Before you retaliate.. Read this.
May 28 '00
After reading and rating hundreds or perhaps a thousand Epinions, I have decided to at least make it known as to why I choose a particular rating for a review. Please take a moment to read through this if you have a question as to why I rated you a particular way, and if you have any questions, please contact me. My door is always open!
What I am looking for:
First, I would like to describe which categories I am most interested in - these are my favorites but I do not necessarily limit myself to only reading reviews in these categories. Reviews in these categories are more likely to get read by me than reviews on other topics, so I want to take a moment to tell what I like to see in such reviews.
Music (namely albums by different artists): I really need to know some information about the artist as well as the music on the album you are reviewing. However, commentary about the album reviewed is absolutely necessary so that I can make a buying decision based on what you've written. What style of music is on this album? If I previously did not like this artist, would this album change my mind? How does this album's music differ from other albums? Which other artists can this album compare to? Tell me about the different songs that are available on that album. Did the artist do something out of the ordinary on this album that they haven't done before?
Movies: Tell me a little bit about the plot - don't spoil it, but give me an idea of what the movie is based on. Who is in the movie? What are the special effects like? How was the soundtrack? Did you learn anything new from this movie? How did you feel before, during, and after the movie? Could you tell me about a particular scene that really interested you? Does the movie seem to make you believe you are there, experiencing the plot along with the actors? Tell me about it.
Home & Garden: I am still kind of new to having my own apartment and I want to learn everything that I can about how to take care of my home and still save some money. Every little tip, trick, and hint counts! I want to learn something new from these reviews, especially. I want to know exactly how useful a product is, how you use it, what kind of features it has, any alternative uses (that most people don't know about) if at all possible, and whether it's cost effective compared to other things you've used.
Kids & Family: I am nothing but a daydreamer when it comes to stuff like this. I don't have any children but almost all of my friends do, and they for some reason come to me asking for advice. I like having everyone's input on what they do in particular situations, and it not only helps me offer a good shoulder to my friends, but it also helps me get a better idea of what parenthood might be like when I finally take the plunge. If your review is really an editorial, I want to know everything that I can, so tell me a story. Involve me, make me feel what you felt when you went through the same thing. If it's a product you and/or your child have used, tell me about it's safety factors as well as how helpful it is. What all can you use it for? During which ages did your child have interest/use for this? Will it last for a while, perhaps through multiple children's use? Does the product come in a variety, such as in different colors or sizes?
Internet Services: I have worked for an Internet Provider for four years, so I can spot fallacies right away in these kinds of reviews. Factual information is an absolute must - if you can't back up what you say, then I can't recommend it. Period. I am always willing to discuss on such issues, though, so please come and talk to me about it if you are unsure as to why I feel the way that I do. After all, I'm only human and I could be wrong too. As for Web services in this category, I want to know how I can benefit from using the service. What are the privacy practices of the site? Will they sell my information to the first person who comes along? If it's an earning program, how well did it work for you? How fast is the access to the site? How does the site look? Is the design aesthetically pleasing to the eye?
How I rate reviews:
Highly Recommended: This review is lengthy, and really looks like you took some effort to put it together. It's easy to read and has good-to-excellent grammar, punctuation, and word usage. It's complete, detailed, and probably told me everything that I feel like I need to know about the topic. It convinced me as to whether the author "Loves it" or "Hates it." The review possibly taught me something that I didn't know before.
Recommended: This review is not quite as long as I think it should be. Perhaps it needs more detail or clarification in some areas. It's easy to read and has at least some of the qualities that I would give to a Highly Recommended review, but it lacks something. It gives me a general (but not necessarily specific) idea of what the the topic is really about and contains key facts and information. By the end of reading this review, I know how the author feels about this topic.
Somewhat Recommended: This review is difficult to understand, and/or has some serious grammatical flaws that cause me to be unable to understand. I can sort-of tell what is going on, but when I am finished I am unsure what was really being talked about. Perhaps it gives no personal touch, and I don't know how the author really feels about what they were reviewing. Perhaps it looks like the author struggled to meet the minimum number of 100 words for the article. There may have been information that is incorrect in this review. I might not sure whether the author noticed that Epinions has an automatic spell-checker for all epinions written on the site.
Not Recommended: This review might be completely unreadable to me - is it in English? The review might have profanity in it, which is an absolute no-no. There may be repeated text, in order to make the 100 word minimum without saying anything about the topic. This review might be in the wrong category altogether. This review could be plagiarized or have mostly unoriginal text in it. Did you just copy all the text from a website? The review might just say that the product "sucks" but won't tell exactly why.
Questions?
If you still aren't sure why I rated your review or editorial a certain way, please email me. I don't bite (hard, anyway), and I will most likely just tell you what you could do to make your review or editorial better. If you want me to reconsider my rating, I will do so and tell you why I chose whether or not to re-rate. I think this would be a better community if we all worked together to find out how we can improve ourselves.
Thanks again, and just email me if you have any questions!
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Epinions.com ID:
kaRaleah
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Member: Kara Leah Crawford
Location: Irving, Texas
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 25 members
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