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jo_b_2

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

That guide really did put me off. I'd better stop here because I accept we can all have different opinions about what makes a good review, and I don't want to have a go at individuals who can't speak up for themselves. That was his opinion, which is fair enough. But what does bother me is that, over six months later, I'm still irritated (when I think about it) and feel (almost) scared to post a review in that section because the guide is not the nicest. I've 'met' some lovely guides here and there, so I know they are not all like him.

I know exactly what you mean and I wouldn't post a review in the appliance section either for fear of the picky comments!

I think I write well and also try to inject some personality, humour and general opinion into all my reviews. I find really dry, unnecessarily lengthy reviews which specify every single fact about a product more of a chore to read.

barongreenback

jo_b wrote: »

I know exactly what you mean and I wouldn't post a review in the appliance section either for fear of the picky comments!

I think I write well and also try to inject some personality, humour and general opinion into all my reviews. I find really dry, unnecessarily lengthy reviews which specify every single fact about a product more of a chore to read.

Me too although I would never not post in a because of one person's view on how reviews should be written. If you can't please a guide or any other member but think your review is okay then that is all that matters. The main thing I have learnt when writing reviews is not to try and please anybody. If I think it is important, I include it. Guides don't decide crowns, members even don't decide crowns ultimately dooyoo do so Guides rates although giving a good idea of how good your review is, is still ultimately subjective.

Scaredy_Cat_3

Ah but you're one of the nice ones I was referring to, Silas!!!

The guide's comments may well have been fair (even though they were asking for the type of technical info that many of us have said we don't need because we can get it from the manufacturer's website). It was early days for me on Dooyoo and I haven't bothered to re-read my review (just the comments!), so maybe it was lacking!

The point I was making wasn't so much about the guide wanting something different to what I had done, as about the way he said it and the effect that had on me. But then... I am a bit of a wimp!

barongreenback

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

I've just gone back and looked at the comment the guide made. A number of people on here keep saying it's opinion that counts and if people want to know the spec they can go to the manufacturer's website... well I put in the opinion. I looked at the manufacturer's website myself before I bought the machine and I put into the review the things that I only discovered after I had used the machine, because it was information that was not on the manufacturer's website. And yet the guide's comments were all about specifics. What is the max rpm? What the rating? Etc etc etc.

Personally I feel that's that kind of info people can get elsewhere, and I did think the info I put in was useful - at least it was info that I really wish I had known before I'd bought. I might not have bought the machine if I'd known these things.

That guide really did put me off. I'd better stop here because I accept we can all have different opinions about what makes a good review, and I don't want to have a go at individuals who can't speak up for themselves. That was his opinion, which is fair enough. But what does bother me is that, over six months later, I'm still irritated (when I think about it) and feel (almost) scared to post a review in that section because the guide is not the nicest. I've 'met' some lovely guides here and there, so I know they are not all like him.

LOL, Silas is no longer a Guide you know but happy to help and all that. I do think that we as Guides (even though I am not one anymore) can come across as a bit blunt in comments but I also think that most of the time we think we are being helpful. If a Guide bothers offering you feedback at all they thought you were worth the effort and thought something of your review. Feeling aggrieved is fine. It is difficult to take criticism on a review you have spent time on.

Scaredy_Cat_3

barongreenback wrote: »

LOL, Silas is no longer a Guide you know but happy to help and all that. I do think that we as Guides (even though I am not one anymore) can come across as a bit blunt in comments but I also think that most of the time we think we are being helpful. If a Guide bothers offering you feedback at all they thought you were worth the effort and thought something of your review. Feeling aggrieved is fine. It is difficult to take criticism on a review you have spent time on.

You're probably right about that. He probably thought he was being helpful, and I was just a bit over-sensitive!

Didn't realise you weren't a guide any more Silas. But you have been very friendly and helpful to me in the past - and I appreciate that, so thank you!

Camp_Freddy

LittleCharlie wrote: »

But then equally there seem to be some really prolific reviewers basically listing what the ingredients are in a shower gel and repeating the TV advert... If I wanted to know that I'd look on the manufacturers website.

I thought reviews were supposed to be opinions, not just lists of stuff.

The other one that amused me yesterday was someone reviewed a West End stage show, and they basically just said what happened in each act. Now what I want to know is, which actors you saw, was the acting good, were the props good, was the interpretation believable, was the bar expensive in the theatre...

It's within your rights as a member to rate these lower if they don't give you the information you require. I'd even go so far as to encourage members to report these reviews that are all description and no opinion to Dooyoo. Dooyoo wants opinion, they don't want description or lists. If you feel so inclined, you can NU them too.

Camp_Freddy

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

I have to say I do get irritated when I go to read some new reviews and see a load of people who have posted 5 or 6 reviews, each one within about five minutes of the other.

There is a train of thought in certain quarters... *looks pointedly at sites like MSE* where it is suggested that a lot of money can be made from sites such as Dooyoo, so you do get people who post a lot of reviews.

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

Second little niggle - when I had just started (only a few months back) I had a comment from a guide on a washing machine review I had done. I had written the review to include the information that I really would have liked to know BEFORE I bought the darn thing, so I thought it might be helpful to someone else. Anyway, one of the comments the guide made about why my review wasn't good enough was that I hadn't said if the machine was noisy! Well, to this day I can't answer that because I don't know what I'm supposed to compare it with, and I'm not usually in the room when it's on, and also I have two machines which are generally running side by side, so of course they are noisy together! But it wouldn't occur to me to put a comment in the review about why I don't feel qualified to comment on how noisy it is - it just wasn't a factor for me. As has been said before - you just can't please everyone. But, I'm afraid I do feel less inclined to review anything in that sector because I feel (personally) that particular guide is rather harsh, and it has put me off.

There appears to be two trains of thought with regards review content. Some believe that there is core information that has to be included in order to be a good review. Others believe that you should only include what's important to you. I fall in to the second category. If you don't mention something, my assumption is that there's nothing outstanding about that topic in either a good or a bad way. Others believe that you should categorically state that there's nothing wrong with that topic. Some of these people are guides and I really do disagree with how they comment in this manner, but we are all different and they're not "wrong" per se.

Fiver29

I agree with that, I recently did a laptop review, I could have said the keys clicked nicely as I was typing or they made an awful racket as I was typing, but IMHO they're the same as any other keyboard, so I concentrated on the things I either really liked, or really disliked.

Camp_Freddy

cheap_charlie wrote: »

Oh I don't expect "Very Useful" ratings from every person who reads my reviews.

However I have encountered a handful of people who seem to delight in marking down an outstanding review just for the sake of it without passing any comment on it either.

I am not even talking about how these people rate MY reviews, but their ratings on other reviews I have read, including crowned ones.

These reviews are outstanding in your opinion, not necessarily that of others. Simply because a review gets a Crown doesn't mean that it's immune from low rates. All reviews should have a sprinkling of all rates. So-called "outstanding" reviews can still get the odd legitimate SU or NU and by the same token, so-called "poor" reviews can get a few high ratings.

cheap_charlie wrote: »

As for guides offering advice remember that they have a right to an opinion too - and so long as the advice is constructive then try to accept it and not dwell on it. If a guide chooses to be rude and unhelpful, then that's another matter of course.

IMO, a guide should rarely, if ever, be advising a reviewer on specific information to include "in order to get good ratings". The most a guide should offer is the same thing myself, CMH, Matty and Baron have advised on here: personal opinion and experience. What that entails is entirely up to you. So, there's never anything missing from your review... it's just that someone else has a question. If they tell you that information is missing, they're just bad at communication.

cheap_charlie

Camp_Freddy wrote: »

These reviews are outstanding in your opinion, not necessarily that of others. Simply because a review gets a Crown doesn't mean that it's immune from low rates. All reviews should have a sprinkling of all rates. So-called "outstanding" reviews can still get the odd legitimate SU or NU and by the same token, so-called "poor" reviews can get a few high ratings.



IMO, a guide should rarely, if ever, be advising a reviewer on specific information to include "in order to get good ratings". The most a guide should offer is the same thing myself, CMH, Matty and Baron have advised on here: personal opinion and experience. What that entails is entirely up to you. So, there's never anything missing from your review... it's just that someone else has a question. If they tell you that information is missing, they're just bad at communication.

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