From Wikipedia:
Cyber bullying-"Examples of what constitutes cyber bullying include communications that seek to intimidate, control, manipulate, put down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The actions are deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to harm another. Cyber bullying has been defined by The National Crime Prevention Council: “When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person."
First let me say what this post is NOT about-getting bad reviews from legitimate reviewers/people or whining of any kind. This post is solely because I have been so disgusted by the apparent and rampant rise of people putting up horrible reviews that have nothing to do with the quality of a product; it makes one wonder if someone has even read the item they are complaining about. The quality of the reviews from some of these people border the best "sock puppet" reviews--they are that full of malice.
Second I would like to say that I am not going to be putting up any excerpts from any of the reviews I have seen that prompted this. Not because I am afraid to or that I am making stuff up just to write a post, but because I do not want to give specifics for people to come by and look at a train wreck when it is clear that this is why the person wrote that review in the first place; I don't wish to add fuel to any specific fires. You can find poor reviews yourself just by visiting Amazon and sadly some GoodReads reviews. The ones I found seem to hate EVERYTHING and give EVERYONE (like 20 or 30 books) poor reviews as well as take hits at the authors on a personal level. Now, if you want an entertaining train wreck I think you should look up Sim City Deluxe Edition. Just trust me on that one. These reviews are hilarious and quite true....unlike the reviews I saw that prompted me to write this post!
What this post IS about is my version of a scream on the internet to stop it. I also wanted to write this in case anyone else felt the same and wanted to comment. I think criticism of a constructive and scholarly nature are very valuable tools. I think there are many ways to say "this sucks raw eggs" without saying that someone that wrote a book is stupid, morally corrupt or something along those lines. Unless you as a reviewer know someone personally how can you say anything about what the author is like? Even if you do know them personally, is a personal attack really merited in a book review? To me, most of the reviews of this nature are nothing short of cyber bullying. Someone got mad at someone else and now they are going to "sabotage" them by giving them the "what for" and making sure that person never has any customers.
So, how do you find the no talent ass clowns (NTAC)? Simple. Just find someone that gives all 1 stars in like 20 or 30 posts and is very scathing in the review. Especially if they are indie/small press authors. Go on over to Amazon or Goodreads...I'll wait for you here.....click on the name of the person to see a summary of their reviews....I bet you will find at least 1 or 2 NTACs. Now, read a few of them....aren't they just uncalled for? I mean in a product review you should be reviewing the product...not a person, right?
My point? Authors work hard whether anyone thinks they do or not. Authors are people....and you really shouldn't be treating your fellow person like a dog in a book review. Reviews should be open, honest, and G rated on a public forum. If you get a book and you don't like it...well stick to the points you didn't like. Explain...give the person reading your review meat on the subject. It's OK to be cryptic to keep plot points safe. Tell people what you didn't like about the book in a constructive way. That is what should be in a book review....even positive ones need meat and potatoes. It doesn't have to be a personal essay....just an honest opinion that gives the next shopper something to consider and maybe gives the author something to help them along.
I used to rely on Amazon for a LOT of reviews..even over Consumer Reports...but really of late I have not been able to use them as much as I have wanted because it seems everyone, not just book reviewers, are jumping on the "inappropriate" review bandwagon. I have seen some reviews on things like action figures where they are calling children stupid or whiny and parents bad. That really isn't called for. What does that have to do with the product? Unfortunately the anonymity of screen names, the rise of internet, and the rise of people being on the net for most needs has lead to having a bunch of seemingly extra angry people with a desire to bully to take it out on just about everything and everyone.
I sometimes wonder...what would these reviewers do if somebody reviewed their reviews......took what they wrote and tore it apart and called them out on it in a large public forum? I bet they wouldn't like it and would call shenanigans!
Cyber bullying-"Examples of what constitutes cyber bullying include communications that seek to intimidate, control, manipulate, put down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The actions are deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to harm another. Cyber bullying has been defined by The National Crime Prevention Council: “When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person."
First let me say what this post is NOT about-getting bad reviews from legitimate reviewers/people or whining of any kind. This post is solely because I have been so disgusted by the apparent and rampant rise of people putting up horrible reviews that have nothing to do with the quality of a product; it makes one wonder if someone has even read the item they are complaining about. The quality of the reviews from some of these people border the best "sock puppet" reviews--they are that full of malice.
Second I would like to say that I am not going to be putting up any excerpts from any of the reviews I have seen that prompted this. Not because I am afraid to or that I am making stuff up just to write a post, but because I do not want to give specifics for people to come by and look at a train wreck when it is clear that this is why the person wrote that review in the first place; I don't wish to add fuel to any specific fires. You can find poor reviews yourself just by visiting Amazon and sadly some GoodReads reviews. The ones I found seem to hate EVERYTHING and give EVERYONE (like 20 or 30 books) poor reviews as well as take hits at the authors on a personal level. Now, if you want an entertaining train wreck I think you should look up Sim City Deluxe Edition. Just trust me on that one. These reviews are hilarious and quite true....unlike the reviews I saw that prompted me to write this post!
What this post IS about is my version of a scream on the internet to stop it. I also wanted to write this in case anyone else felt the same and wanted to comment. I think criticism of a constructive and scholarly nature are very valuable tools. I think there are many ways to say "this sucks raw eggs" without saying that someone that wrote a book is stupid, morally corrupt or something along those lines. Unless you as a reviewer know someone personally how can you say anything about what the author is like? Even if you do know them personally, is a personal attack really merited in a book review? To me, most of the reviews of this nature are nothing short of cyber bullying. Someone got mad at someone else and now they are going to "sabotage" them by giving them the "what for" and making sure that person never has any customers.
So, how do you find the no talent ass clowns (NTAC)? Simple. Just find someone that gives all 1 stars in like 20 or 30 posts and is very scathing in the review. Especially if they are indie/small press authors. Go on over to Amazon or Goodreads...I'll wait for you here.....click on the name of the person to see a summary of their reviews....I bet you will find at least 1 or 2 NTACs. Now, read a few of them....aren't they just uncalled for? I mean in a product review you should be reviewing the product...not a person, right?
My point? Authors work hard whether anyone thinks they do or not. Authors are people....and you really shouldn't be treating your fellow person like a dog in a book review. Reviews should be open, honest, and G rated on a public forum. If you get a book and you don't like it...well stick to the points you didn't like. Explain...give the person reading your review meat on the subject. It's OK to be cryptic to keep plot points safe. Tell people what you didn't like about the book in a constructive way. That is what should be in a book review....even positive ones need meat and potatoes. It doesn't have to be a personal essay....just an honest opinion that gives the next shopper something to consider and maybe gives the author something to help them along.
I used to rely on Amazon for a LOT of reviews..even over Consumer Reports...but really of late I have not been able to use them as much as I have wanted because it seems everyone, not just book reviewers, are jumping on the "inappropriate" review bandwagon. I have seen some reviews on things like action figures where they are calling children stupid or whiny and parents bad. That really isn't called for. What does that have to do with the product? Unfortunately the anonymity of screen names, the rise of internet, and the rise of people being on the net for most needs has lead to having a bunch of seemingly extra angry people with a desire to bully to take it out on just about everything and everyone.
I sometimes wonder...what would these reviewers do if somebody reviewed their reviews......took what they wrote and tore it apart and called them out on it in a large public forum? I bet they wouldn't like it and would call shenanigans!
