HELPING REVIEWERS GAIN CONFIDENCE.

Having discussed the matter with other members, these questions were raised: Why does this molly-coddling have to go on? Why do members have to have someone tell them what to do? Have we gotten past the point where Dooyoo members can't learn by reading other people's reviews any more? Is Dooyoo a site that's populated by unsure people who have absolutely no faith in their own abilities or are too lazy to improve Why are some members so bloody obsessed with offering help to other members?

With no disrespect to any of the volunteers on this thread, but review writing is a completely subjective matter. What may be the perfect style to some might not be the perfect style to others. As dididave says above, it's up to the member to learn for themselves and develop their own style. Just as content is personal, so is style. Style is not learned, it's developed.

It could be argued that there already are systems in place for stuff like this: the Guide System and the "how to…" articles. If people are stuck, they can go to the guides who have been chosen to represent their category supposedly because of their knowledge of the topic and their skill in writing. The Guides are there to help you. Use them. If you don't want to (for whatever reason), then go to the members that you think write excellent reviews, not the self-proclaimed experts.

If I, The Duke, can't write Sports opinions for toffee and think that dididave writes excellent Sports reviews, then it's up to me to ask the Sports Guide for tips, ask dididave for feedback, read Dave's review to see how they write or read any of the numerous "how to…" reviews currently on Dooyoo. Surely if someone wants to learn how to do something (in this case, write a review on a specific topic), they should have the gumption to go and ask, and if they're not even confident enough to go and ask, then you'd have to question why they're on such a site where some element of confidence is required (to post work and have it rated and have potential criticism).

If you write something and it's sub-standard, then post it anyway. OK, you might get some poor ratings, but isn't that part of the learning curve? Won't you get your feedback from members anyway? Or is this just another obsession with always getting the top ratings?

Does Dooyoo benefit from us encouraging a better standard of member by letting people grow into the site themselves or is it better if we breed a member that demands instant gratification and top rates (as I believe happens on Ciao)? As a Dooyoo member, I firmly believe that the former works out best for the membership as a group.

berlioz wrote:

Silly of me to even say since I know nobody is ever going to ask, but I'm willing to help with classical music and film score reviews (since I'm pretty much the only one doing them on a regular basis).

I like your optomism with a hint of realism thrown in.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to ask for and offer help on a forum designed for review writers. Nobody would be telling members to write this or write that, simply giving them guidance from their own experience.

The guides are there to help but this forum is an extension of that and can be a very useful tool as the members here feel they are in a friendly environment and are more likely to ask for advise and have it offered in an easy to understand way.

I agree with Wendy. It's not bad to give some advice to people who need it, or to ask for help. New members may feel more comfortable asking for help from more casual members, rather than asking for help from the guides as guides are very important and members may feel uncomfortable talking to them.

Aw the guides are really friendly and most are members here anyway !

I'm not

I usally give advice in comments after reading any games reviews, but if any one needs any help/advice before writing a video games review i'm willing to help.
Eddie

steerpyke wrote:

I'm not

You must be a member here otherwise you could not post or do you mean you are not a real guide as to be honest I always thought that your co-guide had both the brains and the looks in that guide pair anyway.

atticusuk wrote:

steerpyke wrote:

I'm not

You must be a member here otherwise you could not post or do you mean you are not a real guide as to be honest I always thought that your co-guide had both the brains and the looks in that guide pair anyway.

It was meant to be ironic, you are however correct in the assumtion that "she who is called Sam1942" was ahead of me in the queue on both those counts.

As was my first sentence, the rest was just plain fact.

Well you can all help me with this one. I work for Dorset County Council as a housekeeper in a residential home. I'd like to write a review, but should it be on my actual job, or my employer? The reason I ask is obviously I wouldn't be able to review DCC as a whole, as I only work in one small area of the jobs you can do for them. Lisa x

You could do it from a careers point of view for housekeepers of residential homes.

That's what I was thinking! Do you think then it would be wrong of me to review DCC as employers, as I'm only such a small part of the services they offer?

Yes unless you personally know the workings of the Council. You do however know your job and its what you know and how helpful that information can be to a potential residential home housekeeper. Maybe there are people out there thinking of taking up that profession and want to know from someone who does it what it involves, the possibility of a career, what it involves, and whether its for them.

I don't know if it would be right or not but I would just say be really careful if you are planning on saying anything about them that they might not like. You'd be amazed how easy it is for an employer to figure out who wrote things about them. I'd love to utterly slag off the guys who made me redundant earlier in the year but sadly I set them all up with Google news alerts before I left and they's probably pick it up within a day or two.

Of course if you want to say entirely nice things, it's probably OK but it might be a very dull review!

koshkha wrote:

I'd love to utterly slag off the guys who made me redundant earlier in the year

I thought about that, too, one of the companies I'd been working for could do with a kick up their backside regarding how they treat their people but I'm sure they would be able to figure out who wrote the review.

I'll do a review of my job I think. I certainly don't know the workings of the council Rachel, so I agree that a review of them as a whole would be a no go. How come though people do reviews of say Morrisons, as again they are just one tiny aspect of the company? Lisa x

No idea at all, though if they did not know their subject I would rate em down.

lisa2062 wrote:

I'll do a review of my job I think. I certainly don't know the workings of the council Rachel, so I agree that a review of them as a whole would be a no go. How come though people do reviews of say Morrisons, as again they are just one tiny aspect of the company? Lisa x

I suspect that most people who work in Morrisons think they know a lot about the company - basically it would be easier to give a good overview of a supermarket than a complex organisation like local government. And most people who write about Morrisons do it because they've got an axe to grind and a well balanced crown winning review is the last thing on their minds.

You can comment on more general things about the employer even when it is a large employer. I work for Newcatle City Council and the policies on thngs like supervision and appraisal, pensions, employeee support services (Occ Health, etc) run through the whole council and are very valid things to comment on.

That's Newcastle - Newcatle are different - a dairy farming council..

Personally I would never do a review on an employer, as Koshka says, you never know who will see it, and I would be embarrassed quite frankly, even if it was neutral or positive...plus, I wonder who the review is intended for, if I was applying for a new job, I would NOT be looking for on line reviews of that employer! So it seems to be a review which is written for the benefit of other members only...THere was a challenge on jobs in general with about fifteen or so questions which was one of the better challnges and which I did find very interesting. I think that is the best place for reviews of this type, without necessarily naming the employer (so they will hopefully never see it!)

Even when you have an axe to grind, it doesnt seem a smart way to go about it.......you never know when you need an employer in the future/reference/or a business transaction in the future from a new employer or whatever..

Just my humble opinion though!

I'll stick with writing a review on my actual job, rather than the employer I think. Lisa x