Originally posted by S_Couture
I only review stories a the genre that I would tend to read and find pleasurable. There are some very good stories out there that I would give a Boccaccio style review on:

ie The Author writes adequately, but I didn't find the story arousing.

I wouldn't feel I was being fair to the author to submit such a review, so I abstain.
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Yours is certainly a principled point of view, and one which many people would share, Couture.

Most of the stories that I have read and reviewed (since making the suggestion a few months ago that we authors need to take the lead in generating more reviews) are ones that caught my eye, based on the synopsis and/or story codes. But sometimes the synopsis and the story codes are not as descriptive as they might be, and one finds one's self reading a story (well-written or not) whose subject matter is not to one's personal taste.

I reviewed your reviews, so to speak, before writing this; you have been reviewed quite often (well over twenty reviews, much more than most of us) and very favorably (only one score below six, if I recall correctly). And deservedly so. You write very well.

In my one review of one of your stories (which I gave a 7) I said something like 'a 9 for writing style, but only a 3 or a 4 for content'. And went on to explain what it was about the subject matter that I personally didn't care for.

And a thoughtful person could read my comments, and, based upon his or her tastes (and possibly his or her familiarity with my tastes) give my remarks a lot of weight, some, or none at all.

Isn't that how it should work?

I found much to admire in your story, as I indicated; and if you were to take a few hours :-) and immerse yourself in my long story, I think that you would find much to admire in mine -- even though there are perhaps a number of passages that you would want to pass over rather quickly.

And then if you were to write a review of my story similar to the one I wrote of yours "Nicely written, but I could have done without so many extended scenes of sexual violence," or whatever, that would be fair. And perhaps helpful to the next prospective reader.

Bottom line -- I still think it best to encourage people to write more reviews, rather than limiting them to stories that tilt toward their own particular interest. And those who read the reviews should read them, always, with that in mind.

Regards,

Boccaccio