tldr: I propose we create and adopt a set of standard "templates" which all new threads must follow.
The past year or so has been marked with growing discussion/concern in the comments of /r/BuyItForLife about increasingly repetitive, low-effort and/or non-useful posts. Some have proposed imposing rules about the items themselves (e.g. banning Stanley thermos posts), but personally I feel there is an easier way to address the issue and to significantly raise the standard-of-quality WITHOUT the burden of arbitrary/obtuse rules or extra work for the mods.
The goal of required templates would be to increase the informative value of posts, to increase transparency (by making clear the nature and duration of ownership/use), and to standardize navigation of the sub in general. Enforcing that posts follow high-quality templates also sets a good precedent for the nature of future posts to the sub. Think about it - if you visit a new sub and all of the posts are well-written and well-formatted following a standard structure (including good discussion and plenty of insight from the owner) the level of effort expected from any future posts of your own will be evident. Enforcing templates has a few other benefits as well:
- Encourages users to search for past posts / reviews rather than attempting low-effort posts. If you're brand new here and considering writing a post about your beloved Stanley thermos, but see that it will require some effort, you'll probably spend a bit more time searching to see if someone's already done it first.
- Encourages greater discussion in comments because thread-level submissions will be fewer-in-number and require more effort. If the sub is flooded with low-effort posts it's difficult to sustain discussion - but when each and every thread meets a certain standard for quality, the visibility and quality of discussion will rise.
- Attic and thrift-store finds (which the submitter has not ever actually used) will automatically not fit these criteria and will be self-selected away without the need for any obtuse rules
- Many subs do "Best-Ofs" on a periodic basis (often at the end of each year). If this is something the BIFL sub decides to do, a standard post format makes this much easier to execute logistically (and grants much more exposure to high-quality posts).
- Popular requests / recommendations (those that reach the sidebar) would now share a common format and style, increasing navigability and making it easier for visitors to compare similar items.
- Moderation would be easy and transparent. Posts either fit these criteria or they don't, making the sub much easier to police and maintain (compared to the current status-quo, which I imagine is quite difficult given the huge variety in format and quality of posts).
So what do I mean by standard "templates"? Below are two suggestions. There may be potential for others (i.e. tutorials on care and maintenance for a certain kind of item), but I think it's best to stick to the bare minimum to keep things as simple as possible.
Product Recommendation Template:
If you are submitting a post to recommend an item as BIFL to the sub, you must include:
- Make, model, and approximate date-of-first-purchase (or date-of-manufacture)
- Photos of Product: Self-explanatory, the more the better.
- Cost: How much would someone expect to pay to acquire this product today? Can be new and/or used prices.
- Nature of Ownership: How long have YOU personally owned the item? Who owned it previously (i.e. family heirloom)? Did you buy it new or used, and if used, how did you acquire it? Where might the same item be purchased / acquired now? Who owns this item and/or owned it previously (yourself, family member, professional chef, machinist, etc)?
- Nature of Use: How was this item used? What was it tasked with accomplishing, and how well did it do so? What abuse did it suffer, and how frequently? Has it been in continuous use or was it stored away for extended periods? What sort of wear and tear did it perform particularly well against? What sort of environmental conditions was it used / stored in (humidity, water submersion, salt, very low/high temperatures, etc)? If you can't comment on specific details of the item's history and use (because you just found it, inherited it, etc), then your post will be removed.
- Differentiators: What aspects or features of this product really blew you away and made you a "believer"? How did ownership / use of this product improve your life, ease of tasks, etc? Should cover BIFL-relevant points, but can also address other qualities (fit-and-finish, quality of materials you touch, ease of storage, etc).
- Care and Upkeep: What level of care / upkeep did this item receive? Did it get any special treatment, preventative maintenance, etc? What tasks, if any, must be performed to keep the item in good shape (service intervals, washing, oiling/greasing, etc)? How much effort / time would someone else need to invest to keep this item in good working order, or to reasonably extend its lifetime? What pitfalls should others be aware of (i.e. avoid dish soap when washing a cast-iron skillet)?
- Comparison to Alternatives: What sets this item apart from its competitors? How is this item not just good, but specifically better than the rest of the field? How does this item justify its price relative to the competition? In which situations did this item outperform another, inferior item you've personally used? Is this item superior due to its raw on-task performance, its longevity, or its ease of maintenance? What drawbacks does this item have that alternatives may better address? If you've owned other items that compete directly (and are also BIFL-quality), what sets the two apart?
This could also be used to expose low-quality items as well. If an item professes to be BIFL-quality but turns out to fall well below that mark, these discussion points could be used to explain why.
Requests Template:
If you are requesting recommendations for a certain kind of item, you must include:
- Item Type: In just a few words, what kind of item are you looking for?
- Budget: How much are you willing to spend on this item? Is your budget flexible or firm?
- Typical Nature of Use: What will this item be used for? What conditions will it be used in (indoors, outdoors, camping, construction, cooking, etc)? Is this item for personal or enterprise use? How frequently do you expect it to be used, and in what way (will it be used restaurant kitchen 30 hours a week, or 2 hours per month in your own home)? What level of care should this item expect to receive (lovingly maintained by a single person vs. shared among 30+ employees that may abuse it)? Are there any rare-but-plausible scenarios this item should be able to perform in?
- Styling / Aesthetics: What kind of aesthetic, if any, do you prefer for the item? Are you completely indifferent to the item's styling? Do you have examples of other items that demonstrate the design "language" you're going for? Are there other items you own or plan to own - specific colors / styles - that this one must match (i.e. are you looking for bathroom fixtures that all share an oil-rubbed bronze finish)?
- Past Items: What similar items, if any, have you owned in the past? How did they fail to meet your needs? What drove you to abandon these products (voluntarily or involuntarily, e.g. the product breaking)? What features of past items did you enjoy or hate most?
- Requirements: List any features or qualities the product MUST have for you to buy it (size, waterproof, certain size, load capacity, zero-maintenance, etc).
- Desired: List features or qualities you would like to have, but are not necessarily a requirement, especially if they would drive you out of your price range.
- Avoid: List of features or qualities you specifically do not want in the product you are buying.
I imagine we would want to keep the pinned "Questions or Requests" thread so that less specific requests (that would not meet these criteria) can still be answered.
Like many of you, I love the concept of this sub, but feel we are way undershooting on its potential. I think through some careful and tactful changes such as this we could come a lot closer to meeting the mark without extra burden on the moderation team. Discuss!
Submitted January 31, 2019 at 02:24PM by RandX4056 http://bit.ly/2Wy205d
