Sep 22, 2009
Review Sorting Temporarily Reverted
Due to an unresolved technical issue, namely the downvoted reviews continuing to appear before the neutral reviews, I have reverted the default sorting to the “old way” and removed the voting and reporting features. It will likely take a week or two to get it worked out, since I am going backpacking in the mountains this weekend for my birthday.
If you are among those who wish for the reversion to become permanent and for the new sorting not to come back, think of this as your chance to put your money where your mouth is.
Jon,
It looks wonderful again!
I can instantly see the new reviews and comfortably make my way through them:-)
Enjoy the mountains…I shall sit in my office and think of you, you lucky ……oh and Happy Birthday!
Well, whether or not it stays this (the old) way is still up for debate, as I remain convinced that the new way is better for the site overall. I understand that there are strong feelings amongst some of the most loyal and hard core users, and I do not want to alienate long-time users, but my goal is to provide the best experience for all of the users, not just the hard core.
The site gets around 20,000 unique users visiting a month. The vast majority of these are not frequent or constant visitors. They tend to look at one or two blends, spend about 10 minutes doing so, and then leave the site. I interpret this as using the site to compare a couple of things they might be thinking of trying, reading the first few reviews, and then making a decision and leaving to go buy it.
They should see the absolute best reviews that are in the database, not just whoever happened to be flapping their gums most recently. That is the sole reason I made the changes I did, and it continues to be the reason I plan on going back to that default view just as soon as I return and get the bugs worked out of the sorting order.
What I would like to see is a reasonable discussion of how I could accommodate the two systems, making the old view available to those who would like it, while retaining the new default view for all casual (not logged in) viewers of the site.
Unfortunately, I have not gotten much out of this except for grief and whining from a small contingent of malcontents (some of whom have been harassing enough to have to be blocked from my email) who, no surprise, have never donated, written a review, or in any way contributed to the continued well-being of the site. Their leaving is not only no loss, it is a positive step in the evolution of Tobacco Reviews.
I have a few additional ideas as to how to better serve the loyal, constant user to the site, while not making it a “members only” club, but I will save those until my return.
Of course, there is always the option of making it a “members only” club as well…having to pay a dollar or to a month to use the site would cut down significantly on the greedy whiners…
I agree with your logic. I find that having the option of logging into the site to see the most recent reviews in relatively short order is probably the best solution. That way one does not have to wade through a number of pages to get to where the newest reviews are and it saves time for the user. I would not be adverse to paying a nominal monthly usage fee, if that helps in the reduction of the whine factor on your end and it will clearly help better the site. I am sure that there are many users that feel the same way. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by the number of subscriptions, if you end up going that way.
Not to change the subject but something is wrong in the database. Check out the tobaccos now listed for Westminster, or Abingdon, or your favorite blends. SOmething has corrupted the data and the blends are showing up, well, screwy!!
Probably not related to this sorting issue. But still an issue
Plex