I hear 'ya but then that precludes the response we got from the president of the BedInABox company in the thread about why there were suddenly so many reviews about his company's product. If someone's a spammer, report it to Viewpoints and let the company handle it. Otherwise, let 'em come and say what's on their minds.

Not everyone wants to write reviews but people have a basic human need to be sociable. If Viewpoints is willing to provide this space for wide-ranging chat, I think we should welcome people who want to chat. Who knows? They may decide to write reviews in the future.

--Bob

bkovacs said…

I hear 'ya but then that precludes the response we got from the president of the BedInABox company in the thread about why there were suddenly so many reviews about his company's product. If someone's a spammer, report it to Viewpoints and let the company handle it. Otherwise, let 'em come and say what's on their minds.

Not everyone wants to write reviews but people have a basic human need to be sociable. If Viewpoints is willing to provide this space for wide-ranging chat, I think we should welcome people who want to chat. Who knows? They may decide to write reviews in the future.

--Bob

---

I knew someone was going to bring that up.  In that particular case, that gentleman could have contacted Viewpoints management, and an exception could have been made in his case. 

As for people posting and later deciding to start writing reviews, I honestly believe that it's highly unlikely.

I know what you mean but these people may be reading  and rating reviews. Not everyone is ready to write a review. I think welcoming people to a discussion is fine. I don't want spammers and those posting just to advertise themselves or their website. In that case, I would report the poster and hope that VP would deal with them.

I think, as long as someone is a member, they should be able to participate here. I have had my doubts about that elsewhere but the more people who know about us and visit us, and the more who get involved with the site in some way, the better, in my opinion. I definitely agree people with an agenda other than simply interacting should be dealt with by VP management though.

As for whether people will join then decide to write a review, I have seen people do just that. This place isn't as "scary" as others to write for and I think some people will, indeed, move on to write reviews after seeing our open door policy and our "happy family" atmosphere. 

 

All good points here.

Viewpoints welcomes all forms of contributions. We do not plan on implementing restrictions on message board access based on review count. Fortunately, we have seen a significant number of people who initially preferred to "get their feet wet" on the message boards and then began writing reviews too. Different people have different levels of comfort with writing reviews, leaving comments, starting threads, asking questions.

Some folks just need an encouraging word or a welcoming hello and they quickly become review writing converts after meeting others here. We're all for it! It's sort of like walking into a party where you don't know anyone. Would you rather briefly introduce yourself and work the room? Or walk in and give a speech to an audience of strangers? Some people prefer the center of attention up front. Some people want to get warmed up first before they take the spot light :)

As Patty mentioned, In situations where people are spamming... just report it to us by marking comments as inappropriate.

I like the fact that ppl sign up just for the message board, b/c as others have said, they could turn into reviewers!  Everytime I see that I think, how cool is that?  A person found our discussion online and it intrigued them enough just to talk to us?  Once they know us, they may become more active :)

Ok, I just reported the post that got me riled up in the first place.

OK. Here's a beer. I will throw another steak on the grill. It will be OK. Yeah. There are some nuts. Comes with the territory. Most folks are on the level. If they dip a toe in the discussion boards, good deal. They may become reviewers. If not, they will slip off the face of the site and the web. Life is good like that.

I agree, Bob.  I don't think we should implement any "you must wriite x number of reviews before you can post in the boards" rule.  I understand why some people might want to, but to me that is counterproductive as all get-out.  Viewpoints has been - and should continue to be - a very welcoming online community; once we start down the slippery path of telling people when they can post on the boards - even if it's with good intentions - then we lose part of that friendly, open and welcoming attitude that defines us and sets us a bit apart from similar sites.

We have to remember that we want people to come to Viewpionts to read reviews...not only to write them.

If they come to read reviews and to never write, then they also should be able to participate in the message board.

 

Thanks JazzSinger. We'll take a look.

Here's my two cents.  No. wait.   inflation-it's only my 1.5 cents now.  But I think anyone who would like to share with us on the dicussion boards should be welcome.  The last thing we want it to become some elitist conformist community like one of those gated tracts of land where rich homeowners go to get away from us "commoners".  The thing I love most about Viewpoints is the warmth and acceptance of its members.  We've even got people who can engage in heated political debate without denigrating into the "your mother's a whore" argument!

  We've also got a crack team of administrators who do a great job of weeding out the truly bad apples.  There are gonna be a few of those on any site, but such is the price of freedom of expression.

It's interesting because I used to be on a board on another site and there was one person with no reviews and hundreds of posts. It was allowed - I guess maybe he would write some day or not but he was never restricted nor was anyone else. Personally I wouldn't restrict anyone but I do wonder why people would spend a lot of time on any board and never write. I can understand though wanting to get a feel for the community and get comfortable with it before jumping in so that's a reason to try to get people here who haven't written because may they've never written a review or been on a forum before. Jo

I have noticed this too, a new user posting on the message board and they have not written any reviews. My take was maybe they were more comfortable in posting on board 1st and will write their reviews later. 

When I joined Viewpoints, I was the total opposite. I was more comfortable in writing a couple of reviews 1st and then post on the discussion boards. Everyone here on Viewpoints have a warm and a friendly smile. I really enjoy reading all of your opinions on the discussion boards. Thank you for welcoming me. 

I actually have seen more than one person visit the boards and then later add reviews. JazzSinger-I can feel your motivation here but I would rather keep the basket open to new apples than to seal it up to avoid bad apples:) I think one of the strengths of Viewpoints is the welcoming community. I'd rather not pull up our welcome mat because of an occasional inappropriate foot wiper. I am glad you brought this up JazzSinger because I think it has led to a helpful reminder to report inappropriate posts:)

For the record, I really appreciate that you guys can have this constructive debate and weigh the pros and cons. It is sooo nice to see a community that has differering opinions but represents their perspectives respectfully!!! :)

My comments mirror Merediths. We welcome everyone and all forms of contributions!

And, please do report anything or anyone that you think looks inappropriate.