My New Found Hobby Jan 19 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Well, everyone else has had their turn commenting on Epinions. So now it is my chance to say a few things, however I am doubtful it will be anything new or refreshing compared to what other's have said here. I think most of us can agree (since we are all still here) that we love this site. First off let me say, that this review may be altered in the future - if per chance Epinions alters their service or makes changes. Epinions has indeed become one of my favorite site's on the Internet. I spend a large amount of my time here at Epinions - writing reviews and reading what other members write. It's become a new found love of mine, in part because is has offered me the chance to work on my writing skills (which needs it) but in the same instance to be rewarded by it. Not to mention, I feel lucky to have access to the informative, useful and quite helpful reviews by other members. For me the rewards here are many. From the simple cash earnings (which of course was a big draw for me), to the helpful tips others give - as well as the practice of my writing skills and being able to express my thoughts and opinions on things the way I see fit. I love the way they have set this up, and I am very thankful to the person (heygirl) who introduced me to this great service. I sincerely hope that they are able to keep this service up and running as smoothly as it seems to have been since the day I joined. I also wanted to take this chance to explain to all - my feelings on the rating system (which I find it a superb idea). However, there can be a downside to this feature, which seems to already have come about in some instances. That is the abuse of ratings, and abuse by other members. It has not gotten to a real noticeable amount yet, but it could. My hopes are that it doesn't for this service is one I would hate to lose. The way I rate as you all may wonder when you are reading this is pretty simple. I don't necessarily look at another members opinion, disagree with it and give it a bad rating. This is not how I judge the content of a review nor how anyone else should. I separate my personal opinion's from the actual quality of the written work (not the views of it). It is the quality, content, and how well your work is presented that's most important. Though, it doesn't hurt if it is also entertaining and fun to read. I don't judge the person or person's opinions, views, or beliefs. I have seen a lot of this going on and a lot given unfair ratings by other members (not mentioning names), which is wrong. But as for myself, I will judge as fairly as I can - on the quality of the review, both the written part and how informative it is to another. If I see your review is informative, helpful, with some facts or examples stated to support your review of the product/service - and if there are few spelling errors and I can understand it very well you will get a "Highly Recommended" rating. If your point comes across, with either few examples to support your claim, or your spelling errors are more than just a few. Your review will earn a "Recommended" rating. If you tried to explain as best as you could but used no facts, evidence, or examples to support it - or if your point seems somewhat understandable but a little fuzzy or confusing you will earn a "Somewhat Recommended" rating. The only time someone will earn a "Not Recommended" rating from me is if I can tell by reading a review that the person doesn't care, hasn't used the product, or made absolutely no effort in writing the review. Trust me it will be very difficult to earn this rating from me because I truly hate to give it. I feel, this site and service Epinions has offered us is just great!!! With cooperation from us, it can remain that way. I sure hope it does. The peer-to-peer contact, support, and information exchange while everyone benefits in the process is great. Kudo's to whoever came up with this idea, I give it nothing less than two thumbs up and a 5 star rating!

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