BASICS
MouthShut.com
MouthShut(MS) is a consumer reviews web site in India. You need to be a member to post your opinions.
membership
Membership is free. To become a member, you must choose a member name. That name is your MouthShut IDentity(MS ID). As a member, you get a profile page, and ability to not just read, but also comment on opinions, rate opinions, trust and distrust other members, and participate in contests.
MouthShutian
A MouthShutian(MSian) is a member of MouthShut.com. All MS members are MSians.
profile page
Each member has a Profile Page(PP). Your profile page shows your basic info, your Trust Circle(TC), your Likes & Dislikes Lists(LDL) and your Review Summary(RS).
Fame & Fortune
The MouthShut Help Centre claims that’FAME and FORTUNE could be yours.’. Neither is very likely. Not one MouthShut.com member has become rich or famous yet.
MS-Points™
Your participation in MouthShut earns you MS-Points(MSPs). MS-Points could be redeemed for cash. This possibility was revoked on Jan 1 of 2002, but may be reinstated in the future.
Terms of Service
Membership of MouthShut is governed by the Terms of Service(TOS). You can be flagged for violating the TOS.
flag
A flag is a notice that you have violated the TOS. Common flags are plagiarism, copyright violation, member harassment, abusing the system, multiple accounts, and posting junk reviews.
When you are flagged, you get a MouthShut’flagged’ stamp on your public profile page.
Flags can be blue or a red. A blue flag is warning, a red flag means your account has been disabled. Either flag will make you loose all accumulated MS-Points.
Trusted Circle™
Your Trusted Circle(TC) is the circle of members you trust to provide good reviews. You can build your own Trusted Circle by adding members to your Trust List(TL) or Distrust List(DL). Other member can add you to their Trust List(TL) or Distrust List(DL). You can choose to display or hide your TL or DL independently of each other. The Trust Circle is sometimes called the Trust Circle.
COMMUNITY CENTRE
The Community Centre contains a variety of community-related sections.
Member News
Member News(MN) is a bulletin board where you can post short messages for all to read. However, you cannot post directly, you have to ask MouthShut.com to post a message for you.
Current Contest
MouthShut often has one or more contests going. You can find out about these on the Current Contest Page(CCP). The name is misleading though, it isn’t a Current Contests Page, it is a Contests Page. It contains information on upcoming, current and past contests.
Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame(HoF) shows the pictures of MouthShut’s ten most popular members(MPMs). The Hall of Fame page is updated automatically.
Best Debut
The Best Debut page shows the profile page pictures of members that made a good debut on the site. Just what that means is unclear - some Best Debut members have 0 visits to their 0 reviews. The Best Debut page is updated automatically.
Hot Reviews
The Hot Reviews Page(HRP) shows the ten Most Popular Reviews(MPRs).
Members Flagged
The Member Flagged Page(MFP) informs you about members that have been flagged by MouthShut.com. It is a list of flagged members(FMs); it lists the members(clickable MS ID), date, the nature of the violation, and whether they received a blue or a red flag.
Mouth Sealed
The Mouth Sealed Page(MSP) informs you about members whose account has been terminated.
It is a list of sealed members(SMs); it lists the member(plain text), date, and nature of the violation.
Help Centre
The Help Centre(HC) contains a lot of general information about MouthShut.com. including FAQs.
PROFILE PAGE
Profile Page Picture
The Profile Page Picture(PPP) is a picture shown on a member’s profile page. The ideal MouthShut PPP(MSPPP) is 120 pixels wid and 150 pixels high. The Hall of Fame and Best Debut pages show profile page picture prominently.
Like/Dislike Lists
The Like/Dislike Lists(L/D lists, LDL) are part of your profile, and are a way to tell something about both yourself and the products in your life. You can choose to either display or hide your LDL.
Review Summary
The misnamed Review Summary(RS) isn’t a summary of a particular review, and in fact isn’t a summary at all. It is an overview of all opinions you wrote.
WRITING REVIEWS
writing reviews
You post a review on a particular topic. If you post something other, your review is off-topic(OT). If a topic isn’t available, you can request it using MouthPad.
Each review has a title, a review body, a pro and a con section. You must provide content for all fields, and the review body must be between 100 words and 8000 characters.
You can use common HTML tags for italics and bold. You can always edit a review, but you cannot delete a review once posted.
Rating reviews
There are four ratings to choose from, and they have widely used abbreviations:
• Highly Recommend(HR)
• Recommend(R)
• Somewhat Recommend(SR)
• Not Recommend(NR)
Email Alerts
Email Alerts(EAs) inform you about new postings. You can subscribe to email alerts on new opinions in particular topics, ratings on your opinions, comments on your opinions, as well as new opinions by particular reviewers.
MISCELLANEOUS
Founding Member
A Founding Member(FM) is a member that wrote at least 15 opinions in the 20th century(i.e. before January 1 of 2001).
MouthPad™
MouthPad™ is MouthShut’s Product-add feature. You can suggest a product and immediately submit a review.
MouthSpell
MouthSpell™ is the MouthShut spelling checker.
MouthInvite
MouthInvite™ is the MouthShut feature that makes it easy to invite others to become members of MouthShut.com.
MS-Trust
MS-Trust ™ is a term mentioned in the TOS. The text should read “Trusted Circle” instead.
Request a Review
Request a Review(RaR) is a feature available to members that allows you request reviews of particular topics. Requests are posted in the Opinions Wanted box on the MouthShut home page.
Dial the CEO
Dial the CEO(DtC) is a MouthShut program that allows members to dial the CEO. Announcement for Dial-the-CEO dates & times are made in the Community Centre.
Star Writer
Star Writer(SW) is a label that MouthShut.com awards to some of its members. Star Writers are chosen by three members of the MouthShut management team.
Rating Filter
The Rating Filter(RF) filters reviews by their rating. You can choose to view all reviews, or only reviews that fall in particular rating categories.
Objectionable Words Filter
Mouthshut.com has an Objectionable Words Filter(OWF). If you include an objectionable word, your opinion will not be posted or updated until you have edited your text and removed it. By the way, epinions.com is an objectionable word here.