talkmagic.co.uk

Just a quick thought.
Why doesn't TM start using "Mini-Reviews". Whoever starts a mini-review thread starts their post like a normal rewiew, but when they get to the "what I say" section, they try and summarise the product in their own opinion, but try and keep it to a couple of lines (almost like Twitter), or give a good point and a bad point about the product. Then they just submit their post without adding anything else.
Afterwards, other people can add their mini-review; just give a couple of lines to share their thoughts on the product, so evntually you get a very wide range of views. This sort of already happens but this way it could keep pleasentries to a minimum (not that I don't like them), and will very likely eliminate the use of Q&A in reviews.
I just thought that this may be a good way of helping people who are really intrested in a product but don't know much about it.
Tell me what you think.
Thanks, Sam.

P.S. If needed I could make an example Mini-Review and put a link in this thread.

Not sure about this, the Review format has been worked out over a period of time to give the readers a much information as possible so they can compare with similar items as well as read the pros and cons. Some Reviewers don't keep to this format and it means the wording is probably less useful or relevant. We encourage the Q&A aspect as much as we encourage additional reviews by others posted in the same thread - it all seems to work quite well.

I actually meant as well as the normal reviews, but alright then, it was only an idea.

if it aint broke...
Several other forums have adopted the talkmagic review format.
so why change it?

daleshrimpton wrote:Several other forums have adopted the talkmagic review format

And one or two other TM ideas as well!
No harm in posting a mini review as such but better if the full monte is posted if possible!

This topic is a bit of a bugbear of mine. Personally, I hate it when I click on a review of a product that interests me, only to find that the writer has not really reviewed it, but rather just written a couple of lines along the lines of, "this is great, I've had fun with it, you should buy it". This is not a review. For me, a review should offer opinions on the pros and cons of an item and real world experience with performances. It should go into sufficient detail so the reader, having read it, can use it to decide if they should purchase the item in question, or not. A "review" that consists of a few lines does not help anyone and is certainly not of sufficient length to assist any readers on making a decision.

I'm not saying every reviewer should do a Browning and write an essay (love you really, Craig ), but a review needs to be long enough and address relevant points, in order to be of any use. Otherwise, it ceases to be a review. Personally, I will not write a review unless I can do it justice. There is no point otherwise. Sorry for the rant, but we get so many "reviews" on TM that aren't really reviews at all, that I felt compelled to say something.

i sometimes do a mini review, and always state it in the title...

occassionally i dont have the time to post a full blown review - like the new Paul Curry book, it'll be a good couple of months before i digest it all, practice and see what's what...so i could only give an impression right now of what its like...

and by that time, the book may have sold out, or gone up in price...however, just by flicking through it, i can see how good it is...

so why shouldnt i post up a mini review-lette (read that in a simon lovell voice)...would it not help? just to say "hey, this looks superb so far etc etc"

Iain, I have no problem with your style of mini reviews because it sets out with one objective in mind - that is, to give us an idea of your initial impressions of the product in question. Like you said, you state as much in your title and that is all it is meant to be; a taster, if you will. Besides, anything you have to say on a product is worth reading, mini or otherwise. I put more weight in your opinion than I do many others, but that is just me.

What I do have a problem with is people who write a review, with the intention of it being a full-blown review (and not just a taster, with more to come). But all they end up writing is, "this is fab, buy it now! 11/10". What's the point of that?

Frankly, you're an established member of this forum with a good reputation, so you can get away with mini reviews. Joe Bloggs is none of these things and so should be making attempts to gain some sort of positive reputation by writing a review that is actually worth reading. Put it this way - if Iain (or Paul, or Craig, or Mandrake, or Lomster, or Dave... the list goes on) writes a one-sentence mini review that says "buy this, it's great", I am more likely to believe them than if some "normal" member of the forum says, "buy this, it's great".

These posts are going to make me sound like an Iain-loving review snob, but that is not so. (I hate the git ). I just think that us relative unknowns should put a bit more effort into writing reviews.

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