*Scam update* (mouthshut.com)

Member Name: Theeagle

Product:	mouthshut.com
Date:	16/07/01 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Diverse opinions and categories that you won't find elsewhere

Disadvantages: Censorship, dishonesty, no pay

This site is fairly new. As a result it has few members and some teething troubles. The most obvious of these is a lack of categories and good reviews, but it may be only a matter of time before things improve in that department.

*Or so I thought, see end*

Although mouthshut is international, it is based in India. Sometimes it is clear that English is not the first language of the writers, making for difficult reading. But for the most part the writing is no worse than anywhere else, and it means a lot of refreshing new viewpoints. Anybody can write and earn points though, and they promise to pay you no matter where in the world you are. More on that can of worms below.

Navigation of this site can be difficult, for example you can't get to the home page from the community pages easily. On many pages your only option is to return to the home page, and it's quite annoying that you can't skip easily from one category to another. Unlike Dooyoo and Ciao there is no listing of the number of opinions that have been written on a particular subject. Perhaps the numbers are embarrasingly small? This meant that I found myself clicking on a lot of links only to find that nothing had been written about them at all, a great waste of time. Pages were relatively slow to load as well.

In a few respects Mouthshut has features that aren't available on most other opinion sites. On the front page the five most recent opinions are displayed, unlike on Dooyoo. It also includes a circle of distrust, something I know people have suggested for this site. You have the option to conceal this on your profile. However it isn't anonymous, as you this option doesn't allow you to hide it from that member's profile, leaving you open to revenge ratings. I initially though that the circle of distrust was a good idea, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with it any more. Maybe I'm just chicken, but I've stopped using this fe
ature.

Once you have rated something, it tells you that you have done this at the top. People and places you have already visited are highlighted, although I believe that this feature is reset once you have logged out. And just as you are told how many people have read your reviews, your profile page also has a hit counter.

It is quite difficult to find the most recent new reviews in each category. The most recent for the main category headings are shown, but as you delve through the sub-categories you will discover that the same two opinions are shown throughout the entire section. Finding new reading matter isn't easy! The best way to do this is to click on member's names and find out what they have written, and then discover who they trust. Of course this method favours the Star Writers, Mouthshut's equivalent of the Hall of Fame. Having read some of them I have to say that standards aren't as high as over here. They'd probably even let me in, if I ever get round to writing a bit more.

What they do well, better than any other opinion site I have visited so far, is all things Indian. Music, places, Bollywood films. If you want travel advice or to look up something on these subjects, this is the place for it. The UK is dealt with in general, and has attracted only 9 reviews to date.

The "consumer feedback community" section includes Mouthshut, and no others. Considering that a lot of their members are regulars on here, Ciao or epinions, this was surprising. It seems they are afraid to even mention the opposition.

In the interests of research, I decided to post an article and see what happened. I did this late at night, but they run on Indian time and the time that came through was in the very early morning, when nobody sane would be awake. Still, I managed to pick up ten reads after a day or so, not too bad for a first op. So don't imagine that you won't get read if you post on Mou
thshut. Once you've written something, you can get email alerts on it. My advice is, check none of the boxes. You can be emailed when you get ratings, comments, when others write, all sorts. Unless everyone hates you for some reason, this will result in tons of spam and is not really worthwhile.

But, and I know you're itching to ask me about this, get some flea powder, what about the MONEY? Money, money, money. Is that all you care about, you Midases?

Yes. Of course it is, and quite right.

"Nobody but a fool writes, except for money."
-Dr Johnson.

Well, Mouthshut intend to pay in M-S points, each point worth one peanut. Well, maybe. Here are the current rates:
10 for registering
5 for writing an opinion
2 when a member reads your opinions
1 for rating someone's review
5% commission on referrals

There are also bonus points available, but they don't say how many. I haven't come across any opinions with bonus point status or anything similar. Other awards are the Star Writer Award, Founding Member Club Award, and the Best Opinion Award. The other big catch is that you have to wait six months before there is any payout.


Incredibly, they are still paying people to read opinions. I'm certain this won't last. As far as actually getting paid to write for this site goes, the clue is on the site itself. There are no adverts, which means no revenue, which probably means no payouts unless they get their act together.

If you are interested in things Indian then it would be worth your while to check this site out.

*UPDATE*

For many members the six month period is up, and payment is due. The conversion rate is one MS point = one laugh in your face. I have not heard of anyone outside India being paid, and the one Indian member who said she was reported that the amount was peanuts.

They are also very quick to censor. I wrot
e an uncomplimentary review of MS itself, expressing the above doubts, and it was pulled in around a minute. The account was also deleted. If they are that dishonest about MS, who is to say that they won't be as quick to pull uncomplimentary reviews of their advertisers? It's a bad show all round.

I have heard that they are suspending payments from the first of January 2002. Faisal sent members a defensive email saying that they will continue to add points to people's accounts and denying that they don't intend to pay at all. He blames the downturn in the world economy and Sept 11th for Mouthshut's problems. This admission shows a surprising degree of honesty considering their track record.

Summary: