As with any other website involving interpersonal communication, a hierarchy of sorts always develops. Yes, there are the site managers who will always be at the top - but they fall into a different league altogether.
I’m talking about the members. Slowly but surely, a system of government forms. There are the rulers - the experienced members - who are the cream of the crop. They are the people who write well, write informatively, and write with class. Then there are the mediocre - the people who perform just about average. And finally, there are the rest of them - the newcomers, the spammers, the junkers, the one-timers, the uninformed. These are the people whose reviews are not reviews, and who either graduate to mediocre/ruler or stay the same.
You’re probably wondering why I’m saying this. I’m saying this because about two months have passed since I first joined MS, and the initial euphoria has faded. Perhaps I just didn’t see it at first, but now I am. What am I talking about? Read on.
1. Rulers can get away with murder
Have you ever noticed that there is a class of members in MS who regularly publishes reviews and gets nothing but HRs, glowing comments, and people singing their praises? These are the rulers. They have accelerated to fame and have stayed there due to a fanbase - they write whatever they want, but no matter how bad it is, they will always be applauded for it.
Yes, I am aware that I sound like a whining underdog, but I’m just stating the facts. I have read countless reviews by some prominent members and found them to be - well, mediocre. I see nothing in those reviews that justifies the glowing compliments.
And yet, they get away with it. For all our harping on a ’fair rating system’, ’honest comments’, and so on - this system is vastly compromised when it comes to rating senior members’ reviews. And why should it be? My answer - it shouldn’t. If you want to preserve an ounce of honesty to yourself and your values, then rate the review, not the person who wrote it!
Opinions, not reviews, are rated
When I was fairly new to MS, I wrote a review on the schooling system in India - it was fairly negative, so I had expected criticisms. There were a few people who criticized very politely - but a couple who brought on the tantrums. I have no bitter feelings or anything of the sort, but I just wanted to point out that this is a trend I have recognized in numerous other instances as well.
My advice - rate the review, not the opinion. You may not agree that the movie in question is horrible - but look at the review. Are the facts presented? Does the writer give reasons for his opinion? Rate according to that, not according to whether or not the author’s opinion matches yours.
Here’s why - it’s a big world out there. Have opinions by all means, but if you can’t listen to those of others, then you’re in some deep trouble. Closed-mindedness will get you nowhere. And guess what? For every opinion, there are 10 opposites. Are you really going to ignore all of that and just look in one direction? You’re missing out on a lot if you are.
3. You don’t HAVE to rate everything
You’re probably thinking - I don’t see her rating reviews all the time - who is she to talk? Well, you don’t have to rate reviews all the time. I’m sorry to say this in a way - but if there’s a review of an Arts and Sciences college in Karnataka, I’m not interested in it. I probably won’t read it. You, too, don’t have to read every review. Instead, make the ones you read and rate and comment worthwhile. This prevents you from trampling through the junk that comes in everyday as well.
Also, at the rate that some people rate reviews, I wonder if they’re actually reading them. Seems to me that some people just look at the length of the review, read the first two paragraphs, and quickly dole out a rating. The rest of the crowd follows the example.
Why bother rating if that’s what’s happening? If you know you’re not going to be interested in reading the review, then don’t read it. Look at the topic and don’t read it. Simple enough.
4. Read the comments
I always read the comments before rating just because some members notice things that I didn’t. For example, if I see an NR on a particularly nice review, I read the comments to see what the problem was - only to find that it had been plagiarized. It’s always very helpful to read the comments and see additional stuff about the review - without letting them influence your rating without thought, of course.
In conclusion...
I’m sick of hearing myself speak now, so I’ll shut up. I know a lot of you are probably frowning at this rather rude behaviour from a ’baby’ member...but someone had to say it (and I’ve read what many of you have said already).
Comments and criticisms always welcome...