My rating and commenting rant ... (dooyoo - Members' Opinions On How to Rate And Comment)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	dooyoo - Members' Opinions On How to Rate And Comment
Date:	29/05/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: ...

Disadvantages: ...

Instead of "How to Rate and Comment" I would prefer "How I Rate and Comment" as I don't feel qualified enough, or bossy enough to tell you what to do.

This is a subject I have given a lot of thought to of late. The new payment system has made the site different and has caused me to think again about how I use Dooyoo. Many members dislike the changes and many like them, I think there is good and bad in everything but overall I am happy with the changes.

I think the main reason people are upset is because something they are used to and they feel comfortable with has changed. We, (humans), seem to be pre-programmed to resist change and hate anything that is different. Any way I digress back to the point in hand.

*** A Few Points before I Begin ***

Length does not equal quality in my opinion. I actually prefer shorter reviews unless the product requires it such as a holiday destination, hobby etc. 2000 words on a Mars Bar is taking things too far!

Churn is okay as long as the reviews are still meeting the basic requirements and the people churning don't expect me to read each and every review they publish. If I subscribe to your reviews and you write more than five a day I may have to ignore the odd one here and there because of time constraints and to give other people a chance!

I do not expect people to read every review I write! If you don't care about my latest bubble bath or what I have in my handbag just don't read it, I won't be offended in the slightest and you won't be bored! I write for the enjoyment of it and the odd Amazon voucher not to get on any most read authors lists!

To as in "I am going to the zoo," has one O in it; Too as in "Too many people use the wrong 'to' in sentences on Dooyoo," has two O's in it. Your as in "Your reviews rock," is spelled y-o-u-r; You're as in "You're going to think this is patronising but it really is amazing how often these words are misused," is spelled y-o-u-'-r-e. Don't make me get my big red pen out!

If English is not your first language then I applaud you for writing on Dooyoo but if your English is so fractured that it makes reading hard then I will down rate for that reason.

I really believe you should not mark a review down because you do not agree with the opinion of the writer. That really gets my goat and has been happening a lot recently. If someone was reviewing the devil himself and said he was the best thing since sliced bread and wrote a great review full of information and gave the reasons for their opinions then it a great review whether or not you like the big red fellow!

*** My NEW System for Rating ***

> Very Useful:

From now on I will give this rating to reviews that I enjoy reading. They should contain plenty of information about the product and have plenty of opinion too.

I like good grammar and spelling - use a word processor; you can download something like Open Office from openoffice.org if you don't want to line Bill Gates' bulging pockets! It's not like I am a teacher or something, (maybe I should have been, that big red pen would have been handy), but poor grammar and/or spelling make a review hard to read and when you are reading 30+ a day it can get annoying! Spacing your review out nicely makes reading easier too.

Basically if I think your review would be very useful if I was making a purchasing decision then I will rate VU.

> Useful:

This rating goes to review that cover the basics but don't offer a lot of opinion or vice versa, reviews that contain both information and opinion but have significant spelling or grammar mistakes, or reviews that aren't interesting or that are difficult to read.

> Somewhat Useful:

Ooh now we get into the territory of annoyed Dooyooers! No-one likes getting a SU but sometimes reviews are simply "somewhat useful". I will rate SU if the review isn't complete drivel but lacks both enough information and enough opinion and that isn't easy to read and enjoyable.

> Not Useful:

I am unlikely to rate a review as NU; I will more likely just leave a comment and leave it at that.

*** Return Rates ***

I will not always return rates because I have too many alerts to catch up on, (over 1000) and I am not always in the mood to read and rate. I would rather not insult you and the effort you have put into your review by only half reading it when I am not in the mood as it isn't fair on you. I do try and read as much as possible!

*** Comments ***

I really only comment when I have something to say, my rating tells you that I found a review "great" or "okay" so I won't always comment to that effect. I do sometimes but not often usually when I wish I had something constructive to say!

*** Nominations ***

I nominate reviews that I really like, if they are enjoyable, factual and opinionated chances are I will nominate them. I won't tell you though as I feel that adds fuel to the feelings of disappointment we are feeling due to the decline in crowns and also make people feel like they have to nominate me which they don't.

Ahh now that feels better; getting all that off my chest has spurred me on to read and rate. Thanks for reading.

Summary: ... with added value grammar lesson!