Statutory Warning: I will ramble here…sometimes might not make any sense, and sometimes, surprisingly, will make some sense. Please bear. Or go away:-)
Hello Dudes and Dudettes! I love this topic. Since its “General” thoughts on MS, it means I have the license to write virtually about anything remotely connected with MS:-)[No sticking scrupulously to the topic here:-)]. So, where to begin? In Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, the king says to Alice’Begin at the beginning, and then go’til you come to the end; then stop’. In the beginning, there was God. He created me. Oh.too back.Fast forward to circa 2002. I get an e-mail. I get lots of mails. Sometimes I don’t get any. But, I digress. Well, the mail in question was about a Dubai contest. Oh, here we go again, I thought. I was about to press my favorite key, the Del key, when I saw the name. Mouthshut. I like name. Me thinks me go and see what this name means. Me log on to MS. Me read couple of reviews, and, think they suck[ [what, you thought it would be a lovey-dovey review?]. * Me then read a sizzling review on Domino’s. Now I have a pathological dislike for Domino’s and presto, a review praising Pizza Hut screamed of my comp and sizzled MS[Great analogy, no? I love analogies].
I got 6 responses within the first 5 minutes. And one comment. Some beautiful people[god bless them!] HRd the review. The majority gave it an R, and some ignoramus’* [I’m kidding guys:-) This is my feeble attempt at humor.so pls indulge] *gave it an SR!
That’s when I read other reviews at MS. And went, wow. And also went ughhh. And also went hmmm. Meaning, some were good, some pathetic, and some, very thought provoking. It then dawned on me [like it dawns on an eagle that mouse is food….awful analogy, no? Don’t worry, I’ll keep trying] that MS is not a writing skills display centre, but serves a very important function, namely, helping me conquer the world. Sorry, namely, helping us decide whether the particular product/service is good, or should be avoided. I like reviews where a member shares personal experiences of the product with us
Of course, writing reviews is only one aspect of the whole MS-Experience. Rating is an integral part. There have been some good reviews on rating reviews, so I wont delve much into it, will just limit myself to saying that I personally would like people not to let their personal opinion of the product affect their rating. I mean I might not agree with a members view, but if the review is well written, is informative, and more importantly, acknowledges my rule as the Supreme Spooks, the Leader of the Universe, I will HR it. I want to see differing opinions on products. It helps. Really. Sacchi. Mucchi.
One thing I hate is people who read the reviews, but do not rate it. Grrrrrr. I absolutely don’t like it. I mean, c’mon.[Oops, lapsed into the vernacular there] *Let me rephrase that. Could I request the exalted members to kindly reflect their opinion on the review by rating the review in question? This will immensely help the writer in knowing if she *[I am a firm feminist lol] has to make any improvements. Of course, the best thing to do is to leave a comment and tell the writer what an absolute piece of trash it was.* [I digress, but you get the point, hopefully!].* So, please do rate all the reviews that you read. I am sure nothing displeases a reviewer that seeing that the review has been read 65 times and rated by 15!
I also love the community spirit of MS. People are the biggest asset of a site like this, and MS has been blessed with great people.* [I won’t name names; it’s pretty obvious I am referring to myself:-)] *The members at MS are fantastic. Most of them anyways. People keep encouraging each other to write better reviews that are of some help to the consumer. They do take an active interest, and I find this very nice.
Also, the people behind MS, primarily Aarti and Jasmine, are pretty prompt in their responses. [I am going to get pretty maudlin in this Para] *I have sent a few m2ms to both, and have always had prompt action taken. Great work gals! Keep it up! I have also made some great friends here at MS. Some of them are fantastic people. Some are perfect idiots, but hey, you get the stones with the pulses *[This was a great analogy] I was thinking of writing more about the beautiful people at MS, but, chuck it. They know who they are, and I don’t want to push their egos up any more:-) Let me just say that there are some great people at MS, and I am honored to call them my followers and devotees:-)
I love reading all sorts of reviews here. Some are so well researched, that I have to really admire the effort put in by these members for our benefit. Some are written to provoke controversy, and some leave me wondering why the members even bother:-) Some are simply superbly written, and some are awesome in their technical depth. I love reading all of them. All these reviews bring out the different facets of the product/service, and are great fun to read. I have read a couple of reviews that were written by a member who mistook this site for a dating site! So, don’t panic guys, The Supreme Spooks loves everyone and their reviews. Except copied reviews. I hate it. Why on earth would one want to copy and paste? Beats me. There are better ways of gaining attention. So, please detest. Its serves no purpose and I would rather hear your views, even if it is short, than read what I can on Google.
I love other dark, relatively un-inhabited areas of MS. How many of you check out the Member News section regularly? What, you don’t? Shame on you. This section helps me knowing my fellow members better, and is a big factor in the community spirit at MS. The Hot Review is pretty better now, most of the reviews are fairly new and it’s updated pretty regularly.* [Not that I like it too much…I had 2 reviews there, but they are gone now.sigh! Cruel world:-( ] *Some of the links in the community centre are a relic of the Neanderthal Era, but, still, they do provide an indication to the beginnings of MS. I do hope they are not taken off.
MS is a great site. It’s like a temple* [along with Hotmail:-)] that I must visit daily. Sometimes twice. Sometimes Thrice [Yep, I am an addict.but wont be joining MS Anonymous]
As I am on a poem writing spree these days, I will torture you with a sample. Please throw roses, if you must. Scrambled eggs are preferred over raw ones.
Here I sit Under the Bodhi Tree,
Looking for divine inspiration, of course, for free
I am trying to write a review on MS,
Do I Hear you go, yes, yes?
My rhyming Stinks, my words are narrow
The mere thought of reading them, sends shivers up my bone marrow
Yet I struggle, I sweat and I frown,
Unfortunately, I bring everyone down.
How can someone write this trash?
Well, I can, coz’ I am so brash
This poem makes no sense; I am stuck in a bind
I told you to leave your brains behind
MS is good, MS is an Addiction,
I don’t know how I’ll get over this fixation.
Do I want to, that’s the question
No thank you, I love this addition