Rub your eyes in disbelief. Open them wide with shock. Form a huge, circular ‘O’ with your mouth. Bring your hands to your face in astonishment. Take a step back in amazement. Fall down the stairs in wonder.
Because chand_tare has finally returned to write her 50th ‘review’.
On second thoughts, don’t “fall down the stairs in wonder” because I may get sued, and getting sued whilst I’m still saving for my student loans will not make many people, especially my parents, very happy. On the subject of sue, I’ve been reminded of the pains I took to choose the topic for my 50th ‘review’. At first I was going to write on the best film of this blessed year; Rang De Basanti (sue kar mere mann ko kiya tune kya ishaara), but then exams, revision, family, friends and other ‘distractions’ (coughboyscough) intertwined, by which time this film was part of the past, so it was crucial to choose a fresh topic.
I decided to be so unpredictably predictable, like some lady in a Kkekta Kapoor serial re-accepting her husband after he’s gone and had an affair with every lady in the world apart from herself, because “pathi bhagwaan hota hai.” Taking her lead, I chose the topic that holds host to most people’s 50th reviews. Drum roll Mouthshut :-)
I doubt I’m going to say anything in this review, which hasn’t already been said, so if you have no life and have managed to read every one of the 266 reviews on this topic, I suggest you stop reading now.
~What has Mouthshut been for me?
This website began as nothing more than a website for me. One of my best friends showed me her first review on Remix and asked me to join so that I could rate and comment on it. My first reaction to this was “what kind of losers write reviews on websites without even getting paid for them?” It’s okay, you don’t have to kill me, because that statement just goes to show how even the best of people are forced to eat their words. That was a pre-assumed statement, made when I knew absolutely nothing about Mouthshut. And I guess I was a bit of a coconut then too :-)
I joined, I wrote a few reviews, I got some response and then I stopped. I’m not exactly sure why; maybe it was owing to the lack of response, perhaps it was because of other distractions in my life, or even because I still didn’t see the point of Mouthshut. And then, just as abruptly as I’d refrained from writing reviews, I started again. Three star writers that I remember distinctly were cool_tanmay, psyxx and afrank, who are all still brilliant role models for anybody to look up to. I began to soar to higher levels of experimentation for my reviews with inspiration from these writers; I began to RRC a lot more; I began to acknowledge the advice of the people around me; I learnt a lot and slowly but surely…
…I discovered the true meaning of an addiction. Which is exactly what Mouthshut was in those months; a source of knowledge, a forum for sharing and debating opinions, a place with so many new people to meet and make friends with.
But that was when I had my rose tinted coloured glasses on; I overlooked the negative points, I treated unfair and uncivilised comments and m2ms with an optimistic attitude, I wasn’t able to see the more sinister side of Mouthshut, the hostility between some of the members. And when those glasses were taken off, I was shocked.
And now, so many of my friends have left Mouthshut, its so much less active than it used to be, and not trying to take the lyrics of Paathshaala too easily and be a rebel, but I miss the controversy and the freaks who used to be part of Mouthshut. They made life so much more interesting. Sometimes I wish I could bring back July, August, September, October of 2005, but it’s all just wishful thinking.
~The cons~
Mouthshut does have some flaws, which stops it from being one of the nicest places on the net. And I’m not talking about the faulty rating system, the interesting choices for review of the day or the reviews that are selected for hot reviews.
One of the problems I’ve faced is the increasing pressure to put my picture up on my profile. I’m not saying that I don’t trust my friends on Mouthshut, but considering it is a public website, anyone has unrestricted access to your picture. And the interesting thing is that Mouthshut doesn’t allow you to copy and paste your reviews in an attempt to secure “privacy”, but people can still copy and paste your pictures and profile information. Surely photographs and personal information should have priority of protection as opposed to the reviews we write. Doesn’t this imply that reviews are valued more than the people who produce the reviews? I frankly find that extremely degrading, and I really think the Mouthshut management should appreciate and respect that the members are the most significant element of this website, and without them, these “precious” reviews couldn’t exist.
Although photographs do bring a face to the work of a writer, people can also be extremely biased towards or against somebody with a photograph of themselves posted up. If somebody doesn’t want their reviews rated and commented on in a way, which relies on physical appearance, then that is their choice. Why should there be the strain to put a picture up from both the members and the management? And if anyone still disagrees, even a lovely member of the MS management doesn’t have her photograph up; when she decides to set that example will be the time when photographs should have any significance.
Conflicts will always exist, whether they’re between a teacher and a student, a boss and an employee, an Abhi and a Saif or the members of this site and the management. These conflicts get serious when somebody misuses their power. From what I’ve heard, a couple of years ago, a member, supposedly part of the management of this site, allegedly sent some abusive messages to another popular member, who responded similarly, however, it was then he who was flagged accordingly, whilst the employee wasn’t even warned. I don’t know how much of this is true, I don’t know about the gory details, I don’t know the other side of the argument, but still, why should these double standards exist? If Mouthshut wants us to exist as a community, then why don’t the employees begin to set an example first? And if both parties are at fault (man, I sound like a politician), then both should be punished and the people in power should behave impartially. Even if the member who was flagged was at fault, he and his friends should have the right to question the punishments that have been inflicted on him.
I’m not trying to dig up old matters just to create a controversy or anything stupid like that, but there have been other times where justification for the actions of the management has been requested and it hasn’t been provided with a direct answer, such as flagged members and the likes, which I think we as members have the right to question.
continued in the comments...u noe my luv 4 long revus :D =>
