template for reviews

[PlayMoto]

fellow PF's,

 

Reading through almost every topic inside this review section, a couple of things caught my eye and some even bothered me.
There are topics in here, that have nothing to do with reviews or reports about sets. Next to that, there are mostly very good and detailed reviews, with good information and subject lines.
But, most reviews are so differently setup and some info is very hard to find back inside the topics.

I have a suggestion, and would like to read your opinions on this.

- Would it be good to use a simple template, to cover all the basic information? Like so:

• Set number
• Set description
• Theme
• Release date
• Value for money/assessment
• Actual review with pics

And would it be an idea, to add a link to the set at playmodb inside the review? (like making a link of the setnumber)
To make it even attractive, would it be possible for Heather to add a link at playmodb to set reviews on PF?

Would that be benificial for both and could it increase traffic on both sites?


An example for a template could look like this:

Set: 5114
Description: Touring Motorcycle with Rider
Theme: Vacation/Holiday
Release date:2011

Review:
blablabla   

I would love to see what you all think and if it would be usefull and if so, how this could be implemented.

[cowabounga]

Hey!
About the link to playmoDB: some of the sets reviewed aren't in the DB when the report is done. It would be difficult for Heather to provide the link, and she couldn't insert it in the first post of the thread, because she's not an admin here.
People like to do things their way also, so I guess you couldn't impose a certain template.
I love to see everybody's different style for making a review, and when an info is missing, they're always glad to answer you when asked. I agree you have to read the whole thread to gather all the info, but that's what makes the fun, too.

[bonniebeth]

Members have at times suggested templates for certain types of topics, like reviews or brainstorms. But we've always felt that's perhaps just a little too controlling. The details of implemeting it would be odd, as far as how to enforce something like that. I mean, would people be getting "mod letters" for not sticking to the template correctly? That doesn't seem worth making a stink over, and most members would probably not appreciate it.

Of course, some reviews are better than others. I've seen some excellent ones that covered every possible base, and I've seen some that basically just show the picture on the front of the box. Some are better at it than others, and I certainly don't claim to be among the best. But it's better people have the freedom to post reviews in whatever style they wish, and most will get better at it with practice.

It might be more useful to have a topic entitled, for example, "tips for making an effective review." It could cover some rather non-specific guidelines as to what type of information is useful in a review, and a reminder to always include the set number in the title of your topic.

[Bolingbroke]

I think Martin's suggestion makes sense and is very convenient. I'm not too keen on 'controlling', but I'd rather we had stricter guidelines for this rather than Mods butting in each and every time a thread went slightly off-topic 

And thanks for the work you're doing, Martin.

[bonniebeth]

I'm not too keen on 'controlling', but I'd rather we had stricter guidelines for this rather than Mods butting in each and every time a thread went slightly off-topic 

Thanks, that was very constructive.

The thing is, I agree in a perfect world it would all be very neat and organized if we followed one template. But the reality is, a lot of members would just be completely put off of doing reviews for fear of doing it wrong. I think it would pretty much kill the review board.

[sbblabotw]

I'm all for anything that makes information easier to find, but I think Martin's excellent review-index project takes care of the bulk of that; set names and themes are language-dependent, and searching the forum for a set number already works quite well, so as long as the set number is somewhere in the review (preferably in the title) that would be sufficient.

As for the link to PlaymoDB, absolutely, go right ahead! Use the "To post this set on a forum that uses BBCode:" text at the bottom of every set-page and part-page, to make it nice and tidy. Even if a set doesn't exist yet, it's easy to construct a link that will work as soon as the set gets inserted: use "http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=" with the set number at the end. (And for heaven's sakes, shoot me a message if there's a set I need to insert!) In the other direction, I can add the links to reviews into the "External links" box on my set-pages, pretty easily, if there's no objection.

[PlayMoto]

Thanks, that was very constructive.

The thing is, I agree in a perfect world it would all be very neat and organized if we followed one template. But the reality is, a lot of members would just be completely put off of doing reviews for fear of doing it wrong. I think it would pretty much kill the review board.

i disagree. I wasn't talking about rules or enforcing, that is something you brought up.
My idea was about giving everybody a means to do something, so if they want to do a review, it would look a bit more structured. The review itself would be entirely up to the users, as they do now.

My problem and the idea came from the fact, that there are some excellent reviews, but with no proper subject lines. So, they are very hard to find. Next to this, there are some reviews with subjects that make no sense.
Providing a template, would give each user a way to do it more uniformly. Adding it to a topic as you suggest would be great, i'm not talking about enforcing or being angry mods, but making it more professional without becoming corporate. Just be as great as it is right now.

I truly read some great reviews and found very interesting reading, and that should not change 

edit:
and i would have gladly updated the subjects etc, but that's for the moderators. I did report some topics though to make it easy for you to change them.

[Bolingbroke]

I don't think it would be that much of a hassle. Several other online fora (Lego ones for eg) follow a similar reviewing convention. By the way, Martin. I don't know if this sorting of old reviews is still going on, but there were also a couple of good (and funny) ones by Abbot Hamilton (3628 etc).

[bonniebeth]

Ok Martin, I'm sorry. Just seemed when you said a single template and wanted to know how it could be implemented that you wanted everyone to be required to use one template in making reviews.

If you'd like to make up a suggested template that people could refer to if they wanted some ideas for making a better review, then I don't see why not. I just don't want anyone to feel like if they don't do it a certain way, they're doing it wrong, or that their review isn't any good, as it would only serve to discourage participation.

Oh, and I did change the subjects on those topics you reported.

[Wolf Knight]

I like doing my reviews the way I do them. I am having a great time and so much fun and I hope others, like cowabounga (Arnaud) have a great time enjoying them. So sure, propose any template you like, but am for people choosing their own unique style of doing their reviews.

Following ones own style when doing a review is having fun, and that's what PF is all about!! Sure its not always helpful to others, who prefer special services, but at least it does not discourage someone to do a review and help others who are interested on a set.

Its hard enough to "butt in" when a topic derails, I'd hate doing the same to a great review because it does not follow a certain or specific template.