Mar 6 2004    

One of the nicest things about reviewing is when you get to tell people about something that's great. More often than not things are so-so, but once in a while something comes along that it truly, unmitigatedly abysmal. A DVD about which the best thing you can find to say is "the disc is nice and shiny", or a restaurant that might as well have served mud. What do you do?

It could well be someone's livelihood you are trashing if you write about it. On the other hand, your readers expect to be told the truth, and there's nothing more false and worthless than a reviewer who praises everything.

It's the really awful services and products that are the most interesting to write about. It's not the first time something like this has come up, and it won't be the last. What would you do, review it anyway, or leave it and only review things that meet a certain standard? Or would you lay into it without a second thought?

John Stiles

Mar 11 2004    

You should go ahead and pan it. There's no excuse for shoddy products, and it's the people who make them who need to worry about it. You might even encourage them to get their act together.

Jamie Thomson

Mar 12 2004    

Personally, I review almost anything any everything that comes across my desk. Having to write nothing but flattering reviews ultimately restricts your range, as having to write with a tinge of vitriol does us all the world of good.

In the end, your opinion is one of many that will be considered; one which contributes to a larger pool of thought. If it's that bad, then by all means slate it - you'll find a whole new vocabulary leaping and bounding off the tip of your fingers whilst you type.

Paul Sellars

Apr 27 2004    

I'm joining this discussion a bit late, but for what it's worth...

In the past I've had a number of readers complain that [a magazine I used to write for] seemed only to publish complimentary reviews.

Looking back over the work I did, I'd have to agree that these readers had a point: I very rarely wrote scathing, critical reviews.

However this wasn't (as a couple of them seemed firmly to believe) because I was a corrupt hack growing rich on bribes from manufacturers - if only!

Rather it was because I found it tedious and slightly depressing to write relentlessly negative reviews.

Given a choice (and I usually was), I'd much rather write about something for which I could summon up some kind of genuine enthusiasm.

My rationale was that bad products simply wouldn't get reviews - and that our readers could draw their own conclusions based on our failure to publicly endorse said products.

Not sure if it actually worked that way in practise, though...

Apr 28 2004    

That's similar to the line taken by the technical magazine .Net. They say "... if an access point, for instance, is dirt cheap but not up to our expectations, it won't make it into these pages".

I suppose that keeps the advertisers happy, and it's honest. But it's nice occasionally to read something a bit scathing, to help you decide what to avoid.

Brian Longstaff

Jul 29 2004    

I have been in the enviable position of not yet having to do a bad review of anything. However, should such an thing happen, the way I would handle it would be along the lines of constructive criticism - why the book, CD, film, etc stand, and where it could have been better.

On the other hand, if it is something that has no redeeming features, go ahead and pan it! Oh, and bad DVDs and CDs make great coasters.

Seriously, if something is really that bad, think about the number of people who's money you save by being honest in your opinions - not to mention that the persons in question may give up their business and go on to do sometjing really worthwhile and earth-shaking with their lives, and they've your bad review to thank for it.

Finally, many people prefer to make up their own minds rather than listen to reviewers anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. Do it and move on.