The Extra Cool Group! (of people Michael is experimenting on) discussion

This kinda came up in the other voting threads, but I think it's a slightly separate mental process: how do you determine which reviews to vote for?

My votes are determined exclusively by guilt.

I was raised Catholic.

If it's well-written is the big one for me. I don't have a favorite type of review - I love the variety and all the different things people manage to do with the format. So it's not a matter of "I like funny reviews" or "I like reviews with pictures". I just like reviews that took some effort and that get their message across well.

I am, however, slightly more likely to vote on reviews of books I've read or am familiar with, just because I feel more of a connection to those reviews. Like, "Yeah! I felt that way too!" or something.

If I know the person I will vote for any review including "review to come"
because karen tells me to.
because it makes people feel good

if I don't know the person
the review is well written or makes a good point.
I agree with the review
I have nothing better to do

I actually don't really vote very often, nor are my reviews often voted for (I think I've only written two (out of 400 or so) that received more than 3 votes. Which is fine. I write reviews mainly to work through things on my own. If they're useful to someone else, all the better).

To get a vote from me, I have to be either very impressed by review quality, or grateful that the review was specifically useful to me.

Fiction: Many of Manny Rayner's 1960s sci-fi reviews get votes from me because I think they're clever. Many of Jason Petus' reviews get votes from me because I think he has a good format. If I think the writer has a strong angle, has made a book from a previous era relevant, or has actually convinced me to read a book, I'll probably vote.

Non-Fiction: If I go "huh," I'll probably vote. So Manny Rayner's science reviews often get votes from me, as do Buck Mulligan's reviews, which usually discuss political topics.

I tend not to vote for really meta/ personal reviews or reviews with cursing.
Ryan

I'll vote for any review that is interesting, well-written, or helpful in deciding whether or not I might like the book. I will even vote for a review that I disagree with if the reviewer makes the case strongly enough.

I usually don't vote for reviews that seem very shallow ("The guy/girl on the cover is so hot!") or arbitrary ("I hate all books with dragons so this gets a 1.") or make needless personal attacks on the author or other readers.

Keep in mind that I usually only read reviews of books I've already read. My reasons for liking a review are usually one or more of the following:

1.) If the review was able to express some ineffable quality about the book that I also felt when reading it, yet wasn't able to express as well...
2.) If the review brought up some intelligent points/perspectives about the book that I never even thought about...
3.) If the review makes me laugh

Also, I have often voted for reviews in which I've disagreed with, but found well-written and incisive.

Yeah, I have no problem with voting for reviews I disagree with. I love a good persuasive review that makes me reevaluate my opinion of a book. And it's interesting to see what makes other people like a book I hated, or hate a book I liked.

I've probably voted for everyone here. I like all kinds of reviews. Anything not boring, pretty much. If it makes me want to read a book, or points out something I didn't get.

I vote for reviews that strike me as thoughtful/thought-provoking, that reveal some new/significant idea about the book, that are clever/well-written or describe some authentic emotional response. And of course those that make me laugh and those that make me smile.

If I like it I vote... it's just the click of a button and it makes people feel good.

If I like the way the person wrote it... be it funny or serious. I almost always vote if it makes me laugh.

I have put in votes for books that I love and others may have hated... as long as they make a valid or humorous point...

and if I have time.
I have not done much voting as of late.


(I can be bought, vote whores!)

Some reviews are completely lateral - almost nothing to do with the book but well written/funny/challenging. These will earn a 'like'.

Some reviews are succinct, to the point, capture the essence of the book without giving away the game. These reviews earn a 'like'.

Some reviews are not impressive, but written by someone who knows what I like/don't like in terms of book, and the review will motivate me to consider reading the book. Such a review earns a 'like'.

In general, reviews which make me laugh, I will like. Reviews by friends that have some sort of appeal which have only one or two votes, I will like.

I like every review of Brian's I've read - he receives a like because he researches his reviews. It helps that I agree with a lot of what he says.

I'll like a friend's review sometimes because I've nothing to say, the review says it all, the thread has covered any remaining opportunities for wit and devilry, and I just want to let the reviewer know that I walked this way.

From starting to understand more about the feeds/updates system, I realise that liking a review will lead some friends to the review.

Interestingly, the book isn't generally the reason for a like - I've given Whitaker/Kat/Manny/Tatiana likes for books I've no intention of reading. It was the review that did it.

I vote for reviews that make me see a book from an unexpected angle that I can't help but agree with, or the one that sums up all my thoughts about it better than I can, or just too awesomely written.

I generally only vote for reviews that are well-written, though I will forgive grammatical/spelling errors if there is even one well-expressed idea in there, or if it is funny (sometimes).

I don't vote for reviews that have a lot of pictures in them or anything like that, unless they are also good reviews. I will, however, vote for a review that has some sort of gimmick (a pastiche, for example), if I think it is effective.

Also I'm very fickle and will vote or not vote for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the review, though generally I would never vote for a review I consider to be 'bad'.

I vote for decent reviews by friends, and spectacular reviews by strangers.

"Funny" is my main criterion.

I vote for reviews I don't agree with all the time. on people I don't know most of the reviews that I vote for are bad reviews, simply because when deciding to read a book I tend to check why people don't like it and see if any of those things tend to bother me. I don't tend to read 3 star reviews, mainly because I don't like odd numbered likert scales.

monetary gain.
i vote, then i hold family members hostage.
i use votes to trak my victims.
each repeated vote on a person denotes a new attempt to contact and extort.

so far i am failing miserably.

(i vote when something catches my intention.)

I don't know or care anything about voting. I click "like" if I make it all the way through a review. Is that the same thing?

I don't vote.

I do not have to agree with a review to "like" it. That would reflect badly on me (and I'm a pretty harsh judge of me).

I a review is well-written and I know the reviewer put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it, I'll "like" it.

If a review made me laugh, I'll "like" it.

If a friend of mine wrote a review, I'll "like" it, but only if I read it and liked it.

If I read reviews of a book I dearly love and others loved it just as dearly, I'll go down the line "like-ing" them because I feel a kinship with these people. :-)

I vote for my "friends" since I see their reviews in the updates, if their reviews are interesting to me, in particular when it relates to a book I'm reading. If I'm researching about a book and find a review that is informative and well-written, I will vote for that review. I have also voted for a review because it has a bunch of great cat pictures. *COUGH Joel* I didn't really care about the book, just the cat pictures.

I'll vote for any review that I didn't regret reading.

I mostly vote for my friends' reviews, but only if they're well written, funny, or make me want to read the book.

I've occasionally voted for a friend's review just because they voted for mine.

If the review is so long I didn't finish reading, it won't get my vote.

If a friend's friend wrote a terrific review that showed up in my update feed, I'll vote for it.

I'd rather not see too many pictures, as they are only a red X at work, so those reviews are unlikely to get my vote.

If I vote for a review I disagree with, I'll comment. Good discussions can get started that way.

I don't even read reviews, so I never have to actually vote for one.

I generally only vote for friend's reviews because that's all I see & then only if they've put some effort into them. If they just say, "Great book." forget it.

I won't vote for a review that recaps what is in the book description, either. I want their personal take on it - that's usually why they are friends here on GR. We share reading tastes. With 1/2 million books published every year & me reading 150 or so per year, I need all the help I can get finding the few that will get my attention.

If I'm looking over a book, thinking about getting it, I'll vote for any well done review that helps me make a decision - even those that may vary a lot. My friends might generally agree a book is 4 or 5 stars, but sometimes someone will hate a book because there is something about it that really bugs them. That's often helpful to know.

I like pretty much all well-reasoned, well-structured reviews of books I know. If the opinion is valid/interesting, I "like" it.

Of my own books, I'm being selfish and subjective and only like the "positive" reviews (so everything that's not an attack on me or the book or the reader completely missing the point - I do not "like" one star reviews. But I know that's very subjective and a well-reasoned, well-written complete deconstruction of my writing might get a "like". Maybe. After I've stopped being angry. :) ).

Any review in my updates that is interesting enough I will click on it to finish reading it, I might 'like'. If there was a like button in updates I'd probably like a lot more books.

Brainycat wrote: "I'll vote for any review that I didn't regret reading."

Perfect! I do vote for reviews that I don't agree with if they are well-written and well-reasoned. I do appreciate negative reviews that are very clear about why the reviewer didn't like the book. I think negative reviews can be more informative than positive ones.

I tend to vote mostly for reviews of friends and people I follow because those are the reviews I see on my update feed. However, I will browse strangers' reviews for books I've just finished reading and vote for them based on the criteria I previously mentioned.

Petra X wrote: "Any review in my updates that is interesting enough I will click on it to finish reading it, I might 'like'. If there was a like button in updates I'd probably like a lot more books."

I completely agree.

I mostly vote for friends reviews.
I rarely vote for a review I disagree with.
I usually browse and vote for reviews after I have finished a book.
I will not vote for a review that rehashes an entire plot.
I prefer reviews that either make me want to read the book or express some type of strong emotion.

I vote for reviews I enjoy reading, or found helpful. I vote for my friend's reviews (unless they are like my last sentence), and for non-friends if I think they are worthwhile. I don't vote for reviews that I feel are unfair/misrepresentative to the book or are rude and mean-spirited.