OnlineBookClub.org

Background info:
I am a free member at AllPoetry.com (AP) and there they have a system set up that makes free members like me have to comment on 2 recently posted poems before my poem is posted on the site. The list of poems that I can choose from is very extensive and I can choose any 2 of my choice.

Suggestion:
I have noticed that a lot of reviews, especially volunteer reviews are posted and don't get the props they deserve. So, I was wondering what if there was a system in place like at AP that forces members to have to read and reply on recent review forums. Of course, it might be just one review instead of two that you are prompted to read and comment on since reviews are usually longer than poetry.

It doesn't even have to be like AP but I think that we should have more incentive to give reviewers critical feedback so that they feel appreciated and motivated to better their work (we can always get better).

Just my two cents.

I think Jaime Lync has a good point there. This will encourage new members as well as allow them to learn the ropes with the help of the expert reviewers. Thanks, Jaime.

Hello Jaime, your suggestion is good; there has to be some way to get reviewers read the reviews of others if they expect others to read theirs. I've been in the habit of reading all the newly posted reviews and commenting daily. I don't feel like doing so any longer due to others not according my reviews the same courtesy. I like responding to your reviews and comments because you make time to read mine. Thanks.

Miriam Molina wrote:I think Jaime Lync has a good point there. This will encourage new members as well as allow them to learn the ropes with the help of the expert reviewers. Thanks, Jaime.

Miriam, I am glad that we are like-minded in this topic.

Chrys Brobbey wrote:Hello Jaime, your suggestion is good; there has to be some way to get reviewers read the reviews of others if they expect others to read theirs. I've been in the habit of reading all the newly posted reviews and commenting daily. I don't feel like doing so any longer due to others not according my reviews the same courtesy. I like responding to your reviews and comments because you make time to read mine. Thanks.

Thanks as well Chrys for sharing your sentiments. I also felt a little bitter because I can see the number of views on many of my own reviews is way higher than the actual number of people that actually took the time to view it. I know that everyone that views a review doesn't actually read it. I have decided to try to at least read and comment on 5 reviews daily.

I hope to read and comment on more of your reviews and I hope that others also accord you that same courtesy.

I am fairly neutral on the subject because I don't know if I like the idea of "forcing" people to comment on specific reviews. However, I can certainly see your point. My suggestion would be to do away with separating the Volunteer Reviews. This was done a few months ago and I think the result has been that the newbies hardly get any views or replies on their reviews. In the past, the unpaid reviews were not separated; they were not labelled as volunteer reviews and were put in the various genre categories. Honestly, it took me a while to even notice that there was a new category called Volunteer Reviews and I have a feeling a lot of people also didn't notice it either. I think people are just so used to looking at the reviews by genre that the volunteer category might get overlooked. Just my opinion.

I don't like the idea of "forcing" people to comment on reviews at all. And if they were forced to comment, they won't necessarily remark on your reviews.

The unpaid reviews were separated because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers. If they were on the regular forums, they would flood them.

gali wrote:I don't like the idea of "forcing" people to comment on reviews at all. And if they were forced to comment, they won't necessarily remark on your reviews.

The unpaid reviews were separated because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers. If they were on the regular forums, they would flood them.

I can understand why the unpaid reviews were separated now that the same books are reviewed countless times. In the past, the unpaid reviews tended to be for different books. Still, if there is a good reason for separating them in a different category, I think the result has been that these reviews are getting much fewer views and comments than when they were lumped into the other categories.

I don't like the idea of forcing people to read reviews either. I just wanted to open discusion to try to seek out a way to try to encourage readers to reply on reviews, especially the volunteer reviews.

-- 23 May 2017, 19:21 --

I don't like the idea of forcing people to read reviews either. I just wanted to open discusion to try to seek out a way to try to encourage readers to reply on reviews, especially the volunteer reviews.

Maybe the phrase "mandatory commentary" is too strong. Why don't we change it to a more positive one like "team-building comments" or "peer-appreciation posts?"

I agree with you Miriam. After reading some of the comments on here I am better able to understand that mandatory is not the right approach. There is a prompt to comment at the bottom of every review which is a good start. However, maybe if reviewers are suggested some reviews to comment on after they submit one of their own reviews they will be more likely to welcome the suggestion to comment because at the moment they also wish to receive comments on their review - what goes around comes around mentality.

The Review Team already does reward and encourage community participation with points in various ways. Most relevant is the points for post count. For that, members can read and reply to any topic not specifically reviews.

A hope with the Review Team is that a reviewer will also share the link to their review with their current friends, family, fans. So that's from where some of the initial attention for the volunteer reviews would ideally come. Each comment on a review bumps it back up on the list.

Hmmm, I just had an idea this moment. Perhaps we could have a system in which some reviews can get featured status on the website by the reviewer based on the reviewer's activity on other reviews. For instance, each time a reviewer comments on a review the reviewer could earn a special 'credit' of some sort which could then be traded to feature one of the reviewer's reviews. This would have the advantage of helping reviewers increase their own popularity by reading other reviews. I think there's already a natural 'what goes around, comes around' feel to the community. If someone comments on a reviewer's review, that reviewer and others reading it are likely to then check out that commenter's reviews and posts. A system that actually provides formal credit for that might help add some extra fuel to that natural process. What do you all think? The important thing will be to make it fun and make sure the commenters are actually reading the review and posting a meaningful comment. We don't people feeling like it's forced or a chore. Instead, the goal is to help encourage and reward what members already do anyway, which in this specific case is read and respond to the awesome original exclusive reviews by other members of the OnlineBookClub.org Review Team.

There is definitely a 'what goes around, comes around' thing going on here. I appreciate that, and I think it's a good thing. I like the idea of providing a special credit that you can turn in for something. I don't like the idea of it being part of the reviewer's score. The question is how hard would that be to implement as far as the website goes? How many people would be turning in these credits all at the same time?

I like Scott's idea a lot. If a stat like that could be implemented that would be a really cool stat for all reviewers.

I like the idea too. I would love a system where if we took the time out to support other reviewer's reviews then we can earn points that can eventually add up to one of our reviews being either a global announcement or the review that is used for the BOTD. It would help our popularity a lot. It wouldn't be forced. If you don't want to read and comment on other people's reviews, you don't have to. If you want the opportunity to increase your popularity, then you can do it.

I would love to see this idea implemented!

I like going in and reading the volunteer reviews. I like to see what people think about the same book that I have read (if it's one I've also reviewed)
I also think it helps to make a choice on the next one I may pick for the review team.
I'm all for encouraging people to support each others reviews, particularly the ones that may not get many views. I don't think I would like to see scoring on it though.