mbradbourne
Newbie
Am I doing something wrong, or are people just pricks? I can fix one of those things.
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Just curious, but why down vote a review?
- Thread starter mbradbourne
- Start date
Sometimes people write bad reviews. Some examples off the top of my head...
- Not adding anything with their review. Some reviews are two sentences with little backing up the reviewers opinion, so they don't really add anything to the review page.
- Harsh reviews because a course is "too hard." Sometimes a less skilled player throws a championship level course, gets demoralized, then blames the course.
- Poor grammar, run on sentences, lack of paragraphs etc.
- Not adding anything with their review. Some reviews are two sentences with little backing up the reviewers opinion, so they don't really add anything to the review page.
- Harsh reviews because a course is "too hard." Sometimes a less skilled player throws a championship level course, gets demoralized, then blames the course.
- Poor grammar, run on sentences, lack of paragraphs etc.
A lot of people are pricks, but it's not necessarily a "down vote" as much as it's saying that they don't think the review is helpful. I only read one of your reviews after seeing this thread, but what I saw there was a lack of detail. That's usually the first thing that gets a "down vote" from me. Try to review it from your own skill level too. You kind of already did, but go more in depth. It's definitely helpful if a beginner reviews a course from a beginners perspective if the readers are aware that a beginner is making the statement.
Just my two cents.
Just my two cents.
mbradbourne
Newbie
I vote down obvious shill reviews and reviews that lack detail. It really annoys me when people vote down detailed reviews because they disagree with the score given. Along those lines though I hate it when people underrate a course for stupid reasons like it being too hard our not allowing dogs.
jenb
* Ace Member *
It seems to me that some people will vote a review down unless it has a hole by hole detailed description. Way too much work for me, and one of the reasons I no longer review courses.
Menacewarf
Double Eagle Member
I've been voted down en masse for writing a review ranking a course about a disc lower than what the local consensus is. Granted the owner was lobbying his local forum but yah, ya know , it does happen.
I don't think you need to write War and Peace when you do a review, but just doing a couple of cookie cutter sentences anyone can write is unimaginative.
But yeah, some people are pricks. Sometimes I'm one of them.
But yeah, some people are pricks. Sometimes I'm one of them.
DeadEye
Double Eagle Member
Pricks.
Why in general? to encourage better reviews and to let others know if they should spend the time to read a given review.
why in particular? well, everyone has different tastes. i like to see some substance, some kind of feel for the course.
why in particular? well, everyone has different tastes. i like to see some substance, some kind of feel for the course.
texhop58
Eagle Member
I have down voted a couple of reviews. But I only do it if the review is very vague an the only pro listed is this town has a disc golf course, this can be said but elaborate. There has too to be something else. And then the com section is blah. Don't just say course sucks. Elaborate on why the course sucks or tell me what you dot like. I also only down vote reviews at courses I have played. If you are going to right a review give me 3 or 4 things at each course. I don't want a novel, more of cliff notes. But I want down vote for that. I know the only review I wasn't happy with of mine got a down vote and I was torn. It was my first urban style course, throwing around buildings/statues. I just had issues explainin why I liked it.
Yes on both accounts.
What seems to be sort of an accepted standard is a certain level of detail. I'd say at least a paragraph worth of pros and cons. Also in the other section at least another paragraph of things to watch out for and other details that might be helpful like "there are leagues on Wednesday nights and it gets very busy" or things like that.
When "Review this Course" is clicked there are two very helpful sections that pop up labeled "A few ground rules" and "What makes a good review" so read those carefully. I would add a few other pointers to those sections:
(These aren't directed at the OP specifically though)
- Marking down courses for naturally occurring fauna on the course when it is well maintained is...dumb. Like complaining about the bugs. If there are a lot of bugs put it on the "other" section. OR complaining about poison ivy off the fairway in Michigan. News flash: it is EVERYWHERE in the midwest. This kinda crap will get a down vote from me almost every time. If the course is poorly maintained then that is a different story.
- Marking down a course because it was busy during league night. :doh:
- Rating your home course a 5 because "OMG LIKE IT ROCKS" when it is the one and only course you have ever played. I'd suggest playing at least 3 or 4 different courses prior to writing your first review and if possible finding courses that already have a lot of reviews on them. Read those reviews before and after to see if you agree and maybe add some insight that the other reviewers may have missed. Basically, go to a course you've never played and read the reviews first and see what, if any, details that would have been helpful to know prior to playing there is also good. Put those sorts of tidbits in your reviews.
- Just write it well with good, complete sentences. The grammar doesn't have to be perfect but shoot for something that would have got at least a C in your High School English Comp class. Please. Personally, I like to use bullets like I am doing here to better organize separate issues.
I think what gets a lot of people in trouble is trying to write a review from a smartphone. This is just a bad idea all around. It's difficult to see all the text and I think people get lazy trying to type well thought out comments. Just wait until you get home in front of your tablet/pc and type it out. It'll come out much better - trust me.
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Personally, I've rarely thumbed down a review, but sometimes I will: if someone comes along, marks a decent course down two or three ratings points because they were frustrated playing it, and writes a negative one or two sentences. The thumbs are supposed to be in response to the question "Was this review helpful?" And slamming a course with no real explanation is not.
More than a third of the down thumbs I've gotten were by someone who didn't like the course and just thumbed down the first (and sometimes the second) page of reviews en masse. That's practically the definition of being a prick. The first time or two, I asked a moderator to look into it, and they wiped those thumbs off. But now, I try not to bother them. Pricks will be pricks.
(Besides, I've never asked them to wipe off batched 'up' thumbs, and I've thumbed up reviews in batches: I'll go to a course and then thumb up the half or two thirds of the reviews that are helpful, and skip over the ones that aren't).
More than a third of the down thumbs I've gotten were by someone who didn't like the course and just thumbed down the first (and sometimes the second) page of reviews en masse. That's practically the definition of being a prick. The first time or two, I asked a moderator to look into it, and they wiped those thumbs off. But now, I try not to bother them. Pricks will be pricks.
(Besides, I've never asked them to wipe off batched 'up' thumbs, and I've thumbed up reviews in batches: I'll go to a course and then thumb up the half or two thirds of the reviews that are helpful, and skip over the ones that aren't).
... and DGCR is full of 'em.
On very rare occasions, I've "downvoted" reviews that are excessively long... I understand the desire to talk at length about a course that you love (or hate). I'm guilty of it myself from time to time, and for that I deserve a downvotes. But when I'm looking at a review I'm looking for one thing and one thing only: the answer to the question of "should I play this course or not." To answer this, the review needs to have just enough detail to justify the rating given. Comments in excess of this detail really don't add anything to the review IMO.
I completely agree. I'd even take it one step further with marking a thumbs down when someone just "loves" a course without giving any good reason. In other words if the reviewer can't be bothered to put together a half-a$$ed thought out review then :thmbdown:.
I've had similar experiences like when I put together a well thought out review I get a message from some course homer telling me how wrong I am and to change the review. Usually after telling them in a round a bout polite way to piss off I usually get a bunch of thumb downs out of the blue after that. I think that's what happened when I wrote my Lake Township review initially. I was just being honest. I've since niced up that review a bit since changes have been made but the score remains the same.
I especially liked the Andrews University reviews I had going. Before I updated my review the uploaded maps on this site and the printed versions out at hole one were uber wrong. Not only did I get a nasty gram for complaining about it and then some tool wrote a review right after mine titled "THIS IS HOW YOU READ THE MAP." That review has been marked as a "drive by" review lol.
sugarnot
Eagle Member
AND...this is why I don't do reviews.
PMantle
* Ace Member *
I know of one guy that downvotes a certain reviewer no matter what is written. Pretty sure he recruits others as well.
thruhiker99
Bogey Member
Why does it matter if a review gets a thumbs down? Is it removed after a certain number of them? Or is it just reviewers with thin skin getting their feelings hurt on the internet? Is there a contest with prizes that getting negative votes on reviews sets reviewers back in?
Really just trying to figure out the argument. I read reviews if I will be visiting a new course so I understand what I think makes a good and bad review. I also understand the feedback system as a tool to the reader to help time management. I just don't at all understand why reviewers get upset if their review has some thumbs down but I'm sure there is a reason even if it is just internet pride.
Really just trying to figure out the argument. I read reviews if I will be visiting a new course so I understand what I think makes a good and bad review. I also understand the feedback system as a tool to the reader to help time management. I just don't at all understand why reviewers get upset if their review has some thumbs down but I'm sure there is a reason even if it is just internet pride.
Personally, I wear the thumbsdown as a source of pride on some courses. If I make an honest review and a homer get's butthurt over it then good. Over time, they are either going to agree with me or going to realize that I am just speaking from the heart. The thumbsup are just a way of determining the trusted reviewer levels. I used to care about that sort of thing but not really anymore. However, if I get a bunch of thumbdowns and no thumbups then it's likely my review is garbage and it needs to change.
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