On some traditional shaving forums you are not allowed to mention one of the most important double edged razors in production today, the iKon. This is truly amazing and totally devalues the community that has done it. If iKon was an isolated case it would be bad enough, but it isn’t. Some of the most important people in traditional shaving are banned and you are not allowed to talk about some of the most important companies. Connaught shaving, Frank shaving brushes, New Forest shaving brushes, The Leisureguy’s Guide, Nanny’s Silly Soap Company, the list goes on and on.
The Pogonotomy forum is different because there is no silly politics. Vendors don’t have to pay to be allowed to post. People are not given lifetime bans on a whim. Members are free to discuss all the suppliers and all the manufacturers involved in supplying us with our kit. There are no power mad moderators.
Not only that, every member of the Pogonotomy forum is treated with respect by everyone else. There are no cliques, no bullying, no personal attacks. Everyone is behaving towards others as they would like to be treated themselves. So from a standing start with no marketing budget Pogonotomy is already as busy as some of the long established shaving forums. Hardly surprising really.
There are already well over 1,000 posts in some very interesting discussions. Obviously I have contributed a lot to get things going, but less than one in six posts is mine. If there is anything about real shaving that you would like to discuss just go there now and start a thread. Judging on the forum so far you will get some quality replies.
Another thing that is great is that we are getting posts from some of the key people in the industry, people with vast experience who know what is going on. This adds an authority to the forum that other places, who have banned these people, are lacking. For instance we know that Greg at iKon is working on some exciting new razor developments. He is not allowed to talk about this in some places (in fact nobody is) yet is free to do so at the Pogonotomy forum.
After an initial flurry the forum has settled down to a steady and interesting level of input from over 100 members, with new people joining all the time as the word gets around. The input is totally global with no national bias looked for or wanted. Most of the products we use are available globally so there is no need for Xenophobia.
Overall, for me, this has been a very pleasant surprise indeed. The members have built a great community very quickly because they have wanted to. Let’s keep up the good work.
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Bruce, nice work getting the forum going. And your post on the blog this week were some of the best to date. They reflect a lot of work. Thanks for the efforts.
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Could have done without the last installment. Not up to your normal ability and wit. Comes off as if you have a tremendous chip on your shoulder.
I like the information, not the “one up-manship”
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Where would you suggest purchasing an iKon razor from? (I’m based in the UK.)
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@Gavin
Direct from iKon.
Personally I would go for a long handled deluxe head, but YMMV.
http://ikonrazors.com/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16&zenid=gqon4k1jv6e5vf5u3fv9evabe5
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I’ve participated in the forum and its great. The openness is refreshing.
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Well, I don’t see this at all as a “chip on the shoulder” type of post. Like all of Bruce’s posts they are factual and have a point-of-view. He happens to be (at least IMHO) spot on in his observations and assessment. It is what it is. I think he has done a fine job articulating what the positioning of this forum is. In other words, why it exists, what it wants to be, who it’s for and what it’s all about. Personally, I have absolutely no issues with that. Actually, that is the problem with written – especially Internet communication like blogs, emails and postings. You ascribe your own voice and tenor to what you read. While the author may have intended to be calm and factual as a person reads it they put a different voice on it. And that voice may not be as intended. Anyway enough of that…….let’s talk shaving…..
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I don’t know why Connaught Shaving was banned but I once I found out about them I use them quite frequently. their international shipping is reasonable, their service is excellent and they have very competitive prices. The fact they are not discussed on some of the larger traditional shaving boards is a loss to the members .
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Hi Bruce,
As for the paid vendorship, I notice with you that that happens more and more. Up till now I have not paid for advertising, besides the Google adwords and some local Dutch advertising boards. Although it may be dust in the wind, I think that the paid vendorship is costing all the shaving addicts. There is no business that will actually pay for advertising, without having to calculate those costs somehow in their products. If you try and keep pricing as low as possible, (as this is by far the best method to interest new people to the shaving addiction), the price of advertising on forums is not something one would like to add to all the other costs. But my mainpoint is and was: You cannot just add advertising costs, without having to raise the prices of products.
FWIW,
Erci
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Hope I am not late to the party and thank you for creating a place to share all of the shaving things sometimes banned elsewhere. You raise some good points that I experienced first hand. Several guys were sharing pictures and stories of some of my shaving bowls on a thread. I went in (it was my first time on a shaving forum) to thank them in the thread. Big mistake! I was immediately told I could not do that without being a paid vendor. I was shocked. I wasn’t trying to sell anything, just thank them. I will say it now, Thank you!
Leslie