11 years ago
A few words about what is behind Parfumo Research:
At Parfumo, the users have always been able to suggest missing perfumes or to report errors in the database. For a very long time, we had a simple 2-step workflow. A few people checked the proposals, then Don checked them again and finally added them to the catalog.
This worked out fine until Parfumo began to grow. When Don started the development of Parfumo International in 2011, it was the first time we got into an awful delay that was not so easy to handle. Some people had to wait for months until their proposals were finally added.
It became clear that we needed something else, the old system simply did not comply any longer with our quality standards. After we had got Parfumo.net going, the concept for the next major project was designed: Parfumo Research.
It is pretty obvious that Don cannot look after each wrong fragrance note that needs a correction or look deeply into every single proposal for a new perfume addition. He can either do this – or develop new features for Parfumo. We came to the conclusion that we must get Don out of this work in the long run. So, the question came up if it would be possible to hand over this job to somebody else – maybe to the whole Parfumo community, in a way.
The idea was born that we want to organize the adding process more or less according to the Wikipedia concept. This means that we want the users not only to suggest new perfumes or report error corrections. We also want the Parfumo community take the lead in checking the proposals, discuss them, enhance them if necessary and finally give the Okay for the adding to the catalog. What looks like an adding feature on first sight is actually a little bit more. All users will be able to discuss a proposal or a revision. Some users will also be able to make changes to the original proposal if necessary to correct an error or enhance the information. Proposals and revisions will only be added to the database if a certain number of trusted users have given their okay.
Not all users will be able to edit other people's proposals. We do not find this appropriate for newbies or those who only occasionally take part. And so, there will be different levels of authorization. For instance, whoever corrects or enhances the information given by another user must have read and understood the Parfumo Research guidelines.
Quality comes first! Today, not many people have enhanced authorizations. You find them in the “Team” tab. Don will slowly build a team of supporters who will look after the quality of the perfume records. If it comes worst, the team will stay as small as it is today. If we are good, a big number of people will join. If things turn out best this great community will eventually take over the complete maintenance of perfume data sets.
The more users will play an active role, the more effective the process will become. I believe that we should be able to reduce the current queue and so reduce the time between a proposal and the actual addition. We might also be able to considerably increase the number of additions and revisions. We believe that a complete perfume community can achieve much more than a small team, given that we find the right way to get us organized. This is why we talk about a project to build a catalog of all perfumes in the world.
This is all new to us. Parfumo is the first perfume site that invites its users to take part like this. There is absolutely no experience that we can refer to, and we do not know if it will work out in the end.
We are not in a hurry. The next days, we will take the time necessary to thoroughly look at the new system and test its usability. Please get acquainted with it and give us your feedback.