some people just never learn

I have been suprised a number of times recently when I've noticed writers with tens of reviews under their belt who still manage to get overall SU ratings on their latest piece. When you look at their stats they often have an overall average rating of U. Its odd but as someone who has written for a mainly while now I would consider myself performing poorly if I didnt aim to get VH ratings. I guess the reward system doesnt promote putting the extra effort in, a read is a read after all, but surely personal standards would call for a higher goal. I suppose it depends what you are on the site for, do you want to try and write something really useful to other users, or do you just want to write any old slice of mediocrity.

I argued the same thing on another board and was shouted down by people saying that some people want to be mediocre and earn the same. I honestly do not think it is human nature to be mediocre and accept that you are which is why if I rate under H, I always comment. It's not a serial comment syndrome. It is me hoping against hope that if even one comment gets listened to, their reviews will improve. I cannot understand rating SH and not explaining why but that's a ciao thing I suppose because ciao do not pay for less the H whilst dooyoo do. Regardless, I shall carry on commenting, and interestingly enough, I have seen four members improve after comments so know its getting through and working and it's a joy indeed to see the improvements and to me proves my theory that people don't like being mediocre and prefer to try. I have also seen complaints on boards abour re-rating and its relevance. To me, if someone makes the effort, of course I shall rerate. It's like saying "thank heavens you listened" and makes it worthwhile, whilst others see it as "why didn't you get it right first time ?". That sucks because many SH reviews are new members and don't know how to get it better without guidance from established members and I have noticed those that take no notice as well, and tend to leave their reviews now, feeling that the 3p payment is too generous for those that make no effort. No rating, no read and certainly no comment any more.

Trouble is, with Dooyoo you get 3p for jack so why push the boat out if 3po is you aim? You could write a review a day x 30 days and make a £10 amazon voucher easy every month.

Be honest, the review does not have to be real. You can see an advert for a yoghurt on TV and write a 200 word review on it making a quid in less than an hour. Or spend 3 hours writing a good detailed review and make the same quid.

Some people write shit on dooyoo and have done for years, i confronted someone once about it and they just told me they were doing it for the money and did not give a shit about consumers.

Sometimes, you can't win.

If people continually write what you consider to be poor reviews then you have a choice. Give them the rating it deserves and at the same time 3p or behave like a normal consumer and walk away and give them nothing.

Rach, I agree that new members may take a while to get their thing together, we all went through that. The point I made was with specific reference to writers with a fair number of reviews under their belt, i.e. ones that know they can do better. Also I totally agree with you Angus, there are a certain amount of people who are just playing the numbers game of more reviews = more money regardless of how they are viewed as a writer. I guess because i come from a Ciao background where the rating system a bearing on how many points you earn I have a certain mind set.

Also the difference with the two sites is that on Ciao any non-product writiing is purley a labour of love and as such generates some of the best articles. On dooyoo speakers corner is a paid area and often suffers from people who have little skill in debate writing a small winge to get easy money. I know there is no real answer, I 'm just putting my frustrations down on paper really and as Atticus says you can always walk away.

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You can see an advert for a yoghurt on TV and write a 200 word review on it making a quid in less than an hour. Or spend 3 hours writing a good detailed review and make the same quid.

No Angus, that is where you are wrong. If they took the time to write a decent review, they would be in the running for crowns and thus more money. Do people not have ambition ?

I have discovered something that other members may benefit from. Instead of clicking on a review and giving some bugger 3p for nonsense, click on the name and see how many reviews they have written and of what quality. Then chose if you want to read them. Works for me.

Thingywhatsit wrote:

Quote :

You can see an advert for a yoghurt on TV and write a 200 word review on it making a quid in less than an hour. Or spend 3 hours writing a good detailed review and make the same quid.

No Angus, that is where you are wrong. If they took the time to write a decent review, they would be in the running for crowns and thus more money. Do people not have ambition ?

I am not wrong rach, as some people will never or very seldomley write well enough to get a crown so they settle for second best.

No real harm in it but it does annoy me a bit as well.

then click on the name not the review. That way they do not get their 3p if they are a consistently bad writer, and have loads of comments on previous reviews, perhaps they will get the message by not being read so much.

Hey its working, I just got thanked for the advice I gave someone and their reviews are getting better, so it can work.

Call me a bit heartless, but I don't understand how 'newbies' are expected to write below par reviews when they first join... surely it makes sense that if you are new to something you would research other reviews first to see what is expected of you before jumping right in? That's what I did.

And as for persistent mediocre reviews? I can't understand not aiming for VH and even crowns, but that might be my obsessiveness about perfection. I suppose if it is made possible for people to make the same money without putting in the same effort there are always going to be those who take advantage of it.

Nor can I personally although if you work it out, you could earn good money on dooyoo from being mediocre and thats where readers have to decide whether to rate or not. If people stopped rating mediocre, then perhaps that would change.

krazykat2005 wrote:

Call me a bit heartless, but I don't understand how 'newbies' are expected to write below par reviews when they first join... surely it makes sense that if you are new to something you would research other reviews first to see what is expected of you before jumping right in? That's what I did.

And as for persistent mediocre reviews? I can't understand not aiming for VH and even crowns, but that might be my obsessiveness about perfection. I suppose if it is made possible for people to make the same money without putting in the same effort there are always going to be those who take advantage of it.

And thats exactly right, but maybe you are a bit of an exception and many are prepared to just pick up the money rather than have their name put to soomething worthy.

I don't think people deliberately "fail" either - nobody wants to be mediocre, Rachel, you're right. What you forget though, is that everybody's criteria are different. If, as Angus says, your aim is money, then you will view your efforts in terms of money vs time. If you can dash off an SU review in two or three minutes and earn more money that way, then those whose criteria of success equal money earned, will view themselves as successful.

Long term though Jill who will read it if it continues to be mediocre ? Long term, they lose out.

the only time I have a problem with these people is when they say "Why did you rate my review SU?" but those are scarce these days.

let people spew Su reviews out, it makes it easier to get more sponsors to site and then more opportunity for those who take the time to get crowns.

I wouldn't get a question like that cos i always tell em LOL

Jill Murphy wrote:

I don't think people deliberately "fail" either - nobody wants to be mediocre, Rachel, you're right. What you forget though, is that everybody's criteria are different. If, as Angus says, your aim is money, then you will view your efforts in terms of money vs time. If you can dash off an SU review in two or three minutes and earn more money that way, then those whose criteria of success equal money earned, will view themselves as successful.

And thats the other side of the argument succinctly put. As i said there is no right or wrong its just horses for courses and as you say Jill its down to the individual criteria of the writer.

One thing members should bear in mind though is that even if they do not rate a review, if they open it up, they give the reader their 3p. I find by pressing the users name rather than the review, I can see whether or not they are a serious reviewer or a new member or whatever and then chose to read or not read.

Thingywhatsit wrote:

One thing members should bear in mind though is that even if they do not rate a review, if they open it up, they give the reader their 3p. I find by pressing the users name rather than the review, I can see whether or not they are a serious reviewer or a new member or whatever and then chose to read or not read.

So you only read authors who write VU or U reviews?

I tend to click on the writers name before reading a review but that is to look at their activity level regarding rates and comments given versus rates received. If they are not active on the site and not putting something back then I do not read their work irrespective of the overall ratings on their reviews.

The exception to that would be if the subject matter was of interest to me or in my category.

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Long term though Jill who will read it if it continues to be mediocre ? Long term, they lose out.

No, you're wrong. If money for little time and effort is your goal, you are fbest to write one paragraph reviews that are - arguably - less useful than those with more time and effort involved. People who "try" hard spend hours on their reviews. I write quickly and even I spend around half an hour. People on forums frequently say that they spend several hours on a review. But let's say it's around an hour of fairly intense concentration.

Many people aren't interested in either the intense concentration or the hour. They want easy internet pennies - as easy as clicking the ipoints links. You can write 15 or 20 reviews in that hour without any intense concentration at all. And why shouldn't you prefer to do it that way if you choose?

If people want the odd easily earned Amazon vouchers into which they have put little effort, then they will measure their "success" in terms of how easy the voucher was to get. The minute it starts taking a lot of time or any mental discipline whatsover, then for them, the game's not worth the candle.

Given the sums on offer for those who DO take it seriously and put in all that time and effort, you really do have to wonder which camp of opinion site users actually have it perspective. I doubt there's anyone - however much effort they're putting in - who manages minimum wage by contributing.

You're just judging other people by your own standards. Let them choose their own. And who on earth are any of us to withold 3ps from people who simply have a different set of priorities? I think that's horribly smelly.

Ha Jill you have such a sensitive nose the amount of times you find things smelly on these sites.

Ha. I know. Pompous old bat, ain't I? Just as well I smell most marvellously of roses myself. Guffaw!

Since spending less time on review sites, I have to agree with Jill and will add that if we spend less time up our own arses and let people do what they want, it would be a busyer site.

Most of the arguments about churners and short review writers are that they stop established members from getting more reads, which really is selfish and self-centered and not an argument to back up consumer usefullness.

I wont rate these reviews any higher than SU or NU unless they are extremely good but I do not begrudge anyone writing a short review.