Shared Reviews- Expanded Category Descriptions – Garden & Tools
There is currently no pre-approval process for reviews. You write it, you publish it, zap! It goes live. But then what? If you did not place your review in the proper category, at some point it will probably be reported to the administrators and the review will be pulled. It will be sent back to you for editing, then it will actually have to be approved before it will go live again. If a review is pulled you will lose points on your Share Score, and so may people who voted for your review. No one will be happy.
However, the current category structure is definitely rough around the edges, and there is no help provided for those who really want to put a review in the correct place. Some of the most active participants at the site have been asking for a short description for each category to help people decide what belongs there, but this is a big task, and the administration is facing many big tasks as they try to get the site on firm financial ground.
So… simply based on several months of experience I will attempt to provide some guidance for the categories. PLEASE NOTE- this is in no way an official statement of SR policy, and using these guidelines does not guarantee that you will never have a review pulled. But I hope that they will help. Some categories seem fairly obvious. Others are problematic for almost everyone.
You should always place a review in the category for which the manufacturer designed it. For example, one successful reviewer placed a hydration pack in ATV Accessories because that is how her son used it. The review was pulled and moved to Recreation / Outdoor Equipment because that is how it is marketed. You are free to describe creative uses for a product, but always choose to place it in the category for which it is primarily designed.
Garden & Tools
General Comment: Except for BBQ Accessories which has its own category, accessories for various types of power equipment can go in the category with those items. I was recently asked to move a lawnmower cover from Shelters / Storage to Lawnmowers.
Garden & Tools Subcategories
BBQ Accessories
This category is for all the gadgets and utensils associated with grills of all kinds. Covers should also go here.
BBQs
Gas, charcoal, and grates for campfire use should go here.
Fertilizers
All kinds of plant growth products go in this category. There are some products that are multi-category such as fertilizer and weed killer in one. Another cross-category product might be seed starter kits that are pre-fertilized. However, the fertilizer should be the component that you want to emphasize. There are mini-greenhouse kits both here and in Greenhouses. My opinion is that they should be in Greenhouses rather than here, but this has not been tested.
Gazebos / Shelters
This category can include both permanent and temporary shelters. It refers to the kind of shelters that people set up to do daytime activities in (not sleeping tents). Screen houses, canopies, and wooden structures all go here.
Greenhouses
This is where the type of structure that is made to protect plants from the cold, concentrate or diffuse solar rays, etc. should go. This definitely includes free-standing greenhouses, and starter kits that include some kind of dome that does the same thing as a large greenhouse. I would think that it should include greenhouse windows that can be added to your house, but these might also go under Windows & Doors. Another product that might go here is cold frames, but this has not been tested.
Hand Tools
This category is for hand tools specifically associated with gardening. Tools not related to gardening go in Household / Power Tools or Household / Tools. Such things as trowels, hand cultivators, and other things that are not powered go here.
Hedge Trimmers
This is specifically for hedge trimming tools whether they are powered or not. This is not clippers or pruners.
Hoses / Accessories
This is pretty self explanatory. All kinds of water delivery hoses go here, as well as fittings, nozzles, sprayers, and storage units specific to hoses can go in this category.
Lawn Edging
This category seems to include everything from powered lawn edgers, through hand operated edgers, to various types of barriers one places in the ground between lawns and gardens, and also including small sections of various types of low fencing that is used as edging. There is overlap with the Weed Eaters category as some of these machines are dual function. I would suggest putting it in the category of the function that you have the most to explain.
Lawn Mowers
All types of machines that mow grass go here whether they are powered or not, riding or walk behind, or possible the kind you pull behind a tractor! Accessories for a mower could also go here, although trailers for lawn tractors should probably go in Wheelbarrows / Wagons.
Leaf Blowers
This is the category for power tools that blow leaves and other debris. There are some dual-purpose machines that both vacuum and blow. You will have to decide if you wish to place those here or in Household / Vaccums. If you want to discuss one of the features more than another perhaps the category where you have the most to say would be the best choice.
Outdoor Decor
This is a very broad category. Pretty much anything you use in your yard, garden or patio that is decorative rather than functional goes here. In fact, some things may be functional as well as decorative in the case of chiminerias, flags, etc. Note that Outdoor Lighting has its own category.
Outdoor Lighting
All kinds of lights go here, whether they are electric, solar, battery powered, or various types of lights with flames.
Paving
Paving blocks of all kinds go here. These may be purchased ones, or kits from which you make your own. This might include the kinds of interlocking blocks from which you make retaining walls. This has not been tested.
Pest Control
Any kind of product that is used to get rid of or move nuisance animals goes here. This could be anything from beavers to ants! It would include traps, poisons, exclusion devises (such as bird netting for fruit trees), etc.
Pools & Accessories
Every kind of pool from wading pools, to garden pools, to in-ground pools go here, along with all the things you need to make them work right. There is probably overlap with Toys / Water Toys. If you have a pool toy that is specifically for kids, it should probably go there.
Power Lawn Equipment
Any type of powered machine to use around your lawn that does not have its own category should go here. Please read this list and see if your machine has its own category before placing it here!
Power Tools
This is for all the other kinds of powered hand-held tools that are used for gardening or outside work. There may be considerable overlap with Power Lawn Equipment and Household / Power Tools. To me, Equipment implies bigger. But there is a lot of gray area between Garden and Household Power Tools.
Pressure Washers
This is pretty self explanatory.
Snowblowers
Again, this is pretty self explanatory.
Storage / Sheds
This is for large, outdoor storage units. The administration does not want covers for various types of lawn equipment to be put here. Those should go in the category of the equipment they are meant to cover. For example, if you have a cover specifically for your snowblower, put it in Snowblowers.
Weed Control
All kinds of sprays, applications, and perhaps specialty tools that are specific to weeding might go here. Note, however, that Weed Eaters (string or bar-type trimmers) have their own category.
Weed Eaters
This category is for powered trimmers that either use line or small bars which whirl and cut the weeds. They are sometimes called string trimmers or weed whackers. There is overlap with the Lawn Edging category as some of these machines are dual function. I would suggest putting it in the category of the function that you have the most to explain.
Wheelbarrows / Wagons
This is the category for wheeled, non-motorized equipment for hauling stuff (or kids, in the case of wagons!). I think that this would also be the place for trailers that are pulled behind lawn tractors.
AGAIN NOTE- this is in no way an official statement of SR policy, and using these guidelines does not guarantee that you will never have a review pulled.
This is being published as Display Only. It will be updated as appropriate. Published July 10, 2008
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