Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Everyone has very good points. I agree with the idea to have it open to view for everyone but to set limitations/controls on who can write reviews and maybe these should be farely strict. I say this from experience that when I first joined I thought I knew what good tea was for quite some time but later discovered how off I was. This means that If I had written reviews back then they would have been misinformed harmful reviews. Luckily I was too shy to review
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Wow - great posts and thoughts. I'm learning 
.
I'm liking what Tom and Vic said. A lot.
Just got up - about to dive into some organic matcha!
.I'm liking what Tom and Vic said. A lot.
Just got up - about to dive into some organic matcha!
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
I like this outlook.bsteele wrote:No problem with letting people look around, they can't post anyway if they aren't registered. Looking at reviews is no big deal.
However, there should be requirements for posting within the tea vendor area. Probably something short like 1 month on the boards w/ 15 posts or something.
But I really just came on the board to say that currently my cup is full of my first-ever taste of Dan Cong. And sipping...
Ohmygoodnessthat'samazing. Icouldcryforjoyrightnow...
Glad I could share this moment with you, TC.
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
I think everyone should be able to access the information. I think that people generally like to share and discuss so I feel like most people would end up just registering if they spend any length of time on TeaChat anyway. No body is really losing anything by letting everyone see the information, so why not? 
Jan 16th, '10, 17:19
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debunix
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
What Dan Cong are you drinking?TubbyCow wrote:bsteele wrote: But I really just came on the board to say that currently my cup is full of my first-ever taste of Dan Cong.
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
http://www.sensationalteas.com/oolong.htmldebunix wrote:What Dan Cong are you drinking?
Sensational Tea's Phoenix Mountain Oolong (Feng Huang Dan Cong).
I doubt it's a top 'o the line Dan Cong, but seems like a gooder for a first try.
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Some matcha from O-Cha earlier this afternoon. Now some white with rose. Very delicate and perfect. Beautiful day here but the storms are coming.
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Nice! Thanks for sharing. I love moments like that - live for them. Reading your post made me smile... from someplace deep inside.TubbyCow wrote:But I really just came on the board to say that currently my cup is full of my first-ever taste of Dan Cong. And sipping...
Ohmygoodnessthat'samazing. Icouldcryforjoyrightnow...
Glad I could share this moment with you, TC.
Jan 16th, '10, 23:56
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Interesting points all around ... which is why I asked. Thanks for your candid answers everyone!
As I ponder the TeaVendor Guide, I wonder if this could one day be the forum's greatest resource, greatest written asset. Regardless, it will likely be a very concentrated and valuable wealth of info.
Part of me does not want to give every lurker on the internet the keys to our vault quite so easily while another part of me wants to obviously be as helpful as possible and wants to share with virtually ANYONE who truly cares or has a passion for tea. A big part of me is a member of this forum to mutually share information ... or to help other members.
TBH, and this is not directed at anyone, sometimes it drives me a little crazy when a first time poster "demands" a list of vendors/answers that for some of us have taken years to glean and a lot of trial and error not to mention expense. Then helpful members start listing off vendor after vendor and link after link ... and maybe, maybe not, the new member returns and acknowledges the effort.
So ... there is a choice. The TV Forum can be fully visible to all eyes and to all the bots ... or this can be limited somewhat.
At the end of the day, it will almost certainly be fully visible, but it is an interesting topic for me anyway as it touches on so many issues as well as the www.
The Colts, my all time fave team, won tonight, but the Ravens lost, my 2nd all time fave team ... guess it was a good day as the cup is half full.
As I ponder the TeaVendor Guide, I wonder if this could one day be the forum's greatest resource, greatest written asset. Regardless, it will likely be a very concentrated and valuable wealth of info.
Part of me does not want to give every lurker on the internet the keys to our vault quite so easily while another part of me wants to obviously be as helpful as possible and wants to share with virtually ANYONE who truly cares or has a passion for tea. A big part of me is a member of this forum to mutually share information ... or to help other members.
TBH, and this is not directed at anyone, sometimes it drives me a little crazy when a first time poster "demands" a list of vendors/answers that for some of us have taken years to glean and a lot of trial and error not to mention expense. Then helpful members start listing off vendor after vendor and link after link ... and maybe, maybe not, the new member returns and acknowledges the effort.
So ... there is a choice. The TV Forum can be fully visible to all eyes and to all the bots ... or this can be limited somewhat.
At the end of the day, it will almost certainly be fully visible, but it is an interesting topic for me anyway as it touches on so many issues as well as the www.
The Colts, my all time fave team, won tonight, but the Ravens lost, my 2nd all time fave team ... guess it was a good day as the cup is half full.
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
Just thought I'd update.. finished off the TD with some Christmas-gift Teavana Darjeeling. Definitely better than what I had this morning, although this morning was my own fault (hey, you have to find out what teas don't mix somehow, right?).
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
The wonderful thing about the internet is it is open to almost all , which of course then becomes its greatest weakness.
If I were looking for something like a wireless router, I would read reviews on some tech sites (cnet), look at some vendors, read those reviews. Over time I have found that there is a certain percent of people who are not exactly very clever who give 1 star reviews to things because they have completely unrealistic ideas on what they do, or how to setup and use them.
What does this mean in terms of tea reviews ? You will inevitably find someone will give vendor ABC a 1 star review because they thought the pu'erh they got and boiled for 40 minutes in a sauce pan tasted like dirt.
Some sites identify if the reviewer actually bought the product (Which would work for Adagio, but not other vendors). Others let members rate the reviews, and hide reviews that have some threshold of lower, negitive or zero ratings. You can still see and read them, but it takes an extra click.
While it is not egalitarian, keeping certain people out of the review writing process is in the best interest of getting worthwhile reviews. I think it reasonable to ask review writers to already be a contributing member of the community. I think it reasonable to not use a review that gives a vendor 1 star for taking 4 weeks for a SAL shipment from China, where the vendor clearly states 4-6 weeks.
Finaly, it might be helpful if there was a consistant matrix of criteria to grade a vendor by. It could be summed for an overall rating. For instance 5 areas, product selection, pricing, shipping cost, shipping time & communication. Each would then be 20% of the total score. So 5 stars for selection, 4 for pricing, 3 for shiping cost, 4 for shipping time and 5 for commication would give an overall rating of 4.2 stars.
Just some ideas..
BTW, I am still drinking Saturdays tea, an old Liu Bao, to start Sunday.
If I were looking for something like a wireless router, I would read reviews on some tech sites (cnet), look at some vendors, read those reviews. Over time I have found that there is a certain percent of people who are not exactly very clever who give 1 star reviews to things because they have completely unrealistic ideas on what they do, or how to setup and use them.
What does this mean in terms of tea reviews ? You will inevitably find someone will give vendor ABC a 1 star review because they thought the pu'erh they got and boiled for 40 minutes in a sauce pan tasted like dirt.
Some sites identify if the reviewer actually bought the product (Which would work for Adagio, but not other vendors). Others let members rate the reviews, and hide reviews that have some threshold of lower, negitive or zero ratings. You can still see and read them, but it takes an extra click.
While it is not egalitarian, keeping certain people out of the review writing process is in the best interest of getting worthwhile reviews. I think it reasonable to ask review writers to already be a contributing member of the community. I think it reasonable to not use a review that gives a vendor 1 star for taking 4 weeks for a SAL shipment from China, where the vendor clearly states 4-6 weeks.
Finaly, it might be helpful if there was a consistant matrix of criteria to grade a vendor by. It could be summed for an overall rating. For instance 5 areas, product selection, pricing, shipping cost, shipping time & communication. Each would then be 20% of the total score. So 5 stars for selection, 4 for pricing, 3 for shiping cost, 4 for shipping time and 5 for commication would give an overall rating of 4.2 stars.
Just some ideas..
BTW, I am still drinking Saturdays tea, an old Liu Bao, to start Sunday.
Jan 17th, '10, 13:14
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Saturday TeaDay 1/16/10 Private or public forum?
The only way a *star* rating should count on TC is if it is accompanied by a member post, lending credibility to the star rating. There are plenty of people out there who would seek to inflate their own site rating, and others seeking to lower that of a competitor, etc.
Thanks, interesting thoughts, like I have said, it is a work in progress, time will tell where we go with this.
Thanks, interesting thoughts, like I have said, it is a work in progress, time will tell where we go with this.