Irrelevant information ???

Okay, I am known for my harsh ratings but I just wanted to know how others feel about the latest batch of POW reviews etc.

For some reason it is becoming the norm to bulk out the main review with reams of history on the makers of the product with maybe a quick paragraph or two thrown in about the product itself. People seem to think this is the way to go and unfortunately the people rating the review think so too !!! I have seen Es dished out saying things like "Excellent review you sure did your homework"..........personally if I am looking to find out about, say for example a packet of biscuits, I couldn't give a flying..f...faggot about how the company evolved, how long they have been established etc etc..what I want to know is how it tastes, how does it compare to others and is it reasonably priced !!! Sorry but I am sick of seeing reams of history with a few lines on teh product.Why can't people just try the product and write about how they felt about it anymore...is it really necessary to trawl the net for every bit of info on the company ???

By all means add a little about the history if, for instance, it is an unusual product..but an everyday shelf product, for goodness sake !!!

Sorry but I needed to have a rant, I do feel the POW comp has had it's day and should be abolished, it's all getting a bit ridiculous now.

Well to me it would be most important to know if some company was established in 1876 or 1877. I mean, anything before 1877 is just a load of tosh. Not to mention, I'd really like more people putting in expiration dates for the goods they purchase in their reviews. I want to know if I can still eat that gum stuck under the seat of the bus Number 39 on December 12th. In fact, I'd lap up that info presented in the POW reviews... should I still be a member on Ciao, that is...

I'm all for a bit of irrelevance if it's interesting but not if it's just copied off a company website.

If someone writes about a hotel or a meal, then I'm interested to know the circumstances of why they went there and, in the case of the meal, who they went with (and maybe why). I know some people might thing that irrelevant but if I wanted a sterile review I'd buy a Michelin Guidebook.

But I agree - if I'm reading a review of a Toblerone, I'm not looking for the entire history of Switzerland and an analysis of the composition of the Matterhorn.

Agreed, if it is a destination, restaurant etc then maybe it is relevant but I am talking about common or garden household objects, packets of biscuits, coffee etc. If I am looking to find out what a certain brand of coffee is like I am highly likely to skip through reviews and find one that is to the point, I don't want to wade through 3 paragraphs on how the company started or why the person bought the flipping thing only to find a few lines at the bottom about the product.

some facts can be interesting - e.g their ethical stance..

but then not if it is copied off the company's website, only if it is written because the author truly is passionate about it.

biscuits..no..

I don't read many POW reviews - as I don't get the point about writing or reading about biscuits in the first place and never have.

Averilla wrote:

Okay, I am known for my harsh ratings but I just wanted to know how others feel about the latest batch of POW reviews etc.

For some reason it is becoming the norm to bulk out the main review with reams of history on the makers of the product with maybe a quick paragraph or two thrown in about the product itself. People seem to think this is the way to go and unfortunately the people rating the review think so too !!! I have seen Es dished out saying things like "Excellent review you sure did your homework"..........personally if I am looking to find out about, say for example a packet of biscuits, I couldn't give a flying..f...faggot about how the company evolved, how long they have been established etc etc..what I want to know is how it tastes, how does it compare to others and is it reasonably priced !!! Sorry but I am sick of seeing reams of history with a few lines on teh product.Why can't people just try the product and write about how they felt about it anymore...is it really necessary to trawl the net for every bit of info on the company ???

Sorry but I needed to have a rant, I do feel the POW comp has had it's day and should be abolished, it's all getting a bit ridiculous now.

Firstly, the rating isn't harsh if it's honest. It's not your fault their reviews are crap lol.

Secondly, I feel the ciao reviews should be like those on say, amazon, except as each review is on a seperate page, members can afford to go into that bit more depth. I wished members would just get into what they thought of the product, and stop writing some sort of definitive buyers guide (and a crappy one at that too). Sometimes it's at the point where the consumer is taken to be an absolute tool. Members need to realise any true consumer will do their homework when it comes to those kind of facts.

Finally, POW reviews. It's surprising no one has began their review in this manner, "the reason I bought this product was because I wanted to win the ciao POW competition..." lol. Yeah POW reviews are bad!!!

scream4bruce wrote:

Sometimes it's at the point where the consumer is taken to be an absolute tool. Members need to realise any true consumer will do their homework when it comes to those kind of facts.

Ciao members don't tend to write reviews for the consumer. They're written for other Ciao members/the community to come and give out VUs or Es.

You only have to look at the 4000 word film essays of a popular member to realise what's going on.

I think some members feel that if they're to get higher rates then they must bulk out certain reviews with streams of background info fro example.

Take for an example a review on a mascara, you'll get one person who gets to the point and covers relevant info such as ease of application and how long it lasts and so on, and another where that's included but before all that there's paragraphs of the company's history. How many times have you seen the latter example gets bucket loads of E's and VH's and the other one VH's and H's? I know I've seen it many times, and like many of you, while a little background info can make for an interesting read at times, all I mainly want to know is the reviewers experience of the product. Lisa x

lisa2062 wrote:

I think some members feel that if they're to get higher rates then they must bulk out certain reviews with streams of background info fro example.

Take for an example a review on a mascara, you'll get one person who gets to the point and covers relevant info such as ease of application and how long it lasts and so on, and another where that's included but before all that there's paragraphs of the company's history. How many times have you seen the latter example gets bucket loads of E's and VH's and the other one VH's and H's? I know I've seen it many times, and like many of you, while a little background info can make for an interesting read at times, all I mainly want to know is the reviewers experience of the product. Lisa x

I think the problem on ciao certainly, is the amount of people simply not reading a review. I would guess that the majority read the first para, a bit of another one further down and then the end. If they are bright enough then they can then make a comment loosely based around a review but remain vague enough not to be caught out.

These are the people that are giving out the E's as they see a long review, read a bit and decide that's long enough for an E.

That's true. Too many Ciao members equate Long to Useful, which tends not to be the case in most categories.

The only way people learn is by rating effectively and if that means giving out SUs to 3000 word reviews, then so be it.

However, you only have to look at Avril's "GB comments" thread to realise that Ciao members will never learn. They're just interested in dots and being super nice to each other. God forbid you're actually honest.