| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted September 14, 2008 | Chapters: |
2 -3- 9... 
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Oh, those empty 5s!
A chapter in the book FanStorians on Reviewing!
Drive-Bys
by redrider6612
Let’s talk about five star reviews, specifically what I call ‘empty fives’, more commonly known as ‘drive-bys’. They’re harmless, right? I mean, what could be wrong with telling someone how wonderful their SPAG-ridden, incoherent piece of dross is? I’m here to tell you how wrong that thinking is. In fact, I think drive-bys can be as damaging as low ratings with no supporting pointers.
Writers pay hard-earned money for the privilege of posting their works here. Most of them hope to get helpful feedback to improve their writing skills. So when they get a happy, shiny five star on a piece that is subpar, they get a false sense of the quality of their writing. What’s wrong with that? Let me illustrate.
Writer Joe prints up his “All Time Best” piece and sends it off to the real world to face the cold, hard editor’s eyes. Every day Joe checks the mailbox, anticipating a glowing letter of acceptance and a nice, fat check. Then one day it comes. Breathless, he tears the envelope open and begins to read.
“Thank you for your submission, but we regret to inform you that we cannot use your…”
Disappointment crashes down, dragging Joe’s ego with it. What happened? he wonders, bewildered. I thought it was good—the reviewers on Fanstory said it was. It was an “All Time Best” for crying out loud.
You are doing the writers here at Fanstory a disservice with your drive-bys. Cheating them of a learning opportunity. Stealing from them, so to speak. If Joe had gotten some serious, helpful feedback, maybe his piece could have been improved so that it would be accepted for publication. Instead he’s left with a subpar piece, and he is blind to its flaws.
Now I know a lot of you give empty fives because you fear backlash, or you don’t want to hurt the writer’s feelings. I used to feel the same way, but I’ve discovered that most writers here respond well to an honest, balanced review. I rarely get a negative response when I share my thoughts kindly, pointing out the problems and offering suggestions, balancing that with comments regarding elements I liked and encouragement regarding their writing potential. I’ve gotten many review contest nominations, and even gained some fans who were impressed by my approach.
So what if someone responds negatively? As you may already know, writers can reply with questions for the purpose of clarifying a point, but arguing with a reviewer isn’t tolerated. Report the person to Tom if their reply is hostile and he will send them a nicely worded warning. If the person gets enough complaints, they will be asked to leave the site. I keep a list of those names and generally avoid them. I think they’ve already proved that they aren’t interested in learning, and I don’t want to waste my valuable time on them.
There’s another side effect of drive-bys that a lot of people may not be aware of—they can invalidate the honest reviews. Recently I reviewed a piece that had a five star rating. I found it had a lot of problems, including some SPAG, so I wrote a detailed review and slapped a three on it. Here is a portion of the reply I got: “...By the way, one mediocre review doesn't cancel multiple excellent reviews.” Essentially, the author blew off my detailed, honest review because of a bunch of drive-bys.
I was curious what kind of reputation Fanstory has out there in the cyberworld, so I did some research. Many of the comments I found discounted the value of the reviews here because of the drive-bys, and I think that is a shame. When this site is approached with the right attitude, namely a willingness to learn and to share what we’ve learned, Fanstory can be an amazing place to grow as a writer. I have learned a lot in the past five months, and I credit my growth as a writer to the many in-depth, encouraging reviews I’ve gotten. I’m thankful to every member who has taken the time to share their knowledge with me. I thought I was a good writer when I joined, but I learned early on that I have so much to learn. I hope my fellow Fanstorians will continue to give me the benefit of their expertise, which they never fail to couch in kind words of encouragement.
So do us all a favor and review with confidence. Help Fanstory fulfill its potential as a great place to learn how to write well.
Let’s talk about five star reviews, specifically what I call ‘empty fives’, more commonly known as ‘drive-bys’. They’re harmless, right? I mean, what could be wrong with telling someone how wonderful their SPAG-ridden, incoherent piece of dross is? I’m here to tell you how wrong that thinking is. In fact, I think drive-bys can be as damaging as low ratings with no supporting pointers.
Writers pay hard-earned money for the privilege of posting their works here. Most of them hope to get helpful feedback to improve their writing skills. So when they get a happy, shiny five star on a piece that is subpar, they get a false sense of the quality of their writing. What’s wrong with that? Let me illustrate.
Writer Joe prints up his “All Time Best” piece and sends it off to the real world to face the cold, hard editor’s eyes. Every day Joe checks the mailbox, anticipating a glowing letter of acceptance and a nice, fat check. Then one day it comes. Breathless, he tears the envelope open and begins to read.
“Thank you for your submission, but we regret to inform you that we cannot use your…”
Disappointment crashes down, dragging Joe’s ego with it. What happened? he wonders, bewildered. I thought it was good—the reviewers on Fanstory said it was. It was an “All Time Best” for crying out loud.
You are doing the writers here at Fanstory a disservice with your drive-bys. Cheating them of a learning opportunity. Stealing from them, so to speak. If Joe had gotten some serious, helpful feedback, maybe his piece could have been improved so that it would be accepted for publication. Instead he’s left with a subpar piece, and he is blind to its flaws.
Now I know a lot of you give empty fives because you fear backlash, or you don’t want to hurt the writer’s feelings. I used to feel the same way, but I’ve discovered that most writers here respond well to an honest, balanced review. I rarely get a negative response when I share my thoughts kindly, pointing out the problems and offering suggestions, balancing that with comments regarding elements I liked and encouragement regarding their writing potential. I’ve gotten many review contest nominations, and even gained some fans who were impressed by my approach.
So what if someone responds negatively? As you may already know, writers can reply with questions for the purpose of clarifying a point, but arguing with a reviewer isn’t tolerated. Report the person to Tom if their reply is hostile and he will send them a nicely worded warning. If the person gets enough complaints, they will be asked to leave the site. I keep a list of those names and generally avoid them. I think they’ve already proved that they aren’t interested in learning, and I don’t want to waste my valuable time on them.
There’s another side effect of drive-bys that a lot of people may not be aware of—they can invalidate the honest reviews. Recently I reviewed a piece that had a five star rating. I found it had a lot of problems, including some SPAG, so I wrote a detailed review and slapped a three on it. Here is a portion of the reply I got: “...By the way, one mediocre review doesn't cancel multiple excellent reviews.” Essentially, the author blew off my detailed, honest review because of a bunch of drive-bys.
So do us all a favor and review with confidence. Help Fanstory fulfill its potential as a great place to learn how to write well.
 Recognized |
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I hope this piece gives reviewers the guts to give honest feedback. Lets do everything we can to make this a great place to learn about writing. NOTE: I don't mean to imply that 5s and 6s shouldn't be given. :)
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one point
and 2 member cents. 
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