BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality New Age Poll: New Age Product Reviews

What kind of book, oracle deck, and other reviews would you prefer on the New Age site: only positive reviews, or both positive and negative reviews?

Hi guys,

Just some background on why I have this poll...

Originally, I didn't want to write negative reviews because 1. I didn't want to send negativity out into the Universe and 2. I would never want to crush or hinder an author's creative vision (or musician, deck creator, etc.)

I realize that negative reviews help people make wise purchasing choices, but I figured that I'd only write reviews of products that I thought were at least 75% good. That way, if you see a review by me, you know I think it's a good product.

However, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm doing a disservice to my readers. I do write negative reviews on Amazon.com at times, but don't usually "waste space" by doing so for the New Age site.

Feel free to vote, as well as add your thoughts on the points I brought up. I'd appreciate hearing your views! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Aha! I was wondering why you never wrote about stuff you didn't like! I think reviewers who write about what they don't like as well as what they do like have more credibility. When I see a reviewer who never says anything negative about anything I wonder if they can really discriminate between [censored] and treasure, you know?

As far as harming the artists, you're not responsible for how they choose to react to your reviews, and something that you may see as harmful may actually be helpful and constructive for them. You don't know. I learn as much or more from negative feedback as from compliments. When I get negative feedback it helps me realize what my weaknesses are and then I can deal with them better. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for your feedback, mtnmermaid. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Yep, now you know why! To be honest, I get a lot of [censored] across my desk, so there's a lot of reviews I'm not writing because I felt icky about doing negative reviews. I guess that negatively reviewing someone's take on spirituality seems harsh to me. I don't know...it's just something I've struggled with.

I'm actually a very discriminating and critical character, so it could also be me trying to balance the strong Critic I have by focusing on the positive and those things I think that are at least 75% good.

I appreciate the food for thought!