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| smorg |
Posted: May 08 '08, 12:34 pm |
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Reviews written: 208 Member since: Jul 03 '06
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: almarsezstuff I hate to say it, but Garrett and Andy were on the boards almost every day answering questions.
Hiya,
I think Barbara (ifif) and a few others have brought this up before, but it somehow doesn't seem to register. What discontent you are seeing on the message board is only the tip of the iceberg, mates. Only a few of the members actually come here. And only some of those come here regularly (that is why you get so many threads voicing the same questions/complaints over and over again... people don't know that the specific questions have been asked and answered many times before). There is a thread stapled at the top of this board that I think is supposed to have 'updates' of issues, but it isn't being updated there either...
If posting on the message board is the only mode of communication from Eps to members, then it is utterly ineffective.... which is why you keep hearing suggestions about newsletter sent directly to members or using the site status bar on the profile page.
Smorg |
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| almarsezstuff |
Posted: May 08 '08, 1:00 pm |
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Reviews written: 3 Member since: Nov 05 '07
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: brentp256 If you are doing a state of the union at the meet and greets with numbers and fun stuff, why can't you also post those at the site for everyone else?
My intention is to do just that in some form. But I also have to give some incentive for the folks attending the Meet & Greet in person, right? How else can I make it a hot ticket? All kidding aside, yes, I do plan to share the highlights of the M&G with everyone.
Quote: PattyTherre I don't think addressing important issues on these boards is enough.
If you look at who posts here, it seems that there is a core group of people and then some who come and go. I believe that all members should get an email or at least a post should be put up in the member center when the "state of the site" info comes out.
I read the boards every day but often miss things. I would rather there be a neutral place just for management to address the community and let us know what is happening, if anything.
This is not to say I don't love the message board communications because I do. But we have far more members that are in the dark because they either don't go to these boards or miss a post.
That's my goal exactly, Patty. If it's big enough so that everyone should know, we'll make sure of it. As an analogy, think of the news. Think of what hits the national news (CNN, NBC, etc.), versus the stories on your local news. I'm probably oversimplifying it, but that's how I'm envisioning we'll approach this.
Quote: Freak369 Epinions needs to make it clear what they want - one view is don't rate it NH, submit a report and wait for something to happen. Then we are told "you have to tools to NH and block, use them".
Since we're a little lean on staff here, this is one of those areas where I'll need everyone's help. So I say if it's a clear cut case of plagiarism, cite the sources and NH it is. Otherwise, send it over. If the author who received the NH is really concerned about their rating, they'll find a way to let everyone in the community know. That's the best way I can think of to address this issue in the interim. If anyone has any other ideas, I'm open to suggestions.
-Almar |
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| almarsezstuff |
Posted: May 08 '08, 1:02 pm |
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Reviews written: 3 Member since: Nov 05 '07
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stepping away for a bit
Just letting everyone know I need to step away from the boards for a bit. I'll try and check back in later this afternoon.
-Almar |
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| shopaholic_man |
Posted: May 08 '08, 1:17 pm |
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Reviews written: 1051 Member since: Feb 15 '04
 in Movies |
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
I for one am quite pleased to see that on the same day a question is asked about communications between Epinions and its members, not one, but two staff members immediately reply and address the concerns.
THank you Almar and Thank you Pehr!
Sometimes I think we all get into a negativity spiral, so I am glad you both came in to comment!
EC Mark aka shopaholic |
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| smorg |
Posted: May 08 '08, 1:32 pm |
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Reviews written: 208 Member since: Jul 03 '06
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Just ditto-ing Mark. :o) |
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| ifif1938 |
Posted: May 08 '08, 1:41 pm (Updated: May 08 '08, 1:43 pm) |
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Reviews written: 799 Member since: Jan 17 '00
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: smorg Hiya,
I think Barbara (ifif) and a few others have brought this up before, but it somehow doesn't seem to register. What discontent you are seeing on the message board is only the tip of the iceberg, mates. Only a few of the members actually come here. And only some of those come here regularly (that is why you get so many threads voicing the same questions/complaints over and over again... people don't know that the specific questions have been asked and answered many times before). There is a thread stapled at the top of this board that I think is supposed to have 'updates' of issues, but it isn't being updated there either...
If posting on the message board is the only mode of communication from Eps to members, then it is utterly ineffective.... which is why you keep hearing suggestions about newsletter sent directly to members or using the site status bar on the profile page.
Smorg
I love the idea of a newsletter or message in the member center...Like Smorgy and I mentioned earlier, there are just too many members who don't come to this board for one reason or another. I know at least 6 members who come to me for answers and one I send links to from here that I think important...This will be one of them....I guess I'm more of a Yenta than they are and since I discovered the boards I can't stay away, even if it does take away my time from writing reviews....
Some people are just not message board people and like to write reviews, read and rate but that's all the time they have to spend on the site.
at any rate..I do appreciate all the comments here from Pehr and Almar and hope the dialog continues with some results and answers.
Barbara, who is normally a pretty positive person, until recently...:)
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| gamblin_man |
Posted: May 08 '08, 2:37 pm |
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Reviews written: 397 Member since: Apr 08 '01
in Home & Garden |
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: almarsezstuff
Since we're a little lean on staff here, this is one of those areas where I'll need everyone's help.
-Almar
It is refreshing to see you and Pehr working to reassure those of us who are considering giving up and taking our toys elsewhere. I, for one, am the recipient of many outside communications from folk who don't feel comfortable complaining here, but are asking why they should continue to support a site that seems not to be able to support itself.
I have realized for some time that as people have left the staff of Epinions and even SdC they are not being replaced. Maybe I am reading the tea leaves wrong, but it seems to me that eBay has placed a moratorium on replacing staff so as to reduce the need to have massive layoffs that other dot.coms are going through. Not counting GG and Andy, I think I can count two Community Care positions and three engineering positions that were not back filled in the last several months. I think I also heard that the one engineer working on Epinions problems at SdC left and was not replaced due to a hiring freeze there.
I have no doubt that Andy and GGs positions will try to be filled since they are so visible, but without adequate staff at Eps and SdC how will the spiral of problems be stopped let alone reversed? Where will the resources come from to freshen up the site and keep its look and feel matching the competition?
As more people realize that resources are not being made available by the parent company more are leaving or just giving up.
Larry
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| almarsezstuff |
Posted: May 08 '08, 4:09 pm |
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Reviews written: 3 Member since: Nov 05 '07
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: gamblin_man I have realized for some time that as people have left the staff of Epinions and even SdC they are not being replaced...
Since I haven't been around that long, Larry, I can't speak for the past, nor can I address the eBay and SDC stuff mentioned (I don't have much insight into those). But I can assure you that our lean staff is planning to add some bulk. We hired an engineer not too long ago (January or February if I'm not mistaken) and we're already fielding inquiries for GG's and Andy's replacements.
Actually I take that back. They'll never replace those guys. The people we hire will just be responsible for that same things they were. =)
-Almar
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| abhaille |
Posted: May 08 '08, 9:23 pm |
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Reviews written: 223 Member since: Dec 12 '99
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I'm curious
I'm relearning my way around the site. I see the new promotion and it sounds kind of cool. I just wonder how we get to the "cap" for awards. I really don't know how many reviews get posted here in a month. Does the site hit 30K in two days, rendering everything else for the rest of the month less valuable? Do the plagiarized reviews count toward the 30K?
I see some wonderful stuff being written here, but I see some major crap as well. I see folks posting a huge number of reviews in a day.
Okay, I played hooky from work today. I read a lot more reviews than I normally do and I see some horrible writers posting a LOT of reviews. I would be sad if they ate up the 30K and left outstanding reviews unrewarded.
I don't know where to look for this information. At least I've not found it yet.
~Susan |
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| popsrocks |
Posted: May 08 '08, 10:07 pm |
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Reviews written: 2171 Member since: Aug 25 '02
in Gourmet, Restaurants |
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RE: I'm curious
Quote: abhaille I'm relearning my way around the site. I see the new promotion and it sounds kind of cool. I just wonder how we get to the "cap" for awards. I really don't know how many reviews get posted here in a month. Does the site hit 30K in two days, rendering everything else for the rest of the month less valuable? Do the plagiarized reviews count toward the 30K?
I see some wonderful stuff being written here, but I see some major crap as well. I see folks posting a huge number of reviews in a day.
Okay, I played hooky from work today. I read a lot more reviews than I normally do and I see some horrible writers posting a LOT of reviews. I would be sad if they ate up the 30K and left outstanding reviews unrewarded.
I don't know where to look for this information. At least I've not found it yet.
~Susan
Just to give a quick answer without the back-up comments from Epinions staff to quote or stats to show I can state we have been told that to date in every month the 10-4-10 has been offered we haven't come close to the cap.
All the good writers WILL get their full due despite the appearance of being locked out by less helpful reviews.
No worries, keep writing.
pops
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| jurgrace |
Posted: May 09 '08, 12:01 am (Updated: May 09 '08, 12:01 am) |
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Reviews written: 418 Member since: Nov 26 '07
in Kids & Family |
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RE: I'm curious
Quote: abhaille I'm relearning my way around the site. I see the new promotion and it sounds kind of cool. I just wonder how we get to the "cap" for awards. I really don't know how many reviews get posted here in a month. Does the site hit 30K in two days, rendering everything else for the rest of the month less valuable? Do the plagiarized reviews count toward the 30K?
My understanding is that in order to qualify for the 10-4-10/20, they need at least an SH, which will automatically disqualify all those who get caught plagiarizing with NH's. Also, in order to count toward the 30K, I think it would need to be in multiples of 10. So, if someone did 24 reviews for the month, only 20 would count toward the 30K the promotion refers to.
In my own experience, I have had months in which I push out my tenth review late in the day on the last day of the month, and still gotten paid, so I don't think the site has gotten 30,000 qualifying reviews in a month yet.
Hope this helps. If I have misunderstood things, please feel free to correct me.
-Grace
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| pablothegreat |
Posted: May 09 '08, 12:05 am |
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Reviews written: 919 Member since: Dec 05 '07
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RE: I'm curious
Plus it is capped for each person at 100 reviews max...so a person can't do 300 reviews and earn more.
Quote: abhaille I'm relearning my way around the site. I see the new promotion and it sounds kind of cool. I just wonder how we get to the "cap" for awards. I really don't know how many reviews get posted here in a month. Does the site hit 30K in two days, rendering everything else for the rest of the month less valuable? Do the plagiarized reviews count toward the 30K?
I see some wonderful stuff being written here, but I see some major crap as well. I see folks posting a huge number of reviews in a day.
Okay, I played hooky from work today. I read a lot more reviews than I normally do and I see some horrible writers posting a LOT of reviews. I would be sad if they ate up the 30K and left outstanding reviews unrewarded.
I don't know where to look for this information. At least I've not found it yet.
~Susan
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| mobiprof |
Posted: May 09 '08, 2:05 am |
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Reviews written: 181 Member since: Jun 27 '00
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: pehr I'm very interested in hearing how we might have more formal communication with everyone
Monthly Chat.
- 'MemberingProf
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| mobiprof |
Posted: May 09 '08, 2:14 am |
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Reviews written: 181 Member since: Jun 27 '00
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: almarsezstuff I think you what guys want to hear about is progress.
No, we want STABILITY.
We don't want to know when problems are fixed, we want to know that what works keeps working.
There is a very simple method to practically assure that: stop rolling out changes without testing them.
Test first. Test a lot. Test again.
- MobiProf
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| meagandowney |
Posted: May 09 '08, 5:38 am (Updated: May 09 '08, 5:41 am) |
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Reviews written: 358 Member since: Sep 11 '05
in Books |
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
My recommendation for the type of information that is appropriate for an internet community is a regular newsletter that goes out to every registered member, augmented by responses to questions that are sent via email and some weigh in with the discussions that happen here. The bulk of the communication can't happen on these boards, because the discussions meander and are difficult for people coming in in the middle of a discussion to follow. I do think that chats are a good idea if they allow access to a staff member outside of the community liason role.
I believe that everyone in the community wants to see some accountability for the site, but I also believe that this is true to varying degrees with different members and the communication strategies should reflect that.
ETA: Now that I've read through the thread, I see that others are interested in a newsletter too. I apologize if my post was redundant. |
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| mismamac |
Posted: May 09 '08, 7:37 am |
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Reviews written: 236 Member since: May 19 '04
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: PattyTherre I would rather there be a neutral place just for management to address the community and let us know what is happening, if anything.
My thoughts exactly. When I get a chance I swing by to see what is being posted but I do not have the opportunity on a daily basis to check the boards.
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| almarsezstuff |
Posted: May 09 '08, 3:06 pm |
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Reviews written: 3 Member since: Nov 05 '07
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
This is all great feedback everyone. Thank you for your suggestions. We'll do our best to put together something that will accommodate as many people as possible, both community and Epinions staff alike.
-Almar |
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| sleeper54 |
Posted: May 09 '08, 3:18 pm |
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Reviews written: 496 Member since: Feb 24 '01
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Quote: meagandowney My recommendation for the type of information that is appropriate for an internet community is a regular newsletter that goes out to every registered member, augmented by responses to questions that are sent via email and some weigh in with the discussions that happen here.
--snip--
One of Epinions' competitor's effort at user communication:
It is depressing to me that something this well done seems beyond the current capabilities of Epinions dot com.
...tom...
' no way this post could be certified as 100% negativity-free by the NBNC (National Board of Negativity Certification) '
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| almarsezstuff |
Posted: May 09 '08, 4:52 pm |
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Reviews written: 3 Member since: Nov 05 '07
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
Before all the recent changes, a newsletter was something we were working on. In fact, it was on my plate. I still think it's a great idea and once we're back at full strength, I plan to pursue it again.
-Almar |
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| ladyconsumer |
Posted: May 09 '08, 5:03 pm |
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Reviews written: 633 Member since: Jul 11 '05
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RE: Is There Enough Communication Between Members & Management?
That's a very nice looking newsletter.
But it's still missing the list of known issues. (Or maybe they don't have any???)
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