# March Review award bonus revisited!



## TUGBrian (May 14, 2007)

Since the month we offered membership extensions/ads was incredibly successful....id like to come up with a way to make this somewhat permanent.

The issue I had was with the difference in quality that varied so much with the reviews posted.

We had some (like the 1st quarter award winner) that were NOVELS...anything and everything a review should be.

Then we had others that were a simple paragraph or two...and while important...certainly doenst measure up to the others that were quite stellar.

What would you think about giving an extension or ad credit based on the quality of the review.

ie...any review will qualify for a free ad...or say at the minimum...2 months of membershp extension (number is flexible). regardless of any other factors.

This could instantly increase to 6mo if the resort hasnt been reviewed in the past 6months...etc etc...just like we are doing now.

Any excellent awards would get 6mo/free ad...regardless of last review date.

and any absolutely superb ones (like that one) would get a full year.

I believe I awarded them a full year as it is...as I was impressed.

none of this is set in stone...and im just throwing it out there to see what you guys think....and in the hopes that you have some other ideas or ways to make this work!

So what do you...the members...think about this?

(please dont stop writing reviews....they will still qualify if we implement this)


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## sfwilshire (May 14, 2007)

Anything you decide to offer will be appreciated. I just feel sorry for those that have to make the decisions re: quality level. 

Sheila


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## TUGBrian (May 14, 2007)

yea...at the moment...thats lookin like me!  lol

I would just like to have things setup to prevent the arguing I know I will recieve the first time someone gets a 2 vs 6.


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## Keitht (May 14, 2007)

Would it be fair to say that the review will have to cover more than just the resort based information in order to qualify as 'exceptional' ??
I don't mean this as in any way derogatory towards those who feel they only have the time or desire to produce good reviews of a resort and its facilities, but the reviews I most enjoy receiving are those that give a flavour of the area as well.


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## TUGBrian (May 14, 2007)

oh absolutely....exceptional reviews will be the gold standard.  These would be few and far between (think resort rated 10) etc.

everything you could ever hope for in a review....something you enjoy reading!

at the moment there are 3 categories that all reviews fall into.

Exceptional (very rare)

Great(majority)

and "Good...but could be better" 

at the moment its looking like 12mo, 6mo, 2mo extensions for the respective categories. 

The issue im having is the grey area between said levels that those 1% reviews fall into.

great...but not exceptional....good...but not great..etc etc.

It is these where the decision becomes very difficult.


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## Laurie (May 14, 2007)

Maybe you want more than 3 categories then! Why not make 5 categories, or some number that makes those decisions easier? 

I agree with Keith that reviews that cover the area, as well as the resort, are more useful than those just covering the resort, because often we "timeshare users" are trying to make an educated decision about both - the resort and the destination.  I mean, it's nice to know what cookware is included, or specific apartment layout, but more often those are details we want after we've already got a confirmation - I use the reviews to help decide what areas to search for, and then within those, which resorts I'd accept or reject.


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## Dori (May 14, 2007)

I think this is a wonderful idea!

Dori


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## JudyS (May 14, 2007)

TUG Improvements! said:


> ...It is these where the decision becomes very difficult.


Brian, as someone who does a lot of grading (I'm a college professor), the easiest way to keep everyone happy is to be an easy grader!  Most people aren't going to compare notes on what other people got.   If you are fairly lenient (say, writers get the 6 month extension unless their review is noticeably skimpier than most) then people will be happy. 

Also, the more categories you have, the *harder* the decisions become.  I'd keep it to three. 

I will PM you with some more details.


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## ausman (May 14, 2007)

The aim is to increase the number and quality of of reviews.?

For the high quality ones some reward.

For the rest I'd contemplate some form of lottery system. Every 25th review meeting some criteria  to be rewarded for example. Takes the subjective out of it makes it easy to administer and should produce the desired result.


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## abbekit (May 14, 2007)

Tough decision for you guys to rate all the reviews but thanks for doing this.

  I like writing reviews because it helps me re-live my holiday but unlike Keith I don't look to TUGS for comments about the area.  I use Fodors, Slow Travel and other more broad based travel boards for that info.  I use TUGS for info on the timeshares themselves, the specifics about the units, etc. to help me make up my mind about where to stay once I've decided on an area where I want to travel.  In fact I get annoyed when a TUGS review is a review about only the area and NOT the timeshare itself.  (I have that same reaction with Trip Advisor hotel reviews). 

I do like the idea of membership extensions rather than free ads since I don't have anything to rent or sell.


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## TUGBrian (May 14, 2007)

well all reviews are welcome and helpful....and anyone who contributes to furthering the community should be rewarded with free membership extensions.

TUG exists because of its members...we certainly want to reward and retain those that do their part to further the community!

Every review should get an award...but what I want is to provide a better reward for great/exceptional reviews...in the hopes that people will write more of them!

But we obviously want any and all reviews....as the more reviews...the more accurate representation one gets of each resort!


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## Kenrabs (May 14, 2007)

I'm all for anything that promotes getting more quality reviews.


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## Kenrabs (May 14, 2007)

I'm all for anything that promotes getting more quality reviews.


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## TUGBrian (May 15, 2007)

you can say that again!

(kidding...testing thread last post update)


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## CatLovers (May 15, 2007)

*The judge's decision is final*

Agree, only use three categories, else it gets unwieldy.  And invoke "The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entertained" rule.  Please ... if people have the time to argue about whether they should get 2 months or 6 months, perhaps they should invest that time in writing a better review!


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## UWSurfer (May 15, 2007)

I think anything you do to reward reviews is awesome.

I wrote what turned out to be a two parter while waiting for my plane at the airport after checking out of the resort.  The trip was very fresh in my mind and the resort I was at hadn't been reviewed for almost a year.

After I submitted it I discovered another member's review was posted the same day ahead of mine and presumably got the reward.   I'm traveling at the end of the month to another resort that hasn't had a review for some time and intended to write another.

Also...thank you for having put together and maintaining TUG.  What a great place and community...I learn quite a bit here.


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## SherryS (May 15, 2007)

I like the idea of some kind of "reward".  Gives a little incentive to take the time to write.


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## CMF (May 15, 2007)

*Dear Tug Lords . . .*

I prefer short and sweet reviews - no epics for me please.

Anecdote: The highest grade awarded in the the history of my college's biology department was for a paper that was also the shortest  

Charles


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## TUGBrian (May 15, 2007)

I do not plan on making a length requirement for earning either award level.

content yes...


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## TUGBrian (May 15, 2007)

For those who love awards and writing reviews....any of you submitted entries into this contest?

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45651


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## Laurie (May 15, 2007)

Just wanted to add, on the topic of what makes a review exceptional (to me): in addition to appreciating info and details about the area in general plus the resort in specific, I really like to know what is in reach of the location of the specific timeshare, and even some idea of the travel time to and from. This is a huge help to me, and it's not always easy or possible to discern this from maps or general area information. I like the other broad-based travel boards to get more depth, but they are so vast, I usually rely on TUG reviews as a starting point. So I love to know what folks did during their stay. 

Brian, this is somewhat another topic, but I'll say it here anyway, if the point is to both attract higher quality reviews as well as more readership. I love when review mods post the addition of new reviews both in the geographic forum and in this TUG area - otherwise I don't remember to check to see what's new - some do this, but not all. Would you consider a special area for that?

Thanks for the incentives - like abbekit I enjoy writing them because it helps me recall our travels, and this will help me get around to more of them.


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## TUGBrian (May 15, 2007)

a special area how?

could you elaborate more on that and what you mean by it?

Those reps that do that go above and beyond to post those reviews here on the BBS!


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## Laurie (May 15, 2007)

Just a forum called New Reviews Posted or something similar, where only new reviews would be announced. I'm really glad that a few moderators do that by listing new adds in this forum (which is also a hodgepodge of other topics, so I don't check it regularly uness a "headline" on the forums page catches my eye) plus the area they are covering - but several don't. You're right, that's above and beyond - sorry if I'm suggesting more work for others - I wonder whether there's any way to automate it?  

Announcements wouldn't need to link (tho it's great when they do), or even list resort names if that's too much work (tho it's great when they do), just a notice which minimally lists the areas that have new entries - then we can click on the area, where the new one(s) is/are right at the top.

If I could see at a glance a summary of new reviews when I check the BBS, I'd read way more of them, that's for sure.


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## Keitht (May 16, 2007)

I'm one of those who posts info about new reviews both in the 'About the Rest of TUG' and in the geographical area (Europe in my case).
I'm not keen on the idea of a single location for notification of all reviews, assuming I am interpreting what is being suggested correctly.  I would be concerned that the area would become flooded with notifications and people would end up having to trawl through pages searching for anything relevant.
The current method where a thread is headed 'Hawaii Reviews for May' for example makes it straight forward to locate the section for whatever area interests you.
If you are suggesting an additional forum purely for advising of new reviews there might be mileage in it, but only if all reps made use of it.  Currently we all have our own ways of doing things and some might not want the extra work.  I do think it helps give a wider audience to the reviews by having them in this general forum and in the region specific one.


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## debraxh (May 16, 2007)

I think it's great to give awards to everyone who submits a review that contains the information listed on the review input form.  It's even better that you're willing to give extended awards to those who put exceptional effort into their reviews. 

At times I like just basic information about the resort itself (for example, when I'm trying to decide whether or not to accept an exchange); and at other times I like complete information about the area as well (for instance when I'm trying to decide where to go for a specific vacation).

Maybe a separate section for "trip reports" would work?  Personally, I would also love to see resort pictures (taken by members, not from resort sites) included with reviews or in another section.


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## TUGBrian (May 16, 2007)

we already provide for users to submit pictures of the resort they took to be placed on the resort page along with their review....can simply just submit them to the review area manager!

We are also about to implement a "resort videos" link on the review pages that will provide even more for your reviewing pleasure.

look for that to come shortly!

Also we will be happy to accept members videos too once that is up and running!


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## Keitht (May 16, 2007)

debraxh said:


> I would also love to see resort pictures (taken by members, not from resort sites) included with reviews or in another section.



All pictures, whether provided by the resort or submitted my members, now live in the Resort Images section of the resort reviews.  They are no longer embedded in the individual reviews as was the case on the old review system.


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