The recent surge of lame reviews.

[RobA]

It is awesome that people are reviewing the reviewers, lol. I scan over the really short reviews, and the really long reviews. Especially when someone gives a breakdown of every single hole on the course. Its is somewhat cringe worthy.

I have no problem with newbie's giving a short review of a course they just played. It may help other newbies, and as long as they are upfront with how long they have played, and number of courses played, I think there is value for someone.

I don't reply to anyone's review any longer. I PM'ed someone once to let them know I thought their review of a local course was overly harsh, and the guy just went ballistic. I actually laid out some very well-reasoned points, and the person, who was a fairly well know regular, just became a complete d-bag and was very insulting. I think some people take themselves and their reviews way too serious.

 

[armiller]

I'm glad someone resurrected this thread. :hfive:

My question while reading is: "what makes a good review?" I've written only two, one of which I would consider terrible and one of which others might consider so. From reading here, I'm guessing that some people want the course "review" to be more of a course guide or summary. In my experience, I look at the reviews when I'm trying to decide what courses to play in a new area. Ergo, I would like to know a little bit about course layout (distance, brush, water) and conditions, but mostly just whether people enjoy playing there. I feel that, like most people, I'm able to sift through some junk reviews to find the information I want. I do, however, filter by "most helpful" to get rid of the egregiously terrible ones.

 

[ranger]

I don't really look at the numbers.

Pro/con lists are the most helpful.

 

[knettles]

I'm glad someone resurrected this thread. :hfive:

My question while reading is: "what makes a good review?" I've written only two, one of which I would consider terrible and one of which others might consider so. From reading here, I'm guessing that some people want the course "review" to be more of a course guide or summary. In my experience, I look at the reviews when I'm trying to decide what courses to play in a new area. Ergo, I would like to know a little bit about course layout (distance, brush, water) and conditions, but mostly just whether people enjoy playing there. I feel that, like most people, I'm able to sift through some junk reviews to find the information I want. I do, however, filter by "most helpful" to get rid of the egregiously terrible ones.

Someone mentioned this earlier, but in my opinion, one's ability to write properly and grammatically correct is the biggest factor. If your review looks like it was written by a 9 year old, that's a thumbs down regardless of the actual content. I'm sure not everyone agrees with that, but that's how I feel. Now if they have wonderful grammar and spelling, they have to write some waaay off base stuff for me to thumbs down something entirely due to what they're actually saying (completely false information, not just a weird opinion).

 

[Moose33]

I always try to make mine a decent length until everything that I feel is important about the course, sometimes mine will have some typos because they're generally written on the phone, and AutoCorrect is really rough on some words. You may have noticed that if he read a lot of things that I've written.

After having reviewed 40 courses now filling get a pretty good feel on what makes a good review so not really ones were a little heavy on the thumbs down but since then I've recovered and have over 130 thumbs up and only 20 thumbs down which after a couple dubious reviews start I feel is a pretty good recovery ratio.

One thing that I think I love you all need is what a course feels like, does it feel special does it feel interesting even though I has all the normal things that make a course good does it feel like it's not as good as it could be? There's some courses that are just special and they feel that way.

when I've played courses like flip city, Milo McIver, Kensington toboggan, Perkerson park pages feel different than the normal course there elevated and someone needs to note that sometimes the rating doesn't tell everything .

 

[Stardoggy]

I tend to use a certain format, hitting the same points in every review, and then some personal feelings about certain things. I'd have to think people know what to expect from my reviews by now.

Also, I could care less about trash cans on a course. I can carry out what I carry in.

 

[DavidSauls]

I don't think there's one right way to write a review. There are, of course, some wrong ways. But all the different formulas contribute to a wealth of information.

For myself, I try to write them as if I were describing to a friend a course he hadn't played, to give him an idea of how much he'd like to play it. Or not. And a bit of what to expect, if he does.

As for the thumbs, I say, don't sweat them. But I take the instructions fairly literally; if a review is helpful---if it includes information that would be useful in deciding whether to play a course, or in playing it---it has my thumbs-up. I'm not reviewing the review.

 

[GripEnemy]

I don't think I've written any reviews. Maybe 5 or less. I migrated from DGR due to traffic for the forums...so I disagree with OP of 5 years ago to an extent. Sure most people on here use it for the reviews and course/play tracking, but not EVERYONE. Someone such as myself might get a random idea to write some reviews and without reading tons and tons like some of you, they don't know HOW to properly do so. Someone that's never cooked before doesn't know how to properly handle a knife for instance.

When I do actually read reviews, I list by "most helpful" and "trusted reviewers only" - why would I look at nonsense from a n0000b? Why doesn't everyone else do this? Why literally WASTE part of your life reading a ****ty review? I can't comprehend that. Same reason I never watch a show I like when it's live/currently airing...I can't justify wasting my time watching the commercials.

 

[sisyphus]

Personally, I like to read a well-written review that gives me a sense of whether I might enjoy the course. And I enjoy some things about courses that others don't. So, over 200 reviews in, I always figure my review should give a decent overview and tell me something I'd appreciate knowing before spending the day traveling and finding out the course isn't quite 'as advertised'.

There are clearly folks who write something just to write a few lines. Sometimes the text does not back up their rating (good or bad). But I figure, most of the time, I'll just ignore them, and not give either a thumbs up or thumbs down. I'm pretty sure the only times I've thumbed down a review was when the author wrote something outright hurtful, disrespectful, and way off the mark on a course I already know. I've probably only encountered that a dozen times.

So I've read the text on probably ten thousand reviews, given several thousands of thumbs up, and a handful of thumbs down since discovering this site. Still think it's the best place to find out about courses and tons of other topics DG-related! :thmbup:

 

[sisyphus]

Oh, and this is spot-on:

...if a review is helpful---if it includes information that would be useful in deciding whether to play a course, or in playing it---it has my thumbs-up. I'm not reviewing the review.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

...I take the instructions fairly literally; if a review is helpful---if it includes information that would be useful in deciding whether to play a course, or in playing it---it has my thumbs-up. I'm not reviewing the review.

^ this. I don't necessarily have to agree with the reviewer's opinions or rating to find a review helpful, nor do I necessarily find it helpful just because their rating agrees with mine. IMHO, a review is helpful if it gives you the info you need to determine whether if it's a course you want to play or a course you want to skip. A review can also be helpful if it provides info useful to the visiting player.

 

[Nasty Nate]

Just because one person (say, a person who is reading a review) doesn't agree with 100% of the statements by said reviewer shouldn't mean an automatic thumbs down.

Amen! It's the exact same thing on Reddit with downvotes. People just use it as a "disagree" button instead of its intended purpose. It's like people aren't allowed to have differing opinions.

Someone mentioned this earlier, but in my opinion, one's ability to write properly and grammatically correct is the biggest factor. If your review looks like it was written by a 9 year old, that's a thumbs down regardless of the actual content.

I also agree with this. Sorry, internets, but if you are over the age of 14 and don't know how to write properly (especially now since literally EVERYTHING has spellcheck) then you need to seriously re-evaluate your life. I feel that the internet age has dumbed-down language to the point that Idiocracy is soon approaching. If you are an adult and write like a child, which is VERY prevalent these days, then... yikes.

Anyway... I just wanted to admit that this thread has made me go back and edit my reviews . In retrospect, I really don't have much to say. It looks like I just list what I remember and say if it's good or bad. Eh, maybe that will change. But sorry, Simsbury, you REALLY need to thin out your rough-of-death that is nothing but thorns and hatred.

 

[Hampstead]

I also agree with this. Sorry, internets, but if you are over the age of 14 and don't know how to write properly (especially now since literally EVERYTHING has spellcheck) then you need to seriously re-evaluate your life. I feel that the internet age has dumbed-down language to the point that Idiocracy is soon approaching. If you are an adult and write like a child, which is VERY prevalent these days, then... yikes.

Let's just take a step back for a moment and think before we post. There are plenty of people out there who don't process information in the same way. Reading, writing, spelling and proper sentence structure isn't as easy for some as it is for others. I have family members who have struggled with this their entire lives. To say they "need to seriously re-evaluate your life" reeks of intellectual elitism.

 

[GripEnemy]

^That's a valid point, but some people are just ignorant. Yes learning disabilities can lead to some of the poor grammar but you can't pretend that all of the incorrect spelling on this site is due to that. Hell, I used to type like an idiot on the internet:

Finally Typing Properly! (1/10/12)


Your take kinda gives off the politically correct elitism side of the argument.

 

[gvdg jake]

I can't help but laugh at some reviews. Especially when it's a bad review of a great course. The last 2 reviews of renny gold are ridiculous. It's a easy 4.5/5 course and both reviewers rated it 1.5 and 1 out of 5. Just because it's hard and technical doesn't mean it's a bad course...

 

[Stardoggy]

I can't help but laugh at some reviews. Especially when it's a bad review of a great course. The last 2 reviews of renny gold are ridiculous. It's a easy 4.5/5 course and both reviewers rated it 1.5 and 1 out of 5. Just because it's hard and technical doesn't mean it's a bad course...

Herein lies the problem. YOU might think it's a 4.5, but others traveling from other places might find the navigational issues to be a huge downgrade. I didn't play Renny when I was there because I didn't want to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out where I was going.

 

[Hampstead]

^That's a valid point, but some people are just ignorant. Yes learning disabilities can lead to some of the poor grammar but you can't pretend that all of the incorrect spelling on this site is due to that.

Of course there are plenty of ignorant people out there who can't be bothered to take a few minutes to clean up their reviews. I don't deny that at all. However, I have watched my brother struggle through 12 years of school, being told that he was stupid because he had a difficult time spelling and his handwriting was atrocious. To say that he and others like him seriously need to re-evaluate their lives because they have a learning disability is asinine. That's my point, and PC culture be damned.

 

[Nasty Nate]

Let's just take a step back for a moment and think before we post. There are plenty of people out there who don't process information in the same way. Reading, writing, spelling and proper sentence structure isn't as easy for some as it is for others. I have family members who have struggled with this their entire lives. To say they "need to seriously re-evaluate your life" reeks of intellectual elitism.

Well there is a difference between having a learning disability and just plain disregarding learning your native language. I guess I am a bit biased since I was always good in English class. I don't mean to target dyslexics or anything like that, rather the lazy people who never bothered to learn how to communicate. After all, language is one of the most amazing, defining factors about being human. But when I was at my job and would get a company email that was fraught with grammatical and spelling errors, it really made me lose all respect for those above me (not that I had much respect for them since they treated us like school children).

But anyway... I guess the internet has just irked me with its general disregard for English. I spend too much time looking at /r/trashy .

Sorry, I don't mean to derail this thread. Just wanted to clarify I wasn't trying to rag on people who actually have trouble learning. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I suck at math terribly and will be the first to admit it.

 

[`cjc]

I can't help but laugh at some reviews. Especially when it's a bad review of a great course. The last 2 reviews of renny gold are ridiculous. It's a easy 4.5/5 course and both reviewers rated it 1.5 and 1 out of 5. Just because it's hard and technical doesn't mean it's a bad course...

You must take into account the skill level of the reviewer, most reviews are worth a damn.

Too technical, for who?

Too many trees, for who?

 

[ejvogie]

Too many trees, for who?

Avery