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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
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    North of some border
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    Suggestion for new sub forums for reviews

    I don't know if this idea has been suggested before. It came from a few unrelated threads.

    - One person wondered why people don't post a lot in response to questions about particular hosts. My response was that most of us don't have time to read every "Which host should I choose?" thread, and that posts with the host's name in the subject line probably get more responses. The rest of us can then see if the host is one that we know without viewing every thread.

    - In another thread, someone commented that people post more to bash hosts than to praise them. If people are happy with their hosts, they're less likely to come back here and say so. I agree with that to a point, but a lot of us here aren't looking for information on hosts. We're here for other reasons, and maybe we'll post about hosts we know if it's easy for us to do so.

    - Someone else mentioned that some subject lines can be really hurtful, e.g. "MickeyMouse Hosting sucks."

    - A common response when someone asks for host reviews is to tell the poster to do a search in the archives. Good advice, but then you get all kinds of posts with that host's name in them, and it sometimes takes a lot of wading to find relevant information.

    My suggestion: Create new subforums in the web hosting forum and the reseller hosting forum titled "Web host reviews." In the sticky for each forum, state that the first post in each thread should follow a format something like this:

    Subject line: CompanyName review (e.g. "MickeyMouse Hosting review")
    Contents:
    - Company URL
    - Company location
    - Server location(s)
    - Optional other details
    - Overview
    - Pros
    - Cons
    Ratings:
    - Pricing: (A, B, C, etc.)
    - Support:
    - Server:
    - Uptime:
    - Billing:
    Conclusion

    Other people could see the company name in the subject line (and sort threads by subject line to find a particular one) and then add their comments, positive or negative. The posts after the first one might just have the pros and cons.

    The idea for this format is based on this thread . I didn't include all the details in the first post because most hosts have several packages to choose from, and people can go to their sites to find package details.

    Advantages:

    - The reviews would be easier for people to find, both those looking for hosts and those who can post reviews = more reviews.

    - The subject lines would help people find host reviews and wouldn't bias people who don't read the threads.

    - The format would help people include relevant information that often isn't mentioned (e.g. server locations) and would help people find that information in searches.

    - The other forums would be more focused on other web-related discussions. This might encourage more participation from those who aren't interested in web hosting reviews.

    To expand on this idea, these sub-forums could also include review request threads, e.g. "MickeyMouse Hosting: review requested" (with the host name first again so that subject lines could be sorted alphabetically).

    The existing forums could still be for hosting-related questions on a variety of topics as well as for rants. People still need somewhere to blow off steam.

    Your thoughts?

    Lois
    "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." – Theodore Roosevelt

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    North of some border
    Posts
    5,613
    Another advantage that I just thought of is that people would be more likely to return to post reviews if they knew exactly where to find the thread where they'd first read about their host.

    Lois
    "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." – Theodore Roosevelt

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