3 ms·

> Few people read reviews whether it is Amazon, Yelp, or anywhere else. I do. IMHO, star ratings are close to pointless. They are deeply flawed even without sp

by stared 3y ago

> Few people read reviews whether it is Amazon, Yelp, or anywhere else. I do. IMHO, star ratings are close to pointless. They are deeply flawed even without spam, advertising, or moral outrage votes. And especially for goods that depend on a subjective reception - such as books. First, grading patterns are various. Many use either 1 or 5. For others, 4 is already a failing grade. Second, I don't care what the average reception is. I might be (and usually: I am) looking for something different from the other reader. A review offers much more. An advantage (or disadvantage) is something I deeply care about, don't care at all, or I would use the same point, but in the opposite way. And well, other times, the review points that the person has no idea what they are talking about - e.g. it is clear that these are based on hype (or: guilty-by-association) rather than the book's quality.

YetAnotherNick 3y ago
I don't always read reviews from Amazon, specially if it is of good enough brand that I know of, but I definitely read book reviews and not just decide on star rating. There are so many variables that definitely can't be captured in a rating. I guess majority of people does that. Most popular books are generally rated very low in Amazon or Goodreads. I don't think star rating matter as much as a single reviewer that person care about, although I could be wrong.
waylandsmithers 3y ago
Oftentimes I find that the written reviews are just a plot summary with little analysis or opinion
tasuki 3y ago
When there are ratings with 1-5 stars, I filter to only read the 3 star and 2 star reviews. The 5 star and 1 star reviews are meaningless, the 4 star reviews are a minor gripe, 2 star reviews often contain valid criticism (though sometimes it's just "I hated it but there's this one thing I liked"), and 3 star reviews offer a nuanced point of view.

by stared 3y ago

YetAnotherNick 3y ago

I don't always read reviews from Amazon, specially if it is of good enough brand that I know of, but I definitely read book reviews and not just decide on star rating. There are so many variables that definitely can't be captured in a rating. I guess majority of people does that. Most popular books are generally rated very low in Amazon or Goodreads. I don't think star rating matter as much as a single reviewer that person care about, although I could be wrong.

waylandsmithers 3y ago

Oftentimes I find that the written reviews are just a plot summary with little analysis or opinion

tasuki 3y ago

When there are ratings with 1-5 stars, I filter to only read the 3 star and 2 star reviews. The 5 star and 1 star reviews are meaningless, the 4 star reviews are a minor gripe, 2 star reviews often contain valid criticism (though sometimes it's just "I hated it but there's this one thing I liked"), and 3 star reviews offer a nuanced point of view.