Quote:
Originally Posted by VanessaDarling
I have to say, I respectfully disagree with his. 
I think a lot of "bashing" can be very helpful to someone thinking about buying a product. I can't speak for anyone else, but I read user reviews for certain things (computers, televisions, etc), before I buy them.
As with any product, you will have users who have a bad experience with said product. However, if hundreds of users are reporting the same exact problem, that can be very usseful to someone thinking about buying that same problem.
Though some of their complaining may come across as bashing, it can be very helpful to someone else thinking about buying said product. |
I don't think that's what DG is talking about. Few (rational) people consider a reasoned product review to be bashing. When people use the term bashing, they generally mean the tearing down of one product or brand to support the lifting up of another, or simply to justify one's own choices. Bashing is also what happens when someone thinks "why
I don't like something is why no one should like something".
A form of bashing sometimes seen on MR is also dropping in to the support forum of a product one never had any intention of buying, simply to rant about all of the perceived flaws of the product and talk up their own choice of product, generally insulting those who use the other product in the process.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VanessaDarling
I don't look at it as evangelizing. I just look at it as people like certain things, and express their like to others.  |
And that's not what most (rational) people consider evangelizing. Saying that you like or prefer something and providing a reason for it, especially in an appropriate context, is not evangelizing.
It really comes down to what is appropriate (socially speaking) in a given situation. Gushing in a "why I love my ereader / computer / tablet" conversation is expected. Dropping into a thread of happy Nook users to tell them "my Kobo is da bomb because blah blah blah and Nook sucks" is just rude.
Evangelizing is also recommending a particular product consistently regardless of whether it meets the needs of the person it's being recommended to. You can see this in the "Which one should I buy" forum sometimes. It's an easy trap to fall into, because sometimes we are blinded by our preferences for a given product, causing us to minimize the importance of features it doesn't provide.