Trying to add a review

[Ghostwind]

IMO, the simplest solution is to create a separate database that lists free products and ezines with no numeric scoring attached to them. If someone wants to write a review of the product, no score will make them translate the good/bad points in the review itself rather than letting the number do the work.

 

[Eternalknight]

I do agree, free products should have a home somewhere. For those of us on limited downloads, it is good being able to read something about a product before downloading it.

 

[alsih2o]

what makes free pdf's different to say, 5-10 page pdfs that people charge (for example) .50c for?

i think this kind of pdf is getting short shrift. it is like the early days of t.v. when everyone thought t.v. shows had to be just like radio shows, because that was the way it was always done. or maybe like the people who always tried to build flying machines with moving wings because that is how birds do it.

technology has taken the leap, electronic "books" are the future (imho) and i think we are going to start seeing more and more of these focused, less expensive books coming out in the near future from more and more companies.

when you have to print and distribute a book you incur certain costs that make it much more worth your while to reach a minimum page length, with pdf's the publisher is liberated from that restraint(yes, i see print books as having many restraints vs .pdf's) and can release as small and focused a bit as they wish.

the sooner peolle accept that more and more of their info is going to be coming this way the smoother the transition will be.

well, that's 2 cents i will never see again...

 

[johnsemlak]

Fair enough.

Why do periodicals get treated as second class products? Several people have voiced that they should not be in a database. If a periodical brings you 40 pages of gaming information, why is that looked lesser upon than a non-periodical product with the same page count? This is not a critisism of anyone at ENWorld or any of the posters, I am just really trying to understand why people seem to think so little of them.

Perhaps its not my place to say this but I'm sure leaving periodicals out of the database is not meant to regulate them as 2nd class, rather, it's simply an organizational issue. The review database also doesn't allow reviews of Dragon magazine, which is certainly not a second class product.

 

[Dragongirl]

Perhaps its not my place to say this but I'm sure leaving periodicals out of the database is not meant to regulate them as 2nd class, rather, it's simply an organizational issue. The review database also doesn't allow reviews of Dragon magazine, which is certainly not a second class product. [/B]

May not be intended that way but that is how it comes out. I have also heard the arguement about not wanting to put reviews of something that wont be available in a few weeks. Well, books go out of print, magazines can often be backordered for a long time. And electronic periodicals can be downloaded forever if the authors wish.

 

[Dragongirl]

Ok hopefully my last post on this topic. These are my opinions and just opinion.

1) There should be a separate database for paid for and free RPG materials.
2) Periodicals should be allowed in whichever of the above databases they qualify for. Afterall, what is the reason behind reviews? To let people know whether a certain product is worth getting or not.
3) Either both databases get graded reviews or neither one. If you let only one database get a numerical grade then you ARE telling the people involved in the other database that their products are a second class.

Someone think that free things are not good? Well if they are not good they will get bad reviews, but if they are good maybe they will get more attention from being allowed to be reviewed.

This reminds me of "some" people wanting WOTC materials to be removed from the ENnies. Why? Why shouldn't everyone be able to compete against everyone else? If a D20 publisher can beat WOTC all the more power to them. If a free product can get out there and kick butt, more power to them. Let the individual work speak for itself, don't discriminate just because something is free and/or a periodical. Anyone that thinks a periodical is a lesser thing obviously has not worked on one.

Face it, there are crappy pay for print, pay for PDF, free PDF and periodicals, but if you don't let them all compete you may miss a gem out there.

And for the record I am not saying all this for any particular publication, it is what I truly feel about the industry as a whole.

 

[alsih2o]

Ok hopefully my last post on this topic. These are my opinions and just opinion.

1) There should be a separate database for paid for and free RPG materials.
2) Periodicals should be allowed in whichever of the above databases they qualify for. Afterall, what is the reason behind reviews? To let people know whether a certain product is worth getting or not.
3) Either both databases get graded reviews or neither one. If you let only one database get a numerical grade then you ARE telling the people involved in the other database that their products are a second class.

same qualifiers as DG-

1) who is gonna pay for the space? advertising revenue from paid products pays for a lot of the space here, advertising for free products doesn't
2) periodicals would flood the review area, everybody with a 1 page rant would want in, drawing a line at periodicals delineates clearly.
3) when you use all capitals on a form of be it no longer comes across as opinion, but seems that you are pushing a fact. just because something is pointed out as being different doesn't make it second class.

 

[Dragongirl]

1) who is gonna pay for the space? advertising revenue from paid products pays for a lot of the space here, advertising for free products doesn't

There were already free things in the normal database, who paid for them? Plus there are some very small products in the normal database that are charged less than a $1 for. Where do you draw the limit? Surely these little pamphlets don't pay for ads?

2) periodicals would flood the review area, everybody with a 1 page rant would want in, drawing a line at periodicals delineates clearly.

Why do periodicals get more rants than any other product?

3) when you use all capitals on a form of be it no longer comes across as opinion, but seems that you are pushing a fact. just because something is pointed out as being different doesn't make it second class.

Sorry.

 

[Horacio]

same qualifiers as DG-

1) who is gonna pay for the space? advertising revenue from paid products pays for a lot of the space here, advertising for free products doesn't
2) periodicals would flood the review area, everybody with a 1 page rant would want in, drawing a line at periodicals delineates clearly.
3) when you use all capitals on a form of be it no longer comes across as opinion, but seems that you are pushing a fact. just because something is pointed out as being different doesn't make it second class.

1) Most products in the review database aren't advertised here, so for that rule all non advertising products shold be erased from it...
2) That is really the only point where I think you could have a point
3) When somebody begin by saying that it is an opinion and saying it twice, you can safely suppose it is an opinion.

 

[Ghostwind]

Just adding a bit more to this discussion. Why not create two separate databases? The first being the previously mentioned free product database while the second is being a periodical database for those you are required to purchase (Dungeon, Dragon, d20Weekly, etc.).

As far as a rating system goes, there is a problem that isn't being addressed concerning this topic. A periodical represents a collection of various articles. How do you rate a periodical that has several really good articles but a couple of real stinkers? A negative score isn't necessarily accurate but neither would be a good score.

Since there has been a long standing debate on the current scoring system, why not take this opportunity to try an experiment and have these two databases without ratings. The reviews themselves would have to point out the good and the bad. Who knows, it might be a huge success.