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Rating without Reviewing

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Printed Date: November 29 2024 at 22:48
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Topic: Rating without Reviewing
Posted By: manofmystery
Subject: Rating without Reviewing
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:09

As some of you may know, I consider myself a terrible reviewer of albums as I know very little about the music making process.  I do not feel I'm doing an album any justice if all I can do is try to come up with creative ways to say, "sounds good" or "sounds bad".  This has me considering taking the option of rating albums without writing a review for them (unless I could actually figure out something interesting to add) as opposed to continuing to do nothing at all.  As I know it is the goal of this site to get as many reviews as possible I wanted to get the ProgArchives community's take on this.  This might not technically be a poll but I am asking a question:

How negatively do you look at the idea of rating without reviewing?

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Time always wins.



Replies:
Posted By: A Person
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:11
I just did that a while ago, now if I get around to writing reviews I have a list already made.


Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:13
I personally find it a bit of a cop out. If you can't be bothered to say why you like or dislike an album, why should your opinion county towards that album's rating?

That being said, far be it from me to tell you what to do. The site admins have permitted ratings without reviews so obviously they think it's okay. They have also given those ratings a lower weighting than those accompanied by a review. Seems fair to me. Of course there are also some members of the site whose English is not good enough to write a proper review, and their opinions should not be discounted simply due to a language barrier. I suspect that is a large part of why such ratings are allowed in the first place.


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Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:25
Great question.

Honestly (I am being honest here), ratings without reviews do not mean much to me (with a few exceptions), and I'll tell you why:

Ratings without reviews often reek of impersonal manipulation.  For example, on my album, I've got one star ratings from individuals that I would bet my last beer have never even heard my album.

That said, some do not want to write reviews, but care to express an opinion, and so I think this is very cool that this site allows that (and to accommodate those of limited English).

Anyway, I look to two different classes of reviewers:

1. Those who share my taste.  These guys (like ClemofNazareth, for instance) like what I like, so reading their reviews of albums I do not have will encourage me to seek those out.

2. Those who consistently write well.  TGM: Orb is a great writer (first name to come to mind- there are many others), and he is very detailed.  But to be honest, sometimes I do not care to read a long review, and so someone like Evolver is perfect (he should be a prog reviewer in my opinion- he has almost passed me in number of reviews, and he is a master of brevity).

Bonus: Those who are entertaining: ExittheLemming gets this category- a master of words, and I read most of his reviews even if I do not know the album in question. 

My point here is this:  Write reviews.

Seriously- you only need 200 words, and on nearly any studio album, good or bad, that is easy to achieve.  Write your 200+ words, and post it.

Plus, reviews count more than ratings alone, so it's worth your while to let your voice be heard five times!


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https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays


Posted By: TGM: Orb
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:42
The one thing I'll say for the often frustrating and generally self-defeating act of reviewing is that it makes you think about the album you're rating and try to understand what you like about it, and, in the process, I usually get to enjoy an album much more and know it a bit more deeply. I think I'd overlooked a few of the better parts and more interesting little nuances of Trisector until I listened to it in the last couple of days with a review in mind.


Posted By: rpe9p
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:43
I understand where you are coming from, and I have also considered the same issue.  I have rated a ton of albums with just rating on rym but never done the same here on PA (part of the problem would be converting from the .5 scale)

If you can, saying anything it is going to be more useful than just a rating, but I also find that hard because I dont know that much about music (other than knowing what I like) and I'm not a very good writer.  Frankly half of me wants to go back and delete the few reviews I did a while back just because im not a good writer and im self-conscious about posting my poorly-written reviews on the internet.

A lot of the time I would only have a few sentences to say about an album and so I dont review it because I am intimidated by all the really great reviewers there are on PA.  After reading these multi-paragraph eloquent reviews, who wants to see us write "This album rocks!  I really like this song because its really cool and emotional and I like that part in the middle."  At the same time though, there are albums out there with very few ratings that I think are great and would want others to take notice of.
^^see, ending a sentence with a preposition, told you im not a good writer


Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:45
^People who end sentences with prepositions piss me off. Angry
I mean.... they piss off me? Oh dear. Ouch


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Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:49
Originally posted by thellama73 thellama73 wrote:

^People who end sentences with prepositions piss me off. Angry
I mean.... they piss off me? Oh dear. Ouch


Ohhhhh....Angry

That's the sort of thing up with which I shall not put.


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https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays


Posted By: A Person
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 22:53
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

Originally posted by thellama73 thellama73 wrote:

^People who end sentences with prepositions piss me off. Angry
I mean.... they piss off me? Oh dear. Ouch


Ohhhhh....Angry

That's the sort of thing up with which I shall not put.

LOL


Posted By: manofmystery
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 01:19
Originally posted by rpe9p rpe9p wrote:

I understand where you are coming from, and I have also considered the same issue.  I have rated a ton of albums with just rating on rym but never done the same here on PA (part of the problem would be converting from the .5 scale)

If you can, saying anything it is going to be more useful than just a rating, but I also find that hard because I dont know that much about music (other than knowing what I like) and I'm not a very good writer.  Frankly half of me wants to go back and delete the few reviews I did a while back just because im not a good writer and im self-conscious about posting my poorly-written reviews on the internet.

A lot of the time I would only have a few sentences to say about an album and so I dont review it because I am intimidated by all the really great reviewers there are on PA.  After reading these multi-paragraph eloquent reviews, who wants to see us write "This album rocks!  I really like this song because its really cool and emotional and I like that part in the middle."  At the same time though, there are albums out there with very few ratings that I think are great and would want others to take notice of.
^^see, ending a sentence with a preposition, told you im not a good writer
 
This is exactly the problem I have: have no idea how to write a review that actually adds anything of value.  Seems to me that any review I write would be of no more value than a simple rating, unless it is an album with very few reviews.


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Time always wins.


Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 01:45
Originally posted by manofmystery manofmystery wrote:

As some of you may know, I consider myself a terrible reviewer of albums as I know very little about the music making process.  I do not feel I'm doing an album any justice if all I can do is try to come up with creative ways to say, "sounds good" or "sounds bad".  This has me considering taking the option of rating albums without writing a review for them (unless I could actually figure out something interesting to add) as opposed to continuing to do nothing at all.  As I know it is the goal of this site to get as many reviews as possible I wanted to get the ProgArchives community's take on this.  This might not technically be a poll but I am asking a question:

How negatively do you look at the idea of rating without reviewing?


I've read many of your forum posts and as you can clearly articulate your ideas very adeptly there is no hindrance to your ability to write reviews. Make up any old crap if you get stuck (I doEmbarrassed)


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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 02:50
Being a writer does not necessarily mean you can write reviews. I enjoy writing and can spew pages of prose on any subject under the sun, but reviews blank me every time. It's a gift and an art I just was not blessed. With.

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What?


Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 03:39
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Being a writer does not necessarily mean you can write reviews. I enjoy writing and can spew pages of prose on any subject under the sun, but reviews blank me every time. It's a gift and an art I just was not blessed. With.


Au contraire
, there's nowt too shabby about this:

http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=126583

(and it is a work of labyrinthine conceptual genius compared to some of the 'scribbled notes stuck to the fridge' that masquerade as reviews on the front page these days. (pah, those pesky parents, I blame the kids)


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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 13:52
Originally posted by ExittheLemming ExittheLemming wrote:

Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Being a writer does not necessarily mean you can write reviews. I enjoy writing and can spew pages of prose on any subject under the sun, but reviews blank me every time. It's a gift and an art I just was not blessed. With.


Au contraire
, there's nowt too shabby about this:

http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=126583 - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=126583

(and it is a work of labyrinthine conceptual genius compared to some of the 'scribbled notes stuck to the fridge' that masquerade as reviews on the front page these days. (pah, those pesky parents, I blame the kids)
Embarrassed oops! (Didn't think anyone actually read the bloody things). Half a dozen reviews in 3 years is nothing to shout about - for me they are the hardest pieces of writing I've ever written, they don't flow from the pen with the ease I would like. I really and honestly admire all the natural reviewers we have here.

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What?


Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 14:08
I do not pay too much attention in ratings w/o reviews. As others mentioned above, it is just a matter of a few minutes to write a number of sentences describing your feelings, why you like/dislike the album and how it sounds like. It might not make a great review, but it will have some validity because you bothered to spend some time writing it.


Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 15:58

Out of pure respect for bands; always write a review. They have left their guts in the studio. No matter if the result is a turkey (1 star) or a soaring eagle (5 star); they deserve at least 100 words.

I call this "good manners".

  



Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 16:10
If you're talking about that Supertramp review by Dean, I still remember when it came out on the home page. Great stuff. 


Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 16:19
Speaking as someone who doesn't put much stock in ratings to begin with, I have no problems with ratings without reviews.  If I'm deciding whether or not to add an album to my collection I look at written reviews.  Better yet run down some streaming tracks.

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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...



Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 16:21
I´m not much for the rating without review either unless you have serious trouble expressing your feelings about an album in English. Reviews don´t have to be long researched pieces of art. Just a short description of your feelings about the album is enough. 100 words aren´t that much really. If you feel like you´re wasting your time writing about the classics because everything has already been said and done, go seek out some of the thousands of unreviewed albums on PA. Even a short review of one of those albums will be an asset to the site IMO. Not everyone has the time to do reviews and I guess a rating is a way to express your feelings about an album if that´s the case. I´m a bit biased here to be honest.

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https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM


Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 17:25
Originally posted by toroddfuglesteg toroddfuglesteg wrote:

Out of pure respect for bands; always write a review. They have left their guts in the studio. No matter if the result is a turkey (1 star) or a soaring eagle (5 star); they deserve at least 100 words.

I call this "good manners".

  



This is exactly what I think, especially when dealing with bands or artists that cannot afford to make music professionally (the majority of them nowadays, at least in the prog world). For the same reason, I always try not to be gratuitously offensive when writing a negative review - stuff like 'avoid at all costs' is something that you will never see me write.


Posted By: J-Man
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 17:55
To be completely honest, ratings are ONLY helpful to me when I know the person who rates the albums personally, and/or they are very prolific with their ratings. If they were to have over 400 ratings, I would take their opinion into consideration. Keep in mind, however, that ratings never appear on the front page, and there's no list for the most prolific raters. For that reason, it's hard for me to even be aware of who has how many ratings.

Also, as mentioned, reviews can be as brief as you want them to be. You don't need to write an entire novel on the album. A few paragraphs let us know your opinion, so long as you can justify it. All in all, ratings are rarely helpful to me. Take 15 minutes and write a short review. I often find reviews that are brief and concise to be better than ones that meander upon one subject for far too long.

I'm not a great writer at school, but I have a natural love for writing subjective reviews, and I get some positive comments from people every now and again, which lets me know that people actually read those things LOL

Just my two cents,
-Jeff


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Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime


Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 18:06
Originally posted by J-Man J-Man wrote:

Keep in mind, however, that ratings never appear on the front page, and there's no list for the most prolific raters. For that reason, it's hard for me to even be aware of who has how many ratings.


That's a killer point.

If you don't write a review, no one even knows you rated an album. 


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https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays


Posted By: J-Man
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 18:19
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

Originally posted by J-Man J-Man wrote:

Keep in mind, however, that ratings never appear on the front page, and there's no list for the most prolific raters. For that reason, it's hard for me to even be aware of who has how many ratings.


That's a killer point.

If you don't write a review, no one even knows you rated an album. 


I'd actually love it if there was a list of the people with the most ratings somewhere on the site. Some people have tons of legitimate ratings, but they never get noticed with the current site layout. Unfortunately, there's no way to know if ratings are legitimate, and I would assume that people would submit as many ratings as they can, just to get to the top of the list.

-Jeff


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Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime


Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 18:21

A couple of years ago, I got an email from a girl whose father had died some months before. I was not aware of this though... But I had reviewed an album where he did the vocals. I think I gave it two out of six points or something like that. 

But her point was that I had cared about her father by reviewing that album. My review was the only online review of that album on the net. Through my email, his name and passion for music was still alive.

That email made a big impact on me and has made me put in an effort on the more obscure and unknown bands here in PA. This is also why all my old reviews from other fanzines are still being made available through my website. 


   



Posted By: WalterDigsTunes
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 18:32
If you just want to rate your music, there's other sites for that. If you want to review your prog, well, here you are.


Posted By: J-Man
Date Posted: March 23 2010 at 19:30
Originally posted by toroddfuglesteg toroddfuglesteg wrote:

A couple of years ago, I got an email from a girl whose father had died some months before. I was not aware of this though... But I had reviewed an album where he did the vocals. I think I gave it two out of six points or something like that. 

But her point was that I had cared about her father by reviewing that album. My review was the only online review of that album on the net. Through my email, his name and passion for music was still alive.

That email made a big impact on me and has made me put in an effort on the more obscure and unknown bands here in PA. This is also why all my old reviews from other fanzines are still being made available through my website. 


   



Wow, that's a pretty touching story Heart


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Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime


Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: March 24 2010 at 06:08
For an up-and-coming band or artist, every review is meaningful. I have had artists send me emails of thanks for my reviews (at least the positive ones... haven't got any hate mail yetWink), and I am happy in turn to have done something to help them along on a path that certainly is not easy. Obviously, a rating instead of a full review won't have any effect on the likes of Yes, Genesis or Pink Floyd, but the majority of the bands or artists in our database are nowhere in that league - and, for them, those few words on a screen do make a difference, and a big one sometimes.


Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: March 24 2010 at 07:18
Yep I´ve had similar experiences with smaller artists giving feedback to reviews I´ve written. To those types of artists a review means the world. Even if it´s not all positive things you include in the review. I recently wrote a review of Life Stage debut EP: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=267298 - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=267298  and made a small critisism of the vocals on the EP. The singer Ross Phillips contacted me shortly after and told me that he was really happy about the review and that the part about the vocals made an impact. So reviews do mean something to the artists.

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http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/" rel="nofollow - Metal Music Archives

https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM


Posted By: Nightfly
Date Posted: April 22 2010 at 14:21
Originally posted by manofmystery manofmystery wrote:

Originally posted by rpe9p rpe9p wrote:

I understand where you are coming from, and I have also considered the same issue.  I have rated a ton of albums with just rating on rym but never done the same here on PA (part of the problem would be converting from the .5 scale)

If you can, saying anything it is going to be more useful than just a rating, but I also find that hard because I dont know that much about music (other than knowing what I like) and I'm not a very good writer.  Frankly half of me wants to go back and delete the few reviews I did a while back just because im not a good writer and im self-conscious about posting my poorly-written reviews on the internet.

A lot of the time I would only have a few sentences to say about an album and so I dont review it because I am intimidated by all the really great reviewers there are on PA.  After reading these multi-paragraph eloquent reviews, who wants to see us write "This album rocks!  I really like this song because its really cool and emotional and I like that part in the middle."  At the same time though, there are albums out there with very few ratings that I think are great and would want others to take notice of.
^^see, ending a sentence with a preposition, told you im not a good writer
 
This is exactly the problem I have: have no idea how to write a review that actually adds anything of value.  Seems to me that any review I write would be of no more value than a simple rating, unless it is an album with very few reviews.
 
At least if you've written a review, even if you think it's not great, what it does show is you've put some thought into the rating for the album. now while I'm sure many people who rate only have put some thought into their ratings there's no way of distinguishing them from the trolls who'll come along and give every album they dislike 1 star. Besides, your review will carry more weight and you may surprise yourself and improve with practice.


Posted By: crimhead
Date Posted: April 23 2010 at 18:11
I'm not sure if anyone wants my opinion on music.


Posted By: A Person
Date Posted: April 23 2010 at 19:05
Originally posted by crimhead crimhead wrote:

I'm not sure if anyone wants my opinion on music.

The great thing about the internet is that you can give it anyway. LOL


Posted By: tarkus1980
Date Posted: April 24 2010 at 09:21
Originally posted by crimhead crimhead wrote:

I'm not sure if anyone wants my opinion on music.
Never stopped me!!


Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 23:13
Originally posted by UMUR UMUR wrote:

Yep I´ve had similar experiences with smaller artists giving feedback to reviews I´ve written. To those types of artists a review means the world. Even if it´s not all positive things you include in the review. I recently wrote a review of Life Stage debut EP: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=267298 - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=267298  and made a small critisism of the vocals on the EP. The singer Ross Phillips contacted me shortly after and told me that he was really happy about the review and that the part about the vocals made an impact. So reviews do mean something to the artists.
 
That's great when an artist contacts you and thanks you for the work. I had the same thing with Paul Cusick when I reviewed his debut, he even gave me some tips on the lyrics to his songs that i got wrong. Of course i was grateful and fixed the reviews to coincide with the correct lyrics. I was flattered that he even bothered to contact me as i was first reviewer of his album. I gave it 4 stars but he said I got it pretty right.


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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 23:25
Originally posted by AtomicCrimsonRush AtomicCrimsonRush wrote:

 
That's great when an artist contacts you and thanks you for the work. I had the same thing with Paul Cusick when I reviewed his debut, he even gave me some tips on the lyrics to his songs that i got wrong. Of course i was grateful and fixed the reviews to coincide with the correct lyrics. I was flattered that he even bothered to contact me as i was first reviewer of his album. I gave it 4 stars but he said I got it pretty right.
 
That's excellent, I received many comments from artists like John Fontana from Shadow Circus, Anton Roolaart, Alex Carpani and some really emotional like the new vocalist from El Reloj and many others I don't remember now.
 
The advantage I have is that i added a lot of artists, some of which keep a virtual friendship, like the already mentioned, a couple of members from Magenta, Contrarian and Zsolt Enyedi from Yesterdays (Romania) who sent me a collection of albums from his favourite Romanian artists which I have already reviewed here, but most important, always sends me a mail for Christmas.Hug Honestly, receiving this Christmas mail was one of the most rewarding experiences I had in PA.
 
This is the best payment you get, the friendship from musicians who take the time to write you a couple of words.
 
Of course I had  a pair negative ones (two to be precise), one from an artist who was pissed because we placed his band in Neo Prog and not in Symphonic and a recent one from a musician who was not pleased with my opinions (despite I rated his album with 3 stars).....But at least you know they read your reviews.
 
Iván


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Posted By: caretaker
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 07:22
speaking as a newbie, i don't have a problem with it but i would rather read your opinion too. that's one of the best things about PA to me. i like the reviews on the classic stuff but  i've been  out of prog for awhile and the reviews on the newer bands are really valuable to me. creative shmeative.


Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 11:45

I honestly don't trust in reviews without rating at all.

There's an album that has not been released yet, but yesterday had 6 ratings with 5 stars...........Would you believe this people listened it?
 

ANATHEMA We're Here Because We're Here

ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=25211 - nuno777 (Simon Arnaud)
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=20070 - sauromat (alexander)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=18666 - gray
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=21226 - LunaticSoul (Miroslav Med)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=27543 - LuKcho (Luís Gomes)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=17355 - jvkl
  • 2 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29030 - TheClosing
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=14222 - synesthetize (Adrian)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29038 - groho (Dominick)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=11551 - TchukoMaluko (Arthur)
  • 1 stars Collaborators.asp?id=24085 - juvefan666
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29051 - courgette1928
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29053 - dregs
 
It has gone down only because one lonely guy reviewed it with 2 stars and a review has 5X weight.
 
If I'm the first one to listen an album, the first thing I'm doing is a review to tell peole how good it is.
 
Does somebody believe all this people received an album from the band before released? A band sends promo albums to people who are going to make a review....They won't waste the cost of the album plus the shipping and taxes to receive a rating without a review, they send their promos to critics or reviewers, not to fanboys. 
 
Iván


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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 12:30
There are raters that I trust whose tastes are similar to mine, and so I can appreciate ratings without reviews.  I have benefited from prolific raters such as Roctopus and Yukorin (I have enjoyed what reviews I've read of his since I enjoy his rather perverse sense of humour) in the past.  I generally don't feel like writing reviews, it tends to kill my enjoyment of the music and feels too much like my job.

I've often looked at raters' block lists, even if I haven't been familiar with them before -- sometimes because I question the rating, and other times because I agreed with the rating.  I look at ratings more than read reviews (I might skim them a bit).  If I know the music, I don't generally feel the need to read a review here, and if I don't I don't want other impressions to affect mine too much commonly.  I tend to discover music not through PA reviews, though (youtube is a common way, and google searches when I'm looking for kinds of music).

I don't trust reviews or ratings unless I know that person has sufficiently similar tastes to mine. 

I think it not good when people rate or rate with review thinking about manipulating the ratings so the weighting of a review vs. rating without review is unimportant to me. I wouldn't write  a review so that my rating carries more weight, I think that's the wrong reason to do it, and if I were to write reviews I'd rather focus on those that haven't been reviewed.  I just did a 5 star rating for an album of an artist I recently added (looks better to have it rated then no ratings at all, I think), and I might write a review when I have the time, but I have no reason to think that people will care or notice what I say.  I find creating a topic for an album/ artist a better use of my time and is likely to bring more exposure to the artist than writing a review (at least then I can post music samples). 

Though average ratings interest me, I don't give them much weight.

I respect reviewers, but I like to discuss music.  If we had a "comment on this review" feature, then I would review more.

I've said it before, but when I was really into film and reading reviews (and I once wrote reviews for a local rag), I disliked ratings period.

Of course many people try to abuse the system with ratings, but I have found ratings personally helpful (but I'm not one for top lists).




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Posted By: manofmystery
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 15:59
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

  I wouldn't write  a review so that my rating carries more weight, I think that's the wrong reason to do it, and if I were to write reviews I'd rather focus on those that haven't been reviewed.  I just did a 5 star rating for an album of an artist I recently added (looks better to have it rated then no ratings at all, I think), and I might write a review when I have the time, but I have no reason to think that people will care or notice what I say.  I find creating a topic for an album/ artist a better use of my time and is likely to bring more exposure to the artist than writing a review (at least then I can post music samples). 

Though average ratings interest me, I don't give them much weight.

I respect reviewers, but I like to discuss music.  If we had a "comment on this review" feature, then I would review more.

I've said it before, but when I was really into film and reading reviews (and I once wrote reviews for a local rag), I disliked ratings period.

Of course many people try to abuse the system with ratings, but I have found ratings personally helpful (but I'm not one for top lists).


 
This is a same point in your larger statement but it is a good one.  Is there anything really left to be said about albums such as CTTE of DSoTM?  I obviously don't do much reviewing (for reasons I've already expressed) but when I have the one's I've felt best about are the albums that had very little already said about them.  I do believe that if you are the first to rate and album or you are rating any album with very little already said about it then you should try to add a review, even if it is just barely over the minimum.
Reviewing lesser know albums can also be rewarding: a little over a year ago a newer member sent me a message thanking me for a review a wrote leading him/her to a group they would otherwise have never heard of.
 
Think what I may do at this point is rate the albums that already have a million reviews and hold out on the lesser known stuff until I can actually think of something to say about it.


-------------


Time always wins.


Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 03:21
Originally posted by manofmystery manofmystery wrote:

 Is there anything really left to be said about albums such as CTTE of DSoTM?


Yes, that's possible - recently a new reviewer registered for PA and posted reviews on classic albums that I found myself reading with great pleasure, and checking his review list for more! He got promoted Prog Reviewer in less than a week, I think. Anyway, it is also a good idea to review some classics because in this way you can let people know the orientation of your tastes.


Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 06:56
Originally posted by harmonium.ro harmonium.ro wrote:

Originally posted by manofmystery manofmystery wrote:

 Is there anything really left to be said about albums such as CTTE of DSoTM?

Anyway, it is also a good idea to review some classics because in this way you can let people know the orientation of your tastes.


Well said.



-------------
https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays


Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 14:54
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

I honestly don't trust in reviews without rating at all.

There's an album that has not been released yet, but yesterday had 6 ratings with 5 stars...........Would you believe this people listened it?
 

ANATHEMA We're Here Because We're Here

ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=25211 - nuno777 (Simon Arnaud)
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=20070 - sauromat (alexander)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=18666 - gray
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=21226 - LunaticSoul (Miroslav Med)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=27543 - LuKcho (Luís Gomes)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=17355 - jvkl
  • 2 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29030 - TheClosing
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=14222 - synesthetize (Adrian)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29038 - groho (Dominick)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=11551 - TchukoMaluko (Arthur)
  • 1 stars Collaborators.asp?id=24085 - juvefan666
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29051 - courgette1928
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29053 - dregs
 
It has gone down only because one lonely guy reviewed it with 2 stars and a review has 5X weight.
 
If I'm the first one to listen an album, the first thing I'm doing is a review to tell peole how good it is.
 
Does somebody believe all this people received an album from the band before released? A band sends promo albums to people who are going to make a review....They won't waste the cost of the album plus the shipping and taxes to receive a rating without a review, they send their promos to critics or reviewers, not to fanboys. 
 
Iván



Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.



Regardless, my problem reviewing is the fact that with the system which was inducted a year ago or so, the collaborator's reviews hold priority over the reviews of the reviews of the individual user.  I have to go and expand a regular user's review...and the collaberator's?  No, they cover 90% of the screen with their full reviews.


That's called bias.


Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 15:57
Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:



Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.


He's assuming those raters have respected the PA rules, for the purpose of his demonstration (he's reporting those ratings, proving they're based on leaks)

Obviously you aren't willing to give some credit to the people here and treat them in a civilized manner.


Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 12:18
Originally posted by harmonium.ro harmonium.ro wrote:

Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:



Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.


He's assuming those raters have respected the PA rules, for the purpose of his demonstration (he's reporting those ratings, proving they're based on leaks)

Obviously you aren't willing to give some credit to the people here and treat them in a civilized manner.


It's funnier that way.


Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 12:50
Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:

Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

I honestly don't trust in reviews without rating at all.

There's an album that has not been released yet, but yesterday had 6 ratings with 5 stars...........Would you believe this people listened it?
 

ANATHEMA We're Here Because We're Here

ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=25211 - nuno777 (Simon Arnaud)
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=20070 - sauromat (alexander)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=18666 - gray
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=21226 - LunaticSoul (Miroslav Med)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=27543 - LuKcho (Luís Gomes)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=17355 - jvkl
  • 2 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29030 - TheClosing
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=14222 - synesthetize (Adrian)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29038 - groho (Dominick)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=11551 - TchukoMaluko (Arthur)
  • 1 stars Collaborators.asp?id=24085 - juvefan666
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29051 - courgette1928
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29053 - dregs
 
It has gone down only because one lonely guy reviewed it with 2 stars and a review has 5X weight.
 
If I'm the first one to listen an album, the first thing I'm doing is a review to tell peole how good it is.
 
Does somebody believe all this people received an album from the band before released? A band sends promo albums to people who are going to make a review....They won't waste the cost of the album plus the shipping and taxes to receive a rating without a review, they send their promos to critics or reviewers, not to fanboys. 
 
Iván



Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.



Regardless, my problem reviewing is the fact that with the system which was inducted a year ago or so, the collaborator's reviews hold priority over the reviews of the reviews of the individual user.  I have to go and expand a regular user's review...and the collaberator's?  No, they cover 90% of the screen with their full reviews.


That's called bias.
 
 
It's true that the album pages favour the collabs' reviews. However ordinary members are still able to post their own reviews of albums, and these appear on the front page alongside collabs' reviews. I don't think these opportunities exist on many websites (though I may be wrong). Ordinary members also have the chance to be promoted to collab status as a reward for their efforts. I obviously can't speak on behalf of the 300 or so ordinary members who are regularly posting reviews on PA, but I don't see many of them complaining about reviews being minimised on the album page. It's up to yourself whether you post reviews of course, but I think you're missing out by not doing so. I'd be interested to read your thoughts on some of your favourite albums Smile   


Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 14:54
Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:




Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.

 
Of course I'm aware of piracy, but in this case I don't believe that's the problem.
 
Due to 6 years in Prog Archives, I have seen hundreds of  ratings of albums not released, and this situation keeps increasing until the album is released, then as miracle, the reviews start to appear.
 
What does this means?
 
Clearly the fanboys or hateboys who haven't heard the album yet, come and give raving or terrible ratings to their favourite or most hated band.
 
Only when the album is released, the ratings start to find an equilibrium.
 
The worst case was before Octavarium was released, we received hundreds of ratings and even reviews, all with 5 stars, the rating was around 4.80, it was the great masterpíece of all times..
 
Then the news came, this idiots were rating a La'Brie's solo album, because DT never sent promo  of Octavarium until released.
 
The album was officially released and the ratings went down to a 3.69 which is closer to average than to a masterpiece.
 
That's why I don't trust ratings without reviews before the album is released.
 
Iván


-------------
            


Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 18 2010 at 13:20
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:




Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.

 
Of course I'm aware of piracy, but in this case I don't believe that's the problem.
 
Due to 6 years in Prog Archives, I have seen hundreds of  ratings of albums not released, and this situation keeps increasing until the album is released, then as miracle, the reviews start to appear.
 
What does this means?
 
Clearly the fanboys or hateboys who haven't heard the album yet, come and give raving or terrible ratings to their favourite or most hated band.
 
Only when the album is released, the ratings start to find an rquilibrium.
 
The worst case was before Octavarium was released, we received hundreds of ratings and even reviews, all with 5 stars, the rating was around 4.80, it was the great masterpíece of all times..
 
The the news came, this idiots were rating a La'Brie's solo album, because DT never sent promo  of Octavarium until released.
 
The album was officially released and the rating went down to a 3.69 which is closerto average than to a masterpiece.
 
That's why I don't trust in ratings without reviews before the album is released.
 
Iván





You got me there.


Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: May 19 2010 at 10:41
I myself, am terrible at writing reviews but I still find just a rating a bit lacking.  I have never just rated an album, stuck with my terrible reviews but feel pride about doing so just the same Big smile

-------------
http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">


Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: May 19 2010 at 13:29
Originally posted by The Truth The Truth wrote:

I myself, am terrible at writing reviews but I still find just a rating a bit lacking.  I have never just rated an album, stuck with my terrible reviews but feel pride about doing so just the same Big smile
Your reviews are far from being terrible, as a fact and despite I'żm not a Wobbler fan, I got an album due o a prase you placed in your review:
 
[quote]mood switches often from rocky to gentle to very medival at times. It creates a great listening experience in my opinion. [/quot]
 
I won't deny that your 5 stars rating captured my interest, but in a rating without review I don't know the reason wghy the guy gave so high rating.
 
In your case I love the Medieval fragments incorporated into Rock, like for example in Miranda Sex Garden, so got the album, and even when not the same sound, I found Wobbler most interesting.
 
Even if I had seen 20 ratings without review of 5 stars, I would not bought the album, but that short phrase in your review,. made me buy it, and don't regret.
 
Thanks
 
Iván


-------------
            


Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 19 2010 at 14:10
This topic isn't moving fast enough.



I propose that it become mandatory to write a review on an album.  If you can't write, you can't form an honest opinion and thus you cannot rate.


/thread


Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: May 19 2010 at 14:24
Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:

This topic isn't moving fast enough.



I propose that it become mandatory to write a review on an album.  If you can't write, you can't form an honest opinion and thus you cannot rate.


/thread
 
What of those who cannot write in English? .  


Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 19 2010 at 15:12
Originally posted by seventhsojourn seventhsojourn wrote:

Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:

This topic isn't moving fast enough.



I propose that it become mandatory to write a review on an album.  If you can't write, you can't form an honest opinion and thus you cannot rate.


/thread
 
What of those who cannot write in English? .  




Screw 'em.


Posted By: Marty McFly
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 01:29
Originally posted by seventhsojourn seventhsojourn wrote:

Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:

This topic isn't moving fast enough.



I propose that it become mandatory to write a review on an album.  If you can't write, you can't form an honest opinion and thus you cannot rate.


/thread
 
What of those who cannot write in English? .  

Chris, honestly, even speaking English can be difficult for some, reading these not so long texts (reviews) is something that most of people can. And even when someone writes in crude way, he can form words and opinions, it's nothing impossible. The problem is that a lot of people thinks that their English is very terrible and so they won't write anything.

They can write, but they lack self-confidence.


And also knowing English is one of the more important skills in today's word, especially on the internet. mm ?




-------------
There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless,"

   -Andyman1125 on Lulu







Even my


Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 01:47

I agree with Marty.

Many of the interviewed bands has told me they use PA as both a source of info about their favorite music - and to learn English properly. Writing reviews in PA is very probably an excellent way of improving your language skills. I think it has benefited my own language skills. It most certainly have improved my communication skills. It has reconnected my brain to my fingers.  

I am still struggling with my is/are and were/was grammar. Living in the Glasgow area where everything goes does not help......... 

Writing reviews for PA has a lot of added benefits. On the top of that, you can even win prizes (the monthly prizes from M@X.). Writing reviews should be encouraged.  



Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 04:14
^ ^^ I agree 100% with you guys that everyone should be encouraged to write reviews, especially those who lack self-confidence. However, I don't think it should be mandatory. PA currently has over 28,000 members and I think it's fair to assume they don't all have the requisite language skills to write reviews in English, but they can participate by posting ratings. I'm guessing that Nightshine's ''screw 'em'' comment was meant as a joke... maybe I'm too sensitive, but I think that's disrespectful to the non-English speaking members of PA. Probably just me then... 
 


Posted By: Marty McFly
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 05:47

I see your point Chris. I also partially agree.


There is one thing I noticed, the one you are talking about. I'm learning English not only by using it, but by reading posts / reviews by people who uses PA this way. I especially like Dean's posts, because they're mostly source of words I never heard about :-)

But the same applies to all you guys who posts in correct English. We (and there is thousands of people like myself I believe) learn from you. This is the same situation as with newspapers, what I read I also learn.



-------------
There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless,"

   -Andyman1125 on Lulu







Even my


Posted By: Marty McFly
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 05:49

Example of is/are - when I saw "this is indeed terrible news", I was confused. Because most of the times when there is "s", it means plural form and as such there should be "are", but it looks like English is using only news, not new.

We have
zpráva - singular
and
zprávy - plural

Things like these, differences between plural forms between languages are especially tricky.



-------------
There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless,"

   -Andyman1125 on Lulu







Even my


Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 06:00
Originally posted by Marty McFly Marty McFly wrote:

Example of is/are - when I saw "this is indeed terrible news", I was confused. Because most of the times when there is "s", it means plural form and as such there should be "are", but it looks like English is using only news, not new.

We have
zpráva - singular
and
zprávy - plural

Things like these, differences between plural forms between languages are especially tricky.

 
 
Yes, this is a plural form of noun but it's used with a singular verb... just to keep you on your toes Wink


Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: May 20 2010 at 10:39
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

Originally posted by The Truth The Truth wrote:

I myself, am terrible at writing reviews but I still find just a rating a bit lacking.  I have never just rated an album, stuck with my terrible reviews but feel pride about doing so just the same Big smile
Your reviews are far from being terrible, as a fact and despite I'żm not a Wobbler fan, I got an album due o a prase you placed in your review:
 
[quote]mood switches often from rocky to gentle to very medival at times. It creates a great listening experience in my opinion. [/quot]
 
I won't deny that your 5 stars rating captured my interest, but in a rating without review I don't know the reason wghy the guy gave so high rating.
 
In your case I love the Medieval fragments incorporated into Rock, like for example in Miranda Sex Garden, so got the album, and even when not the same sound, I found Wobbler most interesting.
 
Even if I had seen 20 ratings without review of 5 stars, I would not bought the album, but that short phrase in your review,. made me buy it, and don't regret.
 
Thanks
 
Iván
 
Wow, I had no idea that people even read my reviews, let alone use them to make a decision about an album... Maybe I'll go back to writing reviews... Haven't done so in like a month...


-------------
http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">


Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: June 16 2010 at 10:14
Originally posted by Nightshine Nightshine wrote:

Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

I honestly don't trust in reviews without rating at all.

There's an album that has not been released yet, but yesterday had 6 ratings with 5 stars...........Would you believe this people listened it?
 

ANATHEMA We're Here Because We're Here

ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=25211 - nuno777 (Simon Arnaud)
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=20070 - sauromat (alexander)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=18666 - gray
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=21226 - LunaticSoul (Miroslav Med)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=27543 - LuKcho (Luís Gomes)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=17355 - jvkl
  • 2 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29030 - TheClosing
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=14222 - synesthetize (Adrian)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29038 - groho (Dominick)
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=11551 - TchukoMaluko (Arthur)
  • 1 stars Collaborators.asp?id=24085 - juvefan666
  • 4 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29051 - courgette1928
  • 5 stars Collaborators.asp?id=29053 - dregs
 
It has gone down only because one lonely guy reviewed it with 2 stars and a review has 5X weight.
 
If I'm the first one to listen an album, the first thing I'm doing is a review to tell peole how good it is.
 
Does somebody believe all this people received an album from the band before released? A band sends promo albums to people who are going to make a review....They won't waste the cost of the album plus the shipping and taxes to receive a rating without a review, they send their promos to critics or reviewers, not to fanboys. 
 
Iván



Obviously you aren't aware of the concept of piracy.



Regardless, my problem reviewing is the fact that with the system which was inducted a year ago or so, the collaborator's reviews hold priority over the reviews of the reviews of the individual user.  I have to go and expand a regular user's review...and the collaberator's?  No, they cover 90% of the screen with their full reviews.


That's called bias.
 
In order to save you having to expand regular user's reviews... on the album page, click on the ''see all reviews/ratings'' link... now the regular reviews should appear along with the collabs.



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