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Review Standards

rickdugan
Verified and Certifiable Super-Reviewer
For the most part, I think that the reviews are better here than anywhere else, but of course some obvious shill reviews do slip through. I think that the flag feature was a great addition and is hopefully helping with this issue. One thing, however, that continues to irk me are the "drive-by" reviews, including some posted by some people with fairly serious review counts.

So-called "drive-by" reviews are those that provide very little information about the club, girls or visit in general and are usually no longer than a single paragraph. When I see these types of reviews, it is usually pretty clear that the reviewer either (1) was not in the club very long and is probably posting primarily to keep VIP status; or (2) just too lazy to give a proper review.

Maybe I am a bit of an idealist, but if I cannot give a fairly full review of a club then I do not bother. As an example, during my last trip to Atlanta I visited Follies but, since I was only in there for an hour and only talked with one girl, did not review the club as I simply did not have enough intel to provide a good information. Now I am not saying that every review that I post is spectacular, but I do try to maintain a certain minimum standard and if I am not in the club for at least a couple of hours, with interactions with at least a few girls, then I do not believe that I have enough material to do a proper job of it.

Over time I have learned to skim by the obvious crap reviews, but I tend to stop when I see reviewers with decent review counts. Unfortunately, some of those reviewers with decent counts have accumulated those numbers by posting a series of junkie reviews that provide little substance.

32 comments

Latest

SuperDude
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13 years ago
rickdugan--How do we remedy this problem? There is an approval process before a review is acceted, by we don't know all the standards involved. Should there be a word minimum? Are we going to require the reviewer to state how many hours he was in the club? I doubt if anything can be done about it. We will have to rely on our own judgment in filtering out the bad and worthless reviews as you have done.
shadowcat
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13 years ago
We can argue all day long about the content of reviews. I just want to point out that inspite of the statment "Your review will be sent to the editors for review". They are not being reviewed prior to publication. They are being rubber stamped. I assume that due to the volume now, F and his editors, simply do not have the time. They have real jobs too. As has been said in the past. Just read what you want to read and skip the rest.
vincemichaels
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13 years ago
I've followed Founder's standards pretty much when I've written my reviews. Some may think my subsequent reviews of a club may not be as informative as they wish, but if there hasn't been a substantive change in any of the aspects of a place that I've noticed. I won't touch on them. If the club has been renovated physically, you'll see that. Take note of some of my recent reviews. As far as dancers and dance quality, I'll put my current experiences in. As we know there is a constant turnover of dancers, and the quality of the dance experience will vary due to numerous factors. Several of the clubs I like up here in Southeast Michigan have not been as good VIP experiences as I've had in the past. Oh well. Thanks to shadowcat's reviews and PM's, I've checked the current reviews of Columbia PP and it has slipped a lot. I hope you guys (and gals) think I cover important aspects of the clubs. If you don't think I'm doing a good job, let me know.
dudeanonymous
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13 years ago
I get what you are saying. Some of the reviews here can be less than informative. But I've also posted what I would consider short, "drive-by" reviews before, most recently last winter for Chateau Gentlemen's Club in Columbia, SC. Went in during the afternoon and nobody - dancers, bartender, customers, etc. - was there. My visit lasted less than a minute. I wanted to warn others that if they come to this club in the afternoon, they might face the same situation. Without the individual club discussion areas (which were rarely used when they existed) how do you propose to impart such information?
georgmicrodong
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13 years ago
While I don't entirely disagree, I don't think there's an easy solution that won't require much more work on Founder's part. Even the flag thing probably requires some significant attention of his part to deal with. Even if the editors were to actually read and comprehend each review, it would still be a very subjective decision about which to publish and which to reject. Even a very short review *can* provide useful information, even if most of them don't.

Many of the possible solutions discussed on this site have much the same flaw that the review system itself does, i.e. subjectivity. The thumbs up/down, helpful/unhelpful, etc indicators depend on readers, and are likely ripe for abuse as well, absent, again, much work on Founder's part to prevent.

One thing I do think has the potential to mitigate the situation is the club discussion boards, though that too suffers from a high degree of subjectivity. To *really* be effective, though, I think there would need to be a system in place to notify "subscribers" of discussions that a new post has been posted. Again, though, a system that keeps track of what I'm interested in and notifies me of changes to *only* those things is going to entail much more work on Founder's part to make it worthwhile.

TUSCL's success in this regard may be it's own worst enemy.
GoVikings
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13 years ago
rick, you said that you think the reviews here are better than everywhere else.

where is "everywhere else" what other site provides reviews?
rh48hr
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13 years ago
I just take reviews I read and take the intel that I feel works for me and disregard the rest. I flag reviews I think are shill reviews to help others. The intel I received here helped immensely when I went to Adelita's,. Don't think I would have gone there with out it. It's rare when I can't read a few reviews and glean enough info to make a cogent decision. I try to be thorough on my experiences in the club in my reviews. I hope it helps.
canny
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13 years ago
I've had one review rejected with a note to expand on it. The editors aren't just rubber stamping the reviews.

I rewrote my review of that club and it was accepted the second time I posted it.
HB13
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13 years ago
What exactly are you looking for in a good review? Would you like an item by item comment of why each category was scored in such a way?

Physical Club: Bars, Stages, Chairs, VIP rooms, Sound System, Bouncers/Floaters?
Dancer Quality: Girl Types (College, MILF, BBW, Latina/Asian, etc.), Girl number, atmosphere (chit-chat relaxed, dance/$-hungry pressure, girls smoke/drunk)?
Value: Cover Charge, Drinks/Food, VIP Charges, Customer Service, Mileage?
wm2slc
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13 years ago
As canny said, I have also had reviews rejected and asked to expand... I had written the review very early one morning after getting back from the club. In retrospect it was a lame review and I did get a bit more specific..
I think the editors are doing a pretty good job, but there will always be exceptions...
motorhead
•
13 years ago
rick,

Yeah, I don't disagree with you either. Especally in my earlier reviews, I tried to follow Founder's review template, but once you've written 4,5,6 reviews for the same club, what more is there to say without repeating yourself? The drive-by reviews to gain VIP time is going to happen. Do you want the policy to change? How many of us want to start paying $29.95 a month to access this site? I get your point, so I'm going to try and be more diligent.

On the other hand, when posters do expand on reviews, such as talking about the features of the club, or ease of parking, or security, some jaded regulars are critical and say, fuck that, just tell me about the extras. So what you gonna do?
shadowcat
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13 years ago
Length is the only thing in the text of a review that is automatically monitored. You will get a warning that your review may not be accepted.
harrydave
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13 years ago
I think the flagging feature is working for shills and ex-employee rants. And if there is a filter for minimum length, I'm ok with that. As for content, there is a three dimension rating system, so some mention of each dimension would at least justify the numeric score. Beyond that, I kind of like the variety. Each review is both about the club and the reviewer, whether intentional or not. I like clubs that are a melting pot, and I think TUSCL is similar.

Ok farmerart, it's your turn for some philosophical take on this..."While staring at the Aurora Borealis this evening..."
minnow
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13 years ago
I hear you, Rick. That said, I really can't offer any foolproof standards. Length of review and detailed descriptions of club doesn't always prove legitimacy or usefullness as anyone can go to club website replete with detailed pictures enough to glean some details from.
In all honesty, a review that stated " I dropped in on a Tuesday afternoon, club had 4 fugly dancers, lame stageshows, and indifferent beverage service, so I left after 20 minutes" to be more useful to me than a "Dear Penthouse" genre detailing a night visitors VIP session with ONE dancer if I were from out of town considering an afternoon visit before catching flight home.
I can say that I've flagged reviews and, prior to flag feature, pm'ed founder about suspect reviews. In almost every case, founder took appropriate action.
GSWx4
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13 years ago
“In all honesty, a review that stated " I dropped in on a Tuesday afternoon, club had 4 fugly dancers, lame stageshows, and indifferent beverage service, so I left after 20 minutes" to be more useful to me than a "Dear Penthouse" genre detailing a night visitors VIP session with ONE dancer if I were from out of town considering an afternoon visit before catching flight home.”

minnow sums up what I look for in a review (and I do use them). What’s the club like and should I give it a shot? Any review that can do that is OK with me. Unfortunately, *many* reviews don’t answer those questions. TUSCL is still a great resource never the less. Also agree that flagging is having a positive effect.
thesamurai
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13 years ago
I hear rick's point, but overall I think this site does a good job, and most people offer information even in short reviews.
The ones I can't stand are strippers or ex-employees that are trying to burn a club that fired them or whatever.
racejeff
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13 years ago
I've sort of been thinking of this issue for an update review of Rick's Cabaret in Indy, In May After new management and a remodel posted a detailed review as all was new. Then a month ago short update based on a quick visit that would fail the more than one hour test and the dancer interaction. There simply were not enough dancers and the one present were lower quality than needed to catch my interest. But thought the lack of dancers and customers was worthy of a report.

Recently I discovered they have changed the wristband price so feel a need to update the reduction but I'm not sure how to handle the rest of the detail people need/want. As a regular I may only get dances from established dancers and YMMV my experience is now where near the what an out traveler may get.
farmerart
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13 years ago
While staring at the Aurora Borealis this evening I pondered the meaning of life. The grandeur and magnificence of the vast northern sky emphasized my own insignificance. Why am I here? Is there a purpose to my existence? What could I ever do that matches the breath-taking beauty of the Northern Lights?

Perhaps the wisdom of my tuscl posts is the best that I can do. Just as Aurora Borealis does not appear every evening the perfect tuscl review appears only infrequently. All we can do is watch and read and when those few gem reviews appear we must clasp them to our bosoms, savour them, learn from them, and then go forth and try to emulate them.

@ harrydave: I have never seen the Aurora Borealis at this time of year - a winter time phenomenon only in my experience.
harrydave
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13 years ago
@farmerart: Saw it once on full display in Maine. Pulled over to the side of the road and watched it for a half hour. No psychotropic drugs involved. Yes, winter time.
shadowcat
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13 years ago
I saw it once from Anchorage, AK.
GSWx4
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13 years ago
@farmerart. The Aurora Borealis Beach Club was a strip club that I very much enjoyed. Like the real Aurora Borealis it simply disappeared. The best we can do is to enjoy and then fondly remember such wonders.
Clubber
•
13 years ago
Rick,

I can agree with you on the reviews and am guilty of it. The way I read reviews is to go back and get a "handle" on the club. Then the others just supplement that, and if something changes, hopefully that is noted. I don't need every review going over the club location, layout, cost, etc. But that is me.


vincemichaels
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13 years ago
Yes, the Aurora Borealis is beautiful, but the sight of some fine dancer sliding up and down on my pole (Gwen, included) LOL beats it. Find a reason to slip away for a few days Art. Detroit misses ya. LMAO
shadowcat
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13 years ago
vince, I am sure that Gwen would really appreciate a good fucking right about now and Jr. would like a poke in the head. :)
gatorfan
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13 years ago
I think everyone should review every review and decide if the review should be posted.
rickdugan
•
13 years ago
Great responses overall. To be clear, I am not in favor of continuous rehashing of, in particular, club layouts, nor am I a big believer in a prescribed format. Further, I can understand situations where someone simply wants to report that there were no girls - period (I did this in one review).

I also think that the editors are doing a good job overall. There is only so much that they can exclude. If they start using too heavy a hand then far less people will post reviews, so a balance is necessary.

I am just particularly disappointed with some of the heavier weights that post junkie reviews. They, of all people, should be seasoned enough to know that a rehashing of pricing structures and details regarding the girls and atmosphere are always useful, even if they just confirm already understood intel.
txtittyfan
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13 years ago
I think it is good to have a diversity of reviews and styles. Short reviews may also come from an uninspiring visit as well as maintaining VIP status.
imnumnutz
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13 years ago
i used to write newscasts for radio, so i'm always brief and to the point. Also, for most guys here, there's only 2 things they really wanna know: How do the girls look? What do they do or not do? (AKA "extras?")
rickdugan
•
13 years ago
Below is exactly the type of thing that I am talking about. This guy has 39 reviws of 27 clubs, but he might as well have not written this review. How many girls were there and where did they rate? What is "reasonable" for a drink price? Did he get a LD and, if so, how much and how was it?

He gave almost no details and the couple of data points he did provide could very easily have been picked up rom other reviewers. In fact, I seriously doubt he was in the club at all.


SCANDALS (Long Island City, NY)
domiandray

Member Since
December 2007

Last Seen
August 2011

Reviews: 39
Clubs: 24

November 17, 2010
Visited on: Friday Afternoon • Dancers on Shift: 11-25
Ratings: Physical Club: 8 • Dancer Quality: 8 • Dollar Value: 9 • Overall Rating: 8.33 / 10

I used to go this place when it was on greenpoint ave but that was over a decade ago. now located in the queens plaza section it's more easy to get to by subway as the trains are only like a block or two away.

but in on a friday afternoon. nice couches with small tables. drinks are reasonable. no cover. lots of girls - mostly latin and euro. you should find someone you like to bring back for laps, which i think you'll more than like. i don't know how this place is at nights but for the time being i'm sticking with the noon shifts.

Clubber
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13 years ago
Personally, I see no problem with the review. Of course his writing skills are those of a 5 year old! Quick and to the point.

Now for a newbie seeing it and not willing to check other reviews, well...
mjx01
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13 years ago
YMMV. The flag feature is a good step to cut down on phony reviews, but not a lot you could do beyond that.
Dougster
•
13 years ago
Holy crap, this is pretty long thread about a COMPLETE NON-ISSUE.
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