Quote:
Originally posted by
P'Gell
I feel that although including size and cleaning information in the review is not considered "necessary" according to reviewing guidelines, for me, it can make the difference (if included) between a "somewhat useful" and a
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I feel that although including size and cleaning information in the review is not considered "necessary" according to reviewing guidelines, for me, it can make the difference (if included) between a "somewhat useful" and a "useful" review and even, occasionally the difference between "useful" and "extremely useful." (But this one not as often.)
I am an detail oriented person. I do not like going back and forth between the review and the product information in virtually every review, to see if especially newer reviewers are being accurate and are learning their stuff. (I do this a LOT.) Those with 5 or less reviews, obviously, are given more leeway. But I do include my own measurements of size, cleaning info, lube compatibility etc on most of my reviews of actual sex toys. I also include ingredient lists, or at least list the active ingredients in reviews of lubes and other potions, powders and sprays. For products with ingredients that I am unfamiliar with, or those which contain herbs or other unusual ingredients, I do some research to find what the herb is for, and reasons it may have been included in the product. (Google is only a click away. )
Just being a bit anal (sorry) about these things in my own review does make me want others to include them as well, when it is necessary.
There is never a reason for word for word copying and pasting (unless one is quoting the writing on a product or book excerpts) It isn't hard to put things in one's own words. As for measurements, I have occasionally found stated measurements are inaccurate, or not inclusive, so I include my own. I have seen one or two reviews where it appeared the descriptive review or a review from an other site was simply taken apart and re-quoted, a few times with no personal information added. This hasn't happened recently and was not a common practice, but it does ring of plagiarism.
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Don't get me wrong, I think we have an obligation to make sure the specs are right, because I, too, have received toys that don't quite measure up. But I think it's OK to say something like "When compared to the specs page (with link), all dimensions measure up (or differ as such)." Or "For basic cleaning, do __________, because _________ material should only be cleaned like _________. However, if you would like more information about the material please go to this link (with link)." Yes, we should be giving
accurate information, but I think it's perfectly acceptable, if you don't want to list every ingredient or every detail about product info to say, "Hey, check out this page, it will tell you what you need to know." (Unless it doesn't match)
But I do agree if a reviewer is going to add in the information, that it should be
in their own words.
