And you thought I was just randomly doing this...
Jul 16 '00
So I was checking my e-mail the other day, and, to my surprise, I had an e-mail waiting for me from someone that I had reviewed, asking me why I rated them the way that I did. After going through a semi-lengthy response, I've decided to just post my 'standards', just so that people will see where I'm coming from.
One major point I would like to convey from the start is that I don't prejudice people by what their opinion is. Dale Carnegie (in "How to win friends and influence people") says that arguing with someone is a sure way to get them more ingrained in their way of thinking. If you tell me something I don't want to hear, it will make me evaluate my own opinion, and usually, I will have an even stronger conviction in what my opinion was in the first place. The best I can do with an assenting opinion is to say "oh... that's something else that I didn't think of." I value opinions that don't have the same view as mine; in that those opinions, if written well enough, make me think and evaluate my own opinions.
Another point is that I don't have the 'monkey see, monkey do' mentality. Though typically, I rate a review like most others, it is not, by any means, simply because 150 other people rated it a particular way. On the flip side, I will never rate an opinion different from the rest simply to get my name to show up on the rating panel.
Now that I've gotten those off of my chest, on with rating system.
Not Recommended (NR) - You know these, I know these. The NR opinions are those that are obviously written by people struggling (yes, struggling) to reach the 100 word mark. These ePinions tend to have poor grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, and are usually incomprehensible (which is strange, considering their typical brevity). While trying not to be prejudiced, I noticed that many of these opinions come from either the Music or Video Games sections; which further lead me to believe that there are some people out there that truly want the money, and don't care about the opinions. The most extreme case of NR ratings that I have done was to give the same reviewer NRs for 5 of his opinions; those being reviews of memory cards for a particular game system. The reviews were pretty much identical, except for the fact that the reviews were for the Black, Blue, Green, Red, and Grey models. Quite honestly, I hate to give out NR ratings; but to protect the people in 'da web of trust, it must be done.
Somewhat Recommended (SR) - This is where I start most of my rating. The typical ePinion that this score accompanies states facts, and facts alone. My personal view is that if I wanted to see the specs on that DVD player, I would simply go the manufacturer's website, and get them from there. Several SR opinions that I have seen have either one long paragraph, or poor grammar/spelling, and while this is not the sole reason an ePinion gets my SR rating, the ease of reading the ePinion is the criteria I use for borderline scores. The opinions usually have other superfluous information; such as the store they bought that particular product at, or the frequency of their use, but these opinions usually end up not influencing me in one way or another. The main reason I give out SRs is the lack of an actual opinion on the product, and I feel that one cannot derive use from an ePinion unless there is an actual opinion in the piece itself.
Recommended (R) - It usually isn't very hard to get from an SR to an R, in my rating system. A little more structure, a little more opinion; and you've got an R. A typical Recommended opinion reads nicely, and explicitly gives out opinions as to why they rated a product the way they did. Recommended ePinions usually are very one-sided, and may have only one or two reasons why, but an opinion is an opinion, and anything that, in the end, helps me make a decision, is appreciated. Recommended ePinions usually read smoothly, with minor typos here and there, but rarely will those typos knock an ePinion down from a R to a SR.
Highly Recommended (HR) - This is just one more step above the Recommended rating; and it isn't a very hard line to cross. The only difference between an HR and a R rating is the quality of the reasoning behind opinions. For more complex products, there will usually be a slew of factors as to why a product is recommended or not recommended, but the BEST reviews are the ones that give both sides of the story, and leave the reader the opportunity to come to their own conclusions. I'm not looking for a Ph.D thesis when I give out and HR. Length, spelling and grammar count, but only to a certain extent. It has to be long enough to convey the opinion, and it's very difficult to actually write a 100 word opinion on a product that has any merit whatsoever. Spelling and Grammar only count for reading's sake. I find it much less difficult to rate an opinion highly when it reads smoothly.
Now I'm not saying that I'm a perfect ePinions writer myself. Taking a look at my first few opinions, I would have given myself an SR or two. I suppose there are those who would write their first opinion, get it battered around a bit by the ePinions community, and just give up on their opinions. But take it from me; it takes a little patience to get your opinions down, and it'll take a bit to get people to trust your work, but patience has its rewards. Keep ePinionating, my brothers and sisters.
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Epinions.com ID:
aaronma
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Member: Aaron Ma
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 5 members
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