When we get new contributors, do you feel it would be beneficial if they are told ahead of time, what they are actually voting for with regards to reviews?

I've never thought that. I'm not entirely sure why anyone else would.

This happens a lot. It would be nice if there was a small explanation in the vote box, but then again, I though it was self explanatory with language like "worth reading, but not useful". It's obvious to me what the vote is for. Some people just don't pick up on stuff lol.

It pisses me off especially when I spent hours doing something and I get a somewhat useful or less...Sorry, no ranting...( Just breathe)

I have had people comment that it was a great review, they loved.... and then rate me at useful or somewhat useful. Yeah, I think an explanation would be a great idea.

I think that's a good idea. No offense to anyone but some people are dumb. Simple as that. They won't figure out something so obvious, considering wording like "worth reading but not useful", so they need an extra push.

People can use whatever criteria they want to base their vote. And if a reader doesn't understand that it is based on the content of a review, I doubt an explanation is going to help.

I've thought of that to... Why not? Couldn't hurt to give them info.

I know that there are some contributors that will vote me down just because my review is posted offline, not here. I've gotten to the point that I don't care. I already thought the voting was self explanatory, but IDK, if you think that would help, then it might be nice to give it a shot.

I read the comments on my reviews, but the only time I really obsessively checked the ranks was when I was close to crossing the 5.5 ranking threshold. Since I don't get an email notice when people vote but don't comment, I don't really notice the votes much.

I love the new ones that vote for 9 reviews for the smae product in 1 minute with the it's somewhat useful and your's happens to be one written that they're voting for. I checked it the other day when I had one where everyone voted EU but them and I followed them to see their activity and it was in a minutes time they voted everyone somewhat useful. OK people, we work HARD on our reviews and are trying to keep or increase our rank and that's not helping it any.

I am new here and I now realize that I was giving very generous ratings.

Those saying that ratings don't matter are right, but come on... does it mean new contributors shouldn't be educated about how everything works here? I think wrmbreze really has a point! There were a few situations when people would vote "not useful at all" on my review and then apologize and say they had no idea they were supposed to evaluate the review, not a product. I think it might feel a bit embarrassing for them to appear as such clueless newbies. At least, I would feel confused and uncomfortable. So yes, sure, my answer is "yes".

This is exactly the thread I was looking for. We have people who DO NOT KNOW HOW TO VOTE.

We have people who are obviously new to the site - out there voting on reviews, MY reviews, that I took hours to write and research and with a click of a button, for or five of them crashing my rating.

My rating does matter, at least to ME. I'M the one who took the time and made the effort to do the review, so naturally, I care about it. Ignorance on their part doesn't give them the right to fuck it up.

Some of these guys haven't even written a review, but they're out there rating them.

Something about "How to rate" needs to be added into the Mentor Program.

I'm going to add to this, look at who these people are when this happens to you.

I've found that more than often it's the ones who either never wrote a review, or wrote their two to get in, and on their wall, go down and every minute, rate a review 'useful' or lower - EVERY MINUTE. That means they aren't reading them. They rate for points.

How many new reviewers does EF need - especially when a percentage of them are behaving like this?

i dont think so

yes

I also say yes. I was definitely confused about review ratings to start with. I blundered around the site for far too long, not just with reviews, but with a lot of things.

I think some kind of "welcome to Eden" tutorial, perhaps interactive with a points incentive for completing, would be a great way to improve the overall quality of the site.

I do think that it might be useful to add information about what the purpose of review voting is on the Eden tutorial page or something.

This site is so unique. The whole review program is amazing and so very helpful when swimming through a sea of sex products.
And that's the main point.
Reviews are supposed to be helpful.
Yes, ranking is nice because you are eligible for more expensive monthly review assignments and buyouts, and there's something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy when your rank goes up! But I think sometimes people can take the whole review thing a little to seriously. When you have 23 EU votes, whats the big deal if you have 8 U votes or even 2 or 3 SU or Worth Reading votes. Overall, you're review is still ranked as EU! If you write a good review; the majority of people will recognize. And if there are some people who didn't find it as useful (or perhaps they're just sour grapes!), oh well! Don't let it get to you, just let it roll of your back like a water on a duck.

I don't agree with the TheSinDoll made at all: "How many new reviewers does EF need ... ?"
Perhaps she wrote this too quickly in the heat of the moment without putting much thought into how it really sounded, because to me it comes off as a bit snobbish. When I'm thinking about buying a product, I read every single review on that product before making my purchase; and the more reviews to read the better! I don't just want one or two people's opinions on a product, I want 30! Everyone is different and experiences things differently, and to say that Eden only needs a few select reviewers is ridiculous.

Also, I think everyone needs to cut newbies some slack. We were all new once and I'm sure we've all made mistakes, posted in the wrong forum, wrote a poor review, or voted incorrectly on something. The air of superiority and cliquish attitude that a few (and I truly mean only a small few!) of the more experienced members have is really disappointing and unpleasant.

I'm not on Eden for free stuff, points, ranks, or attention. I'm here for the amazing products and fabulous, wonderful, family-like community. I write reviews to help my fellow community members make more well-informed purchases because their detailed reviews have helped me make good purchases.

So don't hate, appreciate. The world isn't a perfect place and Eden is just a microcosm of the society we live in. The best way to improve our community is to be positive and courteous to one another. We need to set good examples, especially for the new members, and I believe that most people on EF do this extraordinarily well.

Thanks to all the nice, helpful folks here for making this site a joy to be a part of. And to all the Sourpusses: be cool.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

It couldn't hurt - just to be on the safe side.