...because he wants everyone to see how dedicated the author was.

Or obsessive, one of the two.

Amazon doesn't allow you to change the rating of a published review, only update the text.

he should petition Amazon, since the reviewer sounds like an ass

UPDATE NOTE (Feb 2,09): I received a new copy from the author himself on Christmas Day, hand delivered (for more info please read follow-up comments to this review). The book is excellent, very clear and easy to follow. My rating of 1 star (based on the first book I received, since I could not read the full content of the misprinted issue) now could be changed to 5 star. However, if I change it to 5 star, most review readers could miss the "happy ending" (read follow-up comments), and the Author's concern and excellent service on a winter stormy day... (By the way, I did not ask for a refund from Amazon since the author gave me a new copy the next day).

"But I did not change the rating," he said. "I want people to look at my comment and see what a dedicated author he is."

That's actually fairly reasonable. I know this may surprise a few of you, but most people tend to gloss over all the "***** OMG AWESUM BOOK WOULD BY AGAIN A+++++++++++++!!!!11!!!!!" reviews.

floor9: That's actually fairly reasonable. I know this may surprise a few of you, but most people tend to gloss over all the "***** OMG AWESUM BOOK WOULD BY AGAIN A+++++++++++++!!!!11!!!!!" reviews.

yes, I mainly read the 1 star reviews anyway.

What is this asshole's fark handle?

Well, sure, who doesn't trust the opinions of complete strangers?

On any reviews I scan the negative ones for issues that may not even be related to me. If I scan low reviews for software and see "too hard to use" or something I know that it may not apply to me because of my ability to grasp things others may not be able to. Also, freak accidents happen in many 1 star ratings so I factor those in as well. It's really helped me out in purchasing quality items.

So he gave it a bad rating because of the physical condition of the book and not actually the content of the book? I hate reviewers like that. I was looking for a hard drive on newegg.com recently, and some guy gave the drive a 1-star rating. His reason was that newegg had a problem with his credit card and cancelled his order. WTF does that have to do with rating the product?

Fano: What is this asshole's fark handle?

It was probably Fano - that guy's a prick.

Most user reviews are 5 stars anyway. Nobody who thought something was mediocre will review it unless they felt they had to. If somebody likes something they're going to tell others about it. The only time you see three star reviews is if the author/band/film series has been around a while and fans of that franchise will clamor over how average it is or how it's not their best material. One star reviews are the only ones worth reading because it brings up a good question; what's so bad about it that somebody would write a bad review for it?

So amazon tells authors the address of people who leave bad reviews?

I'm going to write "A Student's Guide to the Internet" that teaches professors and authors that internet comments are rarely to be taken seriously. Professors are our most treasured resource, and they shouldn't be taking to heart to every bad review they get on a website.

Father Jack Hacket: floor9: That's actually fairly reasonable. I know this may surprise a few of you, but most people tend to gloss over all the "***** OMG AWESUM BOOK WOULD BY AGAIN A+++++++++++++!!!!11!!!!!" reviews.

yes, I mainly read the 1 star reviews anyway.

Same here. They're either funnier or more accurate. Sometimes, they're both.

Marshall Willenholly: So he gave it a bad rating because of the physical condition of the book and not actually the content of the book? I hate reviewers like that. I was looking for a hard drive on newegg.com recently, and some guy gave the drive a 1-star rating. His reason was that newegg had a problem with his credit card and cancelled his order. WTF does that have to do with rating the product?

I think it was an issue with the print being unreadable.
And yeah, I'm with you on the retarded newegg reviews. Not quite youtube comment bad yet, but they're getting worse all the time.

bassett: Fano: What is this asshole's fark handle?

It was probably Fano - that guy's a prick.

Probably.

Was the book about Tuscan Milk?

I can see why he'd do that- like others have said, I tend to ignore the 5 star reviews because so many of them are either completely unhelpful or are posted just to raise the star ratings. I go to the one star reviews first to read what their opinions are because more often than not they're likely to be more informative & interesting.

That said, I do have to agree a bit with Marshall Willenholly. It irritates me when people give reviews based on the physical condition of the book & the shipping process. That's not really what the review system on Amazon is for. If you purchased it through a specific seller then there's a separate rating system for rating how good a seller was. If you want to make a separate note on your book review on how the shipping & book condition was, then that's fine. Just don't make that what decides the star rating.

Amazon customer reviews are a lot like Youtube video comments: Any lunatic can make one.

Very nice marketing stunt.

Lutwidge: Was the book about Tuscan Milk?

No, but that thing is a literary tour de force!

WOw. Really crazy and cool and the part of the author. 5 stars!!!

Neat story.

The book in question:

Father Jack Hacket: floor9: That's actually fairly reasonable. I know this may surpriThisse a few of you, but most people tend to gloss over all the "***** OMG AWESUM BOOK WOULD BY AGAIN A+++++++++++++!!!!11!!!!!" reviews.

yes, I mainly read the 1 star reviews anyway.


Yup. The negatives are so fascinating - it's like watching a train wreck and reading a great narrative all at once.

I feel more informed and actually feel safer to buy the product. Which is weird, and I expect to find a great psycological study from it.

A jolly white-bearded man flew through the snow to personally deliver a Christmas gift on Christmas Eve. I have nothing further to add.

Marshall Willenholly: So he gave it a bad rating because of the physical condition of the book and not actually the content of the book? I hate reviewers like that. I was looking for a hard drive on newegg.com recently, and some guy gave the drive a 1-star rating. His reason was that newegg had a problem with his credit card and cancelled his order. WTF does that have to do with rating the product?

Nothing. Newegg is full of those. So many aren't related to the item. "Worst snowstorm on record, UPS man couldn't deliver". I'm sort of shocked that they don't drop those off of there. Some are comedy gold, others make you want to kick the reviewer.

In my experience: Writers are crazy. Mathematicians are crazy.

If you meet somebody who writes about math, duck.

I just love the reading the reviews of political books. Most of the negative ones seem to be from people who never read the book but hate the author (Ann Coulter for example), since none of their ramblings have anything to do with the book. They must be paid trolls by the DNC or just have no real lives.

I think we're missing the true message of the story. If we post negative reviews of this professor's books, he'll bring us free copies! There's no need to buy them from Amazon at all!

Say, I wonder what else that might work on...

SEX WITH SCARLETT JOHANSSON - ONE STAR RATING   *
I wish to complain about the poor quality of sex with Scarlett Johansson. I had sex last night with someone I assumed to be Ms. Johansson, but discovered later that I had been copulating with a wax mannequin intended for future display at Madame Tussaud's. (Said mannequin is no longer planned to be displayed, due to recent wear-and-tear.) Since this mannequin was designed as an exact replica, I can only assume sex with the real Ms. Johansson is just as cold, lifeless, and poses the same risk of flammability and chafing. I will continue to complain about this unless real-life experience proves me incorrect.

The review:

Link (new window)

Yikes!

Sounds like some of the utterly unreasonable and psychopathic old biatches my wife sells to on Ebay.

My wife sells cosmetic products and decorations from an Ebay store.
Despite the fact that every single one of her listings boldly states ALL ITEMS ARE 100% GUARANTEED which includes post office delays or damage, we still routinely generate negative reviews. These horrible c*nts won't even e-mail us and request a refund or replacement. They just dump a negative feedback without allowing us an opportunity to resolve the issue.

This is likely why I am on blood pressure medicine.

The story left out the key element: Why did the author feel compelled to deliver the replacement book on Christmas?

Gleaned from the context: The book was a Christmas present for the guy's nephew. It had to be delivered that day to be right.

Where have all the writers gone? They're no longer in the writing business.

Father Jack Hacket: floor9: That's actually fairly reasonable. I know this may surprise a few of you, but most people tend to gloss over all the "***** OMG AWESUM BOOK WOULD BY AGAIN A+++++++++++++!!!!11!!!!!" reviews.

yes, I mainly read the 1 star reviews anyway.

Its a combination mainly, that way you can see both ends of the spectrum but the negative reviews are more interesting.

Battlestar Girlactica: I can see why he'd do that- like others have said, I tend to ignore the 5 star reviews because so many of them are either completely unhelpful or are posted just to raise the star ratings. I go to the one star reviews first to read what their opinions are because more often than not they're likely to be more informative & interesting.

That said, I do have to agree a bit with Marshall Willenholly. It irritates me when people give reviews based on the physical condition of the book & the shipping process. That's not really what the review system on Amazon is for. If you purchased it through a specific seller then there's a separate rating system for rating how good a seller was. If you want to make a separate note on your book review on how the shipping & book condition was, then that's fine. Just don't make that what decides the star rating.

It depends on what you're buying. If it is damaged because of poor packing, and will most likely be damaged if re-shipped, it is good to know. It is also good to know what was done to remedy the situation.

What if you ordered a gallon of Tuscan Whole Milk from Amazon? wouldn't it be appropriate to only give it 1star because it arrived warm and spoiled? Sure... it is milk, and it came from a good cow...

My uncle wrote a childrens/pre-teen book called The Losers Club. Apparently, there's another book out there with the same name about the life of some drug addict (basically a Charles Bukowski rip-off). So some asshole ordered my uncle's book by mistake and gave him a 1 star review because it was the "wrong" book.

He was pretty pissed off because he only had 3 reviews at the time and the other two were very well thought out and complimentary. I think it took Amazon over a year to get rid of the review.

The lesson as always: people are idiots.

Thud'nBlunder: The story left out the key element: Why did the author feel compelled to deliver the replacement book on Christmas?



Cocaine Methamphetamine is a hell of a drug.

/or since he's a professor, Ritalin?

Thud'nBlunder: Where have all the writers gone? They're no longer in the writing business.

I think they are here on Fark, where they either write for free - or pay $5 a month to have a captive audience.

Thud'nBlunder: Where have all the writers gone? They're no longer in the writing business.

They stopped writing. They're tired of all the asshats giving them negative reviews on Amazon.

"Where have all the writers gone? They're no longer in the writing business."

Clearly they're all working for FedEx delivering packages...

Thud'nBlunder: Where have all the writers gone? They're no longer in the writing business.

Gone to Starbucks, every one.

It's cool to write reviews on Amazon. After you've done it for a while, Amazon start to offer you free stuff, on condition that you review it.

Not only that, but it's nice to have the words 'international opera critic' on your resume.

Who wrote this headline? Michael Moore? JFC.

Best Amazon reviews: JL421 Badonkadonk

Link (new window)

I get bad reviews once in a while. Usually from customers that are new or unaware of media mail times, didn't read the descriptions, etc....
I'll usually refund some or all of the books cost.
The customers have, so far, always removed their bad feedback. (You can't change your feedback, but you can remove them.)

/Amazon seller with 100% feedback. Thousands of sales.
//Really getting a kick, ect...
///Save a tree, buy your books used.

I wrote a review of a book for Amazon, and mentioned that there were some factual errors in the book.

About a week later, the publisher emailed me and asked me if I'd be willing to send them corrections for said errors.

I did, and now I have a editing credit in the front of all the new copies.

Kinda cool...No money involved though...

AaronSynn: I wrote a review of a book for Amazon, and mentioned that there were some factual errors in the book.

About a week later, the publisher emailed me and asked me if I'd be willing to send them corrections for said errors.

I did, and now I have a editing credit in the front of all the new copies.

Kinda cool...No money involved though...

I find typos a lot in books, but I've never really cared enough to contact anyone because they're not going to pay me for reading carefully anyway. In one book I bought it was so poorly edited that I actually started highlighting the errors. I felt like a damned elementary school teacher.

My copy is defective too... my address is...