We could go one of two ways (that I know of): either a traditional forum like most other internet discussion boards, seperate from Tobacco Reviews except for the use of one login/password for the site and the forums, or we could have something integrated into the site itself, perhaps as a “discuss this tobacco/brand/etc…” kind of thing.

Personally, I rather like the second option, because it makes more clear the division I see, and want to enforce, between full fledged reviews of blends and mere chit chat about them. Having the discussion integrated into each blend and brand would also lessen the amount of work in maintaining the forums, as there would be an obvious place for each type of posting (with the exception of general chit chat, which I will get to in a minute).

However, I also see the merits in keeping all of the “fluff” chatter seperate from the main body of the site, so I am not sure which way to go. What do you think? What kind of forums would you like?

As far as the generalized forums, or forums about pipes, cigars, or whatever else is not specifically tobacco-related, I am not sure that Tobacco Reviews needs such a thing. There are plently of generalized pipe-smokers forums on the internet, and the value of Tobacco Reviews lies in it being tightly focused on the actual tobacco, instead of the pipes, accessories, what have you that tends to dominate most other sites. however, if there is a strong sentiment that I am wrong in this appraisal, I would be willing to consider implementing more generalized forums in addition. Once again; what do you want our forums to be like?

• No one has to remember two different logins and passwords
• I don’t have to keep up with who has registered in order to comment on the blog
• Everyone’s blog comments and reviews can be tied together so there is no more guessing who the blog commenter is
• It sets the stages for the Tobacco Reviews Forums

Now, of course this is just released today, so there may be a glitch or two going forward, but as always, if you drop me an email, I’ll sort it out as quick as I can.

Enjoy the new feature!

I have recently begun to take a much harder line in what I will accept as review content. This will continue from here on out, as I want to keep Tobacco Reviews as a useful source of reviews of tobacco products.The front page of the site states:

It is generally best to confine your reviews only to the tobacco in question and not to respond to what others have written previously. While lively arguments about the merits of certain pipe tobaccos can be entertaining to all, this is not the place for them.

This seems to be too vague for some people, which was not my intent. In order to clear up any misunderstandings, here is a list of things that Tobacco Reviews IS NOT:

• A Messageboard
• A Chat Room
• A Clubhouse
• A debate club

All content that falls into one of those categories is going to be expunged from the site. I do not want responses to other peoples reviews, mentions of other peoples reviews, reviews of other peoples reviews, theories about how tobaccos are made, marketed, sold or promoted, remarks about tobacco blenders or manufacturers as individuals, complaints about the site, myself, or anyone else.

This site is for the reviewing of pipe tobacco blends, as you find them, not as you wish they were. Please confine yourself to writing only about your particular experience with what you actually put in your pipe and smoked, and leave all ill-informed pontificating about who made it, who else smoked it, who sold it for what price and all other such rot where it belongs, on newsgroups.

I may be coming across as an ogre here, but I am okay with that. This site is about useful experiences with pipe tobacco, and nothing else. I aim to keep it that way, whether any specific person liks it or not. That’s the fun part about being the boss

Okay, there may be a few weird fluctuations over the next day or so due to the move. If you see the number of tobaccos or review go up and down, or reviews mysteriously blink in and out of existance, have no fear, it is just me getting the databases synched up again. There is no need to email me and tell me that something is missing that used to be there. I know all about it, and am working as fast as I can to fix it up. Relax, and it will all be back in a day or so.

Enjoy the new blog layout and behave yourselves

Anyway, I plan on making the switch late on Sunday this weekend, or early next week, so if you get a blank page, or reviews seem to magically dissappear, have no fear, and try back in an hour or so. It is likely just me moving things from one server to another.

I can’t gurantee that it is error-free in all situations, but accroding to my testing, it is pretty robust, so go play with it and see if you can break it. I’ll be watching for error reports all day and fixing them (if there are any) as they appear.

There has also been a huge increase in the number of new blends added to the site with an image already in place, which is wonderful as well. I hope that the increased number of blend images adds to all of your enjoyment of the site.

Hopefully some enterprising folks out there will take it upon themselves to photograph the bulk tobaccos they have, and upload them to the site, as most of what does not have images at this point are those blends that do not come in tins and pouches. Blenders, Store Owners, and dedicated lovers of bulks, I’m looking to you!

(click for full size)

It is now possible to exclude, as well as include, certain tobaccos from your search.

I’m quite enjoying this process of not having to guess what everyone would want the feature to do, so please, if you use the Advanced Search, let your voice be heard and tell me how it can be made better.

A bit better, don’t you think? I sure do.

I am interested in knowing your opinions though, as ultimately, you are the ones who will be using it on a daily basis.

Does the new design make it easier to find what you are looking for? Harder? Does it completely miss something you think it should have?

Let me know what you think and I’ll knock out another version if we need it. This time, we get a search page that works

• Images must be less than 1mb in size
• no files other than image files can be uploaded
• You can only upload images for Blends that do not already have one
• I will be checking every file uploaded for appropriateness
• Your login is logged when you upload an image

The last two sound a bit harsher than I intended them to, but I really don’t expect them to apply to any of the fine folks here. Of course, if anyone does blatantly abuse the image system, I’ll just delete all their reviews without warning.