Stereotypes field guide Background I dont like stereotyping, but theres no denying that a lot of reviewers fit one or more stereotypes. Im sure that this field guide is incomplete, but it covers the most obvious stereotypes and some less obvious ones. On reviews The blurb reviewers Midwest Book Review (who havent posted on Amazon since 2011) and Harriet Klausner stand out as the obvious examples, but there are others too. The plagiarists Not all of them get caught, but those that habitually plagiarize generally find that Amazon deletes all their reviews. The clever ones steal bits from different reviews and amalgamate them, but that isnt always enough. People can still expose their dirty deeds. The shills They thrive in the Amazon jungle, despite the introduction of a purchasing requirement as a pre-condition of being allowed to post reviews, which drastically cut their numbers. The habitual voters Since the installation of the current ranking system and its attendant fan voter system, these people are far less in evidence than they once were. The preachers Whatever their political, religious or otherwise controversial beliefs, these reviewers are determined that the world reads about their opinions, which they generally state as facts because they cant imagine why anybody would disagree with them. Their reviews are often inflammatory. If the book is about a controversial politician, these reviewers are in their element. However, these people can interpret anything on Amazon as either an attack on, or supportive of, their beliefs when they set their minds to it. The pontificators They are concerned with their own ego above all else. They are generally verbose and often drift off-topic. Apart from those who are also preachers (see above), these people are more conspicuous in the world of newspapers and magazines, but can be found on Amazon too. The commentators They are more interested in commentating on other peoples reviews than writing their own reviews. Some of them actually write reviews but might as well post them as comments, because their reviews are often about earlier reviews. The “reviews as comments on other reviews” were commonplace before the comments feature was introduced, and were the main reason for its introduction, but they may still survive in some parts of the Amazon jungle. Other commentator-reviewers realize that they arent very good at writing their own reviews and find it easier to take pot-shots at others by finding fault in those other reviews. The spoilers They give too much away when they review novels. The jokers They think they are comedians. Some of them really are funny while others can only dream. The shipping reporters These people get an e-mail from Amazon encouraging them to review stuff theyve bought a month or so earlier, as most of us do. However, while these people do not understand what theyre really supposed to do, they nevertheless feel they ought to write something. Their reviews focus on the shipment and whether it arrived on time and in one piece. They might add a short sentence about the product itself, but nothing helpful. If the product is reviewed at the Amazon site where it was bought, it will be awarded a Verified Purchase badge. The gift givers Fortunately quite rare in comparison to other types of Amazon reviewers, their reviews are also inspired by that Amazon e-mail (see above). The trouble is that they bought the stuff for somebody else, so they cant usually say anything about the product at all, but that doesnt always stop them. Again, if the product is reviewed at the Amazon site where it was bought, it will in some cases be awarded a Verified Purchase badge, although in such cases the recipient of the gift wont get a Verified Purchase badge should he or she review it. For a closer look at this phenomenon, see Verified purchase badges. Amazon have modified the software such that some products will credit the recipient rather than the gifter, but they need to go much further to cover all products. I also do not know if the e-mail asking for a review goes to the recipient; I doubt it, especially as the recipient may not be an Amazon customer. The RoxnSux reviewers Unable to express themselves properly in writing, these people generally write very brief reviews, which is just as well. What little they do write tends to be incoherent because of poor phrasing, spelling and grammar, but mostly amounts to This rox or This sux. The stalkers Some of these people realize that they dont have the ability and/or luck to match their target reviewers, so they try to undermine them. In some cases, but by no means all, a bad experience of buying something based on glowing reviews set them off. Reviewers with more talent sometimes join in because they feel sufficiently angry about a particular reviewer, especially about Harriet Klausner. They stalk their chosen victims by following their reviews. Some of them, especially the Klausner stalkers, prefer to comment critically on their chosen victims reviews. Other stalkers track votes, and now have a powerful tool to help them. Yes, it didnt take long for these stalkers to discover ARAT, which in their grasp becomes the Amazon Reviewer Torture Weapon. Some stalkers use sockpuppet accounts from which to do their dirty deeds, either because Amazon have banned them from commenting using their reviewing account or because they want to protect their reviews from possible reprisals. The Viners A new and controversial type of reviewer created by Amazon in 2007 and steadily expanding in numbers since. Their critics (who may themselves be stalkers) accuse Viner members of all sorts of nasty things. Meanwhile, some Vine members often vote against each others reviews, particularly but not only of Vine products. For more on Amazon Vine, see Amazon Vine. The freeloaders A specific category of Viner, these reviewers post few if any reviews of stuff theyve bought or borrowed after they join Amazon Vine, with the implication that their only remaining interest in reviewing is to get free stuff. The authors and wannabe authors There are plenty of wannabe authors to be found among Amazon reviewers, as well as author-reviewers who have had one or more books published. In the main, these author-reviewers have not made the big time, but there are exceptions. The celebrities Apart from author-reviewers, celebrities usually dont have the time to review even if they want to. In America, politician Newt Gingrich posted reviews on Amazon for a while, but then seemingly gave up. George Takei posted 25 reviews before quitting. Those 25 reviews give him more helpful votes than any other Amazon reviewer anywhere. In the UK, the former TV sports commentator Gerald Sinstadt became an Amazon reviewer in his retirement. There are other examples in both countries. The rank-hogs Some reviewers openly admit to being obsessed with their rankings. A far greater number flatly deny that they are interested, but experience shows that only a few are truly disinterested. You learn to separate the truly disinterested from the others by their reactions, particularly to any suggestion of radical change, let alone actual radical change. It was easy for people to pretend that they werent interested in their rank during the heyday of the second ranking system, when they could be sure of defending a top reviewer badge with only a reasonable amount of effort. After the current system was installed, plenty of people who supposedly didnt care about rank suddenly lost interest in reviewing on Amazon. Maybe some were losing interest anyway and the current system gave them an excuse to quit. Who knows? The vote-washers These people delete reviews that have too many NO votes for their liking, then (maybe) re-post those reviews. See Washing reviews. The specials These are the reviewers who think they are special just because they are reviewers. They think that Amazon ought to treat them with greater respect than other customers, but they are consistently disappointed. The police Alternatively called the snitchers, these people make it their business to report people to Amazon who they think are cheating. They are often disappointed by Amazons responses, but they have had their successes through the years. The vote-seekers These are the reviewers who habitually vote and comment on other peoples reviews in the unspoken hope that their efforts are reciprocated at least with votes. They can be distinguished from genuine customers because their comments are vacuous. On forums The newbies We were all newbies once, including myself. I learned a lot from other reviewers during my newbie phase and I have never forgotten that I was once a newbie. Just as other reviewers helped me, particularly when I was a newbie but also in the years since, I like to help others. There is a continuing and never-ending stream of newbies, which is fine by me but is an irritation for another group of reviewers - the snarkies. The snarkies The snarkies dont just dislike newbies, but their attitude to newbies vividly shows them up for what they are. They have learned as much as they care to know about Amazons reviewing system, which may not be very much at all, and have seen the same stuff regurgitated time and again on their chosen forum(s), and are bored by it all. They stick around because they have become familiar with some of the other long-term posters. They vent their frustrations by their often sarcastic comments directed at anybody who discusses what they see as the tired old issues, be they newbies or anybody else. Their responses to newbies are often misleading or deliberately wrong and some newbies give up before somebody else comes in with a proper answer. They also enjoy derailing threads that they despise. Of course, the snarkies reserve their greatest contempt for anybody such as myself who takes reviewing issues seriously, thinking it incredible that anybody could spend so much time studying issues that they long since got bored with. I can cope with it, but I feel sorry for the newbies. In any case, I suspect that a lot of things that appeal to the snarkies dont interest me. We are all different.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:34:36 +0000
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