Coming out
Apr 27 '02
The Bottom Line After over 2 years, I've unveiled my WOT. Here's why.
I have been a member of Epinions for over two years. In all of that time, I promised myself that I would keep my WOT hidden no matter what. I’ve always felt that the too many people play games with their WOTs, and I never wanted to be a part of that. Rather, I wanted to be respected… trusted… for who I am. **
In that time, I’ve collected quite a few trusters. I’ve lost quite a few too. For the most part, these were either trust sluts who couldn’t tell if I nibbled at their offerings or people who became agitated by my grumpiness about ratings, abuse, and a million other things. There have been many who have emailed me privately saying, “Gosh, I like you. But that hidden WOT thing. Ew!” or something to that effect. I understood somewhat and actually applauded the fact that they gave the issue more than a passing thought. But the people who have impressed me most are the people who started trusting me ages ago and still trust me... People who have never received any guarantee that I reciprocated. You guys are the TRUE meaning of "trust!"
But today, for the first time in over two years, I am coming out of the closet. I’m shedding the cloak from my WOT and allowing everyone to see what I’ve been hiding.
My reason for this is simple. I have been given the enormous opportunity to help Epinions through the role of Category Lead. Whether or not I deserve the title is open for debate; I’m not sure even I would have picked me for such a role. But the fact that Epinions did choose me for the role leaves me feeling an obligation to do everything I can within reason to make the role a success.
In the weeks since my interview for Category Lead, I read quite a few message board posts and received emails from members discussing the Category Lead position. Through them, I noticed one common concern, regardless of whether the person is known as a quiet, easygoing sort or a “It’s time to kick some tail!” type. Many people are concerned that the Category Leads will only choose friends for Advisor and Top Reviewer spots. And with a hidden WOT, I’m sure that anyone who looked at my profile page would say, "Well, gee… We don’t KNOW that she’s won’t because we can’t even see who her friends are!"
There’s a logic error in that, but I suppose those that don’t know me very well would know that. I don’t put every friend on my WOT. Only the ones whose ratings are consistent with what I’ve been led to believe are appropriate for Epinions make it there. A few are more lenient than others. Most are considered fearless raters, though a couple are known as being softies. But since advisors pass on their rating power to the people they trust, I’ve been careful to confine my trust to those people who I feel can be trusted with the rating power that I pass on.
I also don’t much effort into building my WOT. So occasionally, I forget to add someone that, if I thought about it for 10 minutes, I probably would. (This morning, I discovered a couple that I thought I had added but hadn't!) Or, if Epinions pulls one of its little jokes and drops someone for me, I often don’t notice it till weeks later. While some people look at having a name on a list as a sort of recognition, I tend to try to make sure that the people who I value know that I value them and why on an individual level. So my WOT is small and doesn't contain every name that might be there. In general, only those whose ratings I like or who has consistently blown me away with their brave ratings (despite sometimes fiery opposition), their quality writing, and their strength of heart are there.
One will also notice that many of those whom I trust are inactive. I'd like to see what I can do to change that. But even if those members never write another word for Epinions and, more importantly, even if they never leave another rating, I will still value their opinions. If they left a low rating on a review two years ago, I'm positive that the review still deserves it today. Their writing is still as good today too. Their not being here to represent themselves does nothing to change that.
So while I know that I couldn't possibly limit my recommendations to those that I trust, I know how people think. I know the questions that people might ask (have already asked, as a matter of fact). And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a hidden WOT will be the first thing that people look to when they start wondering why certain people were selected (or not) for TR and Advisor roles based on their friendship with me.
I can’t guarantee that I’ll do a good job with this role. I know I’ll never please everyone. But I do know that the most certain way to fail is to start off on the wrong foot. And leaving my WOT hidden, when I know that many people already wonder, would certainly be one way of doing that.
So I’ve unveiled my WOT, even if I’d rather not. (Comically enough, it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to do it!)
The first thing that some will notice is that I don’t trust everyone who is perceived as being my “friend.” That’s not hard to explain. WOT presence does not equate to friendship to me. I know lots of really terrific people and tremendous writers who are really terrible raters according to my standards. It wouldn’t make much sense to rate one way and then trust a bunch of people that would always rate completely differently than me, because, with enough trusters, that person’s rating would overpower mine. I also don’t trust people who hide behind anonymous ratings. A person who feels strongly enough to leave a rating ought to be brave enough to own up to it. And if they’re not, they’re cowards who shouldn’t be trusted anyway.
When the time comes when I’m no longer a Category Lead, I will be re-hiding my WOT. I still think it’s the best choice for me. I don’t want people to give me high ratings just because they think they will lose my trust if they don’t. I don’t want people to be afraid to dump me from their WOT out of fear that I’ll dump them from mine. So I’m leaving my “I am not sneaky!” editorial right where it is, because I’m sure that I will need it again someday.
But for now, it makes sense for Category Leads to reveal everything that they can, as I’m sure that this will do nothing but increase their credibility. (Heck, I’d even reveal my Block List if they’d let me!) This won’t guarantee my success with this responsibility. But I hope that it will help people to know that my recommendations will not be limited to just those that I feel are exactly like me. It won’t eliminate all doubts, but it’s a start.
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** For my full position on the matter of hidden WOTs, read “I am not sneaky!”
http://www.epinions.com/user-review-327B-25AEB4F7-3A39A125-prod2
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Epinions.com ID:
gracef
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Lost in Texas
Reviews written: 206
Trusted by: 313 members
About Me:
Well, bless your heart!
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