If you have, please let me know how the process went. I limited the upload to 2MB, but I'm going to either have to increase the file size, or find a way to do this through a free hosted service as BoB does.

Thanks,

Martin

 

[djf1]

Just did Martin. Very easy to upload! It would be nice though for the picture to show up on the review as a picture instead of the link, but it works! I cant see though the 2 new menus on the left. I wander why?

 

[MartinH]

Hey djf1,

Thanks for your feedback. The menus have not been enabled yet. I have not quite finished cataloging everything. Once I get the index ready, I'm going to make the new menu live. I'm in the S's. ?

My little boy just woke up from his nap, so I'm not sure how much more time I'll have today to work on it. But I'll try to get something up soon.

Thanks,

Martin

 

[Bub]

Have you considered:
definitions of pipe terms
pictures/drawings of various pipe shapes
asking if people own other pipes (how many) by the maker they are reviewing
do you have to own the pipe to write a review

 

[MartinH]

Bub,

I've thought about the shapes, but not beyond that. I have a list of all shapes ready to go, but I'll have to manually add that to each review form. That's not a problem, it'll just take a while.

I guess this shows my ignorance regarding pipes and why I want this kind of site. I really never considered that the shape of a pipe makes a large difference as to how it smokes. I know that bowl size probably does, but I always figured that shape was mere esthetically. I'm assuming that I'm wrong on this?