Write-up posted on www.mouthshut.com ... but deleted because Mouthshut hates transparency ...
Hmmm Mouthshut is not just about writing reviews. But also about reading. Well its not just about reading, but knowing the writer when reading ...
You can have your Mouthshut, but dont have your EYES SHUT
I was once recommended a review by radhikas and when I went to the review I could see it was just so brilliant with so much specific details. The writer (?) was kalyan_baital. As I kept reading the review (on a tourist attractions), I could see details like 1315ft, etc etc. If you write a review will you give details to such a precision? And if you give such a detail would you not mention the source from where you derived that data??? I knew it was copied from somewhere else ... I googled and could see the exact wordings somewhere else on the net ... sorry, the entire review was picked up from somewhere on the net .. I mentioned the link in the comments and marked it NU. But everyone else had given it an VU!
So think from the writers perspective ... you can spot plagiarism ... mostly
Now, when you dont spot plagiarism what happens?
The answer is very obvious ... (atleast because I have mentioned it in the title) we becomes fools and foolers become contest winners! Yes, kalyan_baital gets to win the ’Go goa’ contest!!!
Is mouthshut not professional enough and efficient enough to spot this or there is some other tale behind this? It is understood that there are review flooding, and it might not be possible to spot every copied review by Mouthshut, but we can. Mark the plagiarized reviews as NU (Not Useful).
Where mouthshut went wrong ..
They can atleast do some work on the reviews written of the ’to be’ contest winners. Ok if they miss one or two; if all the reviews from the contest winner are copied and if Mouthshut doesnt spot it ...I am sorry I am not able to comment further.
I stop here to show you how kalyan_baital has copied ... (I am not sure why I stick to just this person .. but it is not my job to check reviews, itz Mouthshut’s job). All his reviews are ’Tourist attraction’ reviews ... and after the contest he hasnt written one rev ... probably he is busy in Goa ..
Here it goes ...
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1)
Excerpts:
Permits to visit other parts of Sunderbans can be obtained from the Divisional Forest Officer, 24 Parganas, 35 Gopalnagar Road, Kolkata.
For foreigners, permits are available at the Forest Department in the Writer’s Building, Kolkata. Note that the core area- the National Park- is off-limits for tourists; you’ll only be able to visit the wildlife sanctuary.
Review: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Sunderbans_Wildlife_Sanctuary-103006-1.html
Other place on the net: http://www.journeymart.com/Dexplorer/AsiaIS/India/india_addon/wildlife/sunderbans.asp
2)
Excerpts:
Within Srinagar, on its highest hill is the Shankaracharya temple, nearly one thousand feet above the city. It is devoted to Lord Shiva. The site dates back to 2,500 BC. The philosopher Shankaracharya stayed at this site when he visited Kashmir ten centuries ago to revive "Sanatan Dharma".
Review: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Srinagar-102677-1.html
Other place on the net: http://www.travel-himalayas.com/himalaya-travel-attractions/srinagar-travel-tours.html
3)
Excerpts:
Somnath at Somnath Patan, near Veraval in Gujarat is a pilgrimage center held in great reverence throughout India. Somnath is considered to be the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. Somnath is situated on the south coast of Saurashtra
Review: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Somnath-102676-1.html
Other place on the net: http://www.templenet.com/Western/somnath.html
There should definitely be more ... I bet ... But I dont have time and itz not my work either ...
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So have your eyes wide open, there are foolers around ...
Signing off,
-Vinayak
(I know I havent given much details about reading review here ... but this review has a purpose ... I am not bothered about how you might rate this review of mine... but will be happy if you have just read it and understood what is happening around. Thanks for reading. As always available for your comments ... )
ok, i'm first here, to tell u the truth, i didnt really expect MS to delete the review mainly because i thought they would do the decent thing, let people criticise and either ignore it or try to give some answers and solutions. but, so much for MS's letting the consumer have a voice. just proves that the consumer can have a voice as long as that isnt directed towards mouthshut itself. dont they realise that by actually doing this, they've proved that you are on the right track here.
ReplyDeletei wonder how long they can sustain their business model with a floating population who write 1/2 mediocre reviews and go away, since these disgusting strong-arming tactics are just going to lose them their regular users. well, i for one, have stopped contributing there.
I knew my review would go off ... How can mouthshut save its face from the blunder ...??
ReplyDeleteHmm from what anuj and others say, it looks like this is not the first time.
But I wouldnt want to leave mouthshut atleast for the friends I made there ... I shall probably stop writing review, will just stick to reading and commenting on others reviews.
Vinayak, I think you've learned the hard way that transparency has no place in the dictionary of mouthshut. For long I kept ignoring these facts hoping that they will change their ways for the better someday but when I saw this happening again and again I was left with no desire to contribute to them. Ketul tells that he has knowledge of mouthshut getting sold. If that happens maybe their will be some change. I am still hopeful, if the new management stamps their authority over these folks we may just see some change. But it all depends on when that happens, till then we have to face this rot from them.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Anuj
i don't think this review was deleted at all in mouthshut , read this there too
ReplyDeleteanyway , nice points :)
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jvpoirot