I've been working on a doozy of a list lately; my apologies in advance for anyone actually willing to read it all and digest it (which I sincerely hope at least the site developers do...). Many are repeats of things I think are important; some are things I haven't seen discussed much, if at all, but seem like they would be welcome tweaks/improvements. If I missed/didn't repeat something that has been said here, it's not because I don't find it important...I likely just flat out forgot to include it in the notes I've been scribbling for days now lol.
I do not use the app at all (haven't even downloaded it), so please keep in mind that everything I am talking about relates to the desktop or mobile site only.
1. To echo everyone else's number one complaint, please for the love of all things beautiful, get CS posts off the main page. Not much else to add, except I do find it odd that there seems to have been a step backwards in terms of technology here...in the old BT, The Off-Topic threads weren't on the main feed...not sure why now it's so difficult to get CS threads off the main feed.
(1a. and speaking of CS issues, please, fix the sample problems. And the shipping problems. And add a place for folks to input their own receipts on their accounts so that they can get their points. And allow folks to edit reviews. Those would take care of at *least* 50% of posts in the first place.)
2. To echo itscarin's #2, newbies posting the same thread 2, 3, or even 4 times in different groups has got to stop. At the very least, there needs to be a spam filter or some sort of warning "hey, you've already posted this once; nope, can't post it again". But, it does need to be smart enough to recognize a difference in "this is a new thread" vs "this is just an edit of an existing thread"...I've seen several complaints lately of posts/threads disappearing, and it seems to be that the OP edited their post one or more times, so perhaps an overzealous spam filter can't currently differentiate between a new post and an edit?
3. Instead of the "featured post" at the top of every conversation page being hype for a new product or some other "thread of the week", can you please make it a comprehensive FAQ about the boards instead? Or at least make an FAQ that is stuck to the top along with the featured post. One that covers most everything...where to post CS problems, how to search/find info, the basics of what info goes where. In other forums I frequent, at least the large ones, there's also a basic "directory post" stickied to the top of the page, with links to the most popular/basic threads. I'd include things like the New Release thread, the Beauty News thread, the threads for each brand, What Are You Wearing, Skincare 101, Makeup 101, The Question thread, etc. Basic threads that point newbies in the right direction to help themselves and learn to navigate BIC a bit. And just as importantly, these threads need to be monitored by mods and questions need to be answered there.
4. I want a way to custom-filter posts/threads, and have an alert if a topic I'm interested in pops up...maybe I want to know every time a new thread pertaining to "oily hair" gets posted. But I also want it to have a negative search capability (as in "do not include posts that contain 'Influenster' ")
5. Moderation...there needs to be more active moderation on a board this size, and frankly, it needs to be 24/7. Mods need to be working behind the scenes to delete duplicate posts, move posts to their proper group, answer CS questions, etc. I just popped into the Rouge group just to see what it looks like, and I see posts for "what's a good face primer for dry skin", "naked heat palette out of stock", and "cream contour"...none of those are Rouge topics. *If you are going to push groups as the major division in the site, then you need to be enforcing them*
6. Speaking of Groups...there are way too many, encouraging multiple posts across several groups. Someone posts in skincare aware, but then they post in combo skin too, but then since their skin is combo-oily, they post in the oily group too...it's dizzying trying to figure it all out. Groups should be more like the old BT was...broad high-level groups with subgroups underneath. I don't see much need for more than 7 or 8 (makeup, skin care, hair, bath/body, CS, Off Topic, one that's status based [Rouge/VIB/BI]...any others?)...further breakdown should occur as subgroups. Breaking everything up into super-small categories as your only breakdown is causing more confusion, not less. Less is more here...keep groups simple.
7. Make the CS Group look like the rest of the groups. I was amazed (and not in a good way) when I looked at the CS feed...no freaking wonder folks post new threads all the time...they can't see what threads already exist. I would never wade through that mess to answer a question for myself, so I don't really expect the newbies to either.
8. Thank you for page numbers at the tops of most pages, but can you please extend that to *all* pages? It doesn't show up at the top of Page 1 in any thread or the Main Feed.
9. Time stamps. I know I have mentioned this once before, but I don't think I've seen anyone else mention it. Maybe everyone else uses the "relative" time option (i.e. where it shows "3 hours ago" instead of "12:19"), but I can't stand relative times, so I use the absolute option. I am in the Central time zone, so that's what I have set as my display preference. HOWEVER...times still show differently in different places. The conversation feed displays Pacific times (even though my preference is Central); when I click through to a thread, the post times are all correct with Central times (so I know my preference is indeed set). If I click through someone's name to see their profile, times on their profile page revert back to relative instead of absolute. Time should be consistent across the site. Additionally, please add an am/pm indicator...it becomes important when using absolute times and trying to figure out what was posted when if I'm backtracking through a conversation.
10. Pictures. Are we ever getting control of our pictures back like we had before? I refuse to post any more face pics until I have better/easier/quicker control of them. I had to spend several hours one day painstakingly going through post by post to delete ones I had posted on BT. I've had unwanted attention in the past, and while it's not a major concern for me now, with the previous album feature, I could at least contain and quickly change permissions on any pics I didn't want up anymore. Without that, I won't post anything identifying, as trying to hunt them down later becomes difficult.
11. My Posts page (as it relates to me, and when I look at the list of other users' posts) : I want this to display the time each post on the list was made, but instead it displays the time of the most recent post in whatever thread the post came from.
12. Conversation feed should display the post time of the original post, the author, and the number of posts in the thread, in addition to the currently-displayed most recent post time & author.
13. When replying to posts, I want to see, if not the entire thread, at least the last 10 or 20 posts instead of just the one post I am responding to. Since I can't reply to a reply of a reply, I'm likely not *really* replying to that post anyways, but one after it that won't allow replies anymore. Sigh.
(13a. fix the fact that I can't reply to a reply of a reply...)
14. Also when replying to posts, a "preview post" feature would be lovely. One that shows me how my post will look once posted...with the tiny text box, I have a hard time seeing typos, errors, bad formatting, messed up smilies, etc...preview post would allow me to see and proofread my entire post as it will look, and allow me to make corrections before posting (instead of after, where seemingly overzealous spam-bots hate edits...).
15. The mobile site is entirely too slow; 15, 20 or more seconds to load a page is ridiculous and frustrating. And I can't scroll while it's loading (well, I can, but it just jumps me back up to the top of the page once it finally finishes). I spend less time per session here, as I get tired of waiting, and most of my BIC time is relegated to my phone, not my desktop.
16. I *hate* that I can't zoom in on pics on the mobile site...if I want to look at a detail in a pic, I have to download it to my phone so I can zoom in. Using the "enlarge" or "zoom" magnifying glass icon just takes me to a new page of the pic with no text, but even there I still can't zoom in without downloading the pic.
17. If you made it this far, thank you and go have a drink (just as soon as you fix it all lol) 😛
And for some general commentary on the newness as opposed to just technical issues/suggestions:
BT was awesome. BIC has potential, but in striving for "more", it has taken a huge step back in terms of "that community feeling". Community has given way to IG and FB type posts...once and done posters where the OP has no idea what BIC really is, and they really don't care...it's all either "hallllp me because I'm too lazy to search and read" or "look what influenster sent me". It has become just another "social media outlet" (and yes, that is absolutely a derogatory term to me) where people post their own question/new item/whatever in a new thread and no one stops to chat or have a meaningful conversation. If that's the vibe Sephora is going for, then so be it, but in all the recent articles, Sephora is touting a "community" so I'm not sure a site full of "cold impersonal bragging" and "spoonfeed me answers" was Sephora's intention.
But here's the real question, not for the developers and mods, but for everyone else: at what point do we, the community members, take a step back and realize we can't fight the flood; that if we can't assimilate the newbies to us, heaven forbid, are we going to assimilate to them, or do we just walk away? I think some version of this question is on many folks' minds, folks that have been around a while. I know personally, I keep coming back at least for now, and likely will solely for Ulta and Deals (oh, the irony there...), but I'm nowhere near as enthusiastic as I once was. I now look for only those two threads, and if I see anything interesting on the first page or two of the feed, I'll stop in and check it out. Rarely do I make it to page 3 of the feed...why bother? It's just more CS posts and inane questions. Every now and again I'll try to direct a newbie in the right direction, but I also have to avoid those threads many days as my natural tendency to snark is quite real and quite biting. I know that's not nice, so try to I keep my mouth shut when I feel annoyed or perturbed lol. But overall, I think this is a tough question to answer, and it's one that everyone will have to consider and answer on their own at some point, sadly.
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party to our lovely @veronika23 soon!!! 😉
