Equipment Review Page

[TrevorW]

Just a question I noticed there has not been any equipment reviews posted since 2015 surely some new and wonderful pieces of equipment have emerged since then :question::D

[AndyG]

I submitted a 3 page writeup of a Skywatcher AZ3-R mount a few years ago (2019?), with pics and all. I don't think anyone cared.

[TrevorW]

OH, who is maintaining the site these days I can't see any reviews under the equipment review page from 2019

[RB]

Mike ‘Iceman’ is the only one who can update that page.
Petition him.

:)

[AndyG]

Sorry Trevor, I should have been more clear. My submission was not accepted, nor was there any reply or correspondence despite a 2nd try (just incase the 1st was missed). I didn't mean to pass negative comment upon the readership :)

Thankyou RB. If others have some good reviews to publish, and heed is taken by Mike, I'd be happy to try again. I hold a particularly high value for reviews by "real" people, in our part of the world. There are many review sites, and I feel they get carried away with their dialogue, and perhaps are under pressure as a professional reviewer. Reviews by everyday folks like us is worth more, I feel.

[xelasnave]

It is a pity that Mike can not pass to others things that he is not interested in doing.
To let the equipment review lapse is unforgivable really particularly when the simple act of delegating just that job, and there are others jobs in the same boat, is all it takes.

Anyways let's focus on the bright side the place is still here even if Mike has lost interest.

Maybe a thread which can become a To do list of things to present to Mike as things that will be beneficial to the site...it would be good for wet day entertainment if nothing else..but I am too lazy someone else can start it...
Alex

[N1]

And while we're holding our collective breath, there is always the option of creating a thread under Equipment Discussions, and which could be pinned, assuming that can be done by the regular mods.

[TrevorW]

It appears from comments that the founder no longer takes an active interest in the site, which is a shame but I can understand the hard work he's done over the years running a NFP web page, if this is so at least he should pass on some of that responsibility to others considering how long this site has been active and its large member base :)

[mura_gadi]

I would love to see some write ups, Cloudynight is too heavily bias towards the best bling is the best thing imho. Plenty of mid range items for the not so dedicated to be informed about.

Steve

[TrevorW]

did someone delete their comment ???

[RB]

Yes, I've cleaned up the thread and deleted the inappropriate comments.

RB

[JA]

Mirko is on the money:thumbsup::D

Absolutely right, to make it happen right now simply post it in the Equipment Discussions section, even if not pinned, simply prefix your thread title with the word "REVIEW:" in all capitals, for example:

REVIEW: ABC 300mm f4 Telescope

That way it will stand out to those interested in browsing for reviews or alternatively one could use the forum search function in the Equipment Discussions Section and search on "REVIEW:" to have them all come up.

One comment though on composing reviews: It may be easier to compose reviews off line in a text editor and then cut and paste them in to a Review post, as an entire review as the first post in the thread, otherwise you need to compose your review, which might be lengthy, on line and either get timed out or have some issue at post time or get various member comments and questions interspersed within the main body of the review.

Also for such reviews it would be good to intersperse images WITHIN the text rather than at the end of the review if possible. I feel it just helps people relate better to the message, as does text broken up in to paragraphs, rather than long blocks.

Best
JA

[xelasnave]

That's what we need positive attitude and methods as to how to manage the problem.
Well done.
Alex