Aussie Readers discussion
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EDITING BUG!!! And other bugs!
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Rowan
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Jun 27, 2023 06:29PM
Crazy that it made the news! One of the biggest outages I can recall - wonder what caused it all? There was apparently an article in the New York Times about Goodreads the day before.
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Thanks for those links, Brenda. I kept checking on and off, and on the way home from work thought 'oh no it'll just be the same' then it worked and I nearly fell over ;)But as you all said, it was still sketchy. I mostly missed updating my page counts, funnily enough, as I'm reading multiple at the moment.
Brenda wrote: "I don't know Rowan - I hope it's nothing that'll hurt us readers!"The NY Times article is about the known issue of people piling on an author and panning their book even before it is published because they don't like something about the author, the subject matter, or - whatever!
Elizabeth Gilbert has had to postpone publication of her book, "The Snow Forest" about Siberia because it is about Russians (of course), and that might upset the people in Ukraine.
https:// www. theguardian. com/commentisfree/2023/jun/15/elizabeth-gilbert-the-snow-forest-russia
(close the gaps around WWW and before COM)
The other side is when a whole slew of reviewers give 5-star reviews for books they know nothing about, just to raise the profile of an author for whatever reason - friend, relative, famous star?
Something the Times did not mention in this article is the issue of a protection racket. People threaten to hold authors to ransom, particulary debut or fairly new authors, if they don't pay them not to start a negative campaign. Doesn't that sound like gangsters?
I believe Goodreads is aware of this - they have certainly shut down some fake accounts that were boosting ratings for mediocre books. These 'puppet' accounts like and comment on each other's (fake) five-star reviews, because the review with the highest 'score' of likes is the first one you see (after yours and your friends') on a book's page.
It's insidious, and it has raised some 2-star books to 4 or5 stars. People can be awful, but I'm delighted that our group and many others are genuine fans of books and authors!
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Fascinating read, Patty! It boggles the mind that so much of this goes on. Really sad this kind of thing happens, and that others use Goodreads in such ways. I'm grateful we have such a nice group here. The best part of Goodreads 😊
Rowan wrote: "Fascinating read, Patty! It boggles the mind that so much of this goes on. Really sad this kind of thing happens, and that others use Goodreads in such ways. I'm grateful we have such a nice group ..."😊📚📚💘
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I don't know Rowan - I hope it's nothing that'll hurt us readers!"The NY Times article is about the known issue of people piling on an author and panning their book even before it ..."
It's ridiculous how much drama there is on this site, and I'm happy to remain mostly oblivious to it all!
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PattyMacDotComma wrote: "The NY Times article is about the known issue of people piling on an author and panning their book even before it is published because they don't like something about the author, the subject matter, or - whatever!"I came across two books in my May reads that had been subject to negative review pile-ons by suspicious accounts (usually have only read one book and have no GR friends), one of which also had a number of "balancing" (???) 5-star reviews from people who seemed to have links to the author. Both books had quite skewed ratings as a result. Hopefully the effect is diluted over time, but it would be devastating for a debut author.
Goodreads must be terrifying for some authors, with that kind of thing happening, Sarah!I've also recently noticed some books have received hundreds of "ratings" from suspicious accounts, just on (or prior to) release.
In those instances, the overall rating is around 4.15-4.35. But has plenty of ratings across all 'stars'.
I've heard of people buying 'likes' on social media, like Instagram. But is a similar thing happening on here now?
Rowan wrote: "Goodreads must be terrifying for some authors, with that kind of thing happening, Sarah!I've also recently noticed some books have received hundreds of "ratings" from suspicious accounts, just on..."
Jeez, I hope not! I've seen plenty with spam reviews from sock puppet accounts - I add most of them to my 'douchebags and suss stuff' shelf so I know to avoid.
I love that you have a 'douchebags and suss stuff' shelf, Krystal Haha That made me laugh!The suspicious 'ratings' I noticed don't even bother leaving reviews. It's slightly harder to spot once a book has been released, and some legitimate reviews and ratings slowly mix in.
I have something random. I can't rate or revew a specific book I finished yesterday. It won't save, won't allow me to rate or review. Tried yesterday and today.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/techno...
Such an interesting article, Brenda! Thanks for sharing this - went well with my morning coffee Haha
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A friend in England was review bombed, by "apparently" a reader in Japan who had not read the book in question and gave it 1★. Had not heard of it happening over here.
Brenda wrote: "The Washington Post has a fabulous, more intensive report on Goodreads, Amazon and the problems it has. There are many "former GR employees" involved in this discussion!!https://www.washingtonpos..."
Great (awful!) report, Brenda. I enjoy using Goodreads, but I have the time to check the reviews of people whose opinions I appreciate. I often check the one-star and two-star reviews to see what some people say they didn't like.
But I am lucky - I have the time and interest to follow up on these things. I also am enough of a cynic to disregard some of the hype.
The article didn't really say much about how interesting some of the comments, discussions and threads are about books. It's easy enough to find groups with interested readers who are happy to talk books.
I don't care whether readers have purchased or borrowed a book. Libraries play a big part in the life of communities, making everything from comics to classics available to anyone. As it should be!
Remember you can export your Goodreads library to a spreadsheet without doing it manually, in case you're worried about it shutting down (again).
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Brenda wrote: "Yes, it is - tip #5 :)"Great! I noticed in the comments following the WashPo article that people were asking how you could save your library, in case Goodreads disappears and others were talking about trying to copy and paste or something.
I'm not a subscriber, so I couldn't comment. I was lucky to get onto the site long enough to copy and read the article!
Others said they were moving to LibraryThing and BookWormReads, etc. But I enjoy being here. 😊📚😍
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I found this quite interesting:Unlike Amazon’s marketplace, Goodreads “is designed so you don’t have to buy a product to review a book,” said former Amazon employee Kristi Coulter, who worked in publishing and is the author of a forthcoming memoir, “Exit Interview,” about her experience. “That makes it ripe for abuse.”
It's actually one of the things I LIKE about GR because books can be acquired so many other ways.
Definitely agree with this, though:
“I feel like the trajectory was, Goodreads was innovating and doing good things, it was exciting,” she said. “And then Amazon bought it. The end.”
It's also disappointing to see this article firmly on the side of authors when plenty of reviewers have been attacked by authors for leaving negative reviews. It's not a one-sided battle by any means!
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Krystal wrote: "It's also disappointing to see this article firmly on the side of authors when plenty of reviewers have been attacked by authors for leaving negative reviews. It's not a one-sided battle by any means! ..."And with Kathleen Hale, it was started by her stalking a reviewer and then she got upset when the internet didn't like her for it 😵💫
Brenda wrote: "Haha! I'm glad ;) Yes, it is very interesting - much more detailed than the other reports. Makes me feel a little nervous actually. And it's true that GR has gone downhill since Amazon took over..."It makes me a little nervous too, Brenda. Goodreads has given me such a wonderful sense of community. Don't want to imagine not having that!
Think I might try backup my books here to be on the safe side.
I agree with you too, Krystal! Shame the article was a bit one-sided in regards to authors vs reviewers drama.
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Goodreads has included this in one of the Help articles directed at authors:
"Should you respond to a negative review in a manner that is harassing, intimidating, or otherwise insulting to the reviewer, your account may come under review for removal."
Brenda wrote: "From another group:Goodreads has included this in one of the Help articles directed at authors:
"Should you respond to a negative review in a manner that is harassing, intimidating, or otherwise..."
Excellent! Authors have a hard enough job getting a book into print. I try to be thoughtful - with a very few exceptions where a book is fake or copied or something like that.
And....once again I've had to reverify my email address. I have no idea why it's unverified every few weeks. Sigh....
Leonie wrote: "And....once again I've had to reverify my email address. I have no idea why it's unverified every few weeks. Sigh...."I assume you are logging into the website in a browser. Are you always using the same device on the same wi-fi and ISP?
I am always using the same browser, the same device, and the same wifi. Very occasionally, I hotspot from my phone, but not recently.
Leonie wrote: "I am always using the same browser, the same device, and the same wifi. Very occasionally, I hotspot from my phone, but not recently."My sister and I used to say the first rule of computing is CDWT = Computers Do Weird Things.
It's possible there is some browser setting (Chrome, Edge, whatever) that doesn't save a necessary cookie (or whatever) that allows Goodreads to hold your place, so to speak.
I sound vague because I am vague about it! I know Chrome keeps wanting to automate more things, but mostly I don't. HOWEVER, I also mostly stay logged in.
Another question - do you use Goodreads daily on the web?
I do use Goodreads daily on the web. (Very occasionally life gets in the way and I don't). I'm on Safari. Perhaps that's it.
Leonie wrote: "I do use Goodreads daily on the web. (Very occasionally life gets in the way and I don't). I'm on Safari. Perhaps that's it."
Aha! When you've got time to go down a rabbithole, maybe try googling something about Safari not retaining login information.
It would be interesting to know if there's any regularity about:
Which days of the week it happens (never on a Sunday? 😂 )
The length of time between accessing the site (hours?)
How many times you access the site before it makes you sign in again
Whether you have actually closed the web page (although that doesn't affect me, usually).
Apple is usually known for being safer than the others, so perhaps that's one of the ways they unplug you. 😊
It's probably an Apple thing.
Have fun! 🤣🤣
Interestingly, it always retains my login info. The only time I have to re-enter the login details is if I update my whole computer OS.But the email verification has been driving me nuts. For some reason, over the last six months, I've had to re-verify it four times.
Leonie wrote: "Interestingly, it always retains my login info. The only time I have to re-enter the login details is if I update my whole computer OS.But the email verification has been driving me nuts. For som..."
I guess it's a CDWT issue! Weird.
https://help.goodreads.com/s/question...
You've probably read all of that already.
Is anyone else noticing that some of the books in their library have switched to foreign language editions? I first noticed it on my phone when at the library this afternoon, but now I'm also seeing it on my PC as well. I don't know whether to fix them up or assume it's a glitch that will get fixed anyway :(
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I just went to author Anita Shreve to see which of her books I have read. Despite the fact that she was an American author writing in English several of the titles were listed were in their translated edition and not the original edition.
I don't believe it was like that before. Perhaps I am wrong.
Yes Phrynne - it seems to be when you search on an author or a series - like when I look at all books by Helena Dixon the first one appears to be in Russian !
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Phrynne wrote: "Is this what you mean Jane?I just went to author Anita Shreve to see which of her books I have read. Despite the fact that she was an American author writing in English several of t..."
Yes, I had quite a shock when Goodreads told me which version of a book I had read & showed me a language I couldn’t even identify! Like you, it happened when I wanted to check which books I had read by an author (mine was the British author Peter May).
I've just noticed this too - was adding the newest Ninja Kid book to the series and 2 or 3 have a hebrew version as the main book all of a sudden even though it was never like this (i'm pretty sure i was the one who added all the books in this series) I'm definately using the English version of goodreads
Someone in the GR Librarian group said there's a default edition bug. That might be what's causing it.This is what she said:
Liralen wrote: "Merged the author pages and combined some of the books. Between the default description override bug and the default edition bug, it's difficult to combine well at the moment."
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