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Thanks, Yakko (Reply to this comment)
by mattsrwi
This is a great guide for the noob. Thanks. I actually started writing opinions just because I like to write; I didn't even know you can make a little beer money in process.
Possibly, the use of HTML for bold, italics, underline is less important than it was at the time of the article's writing. I write my opinions in MSWord and paste them into the text box. Formatting pastes in automatically. Thanks!
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Nov 29 '08
9:31 am PST
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Questions answered ....Nerves settled (Reply to this comment)
by dobermom
Thank you for the guide for newbies. You answered many of the questions I have and gave much needed advice. I always appreciate guidance from those more experienced.
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Aug 13 '08
6:41 am PDT
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Helpful for New Members (Reply to this comment)
by elegans
This is a great article for newbies who want to know what to expect from Epinions. I like how it gives a run down of all of the site features and definition of terms. The pointers are all helpful and time saving. And above all, it points out that this site is more about having fun writing & reading articles than a get rich quick scheme. Darn! Ha!
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Oct 01 '07
6:59 am PDT
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Yak... Yak Yak Yak... (Reply to this comment)
by captaind
... Excellent work!!! Essential reading for newbis and oldbies (?) alike!
You may one day become the definitive "Yak", though Jeff Minter will take some beating... (if you don't know much about the history of computer games that'll mean nothing to you, but hey, you can do a search!! Heard of "Robotron"?)
Great stuff though, and enjoyed all the "supposedly" bits, trying to avoid being sued?!? :-D That email you included was great too, I never understand why some people get so upset about the occasional "Helpful" rating.
Cheers matey,
CaptainD
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Dec 28 '05
2:37 am PST
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Been here for a long time now... (Reply to this comment)
by pantazis5
ANd this is the best guide I have ever seen here at Epinions...nice job.
Mary Ellen
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Oct 30 '05
5:30 am PST
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Nice job on this guide (Reply to this comment)
by Howard_Creech
I have been a member since July 19, 1999 and I wish there had been something like this when I started.
You may want to note that some categories (electronics is one of them) are much stricter about what constitutes an off topic review than others.
High tech product nomenclature can be confusing, so it is always best to post reviews only under the correct product listing. Having a product added is usually painless and relatively quick.
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Oct 20 '05
10:27 pm PDT
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Re: Word quotes (Reply to this comment)
by vchand
I really did not know I could turn off the smart quotes. I am glad I read this. I just turned it off... Thanks
Vic
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Oct 19 '05
8:28 pm PDT
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This should be required reading (Reply to this comment)
by ladyconsumer
for all new members. Heck - for ALL members! You have covered so many areas, and so well.
When it comes to writing in Word, in the AutoFormat tab, I not only turn off smart quotes, but I also turn off the automatic three dots to condensed three dots (not sure what that symbol is called), and the double hyphen with dash. Those symbols sometimes do not translate properly in Epinions.
And, in the AutoCorrect tab, I turn off any autocorrection that puts accents and other "extra" characters into words. For instance, changing "decor" so that the e has the accent. Although it looks nice in preview mode, that accented e will sometimes not translate properly in the published review.
Mona
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Oct 19 '05
6:13 am PDT
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fantastic guide (Reply to this comment)
by martytdx
Very informative and well-written - a must for any new Epinion member.
-- Marty
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Oct 18 '05
11:25 am PDT
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The first review of yours that I've read (Reply to this comment)
by krus54
Hey,
This is the first review of yours that I've read. I happened to notice that you rated one of my reviews. When I get notice of a new rating on my reviews I try to check out who it is.
It's amazing how many people may drop by and read/rate one of my reviews and although I find they have written a few hundred reviews I've never heard of them!
I was really impressed with this guide. It is excellent.
I do have some comments if you don't mind!
Links to other reviews You hit the nail on the head. This is one of my pet peeves, even from some of the most respected reviewers on Epinions. I'll get to the bottom of a review and find 25 links to past reviews. For some reason I find it's annoying to scroll through those, even if they are related.
It's true what you said...in about 6 years on Epinions I've never had any need or interest in clicking on one of those links.
Now I don't mind if there are one or two related links included in the actual body of the review. I have clicked on those links before. For example, Mountainhigh recently reviewed a few brands of kitty litter in separate reviews. I didn't see the previous reviews on them and it was helpful to click on the other links so I could compare what she said about the other brands.
How to act-rude behavior Don't get caught up getting involved when you see people acting like idiots!! I have seen some unbelievable stuff written in the comment sections by some people that sound dangerous. Some of those comments and the words used were things I wouldn't let my 9 year olds see. They have no place on Epinions.
Despite the fact that this is a community where people get informal and friendly....remember, this Epinions is owned by a publicly owned corporation that trades on the stock exchange. There should be an air of professionalism here. If not it detracts from the credibility of what Epinions is trying to do.
What I can't believe is that despite some complaints to management about some of these people no obvious action has been taken. I mentioned this in a "Writer's Corner" comment one time in a write-off that if the Epinions management doesn't take corrective action on some of these people (and the comments some of these people were WAY past being just rude) the EPI management should be replaced. My guess is the corporate management isn't aware of most of what goes on here.
Handling rude comments - Again, you hit the nail on the head. Ignore them!!!!!
"I got unfairly rated" - If you can send an email to the person (though not all profiles have email addresses). I have done that a few times and found out why. I then went back and revised my review. On one review I wrote (on Jenn Air grill) someone rated my review SH and it was because he didn't agree with me, not because there was anything wrong with my review. I left some comments in my review and then wrote his own review. I left some very civil comments in his review. He ended up changing his rating to VH after I explained why I thought he was being unfair.
Money - Definitely not a reason to be writing on Epinions. For most of my reviews I spend a lot of time writing and revising the reviews. Actually, it's the reason I haven't written many reviews. It takes me too long! I only get a few pennies even after a lot of people have rated. Epinions over the years has changed the amounts they pay...I have spoken to several people that earned several thousands of dollars years ago and now earn hardly anything on reviews. Most of us do it because we enjoy it.
Another pet peeve of mine - Write reviews of things you think other people would be coming to a web site to research. I see people pumping out 5 reviews a day and they are reviewing things like pens, post-it notes, staplers, etc. Realistically, would you ever come to research a $1.98 pen? And these people will write five reviews of the pen, each review of a pen in a different color!!! That's going overboard in my opinion.
Anyway! Sorry for the long comment.
I'll have to take a look at some of other reviews, but based on this one, you do a great job.
Dave
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Oct 18 '05
4:25 am PDT
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Wonderfully written! (Reply to this comment)
by PattyTherre
I learned stuff and I have been here forever (but gone in between for a chunk of time).
I really wish all new members would read this. It would definitely help them to understand what epinions is all about.
Patty
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Oct 14 '05
3:42 pm PDT
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Re: Just wanted to stop by (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Thanks Jo,
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:36 am PDT
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Re: Great stuff (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Thanks for the suggestion Lorace. I went ahead and added that in.
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:36 am PDT
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Re: Wow.... (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Thx Ryan, it has been 9 months in the making so quite a bit of thought went into it. I just hope new users will find it helpful.
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:34 am PDT
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Re: Haha (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
I'm just glad our IS isn't linked to our grammar and spelling. Wow, that's a scary thought.
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:33 am PDT
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Re: Wonderful... (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Thanks. I thought this was appropriate to celebrate my 200th review.
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:30 am PDT
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Re: Then the defendant said… (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Sorry about that. It's fixed now for ya.
At least I got the link right. : )
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:29 am PDT
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Re: Word quotes (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
I didn't realize that, guess I never looked closely enough. I went ahead and put it in the guide and gave you credit for it.
Thx,
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:28 am PDT
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Re: Hi Alan, (Reply to this comment)
by yakkowarner
Thanks for the clarification Diana.
Alan
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Oct 14 '05
9:26 am PDT
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Just wanted to stop by (Reply to this comment)
by jo.com
and tell you how helpful and nicely done I thought this essay was. Thanks. jo
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Oct 13 '05
8:33 pm PDT
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Great stuff (Reply to this comment)
by lorace
...
this was a fun read for even the Epinions' old-timers - and I learned things, too.
Wish there had been one when I first started.
One thing about the OT reviews, though. Of course there'd be exceptions, wouldn't there? In H&G if it is in the SERIES list, it's not OT. like if it's for a toaster model #2030, and they write about a #2056, it's okay. the series would cover it.
You're right about not being able to switch XR's with Regulars, etc. Deleting and reposting is the only way to do it.
Great job, thanks,
Lorace
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Oct 13 '05
2:04 pm PDT
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Wow.... (Reply to this comment)
by three_ster
If I could give a 'Most Helpful' on this topic, your review would get it! This was a very well written, and in-depth post that should help out any new member that comes across the site. Great job here!
--Ryan (three_ster)
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Oct 13 '05
10:22 am PDT
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Haha (Reply to this comment)
by ssjakira1
I sooo don't ever thoroughly proofread... =P
But good times were had by all.
NT
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Oct 13 '05
9:53 am PDT
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Wonderful... (Reply to this comment)
by chelledun
and happy 200th!
Michelle
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Oct 13 '05
7:15 am PDT
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Then the defendant said… (Reply to this comment)
by christian921
Thanks for the quote. This is an outstanding essay and you did a very good job on it.
But…
I have one problem…
My user name is Christian921, not Christian951. No biggie.
Just for the first time in my life I am being quoted for something by someone who isn’t an Official of the government and my words won’t read out loud in courtroom. I would like to take credit for this one!
Great job, Alan!
Christian
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Oct 13 '05
6:28 am PDT
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Word quotes (Reply to this comment)
by bob_tomato
You can correct the "epinions editor doesn't recognize Word quote marks" problem by going into your Word options and turning off the smart quotes feature.
Good article!
Andrew
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Oct 13 '05
3:48 am PDT
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Hi Alan, (Reply to this comment)
by dianapinions
First of all, as a fairly new member of Epinions, I want to express my appreciation for this essay. It answered several questions that I had.
Just a comment. There is another alternative to rewriting, if someone wants to turn an Express Review into a regular review. They could cut and paste their Express Review into a document, then delete the published express review. Finally, paste the Express Review document into the new review form. Add your additional writing to make it over 200 words, and voila. You are set.
Finally, I hope you are enjoying these crisp October days. I noted from that w/o, that these are your favorite days.
Take care.
Diana
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Oct 12 '05
7:42 pm PDT
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