New Idea for the Forum

[Sirshredalot]

I think we need a new new section/forum for the message board....or whatever.

I think we need a product review section.

From everything from brakes, to shifters, to camshafts, to suspensions components, to body parts....etc....
reviewing things like performance, durability, fit/finish, overall satisfaction, bargain, etc.

I have had alot of questions about certain products, in interests of purchase and have not had any inside opinions.
I also have have alot of experience with parts and could offer alot of insight and opinions about products.

I think if we have a section defined by categories (chassis, engine, drivetrain, etc) we could expand knowledge and interest alot.
I have no idea if it would be hard to do or not but I thin it would be beneficial.

Lemme know if you agree or not.

God bless
-Shred

[spyder_xlch]

Isn't that what the supplier forum is for? Maybe just change that to "supplier/product review"?

[Sirshredalot]

I suppose....but I was proposing somthing different.

Like how the forum index lists:

General discussion
Off Topic
h-body.org info
Best of
engine tech
carb/ efi
trans/ driveline
suspe/nsion and brake
racing chassis
Electrical
...etc.....

Have another section called reviews....or somthing of that nature and list it perhaps as follows.

engine
driveline
interior
exterior
brakes/suspension
electrical
services
...etc...

And have each review listed according to manufacturer/brand name in alphabetical order in each section

Let us know how that hood fits, lets us know how well you like that new camshaft....did is loose a lobe?..power band as advertised?
Let other people know how great your new Spohn control arms are, tell us all how bad those hyundai/thunderbird front clip replacement kits look.

Ex:
I also play guitar....and have owned ALOT of musical equipment over the years....there is a website called harmony-central.com where musicians can post reviews of guitars or amps or pickups or effects etc and others can read them.....this is a little bit different because tone is a matter of opinion.....but parts are parts.

That kinda thing

God bless
-Shred

[spyder_xlch]

It would be more organized and easier to find that way.

[monzamess]

My problem with that is, we already have a bunch of forums already, for what is still a relatively small community. Adding that many more will just complicate things. We'd have a bunch of new forums with 1-2 postings each, maybe.

It would probably be best to create a SINGLE new forum for all product reviews. In the unlikely event it gets crowded enough to cause problems, then we can consider breaking it out into categories.

[spyder_xlch]

What if in the main forum index you just add "Product Review" and then when you click the link it takes you to another page with all the categories? That way the main forum index isn't a mile long but it's still easy to find what your looking for.

[marco_1978_spyder]

You know...
one useful thing about such a page would be an indicator of what items are being sought after most by H body owners.
That could help stimulate interest in product lines for H bodies.

[res0o7eb]

This might be a good idea for a couple of reasons:
1. The General Discussion is disproportionately larger than all of the other forums, but contains a wide variety of very useful information.
2. The search capabilites are somewhat lacking, making it difficult to find information.
3. More organization would make it easier to find information without endless looking and searching.
So, a few questions:
Q1. What are the rules for posting to a Product Review forum? A specific product with a specific part number by a specific vendor. Supplier ABC Part No. 1234 part type? Or just part type? For example, Hooker P/N 2129 Small-block V-8 Chevrolet headers? Or headers?
Q2. How is an Engine Product Review forum different than the Engine Tech forum? I can see some differences.
Q3. What would the content of posts in the Product Review forums contain? Things like fit & finish, specifications, 'user experience', installation details, pricing, where to buy, etc.? Anything else? I am sure there are many more.
Q4. What about tools as the subject of a Product Review?

You know...
one useful thing about such a page would be an indicator of what items are being sought after most by H body owners.
That could help stimulate interest in product lines for H bodies.

I am assuming that a Product Review forum is about products that already exist. Am I missing something here?

[spyder_xlch]

You know...
one useful thing about such a page would be an indicator of what items are being sought after most by H body owners.
That could help stimulate interest in product lines for H bodies.

I am assuming that a Product Review forum is about products that already exist. Am I missing something here?

I think your right Tom. First time for everything. Maybe in the product review section there could be a products wanted section? Just for posting products you are looking for. I can see adding a product review or a products wanted will require alot of moderating. As far as the general discussion being so large, alot of it is because things get posted there and not in the correct forum. I realize the moderators can't be here 24/7 and can't do it all. If you need help I'd be willing to be a mod with limited access such as moving posts around.

[monzamess]

I added a Product Reviews forum right under Suppliers. Let's see how it goes before doing anything more.

[Sirshredalot]

Alright guys.....I know some of you bought those control arms from Spohn....Get the reviews in....

Im waiting on my Art Carr shifter to get here so as soon as I get a chance to play with it I'll have its review up.

Some reviews on torque converters would be nice....Just for my personal knowledge and pleasure.
2lucke4u...Did you say you had a redneck performance converter?

God bless
-Shred

[ColinOpseth]

My problem with that is, we already have a bunch of forums already, for what is still a relatively small community. Adding that many more will just complicate things. We'd have a bunch of new forums with 1-2 postings each, maybe.

It would probably be best to create a SINGLE new forum for all product reviews. In the unlikely event it gets crowded enough to cause problems, then we can consider breaking it out into categories.

I agree. There's already too much cross-posting. Some of our forums only get a few posts per month.

[zeke]

As far as the general discussion being so large, alot of it is because things get posted there and not in the correct forum. I realize the moderators can't be here 24/7 and can't do it all. If you need help I'd be willing to be a mod with limited access such as moving posts around.

That's exactly what this place needs! More mods moving posts to where they belong.

I think a lot of the time, people feel there post will get more and quicker scrutiny in the busiest fora.

[AusRs]

leave it the way it is .............it works well enough
general discussions can and do answer many questions
as for mods moving posts around ,that could get a little complicated LOL
these forums are very informative ,personally i would rather see 10 forums busy than 20 forums with few threads in them

[spyder_xlch]

When I want info on putting an automatic overdrive tranny in my car I would look in the drivetrain forum. Problem is there's probably more info on it in the general forum. If you think about it, the general forum would be pretty small if things got posted where they belong. Another problem is how things always get off the original topic. Somebody makes a post about a spindle swap and somehow the subject gets changed to carbs. I'm guilty of doing these things myself. It's just something that we have to live with. I guess we should just be glad we have this forum.