The New Intimacy

How do you view "Useful" votes on a review?

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Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
After some discussion, it appears there are two dissenting opinions about useful votes.

I have personally always seen a useful vote as a positive good for a good but not perfect review -- reserving extremely useful votes for those reviews that are the bee's knees. But not everyone is the same, it seems.
Answers (public voting - your screen name will appear in the results):
A positive vote for a good review.
Adriana Ravenlust , Taylor , Kindred , Ryuson , Lummox , Breas , Vanille , lacybutton , Antipova , GonetoLovehoney , Tagmstr , Red Vinyl Kitty , SilverIsis , Research , Owl Identified , toxie m , OhMy! , js250 , indiglo , Rossie , November , Lover of Leather , PeaceToTheMiddleEast , wrmbreze , Kissaki , Subbi , switzerland , Sunshineamine , Kdlips , Cherrylane , null , llellsee , Coralbell , darthkitt3n , Cookie Monster Mike , eeep , kawigrl , MissCandyland , SiNn , ToyTimeTim , aliceinthehole , dhig , EdenJP , Jul!a , Do-Re-Mi , Kynky Kytty , xOhxSoxScandalousx , bayosgirl , ghalik , Undead , Bex1331 , Ms. N , Raigne , All His , Tork48309 , VelvetDragon , ellejay , Sally Forth , MamaDivine , SMichelle , BG529 , PassionCpl , P'Gell , LaSchwartz , milfstatus , Cora Jane , travelnurse , Kitka , panthercat23 , Lavendar , kitty1949 , amazon , Lioncub , Mikemanz , Lady of the Lab , MGDavicnigirl , Melan!e , Gone (LD29) , hot lil momma , srval69 , GONE! , freud13 , AHubbyof2SexualMinds , Kitt Katt , leanright69 , MistressDandelion , Falsepast , deltalima , phoenixfire , Trysexual , SexToys-R-Us , Incendiaire , Raymaker , Andrey2052
94  (82%)
A down vote.
SecretToyLover2 , jc123
2  (2%)
Other
Silverdrop , - Kira - , (k)InkyIvy , Shellz31 , DeliciousSurprise , JewelsAndB , Crystal1 , Llahsram , Kissy , pootpootpoot , pasdechat , Missmarc , Jake'n'bake , Woman China , Dixiemomma , ToyGeek , Girly Juice , ViVix , SexyStuff
19  (17%)
Total votes: 115
Poll is closed
01/07/2012
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Contributor: Taylor Taylor
I usually vote useful if there were one or two things I wanted to know about he toy that weren't included. If I don't have any questions I will vote EU and if I have more than that I will give a lower vote.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
For me, a Useful vote is one in which the review covers all of the basic information required and is the standard by which I judge all reviews. Extremely Useful is reserved for those that go above and beyond my expectations whether it be in creativity, details, or alternate uses of an item. My personal feeling is that it doesn't matter how everyone views the ratings as long as they are consistent in how they apply the rules when voting.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
To clarify, I meant this more as "How do you view useful votes on your own reviews" but I guess it's the same across the board.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Breas Breas
Useful is good, Extremely Useful is better

Somewhat useful and below are the votes I wonder about.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Vanille Vanille
On the one hand it's positive!

On the other hand, I just view any votes I get as that particular person's opinion and I value it greatly and accept it wholeheartedly.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
I view a 'useful' vote on my review as saying "this had all the necessary information but I still had a question you didn't address" or maybe "good review but your style wasn't very approachable to me" ... or occasionally "I didn't want to read this and just voted for the point."

In any case, I really love it when people leave me constructive criticism for improving my future reviews---but if not, I am still satisfied that (if they read it) at least they learned most of the information they were interested in, and I did a reasonably good job.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
I have mixed feelings about "useful" votes and I'll explain why. By the way, I do vote "useful" fairly often.

I will vote "useful" if a review gives me the information I need/want but doesn't really give me anything extra. For instance - for a vibrator - you told me how to clean it, the length, the batteries, etc. but nothing really made the review stand out for me. Its a useful review. If its a lingerie item and you gave me measurements, and cleaning instructions then its a useful review.

However, if you go above and beyond by giving me pictures or giving me a comparison whether it was just to tell me, "This is like product X" - then I'm probably going to give you an extremely useful. You gave me something extra - went above what I needed.

In many of my reviews - I give photos and detailed measurements. When it comes to my lingerie reviews - sure - what I'm wearing may not be your style or body type - but I usually give you three views - plus a close-up of something.

To me, a "useful" review on something like that is - well - its not an insult but it makes me wonder "what else could I have done? What did you need?"

Now I have written reviews where I knew I didn't do my best - for example - when I did my G-Ki review which was mainly tongue-in-cheek about making her part of a threesome. I was struggling with writing that review any other way - I had no pictures, etc. I knew I'd get useful votes and maybe even some lower - and that was ok. I HAD to get that review out there - I didn't put extra work into it and I was mainly pleased it was done. Since G-Ki had so many reviews it was hard to find something to say or a picture to show that wasn't already done.

I used to care a lot more about the votes - but what means the most to me now are the comments. If I know you've wishlisted something or if I know I made you laugh - that means the most. If I know I saved you money - that makes me feel good too.

So yeah...votes are nice - but comments are what make me want to do my best.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
I view a 'useful' vote on my review as saying "this had all the necessary information but I still had a question you didn't address" or maybe "good review but your style wasn't very approachable to me" ... or ... more
Oh yeah - I love constructive criticism or questions like "you said this wasn't right - can you show us more information?"...

SURE! Glad to help!
01/07/2012
Contributor: Red Vinyl Kitty Red Vinyl Kitty
I don't see a "useful" vote as bad at all. I see them as a positive thing. The only votes which irk me really are "Worth reading, but not useful", and "Not at all useful", because I spend a LOT of time of my reviews, and it bothers me to think that someone could find them at least not somewhat useful.

Overall, I try not to pay too much attention to the votes. I write the best reviews that I can, and I hope they help others to pick what they'd like to buy, or avoid.
01/07/2012
Contributor: SilverIsis SilverIsis
For me the voting is not all that useful except in that it helps with rankings. I'd rather have comments as knowing what I got right or wrong is what will make me a better reviewer.
01/07/2012
Contributor: toxie m toxie m
Quote:
Originally posted by Kindred
For me, a Useful vote is one in which the review covers all of the basic information required and is the standard by which I judge all reviews. Extremely Useful is reserved for those that go above and beyond my expectations whether it be in ... more
This.

I'll admit, sometimes when I get a "useful" vote I'm a touch disappointed that it's not EU, but it's not a big deal at all. I got a "somewhat useful" vote the other day that was more alarming, but I had to just shrug it off. There are more important things to stress over in life.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
I view a 'useful' vote on my review as saying "this had all the necessary information but I still had a question you didn't address" or maybe "good review but your style wasn't very approachable to me" ... or ... more
I love your last point d=
01/07/2012
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
I have mixed feelings about "useful" votes and I'll explain why. By the way, I do vote "useful" fairly often.

I will vote "useful" if a review gives me the information I need/want but doesn't really give ... more
Semi off-topic but I'm just one of those people who cannot envision what lingerie is going to look on me by looking at pictures of anyone who is not my exact body shape and size. I know I've mentioned it, briefly, before. A few other folks have mentioned the same. That isn't to say that your extra efforts aren't appreciated it but adding pictures to lingerie reviews won't give them that extra bump for me for that reason. It's odd because, in other ways, I'm rather visual.
01/07/2012
Contributor: js250 js250
I appreciate a useful vote and get very excited with an extremely useful vote, but I do not take it personally. I cannot answer everyone's questions, just try to answer the ones I had about the product prior to use. I value the comments more, especially if there are questions I can answer, constructive critisism, etc. That points me in the right direction for answering your questions as well. Sometimes it can be difficult to get a fresh perspective on items we use continually that are the same type, so I try to switch those up and do more alternative uses, etc.
01/07/2012
Contributor: indiglo indiglo
A Useful Vote to me is like getting an "A". An Extremely Useful vote to me is like getting an "A+".
01/07/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
To me, a Useful vote is "not bad", and an Extremely Useful vote is "good or above".
01/07/2012
Contributor: Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
Quote:
Originally posted by Adriana Ravenlust
Semi off-topic but I'm just one of those people who cannot envision what lingerie is going to look on me by looking at pictures of anyone who is not my exact body shape and size. I know I've mentioned it, briefly, before. A few other folks ... more
I understand that point and I've gotten to the point where I know that there are some people who are going to vote "useful" no matter what I do.

I guess I feel bad because when you consider the fact that in my reviews (as I do them now) - I put in the size, the measurements of the item, my measurements (including torso length), the material, the washing instructions, closeups of items and I forget what all else - I can't think then of anyone who will give them a review that they consider "Extremely useful" unless it is someone who is their body type.

So for me - there are certain folks I've decided that I really don't care how they vote. I know my reviews will never be "EU" to them...and that's ok.

Its funny because I was discussing this with my family this morning and realized that deep down inside, I'm enjoying doing the reviews, I'm enjoying the interaction with those who comment and the voting almost doesn't matter as much anymore. I like what I'm doing and the way I'm doing it and a lot of other folks do too. So that is what I'm going to focus on - doing the best job I can and interacting with those who comment.

I'm just gonna do the best I can at including what I know folks like and not worry about the rest.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
When I was trying to get from ranking 5.4 to 5.5, I felt every 'useful' as a little stab. Now that I've past that threshold, and don't expect to be getting to 6.5 any time soon with my low rate of reviewing, I don't notice the ratings much at all. I'm subscribed to comments on all my reviews, and I read and reflect on all of those, but I scroll right past the rating section to get to the most recent comment. It's not as if I can memorize the rating criteria of each fellow reviewer to guess what it means if they didn't actually leave a comment behind.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Curiouscat Curiouscat
I think It's positive. The normal good review. And extremely useful is going above the call of duty haha!
01/07/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
I'm gonna agree with TexasMama. EU is for when you go the extra mile by including extra details, good information on personal experiences, comparing to other products, pictures, etc. Useful good, but not great. So in letter grades, I'd say a useful is a B and EU is an A.

I guess I feel like TexasMama does when I get useful votes. I spend a significant amount of time on my reviews. I take a good amount of pictures which take about an hour or so to take. It usually takes between one to two hours to write the actual review. It takes thirty minutes to an hour, sometimes more, to edit the photos for inclusion into the review and get them uploaded. I put in every detail I can imagine, though I am human and will kick myself sometimes for forgetting some little thing I wanted to include afterward. Between the time spent and the detail included, a "useful" vote makes me think "well, what else could I possibly have done?"

I understand that my style may not be for everyone, but I guess I kinda feel like the efforts should be recognized to some extent. I guess to some "useful" may reflect "I like the details, not the style," but to me it feels like I left something out or didn't do as good of a job as I thought I did. If the only thing I could have done better was be a different type of writer, well that's not something I can really do. If I left something out though, by all means - tell me!!! I do have an awful memory, so I'm bound to miss things sometimes.

Now, I'm also a really hardcore perfectionist. I generally won't do things unless I know they will be done exactly right and will stop doing things if I can't do them better than other people. So that may better explain why "useful" effects me the way it does. "Less than perfect" was never my strong suit!
01/07/2012
Contributor: (k)InkyIvy (k)InkyIvy
I see anything below "extremely useful" as someone saying "you could do better". I message everyone who votes "useful" or lower and ask if they have any suggestions on how I could write a more useful review. I've begun a list of suggestions people have made so far, so I can look at it as I'm writing my reviews.
Guess I'm a bit of an overachiever...
01/07/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by - Kira -
I'm gonna agree with TexasMama. EU is for when you go the extra mile by including extra details, good information on personal experiences, comparing to other products, pictures, etc. Useful good, but not great. So in letter grades, I'd say ... more
You simply can't predict why people vote the way they do nor should you really worry about it. A good review is a good review and the majority of the community will recognize it as such. A few Useful or worse votes will have little if any impact. Every review will eventually get a low vote for whatever reason, whether warranted or not. Who knows why some people vote the way they do.

And by your logic if I take days to write my review and hours to take and edit my pictures, does that make my reviews super duper useful? Time spent on a review does not necessarily translate into a quality review. I've had student spend significant time working on a review and it still is just average. Not everyone has the skills to produce excellent reviews, regardless of time spent working on it. Having said that, both you and TexasMama produce quality review after quality review. You have noting to worry about and shouldn't take votes personally.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by (k)InkyIvy
I see anything below "extremely useful" as someone saying "you could do better". I message everyone who votes "useful" or lower and ask if they have any suggestions on how I could write a more useful review. I've ... more
FYI, messaging a contributor and asking them to explain their vote can be considered harassment, even under the best of intentions. link
01/07/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Quote:
Originally posted by Kindred
You simply can't predict why people vote the way they do nor should you really worry about it. A good review is a good review and the majority of the community will recognize it as such. A few Useful or worse votes will have little if any ... more
I'm a worrier by nature and it's hard for me to turn it off. You make a good point though. I know it makes little difference and I usually shrug it off after a minute or so, but for a minute I always go "what did I do wrong?" I'm not concerned with the overall rating of the review or anything like that being impacted by one or two votes.

Good point. I guess I could spend three days on something and it could still suck or be average. I'm glad you mention that's not the case because if I'm spending all that time to produce less than stellar reviews, I was gonna say maybe I should be rethinking how much time I spend. lol

I do try not to take things personally. People will all have different opinions, I suppose. Always nice to hear you opinion. You're very logical. I appreciate that. My head is logical, but sometimes my overly loud emotions get in the way of that.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Shellz31 Shellz31
For me, a useful vote on any of my reviews is 'ok', but I still see it as a slight fail - I clearly haven't gone everything possible to pass everyones exceptations.

But I've gotten to the stage where, ya can't please everyone! I can't stand those people who deliberately vote either of the last two options when everyone else votes the top two options. They clearly do it out of petty/spiteful behaviour.
01/07/2012
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Kindred
FYI, messaging a contributor and asking them to explain their vote can be considered harassment, even under the best of intentions. link
Thank you for posting this. It's so difficult, sometimes, when people demand to know why you voted the way you did.

Maybe I just couldn't get into your review. Maybe I was distracted. Maybe I'd read too many reviews that day. Maybe your writing style is boring as shit or maybe you're too long-winded. Maybe I'm PMSing or my cat just ran over my face. Maybe the only thing more you could have done is to stop having your personality and writing the way you do.

If we use the grading system, useful is an A to me, extremely useful an A+. "Just ok" is "somewhat useful." As I've explained to others, a useful vote for me says "this review is good, worth reading" but won't make me see stars. d=

With that said, I think some people who are feeling insulted or disappointed with "Usefuls" are probably considering them lower than those doing the voting and, as far as rank goes, writing a review is going to go a lot further than waiting for "extremely useful" votes.
01/07/2012
Contributor: switzerland switzerland
definitely, a positive vote for a good review! and if something actually needs to be commented on that can make it better, or suggestions, etc - that's what comments are for!
01/07/2012
Contributor: Kdlips Kdlips
positive
01/07/2012
Contributor: Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
Quote:
Originally posted by Kindred
You simply can't predict why people vote the way they do nor should you really worry about it. A good review is a good review and the majority of the community will recognize it as such. A few Useful or worse votes will have little if any ... more
Kindred,

I love your logic and thank you for sharing it. You make some great points here.

Honestly, I think that the key to those of us who are more sensitive is just to not worry about it even though we may be perfectionists.

Personally, I have sort of an "inner circle" in my mind of people I trust and respect and their ratings do mean a lot to me. I've gone to one of them and said, "I know as I get closer to 100, its going to be tempting to just pump out reviews and be fast but not the same quality. Please kick me if you see my quality going down."

But I've decided - particularly after this discussion - that others just really don't matter. There are some people that I know will never give me an "EU" - I have three people in particular in mind. Two of them have lower ratings than me - one has higher ratings (and I have gone and looked at their reviews to see what I can learn from them).

I've even had people who see a "useful" rating on my reviews (before this thread) contact me privately and say, "Don't worry about that person cause they always do that".

I will say that the one person who once voted "Extremely Useful" on a review and made me dance around the room - was JR. I already knew he was tough on reviews and I'd received several usefuls from him and gone to him to ask what I was doing wrong cause I was a newbie. He explained how oftentimes EU is given more as a popularity thing and so he didn't give them out very often. When I saw him give me an EU...my family heard my "Whoopeee!" and saw me dance around the room. I felt like I had "arrived"!

Anyway - Kindred - thanks for your insight. Honestly, after what you've said and what others have said to me publicly and privately - I promise - I will try to not take votes personally any more.

I think I'll put a note above my desk "Votes don't matter - Comments do".

I do think that when you're building up your ratings though and are close to the next "pricepoint" for free items to review, then its easy to find they matter a bit more.
01/07/2012