This is a good topic to write on. I am quite surprised in fact that Mouthshut took so long to introduce this topic. Now that they have, I am sure there will be a flurry of reviews on this topic! Well now, without wasting any more space, here are my thoughts on rating the reviews, and how I it should be. Before that I would also like to suggest some things to MS members before they rate the reviews. Suggestions are my own and I thought this was the best category to put them to as I feel the suggestions are co-related to the topic.
Read before you Rate
This is one of the biggest problems really. There is no way to actually know whether a person has read your review or not. MS allows a person to rate the review without reading it. They had some sort of system going to check this kind of thing doesn’t happen, but I don’t know how far it has succeeded! So pals, please read the review you are rating. You may not necessarily agree with it. I have seen many reviews with nothing but gobley-gook being rated HR!
Write on the product…not the people behind it
Mouthshut according to me is NOT a consumer complaints court. So friends, be objective- write honestly on the topic, don’t just go on writing about the history of the person who created it, why he created it, did he create it with good intentions etc. If you don’t like the product, just give reasons as to why you didn’t like the product, and not on why it was a disaster on the part of the people who created it, and you had the misfortune of using it!
Rate, don’t Revenge Rate
This is a common problem on all sites, but the problem is rooted within us. Just because one person rates your reviews SR or NR doesn’t mean that you do that to his/her reviews and vice versa. Again, read the review, and decide whether you agree with it.
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Well, those were some suggestions...here is how I rate other’s reviews when I read them and hope some might agree with me!
Highly Recommended: When I am completely satisfied by the review, I give it HR. The review need not be long at all. If the writer has conveyed everything he wants to convey within 200 words, then too, I think the reviews deserve a HR. The writer also has used simple language and written the review objectively and honestly. I also rate reviews HR which are full of humor, and which make you want to read those reviews again and again.
Recommended : The writer has put in good amount of information the topic, however put it in a very longish fashion. Reviews should be economical in length...there is no point writing about irrelevant details. The review is simple again and objective. I also rate reviews R when I think that some questions regarding the topic went unanswered or that the supporting clauses are not that proper.
Somewhat Recommend: I don’t use this rating often. I give this rating when the author has not mentioned anything conclusive about his opinion the product. I also give this rating when the format, style or language of the review is not upto mark. I also give this rating when one doesn’t write objectively.
Not Recommended: I use this when I feel that the review had nothing substantial to offer. I also give this rating to the reviews which go on blabbering about the makers of the products, and how horrible those people are and so on and there is nothing objective in their reviews. I also give this rating, when people write for the sake of writing 75 words. This is also what I give when the review is copied from other sources to gather points.
Well, this is how I rate the reviews. I hope our pals find it useful, and our pals think over it. Vice versa, I would urge other MS members to come out with something on this topic, so that we may gather others good points too, and we make our reading and rating reviews more better.
Happy rating!