Controversial? (There ought to be a law about that!)

Member Name: blackjane

Product:	There ought to be a law about that!
Date:	18/12/01 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Would be beneficial for the wider acceptance of Dooyoo content

Disadvantages: I'm not just nit-picking - honest!

Just as I was thinking that there was no suitable category on Dooyoo to write about the latest subject that I wish to air, I stumbled across the most recent addition to Speakers Corner. "Perfect!", I thought to myself, so without further ado I would like to discuss a subject that I feel needs to be brought to the attention of the Dooyoo membership.

[Note: Is the following slightly flippant? Well, Yes.....but please bear with me as I do have a serious point to make, and I belive that it is relevant for the site too.]

Anyone that has taken a look at my Dooyoo homepage, read one of my more recent opinions, or taken a look at the Opinionated Community messageboard over the last week or so may have noticed that I have taken exception to the use of the term 'op' that appears to have become widespread in its use on the site. This appears to be a term that has been bastardised into Dooyoo's very own language, and has become a common abbreviation for the word opinion (as in the reviews that are written for the site.) There are other instances of Dooyoo developing its own sub-language, but this is one instance that has become particularly visible, and also potentially damaging over time.

So lets's take a minute or two to think about this. You may have been writing on Dooyoo for a month or two, or perhaps longer still, and you have become indoctrinated with many of the finer aspects of the site and the way in which it works. You are well aware that many members make reference to 'ops' (meaning opinions) on a frequent basis, and this does not detract from your understanding of these reviews. In fact you decome so indoctrinated that you propogate it by littering your reviews with references to 'ops' at every opportunity.

Imagine then for a second that you are a member who is totally new to the site, or better still someone who is viewing Dooyoo content as a non-member with no prior knowledge of what an
'op' might possibly be. It seems reasonable to suggest that Dooyoo should never endeavour to be an exclusive club, and anyone that contributes to the site by writing opinions owes to it themselves and to the site to ensure that they are writing for as wide an audience as possible. Whenever I write an opinion for the site I always try to keep in mind that the audience is potentially bigger than just the Dooyoo membership and try to temper the content accordingly. It is my firm belief that we should not turn Dooyoo into a clique where there are only a few hundred of us who happen to be the only ones that can fully grasp all the nuances of the latest Dooyoo terminology.

To refer to a Dooyoo opinion as an 'op' is firstly lazy. To do so in a comments section of a review is understandable to some extent, although the inclusion of the term in the main body of reviews or even in the title could be construed as being less than helpful to the more casual observer. It is in this context that I belive this sort of laziness could potentially be damaging to the site. Dooyoo are in the market to sell on content to other sites, where the information would be read by non-members. Although as members we do not directly benefit from any non-member reads it is this type of activity that will ultimately make Dooyoo a profitable company, allowing it to continue to pay its members for their contributions.

Although I feel annoyance at the laziness that is shown every time that the term 'op' is used instead of the word opinion, it is predominantly for the greater good of the site and for the beneficial effect it would have on the its content that I decided to write about this subject. I know that there will be many members out there who will view this matter as unimportant or irrelevant, but for anyone to dismiss the presentation of the site's content in this way to my mind shows scant understanding for the revenue potential of our reviews for
the site (that go to make up the overall content), and in turn for us - the members.

So, in conclusion it is my belief that a law to encourage Dooyoo members to refrain from referring to their opinions / reviews as 'ops' would be of benefit to the site. At the end of the day people will always do as they please and nothing can really be done to stop anyone from using the term 'op' if they really want to, but if I did not at least put my opinion forward then I feel that I would have failed somehow.

Many thanks for allowing me to put my views on this subject forward, and to all readers who have taken the time to read my opinion on this matter.

{Another original Dooyoo opinion © Blackjane 2001
Remember: "Stop the 'op'"}

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