It is evident that people quote your piece in reviews to fill the space box. It is a common trick for the reviewer to talk about their own inability to review, to quote a chunk of your work then hurl a batch of laudatory comments at it.

I say… refund the quoters. Crush their lethargic credit-guzzling skulls. Unless the person has done a thorough critique, of say 500-odd words, and quoted as much as he has written, refunds should be scooped up at once. This half-quote half-review swindle is a cunning and fiendishly irritating one.

I think the system can be broken down thus. On the left is the number of words in the review and on the right is the amount of quote used to justify a refund:

50-100wds = One sentence (33-50% quote)
100-200wds = One large chunk/ two-three separate sentences (25-40% quote)
300+ = one large chunk, fragments with small comments under each (15-40% quote)

Get them refunded. Put a stop to this canny quoting. It makes you look insincere, lazy and indifferent. We would like help with our writing not merely “I liked this bit here, look, this bit that I’m about to quote at length here.”

Use ellipsis if you MUST quote. The writer knows their own piece so please don’t waste their time with this foolishness.

Kill the quote cretins!

Totally agree.

There is absolutely no need to quote large chunks, even if suggesting a complete re-write of that section.
As for large chunks to point out a missing comma…...

I truly believe that some credit guzzlers do so from ignorance, which doesn’t make it acceptable, but others are just so blatant…
I don’t think anyone would have a problem claiming a refund when this happens, unless it is truly borderline.

Quoting too much text is a violation of the “Be Concise” guideline. The Review Guardians are good at judging what is too much.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again:

There should be a compulsory tutorial text for all new Urbis users. How to be Urbisly Cool and Popular is a good one. With a bit of revision (to make sure it covers everything that Urbis deems necessary) this would be a fun first read for every Urbis newbie.

You could even build in some obvious weak spots as a teaching tool. Then give the reviews to various reviewers who are EXCELLENT reviewers on Urbis to critique (for a few credits). I would be willing to do this (not to say that I’m an excellent reviewer, but simply to imply it), and I’m sure there would be others interested in helping new Urbis reviewers become better reviewers more quickly.

Yes, I go for reviewing newbie reviews (or some longer established members lol)..

DC-

I totally agree. It sounds like a bit of a project, but I’d be willing to get involved in it with you and anyone else that has more to add. For anyone that wants to take a peek at How to be Urbisly Cool and Popular, Click Here

I agree that quoting is a supremely lame way to fill up a review box and get points, however I also think that some sections require quoting to show what the reviewer is trying to point out in their review. If a section is chock full of misspelling, or cliche or if the whole section is badly rushed, should you not be able to quote it and point it out so that the author knows exactly what section they should work on?

There is NEVER a reason to quote a whole paragraph (or often a whole sentence). All you need to do is write “The paragraph that begins Hank stuck his engorged . . . could be deleted as you have already established the fact that Hank is a sex addict.” Just an example.

I believe the general rule is quoting is on its face not concise, but is permissible if, in all the surrounding circumstances, it serves a reasonable purpose. What is reasonable is a question of fact, based on such considerations as specific and concrete feedback, constructive critique, or generally helpful to the writer. The onus of demonstrating the necessity of quoting lies with the reviewer, and that is based on the review as it stands. For example, a quote with a statement such as “I loved this…” is not constructive. A quote with a discussion of the content, style, structure of the particular quote, aimed to help the writer or demonstrate some property of the segment quoted, maybe reasonable. IMHO a quote of more than a sentence is length is probably not concise, as there are many other ways to demonstrate something about the writing without quoting.

Here’s a quick and concise way to point out misspellings… If I read:

“Hank was a movie starr and relished every minute he appeared on screen.”

I’d write in the review:

Hank was a movie starr / movie star

See? It’s simple and fast. The author gets the point. The review doesn’t get removed. All is good.

Very good advice DC and Curt. I agree. I usually just say: copy-edit stuff: starr = star (as the writer will usually find it anyways – I hope). However, unless it’s really, really bugging me, I don’t do much copy-edit anymore, and instead I’m trying to focus on broader issues in the writing, such as character, plot, theme, etc. Let’s face it, most of the good writer’s here don’t need an overhaul on grammar and spelling, but are looking for style and structure comments. Typos are “really” typos and not signs of a failure to grasp the language, so I’ll usually sail on by those and try to get to the juicy stuff. In this case, there is almost never a reason to quote. ;-)

You are all so clever and resourceful. I believe we have found a resolution to the debate.

Curt…

“See? It’s simple and fast. The author gets the point. The review doesn’t get removed. All is good.”

I would substitute “good” for “well” here.

cdnsurfer…

“Let’s face it, most of the good writer’s here don’t need an overhaul on grammar and spelling, but are looking for style and structure comments. Typos are “really” typos and not signs of a failure to grasp the language, so I’ll usually sail on by those and try to get to the juicy stuff. In this case, there is almost never a reason to quote.”

It should be “writers” and not “writer’s.”

I hope that helped. Have a nice evening everyone.

”
You are all so clever and resourceful. I believe we have found a resolution to the debate.

Curt…

“See? It’s simple and fast. The author gets the point. The review doesn’t get removed. All is good.”

I would substitute “good” for “well” here.

cdnsurfer…

“Let’s face it, most of the good writer’s here don’t need an overhaul on grammar and spelling, but are looking for style and structure comments. Typos are “really” typos and not signs of a failure to grasp the language, so I’ll usually sail on by those and try to get to the juicy stuff. In this case, there is almost never a reason to quote.”

It should be “writers” and not “writer’s.”

I hope that helped. Have a nice evening everyone.
”
Very witty, I like this piece.

That’s it avedis… I’m having you refunded.

Watch out for Lorrie charging at ya like a mad hormonal firecracker with her disciplinary shears.

If anyone else quotes this, I’m going to savage them with garden rakes.

Be well.

Without quoting the above text, I would have to say I like the author’s use of similes. It’s very witty and definitely conveys images in the mind of the reader. However, I’m not seeing a story arc, and there needs to be a climax and an ending. Does anyone actually get savaged with garden rakes?

This thread is flat and lacks substance. I didn’t really understanding it. But it is great WRITING! I would read more if there is any… KEEP WRITING!!!! I am a fan.

Hellbunny… a story arc will cost you 450 credits.

Squarehopper… flattery will get you everywhere. I’m still having you refunded though.

“There should be a compulsory tutorial text for all new Urbis users.”

I am totally open to this. Just read How to Be Urbisly Cool and love it. (I am tempted to use my admin abilities to find out who wrote it, but will respect the anonymity of this user).

Ideally we would have two versions. A quick guide and something more in depth, like Urbisly cool.

Let me know if you would like to start a wiki of some sort to edit and collaborate.

I would be happy to add anything of value to this project.

You could ask the person if you can “purchase” the right to use the item – maybe some large number of Credits?

Anyone who wants to get involved, PM me with your e-mail address (http://urbis.com/urbis) and I will invite you into a collab editing tool.

Steve are we talking about giving newbies advice on reviewing. If so I’d be interested in adding my contribution to this. But the only E-mail that comes up on your link is Your sisters, do we just send it there?.

Maria-

Look a little bit further down and to the left. “Send Message”. It’s right above item stats.

Hi there,

I agree about the reviewing. Although I’ve been registered on Urbis for a while I haven’t been regularly active until now.

As a newbie I feel it would be a good idea to compile some sort of ‘Newbie Handbook’ just to give us some hints and tips on the most beneficial way to use the site. Particularly for those of us that are aiming to use it productively.

Now going to try and find this ‘How to be Urbisly Cool’.

Not On the link its not lol, Curt, It sends you to Steves Sister. :)

Hmmm… It works for me. Strange indeed.