A rant about D20 Magazine Rack

[Piratecat]

Steve, Wulf's address on the email link below his post is the correct one.

 

[Ghostwind]

Thanks, PC. Got it corrected in my address book.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Thanks, PC. Got it corrected in my address book.

But if you want to reach me during the work day-- indeed, before tomorrow afternoon really, since I'll be out late tonite playing in Piratecat's game! -- then I recommend using the ENworld private message system.


Wulf

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I appreciate hearing the support from Morrus, Psion, Wulf, and the others who have expressed it. It's nice to have our work appreciated some.

A note on HOHF reviews:

I have to admit to being a big fan of D&D archetypes/stereotypes; I enjoy the HOHF books, and I do own them all so far.

That said I do think that it's important to include in the review the fact that they are based on the stereotype, since someone down the road will be reading HOHF: Halflings as his first book in the series and may not know that. EN Worlders are pretty astute and may all know what assumptions underlie Wulf's books, but I do think a review has to be written from a point of view that doesn't assume that the reader knows everything about the book, its philosophy, or its publisher.

Some people don't want gaming books that play to type (I'm not one of them, but they're out there), and they ought to be able to pick up a review and know whether or not that's the case.

I've noted in at least one of my reviews that what we call a "Critical Hit" to one reader might be called a "Critical Miss" by another; the reviewer has to make a call and that falls to his own opinion and judgment. Someone's bound to disagree -- but I hope we get it right more often than not.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Re: D20 M.R. reviews

When you just look at the score and offhandedly discard the review, you're doing yourself and the reviewer a grave injustice.

Worse, you're doing the writer and publisher an injustice too.

I find myself buying more and a greater variety of d20 products since I have writing reviews than I did before. Go figure.

 

[Yeoman]

I'll freely admit I generally go by the number rating, simply because I don't have time to go into the details of each and every product review. I'll take a glance at the numbers to see what others are thinking and then take a look at the product for myself, and decide for myself then.

 

[diaglo]

Re: Re: D20 M.R. reviews

I find myself buying more and a greater variety of d20 products since I have writing reviews than I did before. Go figure.

you could just borrow mine. or listen to my endless review/rant about what's wrong with the youth of today.

 

[Henry]

If the number ratings don't count for much, and can be freely ignored (or randomly assigned) by reviewers and readers, why use them at all?

Bingo!

 

[Dragongirl]

Bingo!

IMO As long as you keep letting people assign a score to reviews that will encourage "some" people to do padding reviews or fanboys. I think it would be much better to get rid of the numbers, get rid of the top 20 lists and let the actual reviews stand for themselves.

steps down from soapbox

 

[trancejeremy]

IMO As long as you keep letting people assign a score to reviews that will encourage "some" people to do padding reviews or fanboys. I think it would be much better to get rid of the numbers, get rid of the top 20 lists and let the actual reviews stand for themselves.

I don't think the average person is the problem (or even the "fanboy"). I've looked over the average ratings of reviewers, and most range in the 3s, if they've done more than a few reviews. It's only the d20 Magazine Racks people that always give good ratings. They're the problem, IMHO.

They say they have all these guidelines, but in practice, it almost always results in a 4 when translated over here...

Which is also why I think splitting up the d20 Magazine racks into individual reviewers is pointless, because the net result is they all give 4s.

Personally, I think their reviews should be dumped, and simply post a link to the d20 Magazine reviews site, because the way it works now doesn't really benefit anyone. The poor way their scores translate over makes the d20 Magazine people look bad (unfairly), it gives d20 buyers the wrong impression, and it reflects badly on ENworld, giving it even more of a reputation as fanboy central.

Really, I think what's needed here is getting more average gamers to write reviews, by giving them an incentive. Maybe have a contest for people who write reviews - winner gets a free Natural d20 PDF (also would give you more reviews of those products, which presumably help sell more of them...)