Reviewing - a condition of membership?
<< Thread Modifed March 11 at 11:58AM >>
Spurred on by Karen Cherry Threadgill's excellent verse ('Elemental Education' - or Etiquette, my suggestion! If you haven't read this wonderful satirical verse - please do), I've come increasingly to the view that a minimum number of reviews per month should be a condition of membership. This is a community, after all, that works together to inspire, educate and encourage. Otherwise (as with the subject of the poem) we're solely receiving and giving nothing back or learning from others! Buying dollars in cash is often beyond most of us and then to use that purchased privilege to pump so high that everyone else is obliged to spend even more of their 'hard earned' virtual dollars is a travesty and not in the spirit that we expect!) Failing to respond to reviews simply compounds this kind of arrogance. I know money drives business but I don't think it would be too much to ask of a site that promotes itself on providing feedback.
Sallyo
Level 3 Pro
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Rank: 30
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Rank: 131
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Rank: 17
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Rank: 96
RE: Reviewing - a condition of membership?
I think people pick the low-hanging fruit first... usually the short pieces. Flash gets reviews. I rarely promote much, but it does annoy me when the two or three reviews I do get are padded... especially when that reviewer puts the exact same last line on every review. I don't do long reviews but I do attempt to say something new (and different) on each one I do. Currently, I review between four and ten pieces a day.
RE: Reviewing - a condition of membership?
Reviewing should not be made mandatory. I was hospitalized for a while and unable to get to a computer, so I fell far behind in reviewing. Sometimes it seems like you have to make a choice between writing and reviewing. I usually go with writing. Another frustration is trying to review poems from those who consistently post twice a day. With poems, you have to write that many to stay at the top of the rankings. However, when you review these works, they often sound repetitious. Sometimes I pick just one a day to read and review. Unfortunately, there are some fine writers on the site who choose not to promote their work. It's good to read some of their offerings occasionally, even though there's not much payback, as that might encourage them to promote their work. Mandating reviews is not a good idea, and it could cause members to leave the site.
nor84
Level 4 Pro
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Rank: 250
RE: Reviewing - a condition of membership?
I don't think anyone has to worry about reviewing ever becoming mandatory. Why would Tom ever consider doing that when he knows people would leave the site in droves, angry over such an edict? Doesn't make sense. What about people who have been here paying dues for years and are now in their late eighties or nineties? Should they be expected to review as they once did or face automatic termination of their membership? That doesn't seem fair, nor does it seem profitable for Fanstory. Therefore, I don't think Tom will change the rules to make reviewing mandatory. We can forget about it.
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