I know. I know. Where have I been? Well, since Sept-2002 I started a new job which has taken up most of my free (i.e. Epinions) time. Add to that the fact that I'm going to be a father for the second time (sometime around May 2003) and I hope you'll understand why my participation at Epinions has minimal of late.
But fear not - I'm still here, slowly picking up the pace again from a 'reading/rate' perspective. And I hope to be writing more reviews VERY soon. Thanks to all of you who continue to 'check in' with me from time to time.
So, the big question. How do I rate? Here's my general guideless for rating your opinions.
Very Helpful
The review not only stays on-topic, but it contains a large amount of useful and comparative information that will help not only someone familiar with the product, but those not familiar with the product make an educated decision. The review is also well written and formatted. Finally, it reads well and captures the reader's attention. The topic of discussion makes no difference to me. It's the content of the review that I rate on.
Helpful
The review stays on-topic and contains a fair amount of helpful information, but it doesn't contain as much information as possible. It likely lacks comparative information as well. Generally well written and laid out, it's still missing some added substance that would help it become Very Helpful. Still, an all-around good review.
Somewhat Helpful
The review touches upon the topic, gives only a few points and those points generally contain minimal information. The review is typically very short, not that quantity always counts, but what is there is limited and minimal. It may or may not be well written and/or formatted, but it's likely to have spelling and grammatical errors.
Not Helpful
The review is either totally off topic, regardless of how well written it is, or how much information it contains. Or it is on topic, but simply doesn't cover any helpful items. Saying an item is 'great' and 'awesome' without explaining why it's 'great' and 'awesome' isn't helpful at all.
Words on my WOT. I don't exactly agree with the Epinions-specific 'suggestion' that my listing of members that I trust not be larger than the number of people who trust me. Right now, it's almost a 1 to 1 comparison, but there was a time when I trusted 2 members to every 1 that trusted me. That may happen again some day too. To me, someone is worthy of my trust if they produce regular and exceptional reviews. If someone constantly reads my reviews, comments on them, and rates them fairly, I'll also be inclined to add them to my WOT.
Regardless of whether someone trusts me or I trust them, one fact remains: I will read between 95-100% of the reviews posted by those members. I have a large 'watch' list that I maintain through Ptiemann's Notification Site. And through this useful tool, I make certain that I read just about all the reviews related to my WOT and WATCH list. Trust is important to me, so I want to maintain that trust when earned.
That's about it. By all means, if you have any questions or comments for me, please feel free to email me at Jag2112@hotmail.com.
As always, thanks for reading and rating my reviews. I hope you enjoy them.
-John
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