Reviewer Survey
Post your answers as replies to this forum post, or email me if you'd prefer to remain "anonymous." Please number your answers:

1.) When rating or reviewing, do you consider all aspects of the piece, including title, brief description, categorization, chosen genre, appropriateness of content rating, visual presentation, etc.? Or do you focus solely on the writing?

2.) Do you lower your ratings or criticize a writing because it uses words you have to go look up in a dictionary?

3.) Can you recognize British vs. American English spellings, and accept either as correct, if used consistently?

4.) Does it annoy you when a writer uses foreign words or phrases in a story, or do you feel that it can enrich the story if foreign words and phrases are used appropriately?

5.) Does whether you agree or disagree with the writer's views or assertions cause you to rate more favorably or negatively, regardless of the quality of the writing itself?

6.) Is it ever acceptable, appropriate, or effective for a writer to use profanity? When? When not?

7.) When giving reviews, are you more comfortable:
- Commenting on the mechanical aspects of the writing (spelling, punctuation, grammar)
- Commenting on the overall quality of the writing (how well it held your interest, effective use of rhetorical devices, style, etc)
- Commenting on how the writing made you feel, or what you were thinking in reaction to it
- Commenting on something from your own experience that the writing reminded you of
- Saying something to give the writer encouragement and warm fuzzies
- Giving the writer some combination of the above (be specific) or something else (be specific)?

8.) Do you find it difficult to give honest criticism to friends?

9.) Do you find it difficult to give honest criticism to complete strangers?

10.) If you were to send a review anonymously, would you be more likely to do so if it were negative or if it were positive? Why?

11.) Do you worry that people will retaliate if you send them negative feedback?

12.) Do you think that people tend to reciprocate if you send them positive ratings and reviews?




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A Few Quick Tips for Public Reviewing
These are things that have occurred to me as I read through pages of public reviews. I don't think we always stop to consider how our reviews look on the public review page, back to back...

When posting multiple public reviews, try not to include too much "boilerplate." When people notice that 75% of your review is a copy/paste of the reviews you sent to 6 other writers, they begin to wonder if your reviews are sincere or if their writing was carefully considered.

When posting multiple public reviews, try to minimize the sig graphics and "promotional blurbs." When reading public reviews, if we've seen it once, we don't need to see it twenty times. Try not to let your signature block be longer than your review comments!