As a reviewer, do you prefer free form writing or using the new template?

Having finally managed to write a template review I felt comfortable with submitting, I like them a bit more now than just as an idea. They may never be my format of choice for dildos and vibrators, but for other things they do help me. I was trying to write a review on a product type I'd never done before (a paddle), and was having a hard time writing it due to this and writer's block. I had intended to use it as an outline as usual, but it finally came out like a real review, instead of feeling like a lifeless outline.

So for me, I think the templates are a mixed bag. I love the idea, and I love all of them for outlining. But when it comes to writing the actual review, some of them are easier for me to write with than others.

Having gone AWOL with the demands of real life for a number of weeks, the review template came up, and I didn't know about it. I guess it is tied to descriptive reviews for formatting etc.

It does take some adjustment after the previous 'looser' format.

I'm glad the latter is still there for books and things (or at least the choice) as I think it makes for a better, smoother review. The new template...well, I have a pending review to do, and we'll see how that works out.

May take two or three (and a lot more pre-submit editing, I find) before it feels as comfortable as the older template.

I wrote my first review in the new template today, and it was awkward to do. In the future I will stick with the old skool one, however, I did like that the new template made me focus on specific things, so I think I will always double check to make sure my reviews cover all the individual points required in the new template...

but I will still write free form whenever possible.

I wasn't sure about the new template either but now I really like it. I have been reading a lot of reviews lately and I've compared the ones that use the new template and the ones that use the free-form. I found myself favoring the reviews that used the new template because it was easier to read and all-around more enjoyable. I could easily check the different points (care and maintenance, etc). For the free form, I found a lot of people who were not keeping their review structured, it was hard to read and they missed out on a lot of valuable points. So, I am pretty much sold on the new template!

Also, when I was done reading the review and I wanted to re-read another point (like the material, for instance) I could easily just scroll to that section instead of having to hunt for it in a review that was written with the free-form style.

I'm new to this reviewing thing and I'm finding I left things out of my first freeform review (not on this site). So the template is actually really helpful for me. It helps me to focus on exactly what I want to discuss for each feature of the toy.

However, I also enjoy freeform writing. Freeform allows me to put more of my personality and the personality of our relationship into my reviews. I think that makes a normally dry review a little more fun.

No doubt I'm a free form author. typical guy - I have very little interest packaging or colors. I put in a review what I'd like to read about;

Size, shape, texture & quality
How did I or my partner respond to the toy
What techniques worked best
What types of users might like the toy (beginners, size-queens, etc)

My very first review here was using the template format. I liked using it in that case because it made me feel more confident that I didn't leave anything out. However, I wrote the next three in free-form, and will probably continue to do so. It gives me the flexibility to highlight things or relate things that would otherwise be standardized by the template.

It's the most comfortable way for me to write, but if readers find the template format to be easier to read and more helpful, I could be persuaded to switch.

The template seems a bit helpful and a bit constricting at the same time. A lot of sections seemed to overlap a lot, and the flow wasn't so great. I do think it'd be easier to use if sections could be merged or could be rearranged. But for a first review, it was definitely helpful.

I'm kind of bothered by the word count limitation of the free form format. I've used the extended template just to get around word count restrictions. It's kind of annoying because I don't like that tremendously long reviews are allowed in the extended template yet the free form word limitation is much lower.

On a different note, I try to be concise but the extended template seems to extend my reviews because of the separate sections, whereas I might combine things into the same sentence or series of sentences in free form.

I think that once you get used to it, it's not really that big of a deal. I personally find it a bit easier to use the free form template to write a review. But, I also feel that the extended template forces me to write a BETTER review. I have to stop and think a little bit more. It does up taking a little longer, and being a little extra work, but I think that's a small price to pay for submitting a better review.

The thing that I MAINLY like about the sections is that the limit is more - I can write more of what I have to say without the hassle of it telling me that I've gone over!

Speaking of which, I think that the pros and cons should have a bigger character count. Like 150 - 200.

I think it's a good guideline to work from and a good starting point.

I copied the template into a doc and start my review from there. I figure that in a few more reviews, I'll go more to a free form that's not as restrictive.

I am a llama too...

I've decided that I REALLY prefer the free-form reviews. I can't always make things flow the way that I want with the template sections. Especially when I'm forced into them and don't have a choice of either free-form or template.

i like em boyh

I like the template because it helps me make sure I don't forget anything.

I prefer the standard template