Is the glass half empty or half full? . Review on Commenting on Reviews

Much has been discussed about commenting(or not commenting) in a review. Quality vs Quantity in comments section was debated. On the other hand, back-scratching was talked about. There is a topic on Favouritism going on.

Would  replacing the "(Min 10 words & Max 2000 Characters)", by some "Hints for Writing Comments" be of any help?  Maybe that was one of those facts,  which MS mgmt has left to the discretion of the person who chooses to leave a comment. Little did the management realise that  we could always e x p a n d  a sinlge word, leave some dots with some spaces, and fulfil the 10 word limit. There's even some other way of getting off with a single word, no spaces.that is beyond my knowledge and scope, so am not touching that for now.

About how I've been commenting:

Well, I started off in the most silliest way - Rated reviews which covered areas of my interest, thought job is done  and hence left no comments; My first comment was after about 2 months of me being "active" here. Also, I didn't reply to the couple of comments that  I received in my early reviews. Really, no other approach can be more uneventful and boring! Subsequently I wrote a travel review, got a pat on the back by couple of star writers, by then realised interaction would be more friendlier and then started replying to comments. There have been times when I've literally chatted in some reviews. I've even attempted to add value in some comments. By the way, who decides whether a particular comment adds value or not? The concerned reviewer?

*When do we commonly leave one-liners like "good review, maybe I'll read this book/watch this movie?"

*1. When we feel that a VU wouldn't suffice - Sadly(or purposefully), there are no options to add adjectives while rating. I mean doesn't VU, U etc sound arbitrary? Maybe, the rater would want to say Fantastic review!

1. Do we want to mark our presence? - This, I feel, is being confused with "obligation". Some people think that people favour one another among their own "circle of friends" and consequently add no value. Now, this is interesting!  Don't people here become friends by visiting each others reviews and developing a liking towards their style of writing ? If I read a review by a new person today, feel that he/she has written well, I would certainly  read their next review! By consistently reading, we become friends! Simple.

   
   




2.  When a rapport is built: By constantly visiting each others reviews,  we develop a rapport with the writer. The short forms that one person may use, may look ludicrous to another. Also, the way we interact might be different. For eg., I don't worry too much about typos while writing comments on pages where I frequent. I would even share some of my likes/dislikes with the reviewer.

   
   

So, if I hate Katrina Kaif, and my friend has watched a movie starring KK,  I would still mark my presence by commenting, I can't stand the sight of KK, so would give it a miss. Agreed, absolutely no value added, but isn't THAT a form of interaction which is permissible?

*On what other occasions people tend to comment? Here's what I feel:-

*1. After watching a movie recommended:- and ofcourse if we don't feel like writing a review ourself, we could always share views with the review which influenced us to watch it. I've done this many times, and I don't think twice about it.

1. When we have some similar experience to share:- Someone may have narrated their experience(pleasant or otherwise) in a particular airline. I may have had similar ones to share, maybe the only difference might have been the date of travel. I feel we could still go ahead and narrate our experience, what's wrong in making the writer feel that he's not alone, especially if the product in question is not to be recommended. Atleast others reading would benefit!

   
   




2. New Reviewers:-There have been concerns raised that the standard of reviews have come down drastically.  How many of us encourage new people coming into MS? If we care to read some review, and if its the first review by the person(and most of them mention the same in their first review) can't we give some clues as to how they can improve in comments section? I would undoubtedly say, there are people here to encourage, but VERY VERY FEW.

   
   

4.Choosing reviews :-Again, even if it looks like favouring x or y to some people, I feel everyone of us here prefer to read reviews written by people who cared to read ours. That is natural.

Oh yes, there have been times when I used to feel bad about the less no. of ratings that I used to receive ! Then the worry shifted to why people who rate haven't commented.The next phase was not caring about anything and just accepting!  Each of us here, are with some purpose. Once the purpose is clear, things become easy!

I must add that I am actually indebted now, really! I'm driven back to some fond memories of my school days! What else can bring someone more satisfaction, than thinking about the silly fights that we fought at school?   If its war of wits well and good, as there are lessons learnt in the process.On the contrary if its just to gain notice, or just to tarnish someone's image it does nothing but only HURTS.

Again, it is a subjective topic, for which there can't be any set rules and each one would have a different way/purpose of commenting. I have just shared some of my thoughts.