A better way to say "the gave me a copy for the review"

[Ace]

This is a general question --

I have been taking part in Crothians review drive and have written a mess of reviews, mostly for the Le Games. Basically I geta copy of the book, they get a review -- its pay for play

There was some concerns at The Le's group about my choice of words -- at the begining of each page I put the phrase "this was a compensated review" since I was compensated in kind -- that is one pdf for one review

Is there a better way for me to mention that I am not utterly objective without giving people the impression of payola ?

I think there is an ethical difference between a review with a "comp" copy (in the words of the industry) and a review of something I bought with my own money -- How do I adress this so that the people and the publishers get the best impression possible while maintaining my ethics ?

 

[jgbrowning]

IMHO, you should say complimentary copy. Compensated does sound like you were paid, while complimentary means you got the product for free.

joe b.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Just say that you received a review copy of the product. That's not considered paying for a review. Saying that it was a compensated review does make it seem like you were paid to do it.

 

[Ace]

Thanks all -- Thats what I am going to do from here on in

 

[Krug]

Complimentary copy provided. Frankly, I don't think you need to say that at all.

 

[trancejeremy]

Yeah, I agree with Krug, you really don't need to say it at all.

I mean, does any movie critic say "I got a free screening of this movie, and a ton of other perks from the studio"?

 

[jaerdaph]

Actually, I do like to know if a reviewer received a comp copy from the publisher or bought it for his or her self, at least in the case of non-staff reviewers. I just assume the staff reviewers get comp copies.

 

[trancejeremy]

I think it's actually pretty safe to assume any PDF review was from a comp copy.

But still, I really don't think it matters. While it's not true for everyone, in my experience, while people might tend to pull punches a bit in saying the thinks they don't like about a product, they also won't praise it as much. Not buying something gives the reviewer something of a detached feeling.

 

[Mark CMG]

Hal's got the right of it. Just call it a review copy. Don't worry about giving the "best impression" so much as just giving the honest truth.

"I received a review copy of this material..."

"...and playtested this material with my group."
"..., it's straightforward enough to not require playtesting."
"...and gave it a quick read."
"...and here are my gut reactions."
"..., after considerable mulling my thoughts are mixed."
"...it smells of moldy cheese."


It's not really a "comp" copy because you are expected to perform the service of reviewing it and you aren't being compensated because you receive it in advance of the actual review. Just call it what it is, a review copy, and have done with it. You say you want a "better way" but there isn't one. Any other way you say it just obscures the simple fact of the matter and confuses the issue.