Member feedback is the key (Feedback and General Suggestions for dooyoo)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	Feedback and General Suggestions for dooyoo
Date:	03/03/01 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: This site is already great, but we can also participate in making it even better

Disadvantages: It will only work if we provide suggestions and use the site fairly

In my opinion, active (useful) feedback from the members of dooyoo is one of the great factors that makes this site stick out from the rest on the web. How many sites actively respond and take on board your suggestions? How many even bother to listen to them?

In the short time that I have been an active member of this community, the nature in which dooyoo have taken some criticism on the chin and acted on suggestions has led to a continuing improvement in the value of the site to all. But, in order to maintain this momentum, we as members need to keep active and voice our concerns and ideas to the dooyoo team. This new section is a great opportunity to air our ideas on how we believe the site can be improved further.


My Ideas
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- Rating System

The present rating system of Not Useful, Somewhat Useful, Useful and Very Useful has its fair share of criticism and support. I don’t think we need to change it drastically, but rather encourage that people should rate opinions on this scale fairly. This is now starting to become more apparent in the last few months and is very encouraging to see.

I must admit that sometimes it does become difficult to decide on whether an opinion is a VU or a U, and with only four ratings to choose from it can lead to having some good opinions rated as a U and also some average ones rated the same. So maybe a fifth rating needs to be added? Will this improve the rating system? I believe it will, but only if we, the members, use it fairly. Of course, people may still just rate each other’s opinions with the highest rating, rather than be fair. I am a strong believer in giving people a fair go, and that we can address this issue separately.

The problem that remains is the question of what this fifth rating should be called. Do we completely change the descriptions we currently have or should we just stick a new one in? Should we have a new rating in between U and V
U or should we have a new one that is higher than VU? I won’t say that I have the answer to this one, but I will paint my colours on the idea of having a new rating above VU. I’m not hung up on what it could or should be called.

I also recognise that this idea will get shot down by people pointing out that it will be open to abuse in the same way that the current system is. I except this but believe we should make this change, as it will improve the rating system for the vast majority of us that use it correctly. Those users that abuse the system will be even more obvious with this new rating system than they already are now.


- Product Rating

I find the one to five star system to be reasonably good and it does work well most of the time. The problem seems to be that most people only write opinions on things they really like and consequentially we get lots of five star ratings. For something to give five out of five stars it really should be almost faultless, but I do find these ratings being given out to easily. Maybe a change to a one to ten stars system could discourage this slightly and give a bit more flexibility in awarding ratings. There have been many times when I have written an opinion on a product and felt it was somewhere between a three and four star and have had to state this in the opinion. A wider product rating scale would make this aspect of the opinion much easier from my viewpoint.


- Minimum Words

The current minimum requirement of 75 words for an opinion to be allowed, in my opinion, is far too low. If you cannot write more than 150-200 words on a product/service/topic then you really shouldn’t be writing in the first place. I would suggest a raising of this minimum to 200 words, in part to dissuade the churners. Although the number of opinions around this 75-word minimum seems to have declined recently, I think this measure will nip it in the bud, resulting in better qualit
y opinions generally. I’m not saying that the longer the opinion is then the better is must be, but just that the shorter ones around 75 words tend to be the worst.


- Miles/Rewards

The current rewards of 10p for each opinion written and 5p for each read by a member is fine. I can also understand when people complain about the high number of non-member reads, as they receive no reward for this. These non-members are gaining the informative advice from members freely and contributing in no way to the site. It isn’t possible to award for non-members reads, as this could be open to abuse. Is it a viable idea to restrict the opinions to only members, or is this a bit too severe? Surely the site is a community for its members, and to gain the benefit of the site then non-members should be persuaded to join up.

The reward of £1 for a premier opinion is fine too and I can’t see any need to change this at the moment.

One idea that I still think is reasonable is to award no miles to an opinion that you read and rate as NU. Why should they be rewarded for writing an opinion with no value at all?


- Crowns

The awarding of crowns for “premier opinions” has always been and always will be a hot topic. It is great to get one and does act as an incentive when writing your opinion to make it as informative and interesting as possible. The gripe most people have is that they cannot understand when certain opinions receive a crown, especially when they have read far superior opinions in the same category that have gone unrewarded.

How do we improve this? One idea could be for the category/community managers to leave some form of comment on the opinion to explain why that particular opinion was considered crown worthy. Yes, we all know of the guidelines that specify what elements are required to be awarded a crown, but I feel that this extra comment on the opinion would not just be a bo
ost for the writer but also a good indication to the readers of what made the opinion special. I may be missing something here, but I can only see positive points on this.

The latest change to have a link on each category to show the crowns awarded is a very welcome addition to the site. As the number of well-written and useful opinions rise, then the number of crowns will too. This device will make it easier for readers to search out good opinions rather than wade through the link from the front page. For example, crowns awarded early on a Monday morning can often sink without trace on the list by the end of the day, but with the category links they will remain more visible.


- Circle of Friends

One of the best features of the site, but it’s also one that needs a bit of an overhaul. I only add people to my CoF who I want to read again as I know that I will be able to trust their opinion. One thing that annoys me greatly is how some users abuse this device and trust everyone they come into contact with. Is there any way in which the CoF can be limited to say, 100 names? Then you have to be selective with whom you include in this list. Anybody else you wish to read can always be marked on the “inform me of a new opinion” anyway. There are many members I keep track of using this feature.

Also, making the CoF list more accessible would be a great help. Currently you only get the first 20 names on the first page and have to click through to get to the other pages. Is it possible to have this as a kind of vertical pull down list in the future? It would be a great help in locating members. At the moment it is easier and quicker to use the navigator search than use the CoF list!

I have no particular problems with the CoF list on my profile being visible, but it is something that other members are keen to see taken off, so only they can see the lists. I am happy with it either way.


- Hall of Fa
me

Currently, it works well in pointing out members that may or may not be well known on dooyoo. It is a great recognition too for those members who get into the HoF, and yet another incentive for us all to produce quality opinions.

As the HoF will naturally tend to lean towards the more established writer, then how about having a new section, along similar lines, but for new members to dooyoo. A sort of up and coming or “One to Watch” award for writers who have been with the site for less than two months and have written under say ten opinions? This would then be a further incentive for new members to produce quality opinions.


- New Opinions

I'm not going to dwell too much on this area as I think other members have already covered this quite well. I understand that the front page is going to be changed so that not just the last opinion to be written is shown. This will be a welcome change, and will give a little bit more exposure to some of the newer writers. Something along the lines of showing the last opinion written (as done currently) but with a link to see a list of the last 20 or so submitted would certainly be an advantage. Perhaps this could also be done within each category too (as has been done recently with the crowns).


- New Members

The hardest time in using the site is when you are new to it. Everybody will honestly hold their hand up and admit to writing a few dire opinions in the early days. I certainly did! Yes, there are guidelines on using the site, but how about some sort of crash course or guidebook for new users. Some sort of step-by-step guide that can help them out in getting the best value from the site without making all the mistakes. To us the site seems easy to use and straight forward, but to newcomers it can seem confusing. I have tried to get some friends involved in the site and have had problems in helping them to get started. What I think I’m gett
ing at is some sort of “Welcoming Pack” via email that can provide some useful hint and tips on writing opinions, using their homepage and navigating the site.


- Speakers Corner

Some people love it; others avoid it like the plague. I’m probably somewhere in the middle and can sympathise with both camps. I think there is room for a debating forum on the site, but it is getting a bit worrying how much it seems to be taking over. The number of new topics and opinions create lots of interest and are often on current issues. For me it’s a nice add-on to the site and does help in the community style atmosphere, but I do worry a bit that it seems to be getting more important than the consumer side of the site. Some of the topics are fine, as they are not just current topics but will always be ones that will be debated over a long period of time. The ones that are inherently short term ones I would have to question the inclusion of.


- Dooyoo Newsletter

It’s getting better each time and soon the HTML format will be working (?). At the moment it is sent out a bit sporadically, every two or three weeks. The inclusion of new categories is useful, but is it possible to have this newsletter on a weekly basis in the future? Is there enough content and changes with the site to warrant this now? I would personally welcome this on weekly basis, with more information on new products, categories and competitions linked to the site. The more we are kept informed the better.



If you have any thought or feedback yourself on any of my points then use the comments section. That’s what it’s there for!

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