FEEDBACK

Since we have never allowed links in the ciao/dooyoo areas of the site, members objected to the inconsistency of allowing links for Helium members who stand to gain financially from these links. If members genuinely want feedback on their articles, I would ask that they open a thread and paste the article, rather than the link, over for feedback. Once feedback has been gained, I shall close the thread. This way, we are able to help those members that genuinely want the feedback that Helium does not give them on their articles.

Can I ask, why is feedback considered important on a site like that?

I post on lots of sites, and never go back because those sites dont operate like dooyoo and ciao do...just intriguing why then people would want to post an article elsewhere in public purely for feedback? Surely people have the courage of their convictions (and articles) and why is feedback important for Helium anyway?

just my ignorance here..or enquiring mind..!

Many of the youngsters on Helium don't have confidence. They are accustomed to blog and are not confident about posting on professional sites. The offer is there because it doesn't exist elsewhere on the site.

but why does it matter what other people think in the normal sense? Aren't articles anonymous anyway? I'm just intrigued as to why anyone would ask for feedback on a site that doesn't have a facilility for it...it wouldn't occur to me to have even asked..! there are lots of "knowledge" sites like helium out there and I wouldn't dream of leaving people feedback on their incoherent arguments or their standard of English...but I might make a counter argument, for example.

Feedback is supposedly important because Helium claims that writing ability is all important and dedicate a substantial portion of their own forum to writing tips and discussion.

Hypocritically, they don't seem to offer any tools for direct feedback on their own site or forum.

I'm kind of with you though, Helen. I don't understand why feedback can't be offered on the Helium forum itself if they're that concerned about article quality.

They are looking into it, and this thread was a temporary thing until they have devised some kind of feedback system, either within the rating arena or on the forum.

I'm surprised they turned down the opportunity to host something as useful as that on their own website.

Far too much is shifted off the site/forum, never to be heard of again IMHO.

Feedback is not only important for those not confident in their work, but also for those who simply want to improve on their writing. Sometimes you don't catch things unless you have a fresh pair of eyes looking at your work.

Furthermore, Helium doesn't allow editing of articles unless you use something called a leapfrog, which you have a limited number of. You don't want to use a leapfrog unless you have edited everything that needs to be, so that you do not waste it.

I don't understand why feedback isn't offered on Helium either. I believe it would tone down the nonsense that gets thrown on there : /

Nonsense?

Is the leapfrog system a negative aspect of Helium or a postive one?

What are leapfrogs for?

How does writing good reviews and getting good feedback affect earnings?

Indeed how do you actually earn anything..!

By nonsense I mean the not-so-good articles that appear on the site.

The leapfrogs are a good thing, I just wish we could edit more often. They are limited. Leapfrogs are pretty much an editing tool. If you have any available, you can click on an article (but not the same one in a week) and edit it to your satisfaction. Once you submit the article, it will then be rated against the previous version of your article and depending on what the public thinks, your leapfrogged article is either accepted or rejected.

I think it's obvious that the better the writing you do, the more viewers to your writing you will get. And the more viewers you get, the more money. Helium is based on a pay per view basis. You get about 1 penny per 3 views (I think). It's hard to say though, because we also lack a way to tell how many people have viewed each article.

Could I get some feedback on this article? It's not doing as well as I hoped...

Movie scenes that make you cry
by Kelly Mello

Once we found out that a plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York, many of us were saddened. But when the second plane struck the other tower, we became panicked. Much like JFK's assassination, the majority of U.S. citizens will know exactly where they were and what they were doing on September 11th, 2001.

Soon after this event took place, many events were canceled, including shows and movies which portrayed bombings, plane crashes, terrorists, and the Twin Towers. But now we have had time to heal, and various tributes, documentaries and movies have been made regarding the attack. One such movie is "United 93".

For a female, I am usually pretty good at keeping the tears inside when watching sad movies. Only a few have made me cry, and yes that includes "Titanic" during the scenes with the children and old couple in their rooms, waiting for their inevitable death to pursue them. But nothing hit me as hard as "United 93".

It was such a heart-wrenching movie, that I can't just pick one or two scenes that really got me sobbing. From the very beginning I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach because unlike most movies, you knew exactly what would happen. It was something that really happened. However, like all things in the movies, you can't help the characters, or in this case, the victims. All you could do was sit there in the darkness and wait for the inevitable. During the film, you could tell that everyone was going through so many emotions, that sadness was just the tip of the ice berg.

In fact, that was the only movie I've ever been to where the entire theater seemed to be in tears. Not only that, but everyone left in complete silence after it was over. Usually after a film, you can hear variations of "what did you think?" and, "where do you want to go next?". Not this time. Just silence. As if everyone was mourning and silently praying for the victims of 9/11 all over again.

With all that being said, it was very tastefully done. If you are ready to cry like a baby, this should do it. If not, you are stone.

It is certainly a lot better than others in the category.

Any suggestions on how I can improve it?

You could add that your point of view is that of an American.

Very good point

I think that it is because it means that you are closer to the situation and the closeness of it is what affects you probably more than any other world event.

Yeah, you are right. I guess I can be ethnocentric by not even thinking about how this article might be read by people from other countries. I need to convey just how significant this movie is for Americans by perhaps comparing it to another event that happened elsewhere in the world.

KMello wrote:

By nonsense I mean the not-so-good articles that appear on the site.

The leapfrogs are a good thing, I just wish we could edit more often. They are limited. Leapfrogs are pretty much an editing tool. If you have any available, you can click on an article (but not the same one in a week) and edit it to your satisfaction. Once you submit the article, it will then be rated against the previous version of your article and depending on what the public thinks, your leapfrogged article is either accepted or rejected.

I think it's obvious that the better the writing you do, the more viewers to your writing you will get. And the more viewers you get, the more money. Helium is based on a pay per view basis. You get about 1 penny per 3 views (I think). It's hard to say though, because we also lack a way to tell how many people have viewed each article.

I think the leapfrogs are a bad idea and go somewhat against Helium's quest for excellent writing. Editing an article when you choose without restriction would be a better idea, though it might screw with helium's rating system.

And in the case of gaining readers, I'm not sure that good writing is the be all and end all. As Helium encourages people to go off and advertise their own reviews, better advertising is far more important than good writing.

Why not just write the article with the idea "this is as good as it'll get" and get it done with in one go, since this leapfrogging system seems to be pretty restrictive?

Advertising is definately key to earning on Helium. I definately agree with you there. I still have to say that it is important to improve your writing so that more people will be more likely to look at your work more often.

I will never just settle when I know I can do better. If I don't think I can, then I leave my articles be.

BTW, is it kosher that I have the links to my profiles in my signature?

KMello wrote:

I will never just settle when I know I can do better. If I don't think I can, then I leave my articles be.

Indeed, that is true to me as well, but in most cases one can almost be happy with the first finalized edition for at least a year before discontent comes in as your writing ability develops (that is of course if one really wants to do the best they can).

Sometimes you just catch stupid mistakes too