Hardware sites and unbiased articles

[Speedo]

Hi! I'm one of the guys running the site TweakMax. I know that readers sometimes aren't sure when they read an article/review if the writer is unbiased or not, especially if the review item happen to be sponsored.

Then I got an idea. Instead of trying to explain the whole thing here, please take a look at the following page and say what you think:
http://www.tweakmax.com/html/unbiased.cfm

So I'm wondering if you guys think this is a good or bad idea? Since I would do this for you (the readers), I will go on if you guys like it, otherwise I will dump it.

Dump it or Go?

Thanx!

 

[Xanathar]

What if sites use it anyways? And what classifies as sponsorship? A larger company running it, or even just X company sending 1 sample of the product while they have to go buy X companies competetors product? Or what about Fair market influence where they receive products from Z company for free, but they only carry certain products so competetors arent even mentioned? Neither of these are large factors of Bias, but are part of it non the less.

 

[apoppin]

I think it's potential for misuse is greater than it's usefulness. We're not talking about the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."

'Unbiased' or 'biased' is way too subjective. I think the rule "let the reader beware" should apply. Fortunately, there is so much choice on the internet in regards to product reviews. If we are willing to invest the time to investigate several reviews, we can draw our own conclusions about bias or not.

 

[Speedo]

Well, the idea was mostly that when used, you know that the webmaster is thinking about it, and really tries to be unbiased when he writes.

Well, well, thanx anyway guys... I dumped it!

 

[AdamK47]

Sounds like a good idea. That reminds me of this GeForce 2 review:
http://voodooextreme.com/reverend/Reviews/nVidia_GF2GTS/nvidiaGTS_frames.html
Even if you do see one of those logos on it, it's very evident where the writer was leaning when he wrote this "review".

 

[apoppin]

I believe the webmaster already knows how biased he is or not. It's those reviewers that go out of their way to tell the readers how unbiased they are that makes me suspicious.

 

[Michael]

"Good Housekeepings Seal of Approval" is bought and does not mean that the product has been tested.

The button is ok, but the only pure way to go is the route Consumer Reports took years ago (and which is being discussed right now in "Off Topic&quot.

Michael

 

[JellyBaby]

There's a simple way to deal with writer/site bias: don't just stick to a single writer/site. I always check out several reviews before making a buying decision. And of course we have message boards like this one where people definitely call it like it is. I never knew exactly how much Rambus sucked until I came here.

 

[Speedo]

apoppin:
>I believe the webmaster already knows how biased he is or not

Of course, the button was meant for the readers. My idea was that this was a way for the webmaster to show that he thinks its very important with unbiased articles.

I go mad myself, when I read that "this little heatsink is just as effective as the Alpha PEP66" just becuase they got it for free. I go crazy when I read stuff like that!

I don't know if you have looked at our silver grease article. Anyway, we got it from 2CoolTek, but since it didn't drop the core temperature, we also wrote so in the review.

 

[apoppin]

I meant the webmaster asking for outside approval is going to send his (only) unbiased article. Do you have that muck time to go thru enough articles to judge the whole site? Not practical unless you can get something for it.

What is to stop someone from copying you and making their own "stamp of appproval"?

I was considering buying a Rage Maxx, I read 7 articles on it to get a good picture of the product. It really pays to gather as much info as possible. You will get your own idea of who is biased.