THE RATING GAME
Apr 12 '00 (Updated Apr 13 '00)
Recently I have been receiving emails from various members concerning my rating of their reviews. I do not believe I've ever emailed anyone about a rating one of my reviews has received. On several occasions my reviews have received 20 or more 'highly recommend' ratings and 1 or 2 'Recommend' ratings.
Being the type of person I am, I usually chalk it up to someone getting up on the wrong side of the bed and shrug it off. If one of my reviews receives a "Somewhat Recommend or Not Recommend," I just think they're fools who don't know what they're talking about.
Okay, seriously, I have received some lower ratings because my review may not have fallen into the Epinions-defined parameters of a topic. An example would be my review on Raising Multiples entitled: Almost is only good in horseshoes, which addresses the posting of reviews from individuals claiming they know what it is like to raise twins because they have children close in age. Much of the feedback I have received is in the form of posted comments in appreciation of my speaking out concerning the irrelevant postings on siblings close in age.
I have also experienced an occasional low rating in retaliation of a low rating I gave to another member or comments I posted about the insensitivity of a review. Many times these are individuals who are abusing the privilege of writing for the Epinions.com website.
The Purpose of Rating
Rating reviews is a way to send a clear message to as to the quality of a particular review. It is also one of the measuring sticks used by Epinions.com in the distribution of Income Share and selecting Experts in the various categories. Epinions stresses the need for honest ratings which range from 'Highly Recommend' to 'Not Recommend.'
At this point in my Epinions' career, I'm trying to follow the set guidelines. I must admit, when I first started rating, I would only highly recommend reviews because I wanted people to do the same for me. Now I'm trying to do it the "Epinions way" so that I can earn a larger piece of the income share distribution, become an expert, and be trusted member with my peers.
How I Rate
When rating reviews, I take into consideration my own knowledge and experience pertaining to products. Since I am human, my personal opinion sometimes comes into play when rating. If someone does a magnificent tribute to the compact-size coffeemaker and does not acknowledge that a standard-size coffeemaker can do the same job, I may use the 'Recommend' as opposed to 'Highly Recommend' when rating. In my humble opinion, the new compact- coffeemakers are gimmicks; for the same price (or less), consumers can purchase a standard-size coffeemaker with many of the same features. It is important to note that I do not rate products, services and topics which I have no knowledge of.
Highly Recommend ratings are given to reviews which give a thorough and accurate description of a product, service or topic. These reviews are of high-quality, organized, well-written; they are a cut above the norm.
Recommend ratings are given to reviews which have many of the characteristics listed above. A Recommended rating is given when my knowledge/experience with a product is in conflict with that of the reviewers representation of the product.
Somewhat Recommend ratings are used if someone seems to have made an honest effort to write a review, but it is poorly written.
Not Recommend is the rating I've given in the past to individuals who abuse the site. These are the people who plagiarize, repeat words or sentences over and over in order to post 100 words, and members who make inflammatory statements attracting negative attention in an effort to receive member visits. It's amazing to me what lengths certain individuals will go to for 3 cents.
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Epinions.com ID:
mkosak
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Member: MaggieMae
Location: San Diego, California
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 60 members
About Me:
Writer... Mentor... Teacher... Mother...
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