D20 Review Section Reputation

[JacktheRabbit]

I see nothing complete about the review in question. Remove his opinions on what a module is and what a campaign is (neither of which mention RTTTOEE at all) and you have a small paragraph that gives no real information on the module.

Oh and you also have an advertisement for MonteCook.com and a statement that there is a whole forum dedicated to the module.

 

[Khan the Warlord]

I agree that the reviewer could have been more specific, but I see more merit in his review than the three reviews giving RttToEE an "Appalling" rating (of which, I don't see people calling for their deletion).

http://www.enworld.org/d20reviews.asp?sub=yes&where=active&reviewer=billd91&product=TOEE
http://www.enworld.org/d20reviews.asp?sub=yes&where=active&reviewer=Aelfric&product=TOEE
http://www.enworld.org/d20reviews.asp?sub=yes&where=active&reviewer=Illuminati&product=TOEE

Heck, the reviewer even stated the following in the first paragraph of his review:

First, I will preface by saying that I'm not going to go into the plotline much, nor descriptions of the adventure track, the plot, the artwork, and so forth. If this were one of the first few reviews, I would assuredly do so. However, that ground has already been well covered by those who DID post the first few reviews.

I can't blame the guy for not wanting to regurgitate what has already been stated countless times before already.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

I would agree that is a pretty weak excuse for a review, but (thankfully) I am not in the position to make those decisions on which stay and go.

I think Psion does a good job on the matter and I will trust his judgement on the subject.

However, to address the first question...

Are we running the risk here at ENWorld of having the D20 review section lose its meaning and quality?

I think anyone who purchases a product on merely the number from a review deserves what they get.

The comments on all three questionable reviews have been pretty good about voicing concerns over those reviews.

FD

 

[JacktheRabbit]

So what is the point of his review? It tells you nothing at all. That alone is reason to delete the review.

 

[Dragongirl]

Sorry Doc I have to agree with Psion on this one. I have had my own run in with what I concidered shady reviews but I don't think this is one of them. Yes the review goes on about what a module, etc should be but he uses that information to say that this adventure fufills these criteria. The reviewer also does tell of a couple of "problems" with the adventure.

I have seen better, much better reviews but this appears to be an honest one, IMO.

 

[jester47]

Actually Doc, I see it this way.

If someone is willing to get a bunch of peope that agree with him in the opinion that a module is the greatest thing since sliced bread (which is apparently how he and his friends feel about RttToEE) or that it is really really horrible and bad and should be stricken from the record (which is the way I feel about bluffside's layout and printing standards: ILLEGIBLE!) then he has every right to post a review and give it a 5 to boost the score. If he did not feel that way then why would he do it? So he is a monte cook fan, if all the monte cook fans gave thier opinion of the module, they would easily bump that thing up over a four.

I think its a great module and I would give it a five, as I consider it a masterpiece. Heck I would not be mad at him if his review consisted of "we played it, we had lots of fun, and you should buy it." He is telling me what he thinks. While it is not the most valuable information, it is still useful to me in the respect that the reviewer likes it enough to take the time to post his opinion.

Another way to look at it is there are three people who before did not express thier opinion but decided to when they realised that the number did not reflect the input of thier opinions.

Its kind of like 5000 democrats in florida realizing that they should have actually gone to the polls in the last presidential election. The only differnce here is that the polls are always open.

And now that it has been brought to my attention that RttToEE has slipped below 4.0 I think it is time for me to write a review of it and help get it above 4.0

Aaron.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

...I don't think I'll ever be able to post a review ever again...

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Taken from the FAQ section of D20 Reviews

5) You absolutely should not attempt to artificially alter a product's average score. Anyone who gives a score that is designed to "compensate" for other scores with which they do not agree will not only get their review deleted, but will get their entire account and every review they have written deleted. As mentioned before, your opinion is no more valid that anybody else's.

So tell me how what Aaron just said about posting a review does not violate the above rule.

 

[Tsyr]

So what is the point of his review? It tells you nothing at all. That alone is reason to delete the review.

The same holds true for all three of those appalings... call for THEIR deletion too, and I might be inclined to listen a bit more. Heck, YOUR review doesn't even tell that much... _AND_ you talk about how it doesn't jive with the origianl ToEE too, something you blast the author of this review for.

 

[Dragongirl]

Re: Taken from the FAQ section of D20 Reviews

So tell me how what Aaron just said about posting a review does not violate the above rule.

It's not artificial if he TRULY believes in the score he is giving.

Edit : And gives a review that meets the minimum standards.