To be trusted is a greater complement than to be loved. - George MacDonald
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. - William Shakespeare
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Introduction
What is trust? As per Merriam-Webster Thesaurus it is “complete assurance and certitude regarding the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something”. As you can see in this classic definition of Trust, it is a means of assurance from someone about someone else. Let me take this context to Trust List in MS.
~ To give a certificate of trust on one’s character, it takes years of close watching. One cannot say I do not trust someone’s character (meaning Members) as it is very difficult to understand one’s character even if you live with him or her for a while.
~ On the ability, one can certainly understand about the ability of a person as a reviewer as the review is a perfect example of how a reviewer can write.
~ On strength of a person, it is quite similar like a character of a person. This is out of context
~ Truth of a person is quite evident. The review tells us whether a person is telling the truth or not. What you see is what you get. You can easily understand if a person is telling the truth or not by using common sense.
Taking all these to consideration, if you take a question of trusting or not trusting a member, it bogs down to two things, ability and the truth of reviews a member is writing. Saying that it is quite possible that the stance taken by a member can be quite contrary to what we believe in.
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MS TRUST LIST
MS Trust list is a good phenomenon for the MS members for it tells you about members and the patterns you see in this nice site. It is also one of the main reasons for a person’s review being read or not also. MS Trust list is mainly to assert the fact that a members review is making perfect sense or not. It is not the question of whether you trust a member as a person or not. The trust list is a nice tool for many reasons. It needs to be used effectively and nicely.
MS Trusted Circle
~ It is not a list to tell your inclining on a particular topic. I like this person/movie/topic hence if this person writes this way, I trust the person who wrote it. It should not be
~ It is not a list to show your prejudices. A person not on a particular member’s list is not a bad reviewer or a person in the DL list a mediocre reviewer. It is just the list mentioning one’s choices.
~ It is not a list to show your hatred towards a member due to jealousy or if the member rated you badly or wrote badly on a topic/item/person you love
Many of you would have noted the fact that I added many members to my trust circle only recently. You may ask why? I refrained from adding people to my TL due a basic reason that I trust all members as a whole. This is the sole reason I RRC reviews on almost all reviews. While I have to agree to the fact that I indeed get a point for rating a review, I am equally happier giving 2 points to all the reviews that are written. That is the sole reason reviews are written. Not to give points to only those who we consider worthy of giving. You may agree to the fact that many reviews are read anonymously. You may never know who read it and when. You can equally understand that it was read by members who really don’t trust you for many reason. You may not be on their DL, yet you will not get the MS-Points you deserve.
On DL, many members use it, albeit in various ways. DL is a way of threatening a member in many sorts. This happens especially if you.
~ Rate a review badly, even if you felt that the author was very biased in a way
~ Rate a review badly, if the review is written in an out-of-topic manner.
~ Write well and some member does not like you becoming a Star Writer or has a personal grudge against you.
I never DL a member first. It always has been mutual. I never do the first DL.I was DLed for the very reason I mentioned above.
There has been a pattern followed by some members from preventing the other from becoming a SW by creating an ID and adding them to their DL. It is also possible for a member to create many ids just for the sake of enhancing their Trust-list. All sorts of weird things happen.
What does it lead to? The nice trust list is more or less becoming a political tool of sorts. My sincere wish is to have a”Subscription” option, which lets users subscribe to a member, and no DL option. I don’t know if it is feasible as Trusted Circle is a trademark for MS.
The TL/DL becomes a marketing tool also sometimes. If you add many members, you tend to improve your own TL and get some extra reads. You also tend to get some hits if you are in the top of a famous reviewer. Try it sometimes. If you added someone, just remove him or her and add him or her again. I am sure you will become famous. A person recently added me to DL because that person got so many mails of TL due to my recent additions.
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CONCLUSION
MS Trusted circle is a nice option but not many know the exact usage pattern. It is like software with many features wherein each user has his or her own usage of features. Some use it wisely, after watching members for quite a lot of time. Some use it politically and some use it like marketing personnel. To me it is certainly a way of recognition of sorts. I just reciprocate. I have taken steps to add some members who do not trust me as well, for I love their reviews and they will remain my favorites too.
~As a side note how many of you trust “Taran Adarsh” as a reviewer versus “Siskel & Ebert”.
~How many of you like the review contrary to your opinion from a writer you like?
There are two sides to a coin. It is just a matter of using common sense.
My day was made when Faisal added me to his trust list. There could be no better recognition on this site than his trust on me as a writer. Faisal, I am indeed humbled and this review is dedicated to you.
Come on folks, trust all, read all
I hope you liked my review. Do comment if time permits
KALIL
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The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, Nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when they discover that someone else believes in them and is willing to trust them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Trust everybody, but cut the cards. - Finley Peter Dunne
