OUTDOORSmagic has gone all ‘Changing Rooms’ over the past few weeks by giving the User Review section, the place where you can read about what works in the real world, a much-needed makeover. Unlike our chums from the BBC we made far more than the odd MDF cupboard and decorated with a fuchsia throw: we’ve been busy adding loads of new 2002 products and
linking them up with
relevant articles. More good news is that submitting new products to the system will be back on track.
And there's a whole lot of other changes going on at the same time. We've revamped the system to bring together all the different bits of product information we have across the site so they're accessible from the review system. From now on, when you’re looking at a product in the consumer review system, if we’ve already reviewed that product there’ll be a link to our review at the top. Check out the Lowe Alpine Walkabout 37 to see what I mean.
In the same way, if we have useful articles relating to a particular category of product, then you’ll find links from the product category page to those articles, like buying and maintenance guides.
We’ve done the same thing with relevant forum threads, the Haglöfs LIM Ultimate Jacket is one example. You can now start forum threads off both product and category pages in the consumer review section and then they'll appear as links on that page as well as appearing in the gear section of the forum. So obviously start a thread at category level if you're talking generally about say, torches, and off the product level is you're talking about the Black Diamond Moonlight, for example.
Last, but by no means least, we’ve also linked up brand information. Every brand featured in the review section now has its own page that lists its products and any relevant articles and forum threads. Take a look at the Berghaus page as an example, or search for any brand you like.
Confused? Well just go and have a look around and see what you think. Everything should be working just fine, but as usual, if you come across any problems then email me. There'll be more and more stuff interlinked over time as fresh product and reviews go on the site.
In a related move, we've also made some changes to the member pages, now if you click on a member's name in the forum you'll see displayed any articles they've written and forum threads they've started, as well as their latest forum post. Take a look at Jon for an (extreme) example.
