08-24-2013, 05:25 PM | #61 |
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It saddens me that this whole affair is putting people off using Goodreads. I received an e-mail the other morning from a online 'friend' telling me that Goodreads condones rape, death threats and bullying and to make sure I deleted my profile on it. When I actually found out what was going on, I couldn't believe how things had escalated.
Goodreads is on the whole good, if you stay away from the odd drama (which I hate to say seems to focus on a few specific genres). It is very much a site of your own making, like another poster here pointed out. I find it a good way to organise reading lists and reviews but I don't really use the social functions very much so avoid the drama. I've had a really positive experience with it and for what I want to do it is the best of the bunch (LibraryThing, Shelfari, Booklikes). |
08-24-2013, 05:32 PM | #62 | |
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I realize that this current brouhaha isn't the norm for the site, but it's still a turn-off. |
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08-24-2013, 05:48 PM | #63 | |
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I started with a notebook in college, then moved to Xanga in '00 and when that site pretty much hit the skids, moved to blogger and then to GR. I'm hoping/counting on GR to have more staying power than my papernotebook [which got lost in a move] or Xanga. |
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08-24-2013, 06:01 PM | #64 |
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Not really. In my case I hardly interact, I don't follow reviews, I only belong to a couple of groups (quite calm). My main goal there is not the social aspect but the books info. It's quite good for that. I keep track of what I read too, but it helps when I'm far from my computer (it's not so easy to keep a notebook with more than two thousand books).
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08-24-2013, 06:10 PM | #65 | |
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Mostly I just use GR to keep track of the books I've read, rate and/or review those books and see what my friends are reading. I have to say that the drama I read about with other GR users doesn't affect me. |
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08-24-2013, 08:23 PM | #66 |
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08-24-2013, 10:11 PM | #67 |
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I use Goodreads to reviews ARCs and occasionally books I've bought or got through Lending. My problem is I have had authors comment on my reviews which seriously bothers me. Authors should never comment on reviews! Reviews are for the reader not the author. I've also had authors private message me asking me change my reviews.
It's ridiculous. I am afraid one of the these days I will review the wrong book and get bullied by some fan girls. Goodreads is own by Amazon and I keep hoping they will step in and clean the site up. I too am tired of all flashing gifs used on reviews. It's drives me crazy so much I use a add on to turn them off. Ugh! I also agree that you should not be able to rate a book unless you read it. Fan girls always do this before it's release and it makes no sense. If you report it GR does nothing. |
08-25-2013, 12:08 AM | #68 | |
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And I think as an author you can still use the site to your advantage despite the zealous and sensitive nature of some of the genre "tribes" you can come across. I'm in a couple of book clubs there and I do some cataloguing and listing as well as post my indie reviews and follow some blogs of some authors I like. Just like Facebook and other sites, you can make it into what works for you. This thread did have some interesting info about the ratings though. It would never have occurred to me to use a rating measurement to indicate level of interest prior to consumption. |
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08-25-2013, 02:28 AM | #69 |
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I love Goodreads and use it to rate all the books I read, I have loads of friends as well as I friend anyone who asks but I actually never read my feed over there and take any notice of ratings or reviews by anyone else. I recently deleted over 200 messages as I don't read them so anyone who messages me will be in for a long wait for a reply.
I use it simply as my library of books I want to read (marked as to read and NOT rated) and books I have read. I ignore everything else. I have a Facebook for my reviewer name and a Livejournal for my fandom name, that's where I socialise, not Goodreads. |
08-25-2013, 05:44 AM | #70 |
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Because GR allows users to use ratings however they see fit, including to indicate interest. I don't agree with it but that is their rating system.
As for the comments it is very easy to stop them, go to edit profile then settings. In the 'Who Can View My Profile' section unclick the 'allow non-friends to comment on my reviews' button. This will mean that no-one can comment on your reviews unless you friend them. You can also delete comments that have already occurred. I'd be tempted to name and shame any authors messaging asking reviews to be changed, but that would probably cause more drama, so just ignore and block. You can also set PMs to just friends, which may help, on the settings page. |
08-25-2013, 12:39 PM | #71 | |
Maria Schneider
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Speaking as an author, I don't view GR as a toxic site. Yeah, there have been problems, but there are mods (of a sort--they are responsive to some degree) and they do step in for numerous complaints. I had one book, one time get a star rating before it was available. No idea why. I assumed someone actually mistook the book for some other book. I certainly didn't comment on the rating or ask questions. I mean, shit happens, right? I've seen authors go after other authors and because I review a lot of books, one of these days I'm probably going to get burned. I don't like the idea, there will be nothing I can do to stop it, but there you go. There's a reason that authors rarely do reviews for other authors (unless they are gushing or giving a quote.) It's a tough business. Tit-for-tat is never a great thing and there's very little policing of it. The only solution for me is to stop reviewing. Believe me, I do less of it than I used to and there are times when I weigh reviewing against just tossing the book (figuratively) and moving on. All that said, we need reviews (as authors and reviewers). Not everyone uses them, but lots do. GR CEO said in an interview/presentation that books with less than 100 reviews/ratings have less of a chance of showing up in their algos. (Meaning along the side there where you see what other people looked at or liked or what you might like.) We're talking about money here. More reviews mean more visibility, usually respect (validation) and quite possibly more money. As long as those algos exist (and I suspect they exist on Amazon as well) the system will be gamed by some. It's their livelihood. This behavior is no different, worse or better than any other business. It doesn't make it a good system, but it's the system we have. |
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08-25-2013, 12:58 PM | #72 |
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So this woman invented an entirely false story about having received death threats because she wasn't happy about a couple of poor reviews? Is that correct?
Definitely not an author I would ever buy from, if that is the case. |
08-25-2013, 01:10 PM | #73 | |||
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You can filter reviews by text-only You can use shttp to acces GR You can use plugin [topics on the feedback group for the scripts, I can link for you if you like, there is way to get rid of them only in reviews or in group discussions as well.] Quote:
But then if people are that easily put-off, and there is no way to understand things second-hand, it is ok with me if they don't want to be on GR, no need for more people causing drama! |
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08-25-2013, 01:16 PM | #74 |
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Not true. It does nothing when a review is not against the review guidelines! I had flagged many reviews and those have been removed. Also now you can freeze comments.
So the fact is that you either have not read those guidelines, you don't understand them, or you flagged that comment today and expect immediate resolution! flagging is NOT equal having my wish carried out, cause then probably your review would have been gone long before the author commented on it. GR protects personal opinion. Seems a lot of people are not used to the lack of censureship |
08-25-2013, 01:20 PM | #75 | |
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And what the people miss to understand is the GR does not only protect the users but the authors as well. It tries to act as bias as possible, in my personal opinion. If you attack someone they do not look if you are a reader or an author. And why would they. If they were in for the money only, would have they done this. Every time they make a ruling on a simple flag a similar escalation is possible. Another prove that GR doesn't care what people say and follows their own rules. Also there have been so many similar situations, and none was so popular. So I guess she is very smart. People will now thing - Hm, is there a reason for this rating to be so low or is it GR bad people rating? So good for her, she is smart. Last edited by crdf; 08-25-2013 at 01:23 PM. |
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