Restructuring the review form

[Onyyx]

I didn't see any posts for this, although I only looked at the first page.

I would really like to see the review form changed from the current format:

Good
Bad
General

Something more like this would be alot better for the way I write reviews

First Impressions/General
Good
Bad
Final Thoughts

I don't know if its possible to do, might screw up all of the existing reviews.

But I really do think it would be a better way of doing things.

[Arigatomina]

I like the 'first impression' addition, but I think you should keep 'general' separate. General, for those of us who like to break down and explain the scores in one section (good and bad mixing to explain the entire 'take' on the vid). I don't think my 'first impression' has ever been the same as what I thought about a vid after considering the breakdown of each aspect. First impression to me seems more like - what were you expecting, what caught you right off the bat, what was your first thought immediately after watching? Then you go on to break down the video itself into good/bad (things you liked, what you didn't like) - with a 'general' section for those who want to explain parts that aren't necessarily bad or good but that need mentioned (giving tips on how to improve a video shouldn't be mentioned in bad since they're more about the reviewer than the video itself - and if you place it in the 'bad' it just looks like the video was horrid when someone gives a lot of tips).

I just don't think General should be combined with the first impression. First impression is what you felt immediately - it implies you didn't think about what you write there, you're just giving a 'shallow first impression'. That would negate any breakdown in the 'general = aka not good or bad' section. Breakdowns come after the reviewer gives considerable thought to all aspects of the video - and that just doesn't fit into the idea of a 'first impression' - it would come last. If you had to add General to another title, then match it with the 'final thoughts' - that is the 'final' way you look at the video after thinking about it, so it usually means you're not giving a quick glimpse into your reaction to the video.

[AbsoluteDestiny]

Adding boxes is possible, I think - removing isnt.

So if were to have a new box for first impressions it would have to be on its own to be compatible with old opinions. Old opinions would just show this box as being blank.

[Declan_Vee]

Very interesting, I'm not sure it would have that much of an impact on the scoring and such, seeing as most of that is just the numbers. It might affect the member usefulness, but not that much.

First Impressions/General:
Your post topic was far too radical to ever to be taken up. Nevertheless, It has good intentions and a sound idea. While your post was light, it also carried across all the relevant information and maintained integrity.

Good:
No doubt this is a good idea. Your spelling and grammar were good and I do quite like your general layout.

Bad:
A few too many breaks. A lot of people would want to go back and adjust their reviews. That said, change can be seen as a bad thing by many. I'll agree with Ari, "general" should be left sperate.

Final Thoughts:
An interesting idea. High scores for originality. Visually your post wasn't much to look at, so you lost points there. Your editing could be a lot better, those breaks again. You lost big points on effort, too light. Overall not too shabby. I doubt I'll read your post again and again, but I will follow this thread, so moderate score for review.

[derobert]

Adding boxes is possible, I think - removing isnt.

There isn't any reason we can't remove the textual boxes. Leave them available in the db, only display them if not NULL, leave them NULL for new reviews.

[Otohiko]

I really like this idea - it definitely sounds more in tune with my own reviewing practices than the current system. If you could do it, it'd be great.

[Calim]

Adding boxes is possible, I think - removing isnt.

So if were to have a new box for first impressions it would have to be on its own to be compatible with old opinions. Old opinions would just show this box as being blank.

Hmmm...but wouldn't adding a new box to the submit form only add the First impression box to the new submits?

[Onyyx]

Bad:
A few too many breaks. A lot of people would want to go back and adjust their reviews. That said, change can be seen as a bad thing by many. I'll agree with Ari, "general" should be left sperate.

Lost marks for spelling, but overall an excellent post. 4/5 stars

I tend to really go to town with the bad points even when I really like the video, so I frequently put in a [See General first] at the beginning of the good and bad points. I don't want to hurt peoples feelings, so I always try to make sure they understand that just because the bad section is three times longer than the good doesn't mean its a bad video. A basic "how I feel about this video" section at the start of the review would go a long way towards that.

Declan_Vees post is exactly the kind of idea I had envisioned, minus the spelling mistakes of course

[derobert]

Hmmm...but wouldn't adding a new box to the submit form only add the First impression box to the new submits?

Yes. There is no way that we can add it to old ones, though you could certainly edit your old reviews to add it.