COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE GUARDIAN
Well, it is about time.
The review facility on Amazon is quite valuable. I've always
applauded Amazon for allowing reviews and making them virtually uncensored.
But it has been clear for quite some time that it is being
abused.
Books or films of no merit get great praise - undoubtedly,
coming from the author's friends or colleagues or publisher.
These are not only of no help to any one, they crowd up the
job of sorting through reviews to find meaningful ones.
I've written a good number myself, always making an effort
to have them be genuinely helpful, so it is quite off-putting to see the flood
of dishonest, unhelpful ones.
Go get 'em, Amazon.
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Response to a comment
about Amazon not running critical reviews:
Haven't experienced this at all. I've given the lowest
ratings to both some books and some films. They were all published. The fact is
one of the reasons I admire Amazon.
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Response to a comment
about Amazon prices and a suggestion people not shop there:
Yes, but the selection on Amazon is unparalleled, and
generally they deliver quickly. I also very much appreciate and use the offers
for independent sellers, both in books and films whose prices sometimes much
undercut Amazon's. That's also a rather brave approach.
Fake reviews generally are fairly easily spotted (although
not always), but it takes time and effort to read through a number of them,
making the whole facility less valuable.
We do now also very much have on Wikipedia the same business
going on.
Articles stuffed with bias are deliberately posted by folks
like the good old CIA or by the press agents for celebrities.
It is a little sad that the world has so many people who
like to abuse and destroy. It's why we have all those malicious codes on the
Internet, and why in the end we have so many wars and conflicts.
