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Macresarf1 Weighs in on "Rubber Stamping," Spamming, Plagiarism, etc., and PARANOIA -- Briefly. "Jul 02 '01 (Updated Feb 25 '03) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line -- To use words from a song in THE SWINDLE, a French film which I recently reviewed: "If the World isn't worth a damn, change it, change it all!"
Ever come across one of those Epinions club "chat rooms," where presumably grown people go on for days accusing each other of transgressions, and cursing foully about each other's character? This rare entry into such smoke filled cubicles is expanded from a comment I left at mtbat's excellent, provocative *"1-2-3 Testing," which dealt with people laying traps for those who rate others highly, a phenomenon which I've also just came across. I agree with mbat that we should not lay traps for each other. But the problems of rubber stamping, spamming, plagiarism, part of the society-wide process of trivialization are serious and long-standing at Epinions. Certainly, there are people who are paranoid and childish on both sides of the question, especially among the relatively small group who spend a lot of time in Epinions clubs chat rooms. Some of their "threads" go on for weeks -- You spammed. I didn't spam; You plagiarized. I 've never plagiarize! You rubber-stamped;I am incapable of rubber-stamping!!. Often ending with "And so is your third stepfather!" Surely, following the Epinions rather reasonable guidelines is the best policy: Most people simply read over a review and rate it. Fine. A majority of epinions are at least helpful; a higher rating than Helpful is an individual judgment call. No comment required. If readers can add something, or correct something for the Epinionator, fine. A comment should always be welcome. If we find the review inadequate in its presentation, we should call it Somewhat Helpful; or, if we deem it without merit, make that rating, Not Helpful -- but Epinions etiquette suggests we should add a comment explaining why, so the person can improve his/her writing or logic. According to Epinions, a person's view, expressed in an epinion, if supported by details and facts, should not be marked down, simply because we oppose that view. On the other hand, if someone is in a ring of 300 people with a rapid servers who zip around giving top ratings to each other, Epinionators should report that. People like these miscreants have damn near killed Epinions. The great majority of us who try to be responsible and follow the Epinions golden rules have suffered at the hands of these greedy thugs. A considerable portion of the tens of millions of dollars Epinions received from venture capital sources went to them. To use an old fashioned term: They are UNETHICAL. Perhaps "a-ethical," to invent a word. If people are spamming or plagiarizing, and we see the evidence, we all should report them, certainly "block" them. Epinions suggests that it is our duty, as part of the community. We don't need to "lay traps" for them. We see them every day. They are out there. You and I shouldn't be Deputy McGruff the Crime Dog, but we should do our duty, if only out of self interest. Had we all challanged these vandals at Epinions' Gates, we might still be receiving ten cents or five cents a read, or whatever it was, instead of the penny a hit we make now. (Or in the case of this kind of Epinion, something more than nothing, I guess). For any civilized person, it is a matter of courtesy, respect and honesty. We all should GROW UP. Not just at Epinions -- but in the Nation, too. -------------- If you would like to read mtbat's Epinion, "1-2-3 Testing," that inspired this "rant," then copy, paste to your browser and go to the following: 1-2-3 Testing -- http://www.epinions.com/content_1769382020 -------------------------- For Macresarf1's review of THE SWINDLE -- http://www.epinions.com/content_29284798084 --------------------------------- If you wish to explore all of Macresarf1's reviews, indexed by title and category, many with URL's, paste to your browser and go to the following -- http://www.epinions.com/content_2514526340  |
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