... The site is run by our very own Rachel (thingywhatsit) who has given up a lot of time and commitment to keep the site running for us so we can have our daily blether. The rest of the admin team are Drewboy who I have met in the flesh in Glasgow for a small glass of real and not virtual wine; ... Read review
Advantages: Friendly place, good debate Disadvantages: some may take debate personally, difficulty in maintaining fairness
...I never really got into the off-site community aspects. Over the years there have been quite a few different offshoots in their various guises, where regular review writers would gather over a virtual coffee and generally put the review writing world to rights, as well as solve world hunger and other matters.
I first joined www.reviewwritersforum.co.uk about 11 months ago now. The site is run by our very own Rachel (thingywhatsit) ... ...to keep the site running for us so we can have our daily blether. The rest of the admin team are Drewboy who I have met in the flesh in Glasgow for a small glass of real and not virtual wine; and Debbie, another review writer from north of the border, who have been joined by a small number of forum moderators.
The site benefited from a bit of a facelift at some time last year. I forget the details, but I do remember that it used to ... more
Despite having been a regular Review writer for a few large sites for almost six years, I never really got into the off-site community aspects. Over the years there have been quite a few different offshoots in their various guises, where regular review writers would gather over a virtual coffee and generally put the review writing world to rights, as well as solve world hunger and other matters.
I first joined www.reviewwritersforum.co.uk about 11 months ago now. The site is run by our very own Rachel (thingywhatsit) who has given up a lot of time and commitment to keep the site running for us so we can have our daily blether. The rest of the admin team are Drewboy who I have met in the flesh in Glasgow for a small glass of real and not virtual wine; and Debbie, another review writer from north of the border, who have been joined by a small number of forum moderators.
The site benefited from a bit of a facelift at some time last year. I forget the details, but I do remember that it used to be a very dark blue place, hence its other nickname FOIB (Forum of Infinite Blueness). Now it has the same light blue of every other forum in cyberspace, but the beauty is it is much easier to read.
Sites like this do have a habit of waxing and waning, but Review Writers Forum has remained relatively buoyant in terms of member contribution. There are currently 365 members, one for every day of the year, although I suspect most are lurkers or inactive. There are around 50 posters who have posted more than 100 times, and could generally be regarded as more active. I am about ninth in the list of active posters with over 1000 posts currently, which could be attributed to the fact I have too much to say on occasion.
So what on earth do people talk about? Well not surprisingly, one of the key areas of discussion is review writing sites themselves. This includes forums for both Ciao and Dooyoo, as well as Trivago (Travel Site) and Helium ("Where Knowledge Matters"). Things can get very heated at times, particularly if subjects such as rating are being discussed, as you would expect with opinionated people. Of course payment and issues, such as site downtime are frequently the topic of conversation, but often people just like to come and have a light banter.
The Helium and Trivago sites are a little different. I am not particularly into the Helium way of things yet, although I have joined, but contributing to Trivago is very complicated compared to ciao and Dooyoo and some regular members have contributed some excellent articles which were invaluable in helping me find my way around. Alas time has got in the way, and I haven't got the time for Trivago very often.
For those that like their reward and survey sites, RWF has a dedicated thread, which is updated with member experience of different types of sites. I don't join too many of these, simply because I cannot keep up with them all but I am amazed at the volume of sites that are available.
The members fun area on RWF is by far the greater area in terms of different activities, and there is probably something for everyone. The Current affairs thread is particularly buoyant and is usually my first port of call when I log in. Anything and everything current/political has been discussed here, and it can get VERY heated at times! I quite like a debate and I enjoy following and taking part in the more contentious threads - quite an insight into how other people think and lead their lives!
There are other threads which I read occasionally, including a "Which" consumer thread, book thead, technical thread and there is a popular games thread - although not one of my own favourites, this seems to get a lot of hits. There are monthly competitions including reviews, (which I have judged once or twice) and monthly Avatar type competitions, although where people find fresh supplies of those is beyond me at times!
The site has been criticised in the past for being (a) too fluffy; or (b) inconsistent moderation. I am not quite sure about the fluffiness aspect, as it can be anything but fluffy at times, depending on who is active on the site and joining in the day's debate. I think it is fair to say that moderation is a particularly difficult task, especially for a site that is ran by part time volunteers and while there may have been incidences that have been questioned in the past, and even things I have personally voiced privately as a concern, as well as challenged publicly on occasion...I think most sites of this type will have challenges and the real key is not to take it too seriously.
Overall it is a fairly active place, and you will find something new every day. I think if I had a general criticism about sites of this nature is that they may at first seem a little daunting to someone new, as the regulars have adapted to styles of communication and banter. I know I always found some of the earlier sites quite cliquey and elusive (whether they were or not). However I have found that Review Writers Forum is a nice little place to debate and discuss both political and review writing matters on those days when you don't want to spend time on the sites themselves.
Advantages: a good place to hang out and meet new people Disadvantages: needs more participation, site is a little plain
The review writer's forum is a forum started by quite a popular member of both review sites, ciao and dooyoo. Thingywhatsit - or Rachel, as she is also known- set up the forum in the hope to bring members together to have a laugh, make new friends and basically just create a happy, easy going web space for members of all review sites. But can a forum ever be completely happy? And does the website provide harmless fun or is it just another boring ... ...Well, as someone who frequents the site daily, here is my view on Thingywhatsit's online forum.
*** The Layout ***
When the site first loads you are greeted with a rather plain looking site, though it does contain a nice little logo with a cartoon picture of what I presume to be as Rachel. It's a fun logo with Rachel holding out a drink, toasting the fact that you have come to the site. I think this is very fitting to Rachel's welcoming character ...
AimeeLouise18 24.06.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site
Advantages: Tis Good Fun Disadvantages: Takes Up More of my Time
...to keep one going and the effort one has to put into it. …..
Anyway as most of you will know the Reviewwriters Forum is run by Rachael (Thingywhatsit) and is mainly a writer's site. Most people are usually put of a site by the signing up process but here you just pick a user name (which is usually best being your site name) and give your email address and as soon as you get an email back you are ready to go……….
On logging onto the site you can ... ...the same time as you and you do have the facility to private message them. You are of course met with a cartoon picture of Rach holding up pens but hey don't let that frighten you off the site or give you sleepless nights ….
The site has three main sections which are Site Info, Review Site Talk and Members Fun Area and it does have a little bit of everything to keep almost everyone happy. There is always a bugger that is never happy. "Yeah you Art, ...
BadCompany77 10.11.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site
Advantages: Meet and make friends with members of Ciao you read all the time. Disadvantages: Not everyone has joined yet!!!
...their use of both sites. The intention was to make a place that was accessible for members of these sites, other review writers and fans of the written word to come and chat, discuss, debate, enter competitions and above all have fun.
##THE MAIN PAGE##
When you first log onto the site you are faced with a kind of block effect front page. This shows you all the different areas you can access. The first section is for "All site information" and this ... ...are various competitions set by the site for the members to enter. They involve writing (obviously) and this month the subject is to write a review about Pets. There is a £10 Amazon voucher as a prize. There is also a short story competition running with a £10 prize.
The next section is headed "Review Site Talk" and there are separate headers for Dooyoo, Ciao, Other Review, reward and survey sites, Epinions and General Review Site Chatter. Lastly ...
wendybull 14.05.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site
Advantages: Well constructed, easy to navigate with a large membership and a variety of topics Disadvantages: Moderation and editing of postings. Strict no-naming policy.
...converse with people online without the constraints attached to your membership. You do not necessarily want to read and rate, you just want to chew the fat with people you have come to know be it opinion site related, or matters of the everyday. This is were sites such as "The Review Writers Forum" come in to play. I have been using "The Review Writers Forum" as a stopgap to wile away the time when my enthusiasm for reading consumer reviews wanes.
... ...chat and congregate, away from the inevitable constrictions of the consumer reviews site. It is a site originally set up by an established opinion site member as a place that aims to be, "fun and challenging, that offered members a bit more than just chatting, a place where members did not feel like they were taking part in a huge "Let's talk about so and so" den of iniquity where people feel unwelcome. Forums are very difficult to police (don't ...
Shortsharpshock 02.07.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site
Advantages: You can visit to debate, have fun, just talk or discuss anything depending what mood you're in. Disadvantages: Those who go in with a closed mind.
Opinion Forums - the Oxford English dictionary describes them as 'the battleground for angry individuals. Somewhere people go to let off steam... usually offloading onto other users'. I have, of course, edited the dictionaries description somewhat, but you get the picture of a stereotypical view of this type of forum. In my own experience, I've found them to be inclusive, unwelcoming and elitist, with tight-bound cliques and cynical 'seasoned' users.
... ...up and designed especially for the users of Ciao, Dooyoo and other opinion sites. It's a place where users can ask questions and receive quick, accurate answers, and it's a place where you are treated with respect and receive constant friendly attention from site moderators and users alike.
The fact that it was set up by an established user of Ciao and Dooyoo also works in its favour as it helps to keep things on-topic and friendly. The website ...
Sam_Garland 12.07.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site
Similar products and search queries by other users »
The site, The Review site, The Writers site, The Forum site, The opinion site, The Review Writers site, The Review Forum site, The Review opinion site, The Writers Forum site, The Writers opinion site, The Forum opinion site, The Review Writers Forum site, The Review Writers opinion site, The Review Forum opinion site, The Writers Forum opinion site
Are you the manufacturer / provider of The Review Writers Forum, opinion site? Click here
![Marvin Welch And Farrar/Second Opinion [Remastered] - Marvin, Welch & Farrar](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/189/Marvin_Welch_And_Farrar_Second_Opinion_Marvin_Welch_Farrar__6398189.jpg)
