I realize that many of you have already
rated the original of this review and can’t
rate it again. Thank you. However, I hope
you have the chance to read this new
submission and hopefully, agree to
the principle put forth here.
After almost a month on this site, I’ve found
Mouthshut to be an excellent source of
information on a wide (and growing) list
of subjects and products. There are many
talented and resourceful writers here and
it has been my pleasure to “meet” some of
them and read their material.
The site itself is easy to navigate and
helpful to the users. (I suggested a topic
and within a week it was listed) which was
a most pleasant surprise.
My only gripes (so far) are outlined here.
I think some of us have lost sight of what
rating each others reviews means. It is not,
should not, and was never meant to be, a
popularity contest. If we rate honestly, it
helps the consumer, if we don’t, this site
will not last long. Consumers reading a
review that is Highly recommended only because
the writer is popular, will be misinformed.
On the other hand, if a review is Not Recommended
because the writer is disliked, may cause the
consumer to ignore it even if it would be
extremely helpful to him/her.
Another bone of contention is that some raters
give a lower rating because they disagree with
the writers opinion. I honestly believe the
ratings should be based on the content, quality
and information provided in the review. Whether
you agree or disagree with the opinion should not
factor into your rating. After all, it is an
’’opinion’’ and the definition of opinion is:
’’a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind
about a particular matter’’
As long as it is well written, well researched and
put together in a way that will help a consumer,
it deserves a good rating whether you agree with
the content or not. The best way to ’’disagree’’ would
be to rate the review honestly and either leave a
comment or produce a ’’counter-point’’ to that review.
Otherwise, Mouthshut seems to be an up and coming
site which I truly hope succeeds. This will
require honesty and integrity on all of our
parts.
We, the contributors here, are showing maximum
faith by writing and submitting reviews without
any idea of how much we will be “paid” for our
efforts. I think that says a lot for all of us
who continue to contribute despite the lack
of specific information. Blind faith ? You bet,
especially since so many writing sites have
folded their tents and abandoned their contributors.
I truly hope Mouthshut will fare better and for that
to have a chance of happening, we, the contributors
must do our best to help them along by providing
quality reviews and honest ratings. Only then will
we be able to help the public, which in turn, will
continue to come back to Mouthshut for their buying
information.
We have to work together to succeed.