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Complex Numbers #485191 added February 2, 2007 at 12:57pm
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Review review
I received a review of my "Robert’s Read, Rate, Review Remarks"  [ASR] that made me think. (lots of things have been doing that lately. I need to stop before my brain explodes.) Since it was a public review, I don't think it's bad to quote it here:
"While I can appreciate the attempt to be even-handed, why on earth would you rate something without regard to whether you think its premise is idiotic?"
and
"If it's a persuasive essay, the writer is obliged to at least get the reader to consider the merits of both sides of the argument. If it's non-fiction/reporting style, the writer is obliged to report facts accurately and source their information. How could you possibly rate these kinds of things without considering whether you think the author is a drooling moron? If they've done their job at all, they should have at least raised your opinion of them to just mildly stupid.
There was more to the review, largely positive - the reviewer did point out some of the good points of my item, but that's not the part that caused cerebral overflow.
The point I try to make in my reviewing article is that I attempt to judge on writing style and technical points alone. For example, if I come across a poem whose basic premise is that some supernatural force created the universe sometime in the last 10,000 years, I'm not going to give it one star just because I disagree with the premise. I wouldn't want people to do that to me, so I don't do it to others. Now, if it's not a poem but something purporting to be a scientific essay, I'd probably give it a lower rating because that premise is unsupported by any science I'm aware of.
So, I'm wondering what other people think: Should I allow my personal beliefs and biases into my reviewing process, or continue to attempt to be fair to those who disagree with me? Not that I can always be; there is always some personal bias, which is why we get reviews from different people. Or should I just avoid reviewing items with a philosophical premise I find distasteful or unsupported?
On the one hand, it's important to let someone know if you liked their work, and why or why not. On the other, if you don't like it because their worldview is different from yours, is that fair to either of you?
I'd do a poll or survey about it, but I'm lazy. Besides, lunch break is over... |
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