One of Mouthshut’s most effective features is its rating system. Rating a review is a good way of giving opinion for the reader; it is also a good way to get feedback for the writer. And when people like me are looking for information on a product, to read only HR and R reviews is a time-saver.
As we all know, there are four ways to rate- two greens, one orange and one red!
Highly recommended (HR-very good), or Recommended (R-good, but not very good) Somewhat Recommended (SR-needs a lot of improvement) and Not Recommended (NR-Very bad, not worth reading).
There are some guidelines for rating reviews. Still, when one is about to rate a review, confusions and dilemma often arises.
I am not sure if I am always 100 % correct in my ratings, but I am trying to improve.
Presenting my top 10 rating tunes (It’s the residual effect of writing too many music reviews).
1) Yeh kahan aa gaya yeh review…
The first thing one should look for before rating is the topic under which the review is written.
Under topics like ‘Advice’, a lot of stuff can be written, and that is fine. But, is it fair to write about some ‘similar’ organization in some part of the world, when the topic is a ‘specific and particular’ organization? It is not right to force your opinion on other members, who, incidentally, are looking for something else.
Reality: Generally, new writers are supposed to do such mistakes. Strangely, many writers with 50+ reviews to their credit also do this mistake, and people still rate them as HR.
2) HR kare ya SR kare yeh kaisi mushkil hai…
The review should be rated according to its quality, the information it gives, its trueness, the amount of bias, grammar, etc.
Reality: Overall, MSians are doing a great job. (Stop while reading and pat your back!).
But. Sometimes, members rate the reviewer, and not the review. Friendships, mutual trust- distrust, Reviewer’s profile, snap, etc. affect the rating. This shouldn’t happen.
3) Mere dil ka tum se hain kehna, bas HR hi karna, nahi to…. samze?
It’s not right to tell people- Go and rerate certain reviews.
When a review contains offensive language, insulting and incorrect remarks, and/or false information, it should be SR/ NR.
4) Koi aye koi, hum kisi se kam nahi…
Consequently, I admire all the people who give SR/ NR when the review absolutely deserves it and do not change their rating in spite of pressure, brainwash and dadagiri by the writers or their friends.
5) Zara Hat ke Zara Bach ke yeh hain NR….
The NR should be used properly. It’s not right to use it every now and then, but in some cases, NR is the only way to rate. For e.g.- Plagiarism, junk and meaningless reviews, reviews full of false information, reviews containing rude language, etc.
Reality: The moderate and very restricted use of NR shows that MS members are considerate and tolerant. (Pat your back, again!).
But, the flipside is that some reviews that deserve only NR are not given as NR.
6) Pehla pehla review hain…
This is another confusion. Some people give HR to new writers to encourage them, even though the review isn’t that good. Some people never bother to read or rate reviews if the writer is new.
7)Tumhe ho na ho muz ko to itna yakqin hain….
What do you do when you disagree with the conclusion that the reviewer draws in the end? This is a matter of confusion. Some people rate a review low if they disagree with the writer.
I tend to rate according to the overall quality of the review, even if I disagree with the writer’s conclusion.
Of course, there are certain exceptions to this rule. If somebody is recommending something cruel and horrible like ’mass murders of innocent people’, I am going to disagree and I am going to rate that review as NR.
8)Hum saath saath hain….
Some people look at the previous ratings for that review. And, pick the most popular rating. They don’t rate as they feel, but as others feel.
And then some people often rate a review low if others are praising it.
9)Na tum jano na hum….
This is a genuine problem. Sometimes, I know very little about the related topic to judge the review. In that case, I prefer not to rate.
10)Badi wafa se nibhayi tune, humari thodi si bewafai….
Some frustrated souls resort to revenge rating if their review is rated low. Some people go one step further and add that person to their Distrust List. It’s really stupid and childish thing to do. I hope this practice stops.
This was my comprehension of the rating system. I don’t claim that it is perfect, since rating is an individual choice. I apologize for doing ‘mod-tod’ of some great songs.
Waiting for ratings and comments!