New Reviewer’s Rating System
Surprise, surprise, no video. How about that? This announcement needed to be shouted through the chile community, but not by voice. I know some of you have challenged computers or speakers, and that is too bad because you do miss some of our fine offerings.
This new reviewer rating system was a brainchild I had a couple of months ago. There are so many times when a review is done and you as the reader or viewer aren’t sure whether the reviewer liked it or not. It seems like they recommended it or did they? I know it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to tell a nice product maker that what they made isn’t to your liking or is simply average. Yet, it is that very feedback that is the crux of the review. It is why we got free product to begin with. Not every product out there is good enough to break through the market, and the reviewer needs to tell the truth. This rating system forces them to choose a path rather than be so wishy-washy. It would be a great chile world if every product was excellent, but reality isn’t that way. There are so many mediocre, run of the mill products out there, that are good, but not breakthrough type of products.
I am hoping that this new rating structure will give a finishing touch that will top off all the reviews we do in the future. Each reviewer has been asked to give an overall rating to every product they review. If they so desire to add a heating rating or a flavor rating, that is up to them. I give them the freedom to put their own signature on their work.
Since we are I Love It Spicy, we will be using our signature flaming hearts in our rating system. Thanks to Scott Roberts for creating that symbol and the rating chart below for us. As you see below, we range from 1/2 heart all the way up to 5 hearts. Each rating has it’s own specific breakdown, so you know exactly what we are thinking. Take a look.
= Exceptional, as perfect as a product can get.
= Nearly flawless, highly recommended, must buy.
= Great product, slight imperfections, would recommend and buy.
= Very good product, but did not wow you. You would recommend it though.
= Slightly above average, needs some work, and may or may not recommend it.
= Totally run of the mill product, been there, done that, better products out there to buy.
= Below average, missing some key elements, might have a chance with some tweaking.
= Needs a lot of help. Not awful, but lacks in a lot of areas.
= Bad all around product, would ask for money back if bought.
= This is a very bad tasting product, to the point of spitting it back. Lowest rating
There are still a few more reviews that will appear in the next few weeks that were finished before this rating system kicked in. Once those are complete, this will become a permanent imprint on every review. For future reference, you can find the chart on the left side of the sidebar or at the bottom of the page.
I am also very happy to announce that this new rating system will also become the standard on a few more chile blogs. At the Weekend of Fire show, we had a blogger’s round table, and this was one of the things I brought up to do a joint rating system not just for us, but for any chile blog that wanted to be a part of it. They won’t use our flaming hearts, but in the upcoming weeks, you will see this rating system appear on some other cooperating blogs as well. I think this is a big step in showing that all these blogs can co-exist and find a common ground. I consider many of these blog hosts my friends and look forward to doing more work together.
Thanks, and I would love to get your feedback on what we are doing.
Awesome looking forward to doing my first review!!!
so are you not doing video reviews any longer or still doing them and the reviewer will say I give a two flaming hearts rating or maybe hold up a card with the rating they are giving the product? and instead of all the half hearts couldn’t the product be given a rating of 1-10? 1 being the worst and 10 the best, afterall you have 10 ratings shown.
Buddah :heart: the hearts.
Hudd, yes we are still doing video reviews. If you want to know about the structure of the rating system you should ask Doug since you are doing reviews for him and PeppersandMore is doing this rating system too.
Rating systems are overrated. You either like it or you don’t. If you’re wishy washy in the review, it’s because you can’t properly convey your true feelings. Either you can’t write, or you ain’t got the balls to say what you really mean.
This coming from the guy that writes two reviews (one truthful negative and one lying positive) and waits to see what his other reviewers submit before deciding which one (the negative or the positve)of his own he will use. Too funny.
“But he’s (the manufacturer) a friend and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.” “It won’t look so bad if I’m not the only one that thinks the product is bad, but I don’t want to be the only one that says that.”
Since the day you told me about that, there’s two words that I learned that you don’t know the meaning of.
1. Truth
2. Friend
Nothing new about it Al, The HSB incorporated a standardized rating system as well. The only thing it did was show how biased most of the reviews on that site were.
Of course this wouldn’t be the first unoriginal thing you’ve done and try to take credit for.
One last thing and then I’m done. Concerning your rating system, it’s the most wishy washy undefined rating system I’ve ever seen.
4 hearts = Great product(positive), slight imperfections (negative)….
3.5 hearts = Very good product(positive), but did not wow you(negative). You would recommend(positive) it though(negative).
3 hearts = Slightly above average(negative), needs some work(negative), and may or may not recommend it(indecisive).
Heck, the way I see it, a not so good sauce can get a 3 out of 5 rating. Sounds pretty good to me if I’m the sauce manufacturer.
Nice job of hiding the honesty of the review.
.
Doug,
If this was http://www.tastethefear.com this statement would never have seen the light of day and you would be banned. Iam sorry your first communication with me in over 6 months has to be hate filled. I have tried over and over again to reach out you and for the life of me you wont even tell me what I have done to lose your friendship. You have always tried to handle issues behind the scenes so I am a bit surprised you want to air it out here.
You have a right to your opinion, but I will just disagree with you and ask you to call me, email me or just let me know here what have I done since we talked at FMK to make you hate me now. I still value and miss your frendship.
If you guys have issues with each other, please keep it private. DK, I don’t know you, but that was obviously filled with spite, and very uncool of you to post here. You seem like a very angry, negative person. Lighten up, this is all supposed to be fun!
Nothing hate filled, just my two cents. At least I was 100% on topic. Unlike your reply which doesn’t address any of the issues at all. Just looks to me like an attempt to change the subject.
So, since you brought it up … as for contacting me, I haven’t received an email, phone call, or voice mail from you in ages. Here’s two ways you can contact me. There’s a contact form on TTF, and you have my email from these comments.
As for me calling you, I called you on 8/13/2010 at 8:10:36 PM and the phone rang for 48 seconds with no answer.
As for TTF, well this ain’t TTF. Anything concerning TTF should be taken up through that sites contact form. I will say that my comment follows the rules and policies of that site and that any action taken on any comment there is based solely on those rules and policies. As for being banned, that’s an extreme measure it’s use would only be considered in extreme circumstances and only after multiple violations and attempted contact and notifications with the violator. It’s certainly not anything that would be done over one comment.
But like I said, this ain’t TTF. Do what you want. I gave my two cents and stayed on topic. You can deny and disagree all you want, but it won’t change the facts of the matter.
No, you don’t know me. Especially after reading only one comment.
peppers and more has only the 5 (no spoon) rating system, you have 10 hearts and half hearts here. doesn’t seem to be the same rating system. unless I’ve missed the memo where peppers and more went to 10 no spoons and half no spoons rating levels to choose from.
Peppers and More will have the same rating system within the next few days, and will have the half points added to the current 1 through 5 points. I’ve already added the new universal rating system to my site: http://www.scottrobertsweb.com/spicy-food-reviews.php
I know you. At least I used to know you.
I know you and that was uncool.
Otay! thanks Scott. :racecar:
Doug,
Eventhough I run this website, I still have no clue how to do a lot of things like quote individual sentences, so bare with me as I address your statements now.
“Rating systems are overrated. You either like it or you don’t. If you’re wishy washy in the review, it’s because you can’t properly convey your true feelings. Either you can’t write, or you ain’t got the balls to say what you really mean.”
I agree with the last statement totally, but I still believe that it makes the review complete. I think people need to sack up and say if a product is worthy of purchase. We can’t tell people what to do, but we can help the decision making a little. Much like a movie review, people who take stock in the review might be swayed. I saw one on the new Piranha movie that makes me want to see it. For those that want to see a movie regardless of a review they will do what they want anyway. I think if a hot sauce has something in it that catches your eye, maybe coffee for you, you might just want to get it for that reason and ignore the review. Maybe the reviews matter so very little in the scheme of things, but I think that giving a rating at the end, lends to future comparison. Not just on what kind of sauces are good, but you begin to see what sauces a reviewer likes and perhaps you start a trend. One person on another site alluded to this when he remarked that a particular reviewer matches well with his taste, and he values their opinion more than others because of it.
“This coming from the guy that writes two reviews (one truthful negative and one lying positive) and waits to see what his other reviewers submit before deciding which one (the negative or the positve)of his own he will use. Too funny.
“But he’s (the manufacturer) a friend and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.” “It won’t look so bad if I’m not the only one that thinks the product is bad, but I don’t want to be the only one that says that.”
Since the day you told me about that, there’s two words that I learned that you don’t know the meaning of.
1. Truth
2. Friend”
Let us address this. DK is right about me saying that. I do not regret saying it because I was being truthful. Here is what happened:
1- While hanging out at a spicy event with a maker who did not have a booth, I enjoyed the time spent with this guy, and the other people that we were with said the same thing. At one point, he gives me and another blogger 3 hot sauce bottles to be nice. I jump at the shot at doing a review, and offer that to him, along with the other blogger who has no problem with it. He appreciates the offer and accepts it.
2- Once I tasted all 3 bottles, I am at a loss for words, because I thought the sauces were quite flavorless with just trails of heat.
3- At the time, I was waiting on the other blogger to see if he felt the same way. My thought process was this:
a)If he liked the bottles or any of them, then I would be okay in writing the review because at least it wouldn’t be a total bust;
b) If he felt the same way, instead of making the guy look bad, I would contact him and ask him if he wanted the reviews to be published.
4) I was writing and organizing reviews for TTF at the time, and I told DK of my dilemma, and he told me I should be truthful regardless and not wait on the other review. He volunteered to take the bottles from me and do the review himself. I guess this is where he lost faith in me as a reviewer because I never sent him the bottles nor wrote the review. By the way, the review was never done by the other blogger either. Eventhough, I tried to follow up on it several times with the other guy. At this time, I was pretty much done writing reviews for TTF and we just went our separate ways.
Was it wrong to do what I did? If a company asks for a review and you don’t follow through with it, I guess that does not look good upon you. I am a sensitive guy, and maybe I put my feelings before the review, and that is something I should stay clear of in the future. I understand why DK brought that up. With all that said, I still do not regret the decision, but I have thought about it a lot since then.
“Nothing new about it Al, The HSB incorporated a standardized rating system as well. The only thing it did was show how biased most of the reviews on that site were.”
I don’t even remember that to tell you the truth. I wish I could say my memory is good, but it just isn’t. I never intended to steal the idea.
Of course this wouldn’t be the first unoriginal thing you’ve done and try to take credit for.”
Not sure what to say about this, since you are only addressing the rating system. I guess I am as an unoriginal guy. If I adopt anything for this blog that others use on their own, I think that is a compliment of the success that it is. Such as the off topic thread idea you had for the HSB and then brought to TTF. Hudd asked for it here, so we eventually had a contest around it. Another idea I learned from TTF. I wasn’t looking to take credit for it, I was just trying to make my website in the model of what I loved most about TTF and the HSB. The smileys were a fun part too, so I asked Scott to help bring some over. Some are TTF favorites that Scott picked out from a website, and the newer ones I chose from another website I found. The pyrate is a tribute to TTF. I have often made mentions to TTF on my video reviews. Always saying something nice, nothing negative. I rather remember the good times, and not the bad times.
Folks, Tracy, DK and I had an argument over a contest I wanted to do, and thought it would be great if I could get the other blogs involved. I was too zealous, and when I went and asked the wrong person whom TTF wanted to not be associated with to jump on board, Tracy and DK put an end to it. I reacted like a child who had his candy taken away. I said some very regretful things to Tracy, who basically made me a reviewer, and let me organize most of the reviews for TTF over time. If it wasn’t for him, there would be no ILIS or me as a reviewer. I wish I could do it all over again, and things might be different today.
“One last thing and then I’m done. Concerning your rating system, it’s the most wishy washy undefined rating system I’ve ever seen.
4 hearts = Great product(positive), slight imperfections (negative)….
3.5 hearts = Very good product(positive), but did not wow you(negative). You would recommend(positive) it though(negative).
3 hearts = Slightly above average(negative), needs some work(negative), and may or may not recommend it(indecisive).
Heck, the way I see it, a not so good sauce can get a 3 out of 5 rating. Sounds pretty good to me if I’m the sauce manufacturer.
Nice job of hiding the honesty of the review.”
I submitted this rating system to 4 other chile blogs, and although one blog did not want to go through with the system at this time, we only had one issue with the wording. In the end, we all agreed to the wording and this is the rating system that will be used. I do not think it is wishy washy, but I can not please everyone.
I appreciate your comments even if they were not attended to be more than an attack on my character. I deserve some of it, but a lot of it was hurtful, and it pains me that you think of me that way. I hope we can talk tomorrow and work some of these things out. I tried to address this with as much truth as I could, and I hope you and others can see that. If my integrity is forever questioned, I understand that. You learn from your mistakes, and you hope to come out a better person from it.
You are a bigger man than I, Buddah.
Actually Thomas DK is one of the nicest guys you will meet…. There’s alot more to the story than you will ever know. Buddah is also a great guy and I don’t regret defending him way back when he was getting slammed by Doug Spiro from Pepper’s and More on the HSB and invited him to TTF…
One thing I would like to point out to the new generation of Chilihead is the WOF first Blogger booth was with DK and myself in a corner that was given to us by Bret.
There’s alot of good memories that I have and there are several that I would like to forget, main reason I’m not around anymore.
So my suggestion to you leave certain things alone if you don’t have a clue on whats going on.
Nice site Buddah….
Thanks Brant for the kind words. I miss ya bud. I was talking to DK for about 5 hours on the phone, and it was good to chat with him again and straighten out some stuff and agree to disagree on the rest. I hope that I will have friends like you two for a long time.
Sup Blane?
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Shouldn’t you be tucked in bed? :wheelchair:
I :weightlifting: before I :toilet: and then :_drinkbeer: before I :_bananadance: and then :skateboard: .
:splode:
My point is, keep the personal issues/conflicts out of the public forum. My comment was not soley based on this particular interaction. I know much of the history, and have read many of the historical posts on several of the blog sites. So my suggestion to you is don’t assume that I don’t have a clue as to what is going on. That being said, I am here to have fun and make friends. When I see something that is posted that clearly was intended to hurt someone that I consider a friend, I am going to speak up regardless of who thinks I have a right to do so.
Do you really want to start this? How far do you go back? What historical posts have you read? Thats what I thought.
How about you crawl back in your little hole and shut the :splode: Well you get my point. Have a great day Thomas :_retarded:
Do you even know what the short bus is?
Sorry for the late reply…… hows it goin Parker? Been awhile.
Here’s to the :wheelchair: LOL
I won’t need the :wheelchair: until after I eat shit on my skateboard. :skateboard:
Out of repesct for Buddah and the good people who enjoy this site, I will digress and end this conversation that never should have happened. I have no harsh feelings toward anyone. Blane or Brant, I wish you much continued success and joy in your life….let us carry on……
Thanks Thomas. Brant’s bark is worth than his bite. He is like a big teddy bear in person. If you have a sleep apnea mask, just lock it up if he is around.
Speaking of which, Brant, you coming to FMK this year? TBS is organizing it for Western PA. I am guessing not a far drive from the Pittsburgh area.
Hey BLANE, Shoot me an email.
Willy,
I got the pic to work. There was nothing in the dashboard area, so I just added what you sent me.
Good Times… my booth was two to the left… <======= that way.
Let us not forget the bananas and whip cream served at your booth 😀
Still a big hit for the Mango Amore – complements of Buddah! Dk likes it on Oreos.
Nicely put Blane.