We Still NEED Crowns In The Speaker's Corner. (dooyoo Crowns)

Member Name: goodasgold

Product:	dooyoo Crowns
Date:	09/04/02 (109 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: more money, money makes the world go round, recognition, sense of pride and satisfaction, effort should be rewarded, promote quality

Disadvantages: controversy, not nice when some people get loads and others get none

Notice I put need in capital letters??

Well, that’s because I really think there is a need for them. Ok, not a vital need, but a need nonetheless.

And that’s because I’m one of the people really in favour of crowns.

Why do I like crowns?

a) They promote quality
b) They provide encouragement for members
c) They reward effort
d) They highlight some of the best opinions

so…

e) THEY ARE GOOD FOR DOOYOO.

And no, I don’t like them because I get lots of them, as I don’t!

[Crowns are awarded to opinions that are deemed top notch, the best of the best, in case you’re a new member or reader. You get an extra 1500 miles for getting one, and they appear next to your opinion in the form of a little gold crown]

The final point – e – is the most important point. Don’t you want dooyoo as an enterprise to be prosperous and successful?? Of course yoo doo. If dooyoo is prosperous and successful, then we can be better assured of a good quality site, one in which we can carry on having fun, make a few coppers, and obtain useful information on a range of products and services. If dooyoo’s fortunes declined, then so would ours. There might be reward cuts (or the abolishment of them altogether), less innovation, and the standard of the opinions and the site would likewise drop too. I know I would not continue to be a member, that’s for sure.

Crowns are not the reason behind dooyoo’s popularity or success, I realise that, but they do have a part to play in it. They provide a high standard to aim towards – Who wouldn’t want an extra £1.50 for an opinion that just earns 3 pence per read?? The standard of the opinions on dooyoo varies, but in general it is pretty high. I’ve been on the French site recently and the standard is lower there from what I’ve seen. I was thinking of joining to im
prove my French but can’t be bothered now, as it didn’t seem much good. If the general standard fell here, I would get bored to tears reading through reams of mediocre reviews, would cease to learn much, and would visit the site less. And I wouldn’t be alone in that. And then the downward spiral for dooyoo might start.

Dooyoo is making its name as a reliable and useful site to turn to in search of product and service information. If I want to find out about a product, I want to read a really good review – one that covers the whole thing. It is often the crowned opinions that provide this. Not always, as most of the Very Useful opinions are good too, and I wont necessarily like the crowned ones but if time is short, I will head for a golden opinion. They are useful, enough said. In addition, they are often enjoyable to read, as they have to be well written and presented, and thorough and balanced. I appreciate it if someone has obviously spent a good deal of time and effort in writing an excellent opinion, and it’s only fair that they are rewarded for it. They are keeping up dooyoo’s high standards and are making the site more enjoyable and useful – which, remember, is good for both dooyoo and us. Quality counts. Quality means more money to count.

There has been some dissatisfaction with the rating system recently because it can result in opinions that aren’t as good as many of the others being amongst the top few, attracting more reads, just because the writers of them are more popular and get more reads. Now however, the crowning of opinions can go a little way towards redressing the balance slightly. It means that an excellent opinion that didn’t get many reads, and was further down the opinion pages than a mediocre yet heavily read opinion at the top, received some sort of acknowledgement and stood out from the others as being of good quality. Again, it’s giving effort the recognition
it deserves. Again, it’s giving rewards and incentives that encourage people to keep coming back, which ultimately helps dooyoo.


So, I said that crowns are needed in the Speakers Corner. Well, the Speaker’s Corner is one of the best bits about dooyoo and just in case you don’t yet know – dooyoo have stopped giving crowns out in this area. How many opinions about Asda or Comet do you really want to read? The speaker’s corner provides controversy, contention and debate – the recipe for sparked interests, enjoyment and imagination (the recipe for a good deal more, but I’ll focus on the nice bits!!). It’s nice to sprinkle a few reads about someone’s opinion on what really gets up their nose, or on their views of racism in amongst the reviews of Dixsons or Britney Spears. These opinions are read far more for enjoyment than for their usefulness. They provide for much more interaction between members, increasing the sense of community within dooyoo, as they are fun and reveal more about the individual behind the silly user name.

Speaker's Corner opinions are therefore important to dooyoo, as the community spirit on dooyoo is what keeps people coming back for more, and is what keeps dooyoo enjoyable. And if you enjoy something, you will try harder at it.

I really think that the Speaker’s Corner is integral to this sense of community. It provides an area to air one’s views about topics of debate, and even the nasty aspects of antagonistic comments and arguments that sometimes result from these opinions keep things fresh and current. Come on, many people thrive off these things – it’s what keeps people ticking (although I do not condone it!).

The positive effects of the Speaker’s Corner affect the whole site. Enjoyment is one of the keys to success, and is one of the most motivating influences. A happy dooyooer is going to write better opinions.
Good quality opinions are what make dooyoo go round. Dooyoo’s success is what makes them money. So, it’s only fair that good quality Speaker’s Corner opinions are recognised.

I’m not campaigning for a return of paid crowns here. Dooyoo has to make money and keep their profits up to maintain quality. I just want to see an alternative form of reward/recognition.

To a lot of people, crowns don’t just equate to money. They mean much more than that. They give them personal satisfaction – who doesn’t like being rewarded for hard work? Who doesn’t like receiving a bit of attention or recognition?? A crown means that your work has been appreciated, and that is the most rewarding aspect to many.

I think that an alternative needs to be introduced, perhaps a different coloured crown or symbol unique to the non-product/ service categories, which does not give extra miles, but recognises effort. The Speaker’s Corner will go downhill otherwise. There will not be that reward to aim towards.



In general though, crowns have positive results. There are problems attached, yes. There are going to be feelings of resentment when people don’t get a crown for an opinion they thought deserved one, or when someone else’s opinion got one when they didn’t think it did deserve it, but these sorts of problems will always be around. They will just focus more on the issue of ratings without the crowns to whinge about! And just think – the issue of whether an opinion is rated VU or U will become even more contentious because it will be these ratings that provide the only sense of reward if crowns go!!

So, stop complaining about the crown! No system is perfect, and some systems may need changing, but for the time being crowns are still serving a purpose and are benefiting us all (even if you don’t get any), and so should remain. End of Story.

:-)
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p.s. Crowns are not the be all and end all. If you don’t get any, it really doesn’t matter – as long as you put some effort into your opinions and do your best, they will still be appreciated. Good ratings are the most important things – so just concentrate on those VUs, and on having fun!