This is a note for people who write REVIEWS...in the REVIEWS section of this website. Hopefully some of you will read this post and learn from it.

The Reviews section of the website is just for reviews. It is NOT for rebuttals on reviews, it isn't for discussion about issues, it isn't for discussion about ANYTHING.

I'm getting REALLY sick and tired of looking for reviews on various games only to find arguements of posts back and forth between people. The Review section is NOT a bulletin board forum, so stop treating it like one. THIS..what you're reading right now, is the bulletin board forum.

Now to offer some constructive suggestions...how to write a review.

Write about what you like about the game.
Write about what you don't like about the game.
Be as factual as you can, but do NOT copy and paste the game's official info. The game already has that on their own website, anyone interested can read it there.

No one cares that you have 6 races in a review. They go to the mudlisting to find out about that. Don't tell us about what we can already find out by reading the mudlisting. Tell us about your own PERSONAL experience playing the game. That's the whole point of a review, afterall.

And a heads-up to Synozeer...though it hasn't been needed much in the past (in my observation), it seems like it's time to enforce the Webmaster's prerogative on reviews, as mentioned when someone writes one. Flaming reviews are subject to Synozeer's approval, and MUST include a valid e-mail address or it will be rejected.

That is all.

Thank you.

Well, Jazuela, If you have a problem with reviews, maybe you should report it to the person in charge of them.

This discussion has already taken place, several times in fact, and it always comes down to a single, repetitive answer (after most of the flaming dies down). Synozeer removes the reviews he feels should be removed, and he doesn't remove the ones he feels are alright.

I've reported SEVERAL bad reviews to Synozeer, and every time he has taken action. People have suggested groups for handling the reviews, as well as other solutions... they've not been implemented which would generally imply that Synozeer is happy with the system as it is. That may not be the case, but that seems the most likely answer.

Anyway, that's just my opinion on the subject.

I figured a post directed specifically to people who write reviews might catch their attention and perhaps do some preventative action.

So instead of people spending time and energy complaining to Synozeer after the fact, maybe there'd be less to complain about in the first place if even a few people who WOULD have thought to respond to a review with a rebuttal, would notice this post first and learn that it's not considered good ettiquette here.

See, this is where comments like Nevyrnal's  belong, so maybe my post accomplished something afterall Orion!

It's just those folks who need to comment on reviews in the review section itself.. and I should admit that it didn't really bother me all that much in the past, because there exists no utility for "reviews of reviews" in the reviews section.

I understand that there are lots of players of games who don't read this forum, but who DO post and read reviews. So they wouldn't know a thing about the ettiquette involved. Thus, my post, right there under that "Reviews" thing on the main website, on the list of current posts, in hopes it'll catch people's attention enough to read it.

Personally I think it would be rather nice to have a "Comment on this review" option at the bottom of each review, like you get on some other sites. Sort of like a thread for each review, in which people CAN argue if they wish. I find that I can tell a lot about how a mud is run by the way the staff respond to criticism - and this approach would also make it easier to find out whether the review is genuine, or just a disgruntled ex-player, because people would be able to challenge untrue claims (either positive OR negative).

Of course (as I've said in the past) I also think it would be better if the reviews were linked to a TMS account. I'm much more likely to take a review seriously if it's written by someone who's a regular (and reliable) contributor to these forums.

It's a great idea KaVir, about having a "comment on this review" thing in the reviews section. And it does work well in other forums.