a question about ethics

quicklime · May 10, 2013

Arpeggio said:
I’m just bored. How do I delete my profile please?

well, you seem well on the way to earning a permanent ban for being obnoxious, which is one way.

your initial word choice was poor, as well as thoughtless. Torgo has been pretty patient with explaining how and why, and you've mostly shown that you're that one kid who is too smart by half, happy to knock stuff around but incapable of taking a critique or correction. At this point, you can take a breath, simmer, and stick around to learn, or take whatever pride it is trolls take in being the flounce of the week, but that's your choice I guess.

benbradley · May 10, 2013

Sorry to continue the derail (though the OP appears to have posted their own satisfactory answer to the original question in #25), but...

This appears to be an attempt at a flounce. I'll be generous and give it a 2 out of 10.

Here's the FAQ if anyone wants to compare.

merrihiatt · May 10, 2013

iwannabepublished said:
My original post was a question about ethics. Someone suggested that I check out what Amazon says and I did.

Here is there website on the topic:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...422290442&pf_rd_i=customer-reviews-guidelines

and here is a little of what it says:

[FONT=&quot]To help illustrate, here are a few examples of customer reviews that we don't allow: [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]A product manufacturer posts a review of their own product, posing as an unbiased shopper [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]A customer posts a review in exchange for $5 [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]A family member of the product creator posts a five-star customer review to help boost sales [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]A seller posts negative reviews on his competitor's product [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]An artist posts a positive review on a peer's album in exchange for receiving a positive review from them[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Are paid customer reviews allowed?[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]No. We do not allow any compensation for a customer review other than a free copy of the product (provided up front). If we find evidence that a customer was paid for a review, we will remove it.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Are authors and artists allowed to review other authors/artists' works?[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Authors and artists can add a unique perspective and we very much welcome their customer reviews. However, we don't allow anyone to write customer reviews as a form of promotion. If you have a direct or indirect financial interest in a product, or perceived to have a close personal relationship with its author or artist, we will likely remove your review.[/FONT]

Maybe I'm naive but I do believe that reviews, especially positive ones, do help sell products. When I look for something on Amazon, I always read reviews, especially the negative ones. I make an effort to interpret the 1 star reviews to determine if they apply to my purchasing decision. A high percentage of positive reviews does help me make a buying decision.

The first book of my series, The Alkano Letters has received 4 reviews, 1 4 star and 3 5 star. I think this is a good start for me and hope it helps generate some sales.

I won't ask people I know or people that have helped with my book to write a review for me. If they do, that is there decision.

As an example, I write romance. I believe it would be unethical for me to review a romance novel at Amazon because my titles are in competition with other romance titles. Would my review be honest? Yes, but that isn't the point. Because I write in the same genre, there would always be the potential for someone to deem my review dishonest because I have a vested interest in that genre.

If I were to review science fiction or crime dramas, there would be no conflict of interest (unless I knew the author personally).

Polenth · May 10, 2013

Though you might not have meant it this way, so we're clear, Amazon isn't your guide to being ethical. Their rules are based on what will sell more books. They overlap at times with ethics, because if a lot of customers complain about something being unethical, they'll do something. Angry customers don't buy as much. But Amazon's rules aren't written with ethics in mind.

The importance being other review sites may have laxer rules or none at all. It doesn't mean they're endorsing things they don't ban. And it won't stop it upsetting a lot of customers if they decide your behaviour isn't ethical.

a question about ethics

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

merrihiatt

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Polenth

Mushroom