I wanted to write an unbiased review of mouthshut.com before I get emotionally attached to it.
I’m addicted to opinion and review sites, and found mouthshut.com by accident, while researching a particular airline. I was a little wary about opening the link at work - ’’mouthshut’’? What kind of window was this going to open? Thankfully, it was just a very interesting window into the minds of seeming experts. There were opinions on everything - airlines, soaps, and even advice on how to pack food for a train journey.
Soon I was told that to read more reviews, I’d have to be a member. Being ever thirsty for reading lots and lots of reviews before buying (and sometimes even after), I signed up. I read and read reviews to my heart’s content. when done, I started to explore a little. I was a little alarmed to see the link ’’Flogged Members’’ in the left panel, and relieved to discover it was actually ’’Flagged’’. I’m all for rules of conduct in public forums (or is it ’’fora’’? or ’’fori’’?), but flogging is surely a bit much for breaking the rules.
I zipped about here and there, browsed about in the help center, looked up topics, and even wrote up a couple of reviews. Amazingly, my review showed up in the home page! It was a little deflating to find that this wasn’t because I hadn’t won the ’’best review’’ prize, just because it was the latest review posted. Nonetheless, it was fun to see my review up there for a while. Wonder of wonders, people were reading what I wrote, rating it, and even leaving me nice comments. I am hooked. The dynamic updating home page is a very nice feature, and so is the ability to rate reviews.
I was thrilled to find I had even gathered up some MS-points. Wow! But what do these MS-points do? Will they get me on the front page of mouthshut.com after I collect ten thousand? (I already got on the front page. Hah!) Will they buy me gold and precious gems? Will they get me a five percent discount on the next oil change? Nowhere could I find this information, but I still feel kind of smug with my precious fifty points.
Being very internet wary, I looked with suspicion at the clause that says you have to upload your photo if you want to be a star writer. But to me, that’s like the clause that says you have to be sound of mind if you want to be the Prime Minister of India. We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it.
It isn’t just about posting photos - there is an openness about this site that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe I’ve contracted that American obsession with keeping one’s privacy? I would be very very careful before posting personal information here. Remember, anyone can become a member.
I’d recommend this site to anybody who loves researching their buys, trips, and ways to pack their food in banana leaves on their train journeys. Also to anybody who loves to read. Also to those who love writing so much they can’t keep their mouth shut.