User reviews.

[thejboy88]

I?ve been posting on the Escapist for a while now and something has just struck me. The user review section gets far fewer posts and views than the religion, politics, gaming or off-topic discussion areas.

Why is this?

Do people prefer reviews made by professionals?

Do people just generally prefer forums about things other than reviews?

I always like trying my hand at writing reviews for films and games so it always bothered my why it seems to be a somewhat neglected section of the website.

What strikes me as even more strange is that it is not THE most popular section. Internet reviews have been exploding in popularity over the last few years and I?m surprise more people do not want to try their hand at it.

Any thoughts?

 

[Zipa]

Most people are more interested in seeing what Yahtzee has to say about games tbh.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

A lot of people write reviews in the user review section but I believe that the slower pace is due to the fact that most of the reviews are of games that have been on the market for a while. i.e- most people are already aware of the pros and cons of such games

People still comment but not necessarily in the numbers of Off-topic/religion where discussion thrives easily.

Also the "User Review" is sort of a niche area for members to stretch their writing talent and only a handful of visitors here are interested in that kind of thing

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

The only time I posted a review I got 2 comments on it :/

 

[joebthegreat]

I've been spoiled by video reviews and as such only read written reviews very rarely.

You're going to need to be a hell of a good writer to write an amateur game review that holds my attention throughout the whole thing. And if you're that good of a writer, then you should be doing more with it than writing game reviews.

Though I understand it would be good practice for you when you eventually do get a professional gig. Just don't expect fame or fortune from your amateur reviews.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[Jedamethis]

Perhaps people already know about the games, and don't feel the need to read about them. Which is why I review tat I find in my bedroom instead.

 

[Marter]

I write a review every day, and I know that a lot of people (at least 50 by this point) like to read them.

It is sad that it is far less active, because the people who put a lot of effort into their reviews often get ignored. There are many reviews that get no comments at all, and end up falling off the front page. Once that happens, it's pretty much a dead review.

There are reasons for this, most of them already highlighted above my post. Reviews are long, and people don't necessarily have the time or attention span to read them. They also sometimes are poorly written, and wading through the bad ones to get to the good ones is often not worth the trouble for some people.

People who write user reviews also have to supply their material themselves, meaning that their material will usually be older. People already know what the thing they are reviewing is about, and therefore don't require reading another review.

I would like to take this time to put some blame on the people not reading/commenting on the reviews. If you read it, please comment on it! Even if you haven't had any interaction with the material that is reviewed, commenting helps the reviewer out. If there are things that need improvement, point them out. If something worked really well, let them know. If you felt their writing was really weak or strong, tell them! It also helps bump up their review, as it brings it back into the "latest posts" section of the site. This gets more people to read them, and can become a good cycle.

If you have read to this point, you have both the time and attention span to read reviews. Please go read and post on some.

 

[2fish]

Do people prefer reviews made by professionals?

Do people just generally prefer forums about things other than reviews?

I always like trying my hand at writing reviews for films and games so it always bothered my why it seems to be a somewhat neglected section of the website.

Reviews tend to be a lot larger then the kind of posts you see around here and people just don't usually find that very engaging. I'm trying to find a way to phrase this with out blaming the youth for lacking a decent attention span, mostly because it happens to me as well. At first glance, even the most perfectly formatted, picture-heavy review will seem overly long and the prospect of conquering it daring. Of course, it never really takes as long as you assume at first glance, but the mere thought of "This looks long" is enough to create a surprisingly large barrier. Forums topics don't often have those. Even if there's a long OP or some article linked therein, you can always just skip it and sail straight towards the discussion. User reviews don't have that option. Commenting without having read the actual review makes your statement tangential at best, and outright asinine at worst. And who'd read through all that if they're risking running into the crappy debut of a complete newcomer?

At this point you might wonder so many people write reviews if it's such an unrewarding enterprise. Well, most if not all of us reviewers ask themselves the very same question on a daily basis. Hours of work flying directly towards the forum grave without anybody noticing is a feeling every one of us knows, and that fact makes the plight a lot easier to endure. The fact that we all know about the rat's tail this avocation brings, makes the user review community one of the most understanding and tight-knit I've ever seen, despite and partly because of the slow pace of our board. Again that might seem inconsistent, seeing how if were that lovely a bunch, surely we'd attract new members by the truckload. Well, no. We are a lovely bunch alright, but were hard to crack. The inevitable rite of passage needed to gain our attention is to, well, write a review. And if you want to stay part of the community you need to keep writing reviews one way or the other. And if you think reading one of those is an insurmountable task, then actually producing several such pieces creates an even higher barrier.

Ok I tried reading this but I hate reading huge amounts on the computer. I would prefer a paper copy for large amounts of text. Hense why I don't read reviews often. give me a 600 page book and I will enjoy it, give me a 3 big paragraph review online I will suffer.


I do follow it came from netflix though since he reads to me and he has an awsome voice. I just don't respond.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Reviews tend to be a lot larger then the kind of posts you see around here and people just don't usually find that very engaging. I'm trying to find a way to phrase this with out blaming the youth for lacking a decent attention span, mostly because it happens to me as well. At first glance, even the most perfectly formatted, picture-heavy review will seem overly long and the prospect of conquering it daring. Of course, it never really takes as long as you assume at first glance, but the mere thought of "This looks long" is enough to create a surprisingly large barrier. Forums topics don't often have those. Even if there's a long OP or some article linked therein, you can always just skip it and sail straight towards the discussion. User reviews don't have that option. Commenting without having read the actual review makes your statement tangential at best, and outright asinine at worst. And who'd read through all that if they're risking running into the crappy debut of a complete newcomer?

At this point you might wonder so many people write reviews if it's such an unrewarding enterprise. Well, most if not all of us reviewers ask themselves the very same question on a daily basis. Hours of work flying directly towards the forum grave without anybody noticing is a feeling every one of us knows, and that fact makes the plight a lot easier to endure. The fact that we all know about the rat's tail this avocation brings, makes the user review community one of the most understanding and tight-knit I've ever seen, despite and partly because of the slow pace of our board. Again that might seem inconsistent, seeing how if were that lovely a bunch, surely we'd attract new members by the truckload. Well, no. We are a lovely bunch alright, but were hard to crack. The inevitable rite of passage needed to gain our attention is to, well, write a review. And if you want to stay part of the community you need to keep writing reviews one way or the other. And if you think reading one of those is an insurmountable task, then actually producing several such pieces creates an even higher barrier.

*Slow claps*

I could not have possible put it better myself. Though I'd like to embellish on the last part, about gaining entrance into the reviewing community.

The right of passage is not only to write a review, stick to your guns, and write more reviews. There's also being part of the board as a whole. Finding other's reviews and giving them praise or even better valid criticism. Its the best way of making some good friends on the board


And while we're on the subject, Joe, you may want to check your Super Mario Galaxy review if you haven't already

 

[NeutralDrow]

Not sure. Probably what joe said, though I'm not sure I've seen the community, myself. I think I just go in to write every once in a while, and I'm pretty happy if the viewcount gets at least into the hundreds.

I just like reviewing the stuff I do because I like writing, and the games I review aren't the type to get much exposure. And it's taking every ounce of my willpower not to plug one right now. Doesn't seem appropriate.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[2fish]

Ninja snip (shhhhh)

No need to defend or explain your point my post simply backs your original point. Your original post has my full support (once I read all of it).

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[Pimppeter2]

*Slow claps*

I could not have possible put it better myself.

You know me, I specialize in wording what you were trying to say. And thanks for pushing that piece a little, now maybe somebody will stumble over it and actually enjoy the read. Without trying to push my luck, I'd also enjoy feedback on the rest of my stuff. Nothing big, just a few words on how you like it. You know, when and if you have the time.

No problem, I'll look through what I can after work.

 

[2fish]

Ninja snip (shhhhh)

No need to defend or explain your point my post simply backs your original point. Your original post has my full support (once I read all of it).

Fair enough. Sorry for diving into this the way I did, but I was under the impression your post reeked a bit of sarcasm. Maybe it doesn't. I need to get my sarcasm radar checked (Yes, I know. What a useful invention).

Spoiler: for joes eyes only

are you outside my house watching me? I talk in such a way that I am both sarcastic and sincere with people at times. This is usually when I don't have all the info (aka can't read your whole post wall o text) but still agree with the core idea someome is presenting.

This style of speaking tends to throw people off and can be used when I am bored, trying to throw someone off my goal, or when I am sleepy/sick (see now). Usually this takes body language to use though...are you sure you can't see me?

 

[Hosker]

If I want to look at reviews, I usually go on Amazon.
Reasons being: you can flick thorough them quickly if you want to and still get a general idea of whatever it is you're looking up is like.
There are usually many reviews, and of varying length. If I want an in-depth one I can find one of those; if I want a short, less detailed, one, they are there too.
You can easily see what the reviews are like generally, as you can see the spread of stars on the front page of an item.

As for why I don't often look at Escapist reviews: they are usually about something that I'm not interested in looking at at that point in time.

 

[PureChaos]

i've done a few reviews and none of them get many responses. my review of Avatar: The Last Airbender did OK but the rest got very little. i suppose if you do a review of something recent it would do better but all the professionals would be doing them, too, so it would probably end up getting overlooked anyway

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.