[request/rant] To all reviewers, amateur and pro...

[Barak]

Surprising, isn't it!

Actually, I was an active member of a 3rd edition board that had over 2000 members, and am now a member of a small board that has around 60 users. Of said users, about 50% visited EnWorld occasionally. Actually, Merric might remember me. And of that percentage, few, if any read the reviews.

That's the way of the net.

 

[jcfiala]

I honestly don't care how the reviewer got his copy. Did he get it for free? Did he get it by trading with someone? Did it fall out of a truck? Did he buy it with the gas money? I dunno.

Generally, when I want to see how much weight I should give a reviewer's opinion, I look up what he's reviewed that I own, and check how well his opinions align with my own. That's usually enough to see how well his review of Sourcebook X should affect my decision to buy it.

In such a (vanishingly) small industry as rpgs are, I can't help but think that a lot of what's being tossed around in this thread just doesn't matter. Almost any opinion is more helpful than no opinion at all.

 

[Barak]

jcfiala's post is exactly my point.

Oh, and in case my last post may be viewed as a slam in this very sensitive thread, it's not.

The point is, the Message boards get a lot more traffic than the reviews, and most of the traffic the reviews -do- see are from people who frequent the message boards.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

...this very sensitive thread....

Sorry (I usually laugh to myself when posters get too sensitive...I have to learn to leave my ideals at the door and not find offense where none was meant).

 

[Crothian]

The point is, the Message boards get a lot more traffic than the reviews, and most of the traffic the reviews -do- see are from people who frequent the message boards.

They do? It's the same site so when you see there are 1400 people on EN World that can mean they are looking at the front page, the messageboard, the reviews, any part really. I'm not saying you are wrong, I am just saying there is no informaiton that tracks these numbers to be sure.

 

[Barak]

True enough. That is my opinion, somewhat informed, as an "Internet traveler". I might be wrong, of course. But, really, who would get more information out of a review by "Crothian"? Someone who doesn't frequent the forums at all, or barely, and therefore knows you not, or a "regular", who has seen your posts, and "knows" you, to a degree.

This, by the way, is not at all a slam, but a simple observation, that is relevant to earlier posts.

 

[Crothian]

True enough. That is my opinion, somewhat informed, as an "Internet traveler". I might be wrong, of course. But, really, who would get more information out of a review by "Crothian"? Someone who doesn't frequent the forums at all, or barely, and therefore knows you not, or a "regular", who has seen your posts, and "knows" you, to a degree.

This, by the way, is not at all a slam, but a simple observation, that is relevant to earlier posts.

Don't worry, I'm not reading it as anything close to a slam and it is always good to get the different viewpoints of different types of users

 

[Shadowslayer]

Well, been away from this one for a couple of days. A couple notes to make and then I'm pretty much done here.

To FickleGM: Thanks for chiming in. While I don't think vindication was necessary, I am glad to see I wasn't the only one that noticed the cliquishness put forth in that little exchange. This kind of thing is to be expected on message boards, especially hobby ones. But its still a bummer when it happens...particularly from website representatives.

Regarding the "Silent majority" discussion: There seems to be a sentiment of "if no ones complaining, why change it?" and thats fair enough. But on the other hand, why not try to make things better? Do you actually need to hear complaints before you say to yourself "there may be a better way to do this?"

A little about myself: On weekends I do some performing work. I've worked in community theatre, and I'm also a family-show magician. I don't claim to be God's gift to the magic world, but I'm also booked every weekend in a midsized market...so I'm doing OK. If I followed the "no complaints = why change?" logic, I'd still be doing the same tricks and routines I was doing 8 years ago when I started. I've never yet had one event organizer say to me "The hatching a rubber chicken sandwich from a real egg trick would go over a lot better if you clowned it up more" It's not something people (besides other entertainers) would even give a thought to. Does this mean I've nothing more to do to make the act a better one? Heck no. Anyone that takes what they do seriously is always looking to improve. I could never just sit on my laurels because I get mostly compliments and no complaints.

When you're green you grow...when you're ripe, you rot. Know what I'm saying?

The reviews and the reviewers here are most excellent here. I've really never had a complaint. But its folly to think there are no improvements to be made.

That's all I wanted to add.

Trev

 

[Sammael]

The one complaint I have about reviews (staff and user) here is that the review text itself often doesn't match the number of stars assigned. I've seen several reviews with fairly harsh criticism and 4 stars (which should suggest the product is very good). I'm not going to be calling out names, but one staff reviewer in particular is guilty of this. Personally, I'd abolish the star system and break the overall score into several subscores.

 

[Crothian]

The one complaint I have about reviews (staff and user) here is that the review text itself often doesn't match the number of stars assigned. I've seen several reviews with fairly harsh criticism and 4 stars (which should suggest the product is very good). I'm not going to be calling out names, but one staff reviewer in particular is guilty of this. .

Is it me??