Improving the Hair Forum

ebonylocs · #1 12-27-2008, 03:29 PM

Girls,

I've been thinking of ways in which the forum can be made more navigable and useful for people seeking hair and products advice. I don't know if these suggestions have been made before, or if they are welcome, but I just thought I should it out there.

1) In the Hair & Products Forum, I think we should have something additional to the current "thread" format, which can be difficult to navigate. We could have a section for articles / know how. This could be divided into a number of individual topics. There are certain themes and questions that recur. For example, we could have a section on deep conditioning, one on relaxing / texlaxing, one on heat straightening, one on formal hairstyles for natural hair, etc. And in each section up to five of the best threads / articles on each topic or question could be posted "permanently" in the section (kind of like stickies now, but different). We could invite knowledgeable members to write comprehensive articles on particular topics. And/or we could vote on the best articles / most informative threads, kind of like on yahoo answers. Every couple of months we could have a new vote on the posted articles / threads or other contenders to make sure that the most current info is posted.

2) We could have some sort of table with the most popular 100 or so products used by members, and then people would post the cheapest online source they have found. If someone finds a cheap source, then they would input the new website and price. And for each item the five cheapest websites would be automatically ranked from cheapest to most expensive. In this way, when members want to buy products they would go to this list to find the best prices. In determining which products make the list, every month or two members would be allowed to select a maximum (say 10) products they are interested in, and then the 100 with most total votes would make the list.

Maybe I'm a bit crazy

, but these were just some ideas I was having.

Denise11 · #2 12-27-2008, 04:14 PM

I just got here, but I think it's fine just the way it is. That's why I joined.

ajacks · #3 12-27-2008, 04:22 PM

Number 1 sounds a lot like BHM. If more people used the Product Review section, that would cover number two.

ebonylocs · #4 12-27-2008, 04:31 PM

Hmmm. I guess it's a no-go then.

Denise11- I joined too, a couple of years ago even, but I still think there's room for improvement.

Ajacks: Thanks. Haven't really visited BHM. On the product review idea, I think going through all the threads in the product review forum is a bit different from just clicking on one list that gives the cheapest sources for the most popular products of the month.

ajacks · #5 12-27-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonylocs

Ajacks: Thanks. Haven't really visited BHM. On the product review idea, I think going through all the threads in the product review forum is a bit different from just clicking on one list that gives the cheapest sources for the most popular products of the month.

I agree that we don't have anything that covers the bolded. I was only commenting that the product review section has a lot of the most popular products with reviews and ratings.

shtow · #6 12-27-2008, 04:46 PM

I like the second idea but I honestly like the forum format.

LaidBak · #7 12-27-2008, 06:18 PM

Maybe we could have a seperate section for all of the challenges? Kind of separate it the way Children's Hair Care, The Hair Product Exchange Forum, etc are. That way there won't be so many duplicate/similar challenges.
Also, I like the idea of articles for frequently discussed subjects.

gorgeous86 · #8 12-27-2008, 06:23 PM

I think that there should be a sticky for the newbies who want to introduce themselves, post their starting pics, goals, ect. ect. That's about it. Other than that, I love the format of this site.

Platinum · #9 12-27-2008, 06:47 PM

I like it the way it is.

Changing it would probably confuse me.

Stepiphanie · #10 12-27-2008, 07:31 PM

I actually think those are some pretty good suggestions. It would make it easier and much faster to navigate the forum and find what you're looking for

Makenzie · #11 01-06-2009, 12:09 PM

I like idea number 1. I don't see a need for articles, but if there could be sub groups under the main hair section. Deep conditioning, henna, moisture/protein, growth aids, tools etc. I think it would then be easier to search for what we are looking for.

soulie · #12 01-06-2009, 12:18 PM

I rarely use the search function in the forum because the 30 second wait slows me down. I usually search via Google, e.g., {nourish and shine site:longhaircareforum.com} and it will give me all the posts that include my search terms.

I like the current arrangement of the forum; I think I learn more by there being a lack of subcategories. When I'm browsing topics, something may catch my eye that wasn't what I was interested in, but it turns out to be very educational. If I was browsing only within a "deep conditioners" subforum I would miss out on good roller setting information.

Makenzie · #13 01-06-2009, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulie

I rarely use the search function in the forum because the 30 second wait slows me down. I usually search via Google, e.g., {nourish and shine site:longhaircareforum.com} and it will give me all the posts that include my search terms.

I like the current arrangement of the forum; I think I learn more by there being a lack of subcategories. When I'm browsing topics, something may catch my eye that wasn't what I was interested in, but it turns out to be very educational. If I was browsing only within a "deep conditioners" subforum I would miss out on good roller setting information.

Good point. I never thought of it that way. I've learned a lot this way.

Solitude · #14 01-07-2009, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonylocs

Girls,

Maybe I'm a bit crazy

, but these were just some ideas I was having.

You're not crazy. Past and current members have had a vision for a hair care site that is organized differently - that's why some have founded their own sites.

Thanks for sharing your suggestions. I don't think anything will change, though.

ebonylocs · #15 01-11-2009, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulie

I like the current arrangement of the forum; I think I learn more by there being a lack of subcategories. When I'm browsing topics, something may catch my eye that wasn't what I was interested in, but it turns out to be very educational. If I was browsing only within a "deep conditioners" subforum I would miss out on good roller setting information.

Good point. I was thinking that as well - that having free discussion allows for cross-fertilisation and also freshness of info and perspectivesc.

But I was thinking these would be *additional* to the discussion forums.

I.e. Imaging if I wanted a product for split ends, I could just click on that and would see a list of current split end products - Tigi Ego Boost, Joico, or whatever, and then I could view them by average rating given by members or by price per 100 ml. At least this would give me basic info for starting a thread if I still wanted to hear more perspectives. Imagine the same thing with hard protein conditioners, light protein conditioners, moisturising conditioners, etc.

This kind of thing would take a fair amount of elbow grease to set up, I suspect. But if it were done very systematically, then thereafter it would basically be run by member input.