Just read Jims item on Neighbourhoods and noted Merlins comments about submitting material.

First I think Merlin has answered himself - rule one, listen to the moaners, smile sweetly, and get on with the real business. The Antipodes did not spawn the phrase whingeing Pom for nowt!

I have had no problems submitting reviews, and although I would have preferred if Gunnie had not Americanised my Centurion review I know as a long-time Club newsletter editor that the Editor has the final call, and so it should be.

Posting pics is a major problem for me as I use an iMac, but so far I have just posted the link and let some kind member do the rest.

The reason I have not submitted any feature material to the site is a combined lack of inspiration and the fact that there are so many people out there who know heaps more than I do that maybe I would be teaching Granny, so to speak.

I made reference a while ago to the 10% factor in any club/organisation/whatever. There will be them that does, and them that dont and them that moan no matter what.

So in a nut shell, if anyone wants to submit then there is nothing stopping them but themselves.

Regards Dave

Content can be added through the board that lets you do it yourself, or just send it all to [email protected] and let us worry about it.

Rob

I'm sorry to have "Americanized" your review Dave.

I can safely say that won't happen again.

However, I think your review was a nice and valuable one - hopefully you submit another one someday soon. I am an iMac user too - no problems posting pics though...

Gunnie

I would really like to submit some content to the site but I have never really been sure how to do it. I could write the whole article in MS Word and have all of the pictures imbedded in the text and sent it off as an attachment. Send the whole .doc file to a moderator? PM me and let me know. I threatened to do a review a few months ago and never got it done.

Thanks in advance,

Shaun

Hi there

It's a while since I spouted off , but I think I can remember the jist...

It's sad, but true, that a lot of members seem to be put off by the existing system for submitting reviews etc.

I can't explain this, because never had a problem - Tin Can and all those concerned with aircraft stuff have done me proud - but regrettably A-UK still has some reviews which don't appear on the Main Site.

I say regrettably, because I want to see Armorama become a "one stop shop". At the moment, the one area that's weak is Reviews. I still check out Modeling Madness and Hyperscale because they have far more reviews... I really dislike the tone of a lot of their Forum discussions, but the review content pulls me back.

I put my own reviews on the Big-A and A-UK. My plan for the future is to make the A-UK content a supplement for the Main Site review... more pics, more detailed comparisons etc. This way we can hopefully encourage plenty of 2-way traffic between the sites. :-)

All the best

Rowan (whingeing Pom )

Rowan,
Well I don't know if we can make it much easier than either submitting it electronically via a web-browser or submitting it via email.

I also cleaned-up the whole submission system and actually populated the "Submitting Content" link on the homepage menu.

Submitting Content

Cheers,
Jim

I mentioned the review because I was thinking about doing one. However, what if I wanted to write an article on the good luck I have had being a newbie airbrusher with the Testors Acryl paints, (Thanks everybody!!) I mean, how do you submit a basic "how to" content?
I am only asking because I have taken a lot away from this site and don't feel like I have given enough back... I am really kind of good at this modeling thing, I think. Hee Hee

Shaun

Well, I didn't know a lot of members are "put-off" by the submitting or editing of their content. Personally, I wouldn't oppose a different system - even up to the user posting their own natively written material. However, that certainly defeats the purpose of having an "editor" or any kind of continuity or style in the product. Quite frankly, the overwhelming amount of what's submitted does need to be "edited". Cutting that portion out might increase what's submitted, but...

I agree wholeheartedly that the Reviews Area could use a boost, I too go looking elsewhere for current information/critque as well, and skip their Forum(s). I don't mind Dave stepping forward and commenting that he didn't like the "treatment" of his submission. I won't do it again. I'm standing by for a better suggestion too.

Gunnie

Gunnie,
Rowan is not saying they were "put off" because anything was edited. I followed this conversation on the MSN UK site and there was a concern that the online submission form was too complicated and put off users who might otherwise have submitted reviews.

This is why I have made some changes to the review and content submission process. I guess this site is suffering from "TOO BIG-I-tus" because I know we have many places where it talks about what is preferred for submitting content. Oh well...more work needed.

And don't worry I have "americanized" plenty of things as well. Mostly paragraph breaks and things like that. Our german and dutch members have funny sentence structures.

Jim

Sorry, I sit corrected. The "Submitting Content" is way different than it was last time I checked. I will get busy with a submission or two. Should have looked...

Shaun

Hi again

As Jim says, the "problem" doesn't lie with the editors... it just that some members find the submission form confusing or intimidating... so please don't think that I mean any criticism of the Review Staff.

As I say... I don't know the answer... I think the form is as simple and straight-forward as possible.

Of course any standardized format is at the expense of flexibility... thinking back to my first review... I prepared it all in advance, only to find it didn't fit the format at all! So I reworked it until it did...

My point is that there's a wealth of untapped material out there... if we can only encourage members to contribute.

All the best

Rowan

If I want to submit a feature article, how do I go about doing it?

Or does my work have to be perfect?

~Chip :-)

Check the submitting content link (above) and you'll find another link to the FAQa area that talks about the guidelines for submitting feature (articles).

Thanks,
Jim

James,
Are you saying that you emailed a review to either [email protected] or [email protected] and it did not get published? If so that would be my error and I apologize. If you submitted them via the electronic submission form (and it actually went through to the database) then the only reason it would not have been added would be if it were lacking substantial content (in other words a few sentences - we get a few of these probably from our younger users). I doubt it was the latter so I am assuming you mailed it. If so I will double-check my content folders at home to see if I can track it down.

The pestering Jim rule applies for stuff like this as well.

Jim

Hi again

James (Phantom Major) is a perfect example of the point I'm trying to make...

He's been instrumental in getting A-UK up and running! The sheer quantity of stuff he's submitted is astounding and real joy. :-)

The crux to this whole issue is to find a way of making the system fit the users... rather than vice versa. I know some people will accuse me of banging a drum on this one, but when we get right... hold onto your seats... Armorama will go into orbit!!! :-)

All the best

Rowan

P.S. Jim! Don't you go stealing Phantom from A-UK! ..... :-)

Regarding reviews, several things need to happen:

1) The 'Bookshelf needs to be expanded. Primarily because it is a fundamental reference point for new members or members who are looking for info. on a new subject area. I am prepared to offer my services in the following areas: WW2 British Uniforms and Equipment.

2) Reviews. Not everything people build or want is new. The creation of a database of manufacturers of conversion sets, figures etc. are areas which have a lot of posts. I started a thread a week ago re. availability of 1/35 British figures and it got a lot of interest/feedback. This needs to be expanded or even re-thought. A lot more reviews would be desirable.

Just a couple of ideas.... jim

Hi again

The Bookshelf will only expand if people are prepared to submit content. I must admit I accidentally submitted a book review ("Hawker Hurricane - Inside and Out") to the Aircraft section... where it sits to this day...

I agree with Jim that an overhaul is in order... and now's probably a good time, while they're still relatively few reviews.

I find listing the reviews in order of "hits" rather pointless, and it will get really clumsy once there are a lot of reviews in each category. An alphabetical system by subject would be far more useful. Maybe a distinction should also be made between Previews and Reviews...

Whatever, I'll still keep sending them in :-)... I should have a new Preview to submit tomorrow.

All the best

Rowan

Oh dear i seem to have started something! ( i used a little i so i can remain anonymous)

Have to admit to also submitting a book review to 'Aircraft'. My excuse is that I was so full of enthusiasm to contribute something that I failed to think. Perhaps the appropriate Editor or Jim could do a cull and remove errant book reviews and put them where they should be?

I still have reservations about having to make changes because of percieved problems. On the occasions that I have had problems with anything at Armorama I have made a noise and people have helped. I stick with my assertion that folks will do what they want, and if what they want is to go off and do something somewhere else then changing things here will make no difference.

My Scottish ancestry makes me appreciate a good bargain, and Amorama has always delivered more than I have paid for!

Regards Dave

In an earlier post of this thread, a gentleman opined that he thought reviews and bookshelf additions were lacking.
I'd like to write a review of the last kit I "finished."

I respectfully submit this suggestion:
On the Review page itself, please add this URL:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.phpop=modload&name=Reviews&file=submit&req=write_review

to facilitate an easier addition to the Review section.

I knew I read this thread some time ago, in the Forums, and made a mental note that my current kit had not yet been reviewed and i would add one after I finished it. So I found the URL through a Forum search.
This might help a little...

Thanks for letting us add our two cents...

FWIW -
After I wrote this, I found the URL in the upper left hand corner, gray box, labeled "Send us a Review" -> Duh.