talkmagic.co.uk

I find the reviews here very usefull. My decision to purchase something rarely comes from the -/10 score, Because an effect is 8/10 right for the reviewer does not mean it will be suitable for me. Infact it may even be a 0/10 for me

Creating an average of scores therefore is only slightly more usefull knowing an efect rates 82% among 30 people!!

However when we get well written indepth reviews, as often many members on here take a great deal of time to do. You will get a good feel of the + and - points for a review and whever it will be practical/suitable for ones self!!

Keep up the good work as you are guys

Agreed 100%

There is absolutely nothing to improve on, in the way that reviews are presented here currently.

A score is just a subjective measure of opinion in any case (as has already been pointed-out) - it's worthless to anybody, aside from the person who provided it

In all fairness, we've got some really superb, in-depth reviews here, and many of the reviewers spend a great amount of time and effort, to ensure that their opinions are fair, detailed and useful (something you don't frequently see in some other Forums).

Whilst the OP should be commended for offering an interesting suggestion, I'd say you just can't improve-upon the system we currently use, without confusing or over-complicating things.

Leave it be

Rob

I have to say that I think the review itself is far more important than the numerical rating it is given. A well written review will tell you more than whether the writer likes the effect or not. It should inform you of its difficulty, where it is possible to perform, amount of set up and its effectiveness in front of a spectator.
Some persons idea of a bad effect might under review spark an idea off in another TM member.
Anyone who judges an effect on a percentage really needs to look at magic again and realise what is an amazing scene stealing closer for one magi might be a useless bit of pap to another.
An effect should always be chosen to suit you not the other way around.

Oh Well, it seems most people are happy with the system for now. Magic tricks and Amazon both use rating systems and I always check these out if I'm buying something that's on their sites (even if I get it elsewhere in the end) but as people have stated the actual descriptions and personal views important as well.

I am afraid I have to agree with Colin

Not everyone is a 'player' on this forum... Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I.D I respect an awful lot that you Mandrake Seige etc have to say... but if a product has been greatly reviewed I generally read only the first 2 or 3 posts (not pages). There is a fantastic jokes post on this forum but I even got too bored reading jokes...

On any other site holidays, books, sports etc I look for the highest rating and then i want to read why it is so good - or alternatively when I am in a darker mood I look for the worst rating and then read why.

I want a review not an essay; and the rating is the easiet way to see if a trick is any good... sad as I am stats are important to me. If a trick has been reviewed once and has a rating of 0 I will still read as it might simply be a personal reason as to why the rating is so low. If I can see an average rating of 2 with 15 votes well then liklihood is that it reallly is a poor effect - I just do not want to waste my time reading 25 different ways to say the trick is poor and not to invest in it.

I do think this is the premier forum for Magic on the web but I do not think it is above improvement.