Doing the DooYoo (Challenge that is) (Helpful Advice for New Members)

Member Name: Mitnik

Product:	Helpful Advice for New Members
Date:	20/11/03 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: *

Disadvantages: *

Well in for a penny, in for a pound..

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q: when did you join dooyoo?

a: It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.. Or to put it in more slightly understandable terms: 18th September 2001. It all looked different then, but you try telling that to the kids of today and they won`t believe you.. Actuallly I joined a little before then under another handle (for those that really must know it was "timmy ink" a clever little play on mitnik, with a few extra letters just to make it harder to guess they where both me) We had the good and the bad (but no ugly, as fingers as talented as these can`t do ugly..) but Katie found out about my naughty alter-ego and gave me a good spanking and made me decide which should live and which should die.. I let Timmy goto the firing line (as he`s braver than me) and Just like Jessie James he went down in a blaze of glory.. _______________________________

q: how did you discover dooyoo?

a: I was frogmarched to the site and told to sign-up by my wife, and well being the good hubby I am, I did as I was told..
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q: why did you join?

a: Well part of the reason was because I was told too (and if you`ve ever met my wife, you`d do what she tells you to do also) but partly because I was interested in sprouting off about the stuff that mattered to me, there`s something very liberating in getting your opinion out to the world, and if people read and agree with you, well that feeling of liberation is doubly so.. I also wanted to know if I could make anything from my opinions, the thought of being able to buy new books from Amazon by writing about old books from Amazon seemed like an idea almost as much fun as bookcrossing (and yes, although I could never part with a book, I have bought duplicates on occasion to bookcross them, if you don`t know what bookcrossing is, please visit: http://www.bookcrossing
.com , I`m sure you`ll love it)
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q: what was your very first opinion on ?

a: My first op was on the one book I`ve read more than any other William Gibson's "Neuromancer" it`s not my most read book because I enjoy it, it`s my most read book because I`m fascinated by it, and the dooyoo review gave me a chance to truly research the book in some depth without feeling like a complete and utter weirdo. People have a lot to say about Gibson's work, and my ultimate advice is take it all with a pinch of salt, if you`re taking the time to think about it, then you`re thinking too deeply.. let it flow over you, let it make it`s own path through the corridors of your mind. (And the same goes for The Matrix too)
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Q: Did you find it easy to get the hang of dooyoo?

A: mmmmm, yes and no.. I`m a website designer by trade and so I`ve had to design as well as deal with some pretty awkward navigation systems in the past, so I got the hang of it, after all a lot of it is just "follow the on-screen prompt" stuff, but there's bits like suggesting a new category that are just insane.. I mean search for something that doesn`t exist (at all) and then you can suggest something new.. plain crazy.. it`s be much nicer to have a nice easily accessible link on the front-page.. I`d also like to have some kind of simple "reason" box when rating.. Why was this op usefull, why was it very useful, doesn`t need to be an essay, just an one-liner that can help shape a persons future op's. but apart from the occasional niggle (and having to deal with the odd error message) dooyoo's easy enough to get the hang off.. Just spend a little time, reading the newbie guides (I admit I didn`t do that until about my third week, but I sure did think "Now if only I`d known that.." a lot, so it`s good advice kids!!)
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Q: Did you read other opinions before you posted your first one?

A: I read my wife's opinions before I posted my first one, but I refused to read any of the fellow reviews on the book I was reviewing as I didn`t want to feel tainted by any of them, I wanted it to be all my own work, I pick up quotes and store them for later use, I`ve been doing it all my life and I didn`t want any of those fellow reviews to give me anything for my own, but after that first review I did read other peoples, a lot of which was to get people reading mine back (that was my wife's suggestion, and it`s a good one!)
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Q: Do you write no/some/many comments?

A: I`d say I rate more than I comment. It`s not always easy to say something that's not already been said when it comes to commenting on a person's review.. I do like the odd bit of jokey banter with some folk though so in terms of that then yes I`ll comment on most ops of theirs that I read.. I`ve always felt the rating was more important than the comment, but that said, as I pointed out above one of my "annoyances" is people that rate usefull or not usefull and don`t bother to explain why they feel that way about your review, so I think if you`re rating low it`s only fair to explain why!
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Q: When you click on the list of Newest Reviews, do you read your friends' opinions no matter what they're on/according to subject no matter who has written on it/preferably the opinions of new writers?

A: mmmm, I`ve read ops on stuff I have no interest in when I`ve been bored and flicked through the newest reviews list, and that`s not only applying to friends, that`s applying to anyone on the list, I wouldn`t say I read friends first by preference on the Newest Reviews and I wouldn`t say I read new users by preference either, I`ll just read whatever catches my eye... that said I do get email not
ifications about new ops from some of the people I enjoy reading the most, so I`ll go check out what they say regardless of the subject matter, but then that doesn`t related to the question, that`s just me waffling to make this op seem longer than it really is..
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Q: Do you write your opinions in one sitting?

A: mmmm, No and Yes... when I sit down at my computer, the op is written in one sitting, but.. I`ll already have mentally written out sections of the op as I`ve been reading, there`s also little bits that will have come to mind and I`ll have chuckled about them and written them down on a scrap of paper even before the review is half formed in my mind ("Postal Geneva Convention" is one that springs to mind)
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Q: How often do you post a new opinion?

A: mmmmm, I`d probably come in the "occasionally" bracket as sometimes I post a lot, sometimes I post a little, I don`t think I have any kind of solid reviewing timeframe as Calypte will tell you, she had to wait months for me to write a review she wanted, it comes down to free time in most cases, and also energy, I read an awfull lot of books, and most of them leave me netural.. I only really review the ones that leave me cold, or leave me hot.. I think that's the best way of handling things, as it gives my reviews an edge, a passion about the subject matter I don`t think I`d have if I reviewed every book I read.. and well that`s my excuse and I`m sticking too it.
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Q: Do you use a spell check?

A: I use ieSpell but it`s not the world's best spellchecker (and that`s my other excuse and I`m sticking too it)
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Q: Do you think you can improve your chances to get a crown if you suck up to a guide?

A: Nope, I`ve tried it and I can tell you it doesn`t work, even begging at the f
eet of Katie didn`t get me a crown, my first crown came totally out of the blue for a review I didn`t expect it for, since then I`ve gotten four more and well, I think the trick to it (at least for me) is to email random people and threaten them with Robert Rankin coming round to their house to read them all his books.. and well that`s worked for me ;) Seriously though I think you're probably ruining your chances of a crown by "sucking up" it shows you have no belief in the value of your work, Just write your review and let it do it`s own work, if it merits a crown, it`ll get it, fate will never let you down..
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Q: Are you a member of a forum or a chat room?

A: I`m a forum addict, Member of Many, Admin of Some, Mod/Super Mod of others, I enjoy chatting with others and sharing knowledge and info, and I find being in a forum with a group of strangers is a much less intimidating exchange than going to the pub with a group of strangers.. Also online you don`t stay strangers for long, because of the lack of physical barriers relationships, friendships and the like develop a lot quicker and a lot deeper (which is as good a thing as it is bad I guess)
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Q: Does it get to you when members praise or condemn you?

A: Of course, Just like any Mega-lo-maniac I have a fragile ego, and I love to have it stroked, but I don`t like to have it attacked.. I think we are all the same in that way, sure we can take "constructive criticism" to some level, but strike to deep into our hearts and you`ll kill us..
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Q: What did you do in your spare time before you joined dooyoo?

A: Before dooyoo took up this chuck of time, I`d probably spend it writing poetry and short stories, it`s been a long time since I last wrote a poem or short story..
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Q: What
do you wish for the future?

A: I`d like to see reliable internet connections at a price that's right, I`d like to see the breakup of the many world monopolies. A move towards a more peaceful world (I know world piece is unrealistic, but I`d like to see more tolerance and understanding between neighbours) In terms of dooyoo, I`d like to see a more stable system, where everything works as it should, with capitals and an overall lack of eronious ?'s. I`d also like to find Alyson Hannigan waiting in my bed with a glass of cold pepsi fresh from the Unlimited Pepsi Machine beside her.. mmmmm...
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Please don't take this challenge to ciao without asking MALU, she'd rather decide herself what to do with a text she's written, when to take it there or if at all. Thank you.

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