Tobacco Reviews Website Down

[khiddy]

I'm hearing elsewhere that now that TR is owned by STG (an EU-based company), they have to comply with GDPR laws. That's partially why the site had been geofenced for the past few months, to keep non-US folks from accessing as a stopgap measure until they could figure out implementation of the draconian GDPR guidelines. So now I suspect they're putting those in place.

 

[Pipesandbourbon]

It’s been down for me since Friday or Saturday

 

[JimInks]

If you're right, it will be a uniquely low-blow, and will erase the most centralized repository of @JimInks work. But, "History is written by the victors."

I have my own copies of all of my reviews. It's safer to never trust a website to stay up for eternity.

You were surfing tobacco related products AT WORK??? Shame on you!!
lol just kidding! I was getting the same warning.
Now I just look it up here on the tobacco review page. Usually always assured Jim will post his comments in there.

I don't post every single review that I've been writing since I stopped posting at TR, but whenever I get a new offering to review, I post it here and on another forum. My KBV blend reviews since I stopped posting at TR are elsewhere.

 

[shikano53]

I have my own copies of all of my reviews. It's safer to never trust a website to stay up for eternity.


I don't post every single review that I've been writing since I stopped posting at TR, but whenever I get a new offering to review, I post it here and on another forum. My KBV blend reviews since I stopped posting at TR are elsewhere.

Amen to that Jim! Never trust the internet with critical or a lifetime of submitting reviews!
well played sir!

 

[renfield]

STG is probably “correcting” the reviews for the sake of accuracy. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia...

 

[khiddy]

Daily checkin: Tobacco Reviews is still "in maintenance mode."

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I tried using it yesterday because a new (to the UK market) tobacco called Kopp Flamme 1919 Limited Edition has been released. I liked the look of it so I used a VPN (I'm in the UK) to go check what people thought and the bloody site is down. I got to see some reviews on Smokingpipes but I really wanted to see what TobaccoReviews had to say.

Hopefully they get it sorted out sooner rather than later.

 

[bent1]

Yes, Laudisi owned it, but hasn't in almost 20 years. Jon Tillman created it in late 2000. In 2001, it became part of Laudisi when Jon was working for Laudisi on Smokingpipes and I was helping with TR. Jon traded his part of Laudisi for TR when he left the company in late 2005.

He sold it to Speccomm--which owned Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine--sometime around 2010, I think. I think it was owned by Phillips & King for a brief time after Speccomm folded in 2017 or 2018, and then Sutliff bought it sometime around 2019. And now STG owns it.

(All dates are from memory, so I might be off a bit here and there).

TR has a special place in my heart. It was Jon's idea and project, but we worked on it together enough that I sort of feel like the project's uncle. When Chuck Stanion (who has been at Laudisi for many years now) was running it at Speccomm, I was occasionally involved in helping with bits and pieces. But we haven't controlled it or had any real influence on it in a very long time.

Sykes

Thx for the post. What I miss are some of the reviewers with taste buds similar to mine. I looked for their reviews, and more frequently than not, it was a good match for me.

 

[SBC]

Checking in: It's been about a week-and-a-half.

 

[Dave760]

I emailed the company asking if the site will be back. I'll let you know if I receive any response from them.

 

[ulsterman]

I tried using it yesterday because a new (to the UK market) tobacco called Kopp Flamme 1919 Limited Edition has been released. I liked the look of it so I used a VPN (I'm in the UK) to go check what people thought and the bloody site is down. I got to see some reviews on Smokingpipes but I really wanted to see what TobaccoReviews had to say.

Hopefully they get it sorted out sooner rather than later.

I ordered some 1919 recently and I'd recommend it. Nice smooth and rich smoke.

 

[Merton]

Site is back up

 

[SBC]

Site is back up

So it is!

 

[khiddy]

Our short international nightmare is over. For now.

 

[Waning Embers]

I'm surprised that so many people are still using it.

 

[Oddball]

I use it all the time. I have a cellar that has 300 tins, 275 of which I have never tried or only had a bowl or two here or there. I gotta know what to try next!

 

[Waning Embers]

275 of which I have never tried

You may be in for a lot of letdown.

I gotta know what to try next!

Seller descriptions of contents are often much more accurate than TR. If you base all of your purchases on other people's tastes you'll be missing out on a lot.

 

[khiddy]

You may be in for a lot of letdown.

Seller descriptions of contents are often much more accurate than TR. If you base all of your purchases on other people's tastes you'll be missing out on a lot.

How is TR any different than reading anything about blends here on this or any other forum? There’s plenty of misinformation and poorly-formed opinions here and on vendor sites as well.

Seriously, TR is a useful resource, with decades of historical reviews.

 

[Waning Embers]

How is TR any different than reading anything about blends here on this or any other forum?

Exactly. Reviews regarding taste are subjective and should be taken with a grain of salt wherever they're posted. TR's blend content lists have been debunked on many occasions and many reviews are done on previous iterations of blends that are no longer relevant. Blend recipes often change every couple of years whether by company cutbacks or blends changing brands.

 

[fireground_piper]

Seller descriptions of contents are often much more accurate than TR. If you base all of your purchases on other people's tastes you'll be missing out on a lot.

507c and LNF have entered the room….