221–230 of 493 posts
Potentially good alternative is https://literal.club/ Not affiliated, just a happy user of the site.
I don’t think GoodReads has any real alternative. Amazon knew that. That’s why they bought it.
Eh, Goodreads has always suffered from the same problem that plagues every other review system which uses "score out of X" ranking. Humans just aren't very good at ranking things on a normal distribution, so you invariably end up with every item (books in this case) being ranked somewhere in the 3.5-4.5 range (since Goodreads is out of 5). For IMDB the rankings all hover around 8ish. When in reality the average book…
And for most people, it seems like the semantics of rating scales don't align with a normal distribution about the 50% mark, but something more like letter grades where 70% is decent/mediocre, while 50% is a failure (in the US).
IMO this makes at least as much sense as centering around 50%; if you only score 50% of the points on a test I don't think you're competent in a subject, and if your book only meets 50% of the criteria for a great book then it might be a bad book. But again, it's all arbitrary and only makes sense in the context of the particular reviewer or aggregate community.
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Same thing with Book Depository, AbeBooks, and Avalon Books. And more generally Whole Foods, Alexa Internet, IMDB, Fabric.com, Woot, Zappos, Evi, Graphiq... When will consumers have protection against this degrading of the marketplace already?
You skipped Audible which I would add to the list of give it just enough oxygen to stay alive but no innovation allowed strategies. You can't even connect your Audible account to your GoodReads. Audible is the app I would most like to replace that I use almost everyday.
As a disclaimer, I have never used it myself but I have heard good things of it.
Eh, Goodreads has always suffered from the same problem that plagues every other review system which uses "score out of X" ranking. Humans just aren't very good at ranking things on a normal distribution, so you invariably end up with every item (books in this case) being ranked somewhere in the 3.5-4.5 range (since Goodreads is out of 5). For IMDB the rankings all hover around 8ish. When in reality the average book…
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Goodreads was the future of aggressively biased people shouting their opinions to other people with no discernable value in theirs over others. Rose tinted view.
You mean like what you're doing right now?
> But Goodreads allows any user, not just those who’ve received advance copies, to leave ratings months before books are released. Authors who’ve become targets of review-bombing campaigns say there’s little moderation or recourse to report the harassment. Writers dealing with stalkers have pointed to the same problem. "Problem": chicken-and-egg problem. Until it's actually published, there's little or no way for a r…
The thing is that it is a pretty easy to solve problem. Print advance copies with a QR code that contains a link to the publisher's site with a GUID in the params. The publisher would have a page, authenticated with the GUID, with authenticated links to private review pages. This allows for knowing the person had the advance copy. Just that line will kill 95% of review bombing. You can also use the publisher side to…
This started out as /s but now I just feel like all of my information and every daily habit is going to end up (sold) online anyway.
We're still hoping the owner of the New Goodreads doens't sell the ability to remove bad reviews. But what's the incentive not to? Hoping I see something better in the comments here.
Eh, Goodreads has always suffered from the same problem that plagues every other review system which uses "score out of X" ranking. Humans just aren't very good at ranking things on a normal distribution, so you invariably end up with every item (books in this case) being ranked somewhere in the 3.5-4.5 range (since Goodreads is out of 5). For IMDB the rankings all hover around 8ish. When in reality the average book…
> I just give you two books that you've read and you tell me which is better. I can't wait to compare The Pickwick Papers against The Unfolding of Language .
Constraining pairings within their genres might suffice, if possible. There are several standard ontology for books, and it's not a trivial problem.
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Devils advocate; Is it not possible that Nintendo just makes good games? They spend a lot of time on development, don't rush things, the trailers are honest about gameplay and what to expect. I can understand it's not your cup of tea or arguments that their online service is shit (it is) but reviewing a video game in isolation, many of them seem to be good games objectively. Games that don't appeal to the average CoD…
Nah, you can see it on subreddits as people discuss the game. Complaining about a few enemies, copypaste world, etc... Its not a 10/10, but it will still be reviewed like this. Imagine you got rid of the Zelda skins and Zelda name, released it on Xbox. What would it get then? Don't get me wrong, I religiously play all the zelda's and find ways to enjoy them. I am under Nintendo's spell, but I also know these are the…
I do think it’s worth noting how many of the ideas from BotW have been copied in the past 6 years in other games.
I guess my point is, I can understand the 10/10s but I also find it entirely reasonable to view it closer to a 7 or 8.
We’re also not thinking about things in a vacuum in this discussion. Is the Xbox game released as if BotW never happened? Nintendo certainly uses its brand to buy marketing influence but importantly, I don’t think the company is pissed when games fail.
Skyward Sword was a good example of that actually. It’s failure literally led to BotW. Nintendo got off their laurels and reinvented their “tried and true” formula and now it’s paying off.
I am closer your position for games like 2D Mario. Zero innovation and I’ll be eagerly watching the reviews for the new game later this year.
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A decade+ of acquisition as the default "exit" (and the idea that you have to be driving for an "exit" in the first place) made people straight up forget how companies normally work, apparently.
Seriously, why not just do something well and make a living from it? I've seen the word enshittifcation plenty lately, and it strikes me that the focus on exits and payouts is a big part of the problem. I feel old and you goddamn kids better be off my lawn by the time I get back with the shotgun.