Nitpicky old ladies on the Internet

[nosillies]

The subject of how reliable online reviews can really be has pretty much been done to death now, but this article is pretty damn funny.

http://tech.msn.com/news/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=5110859>1=10240

The Internet has ushered in a new era of human interconnectedness and will likely radically transform industry, scientific research and the structure of society.

It's also made us into a bunch of old ladies.

Perhaps no other time in human history has there been so much nitpicking. All you have to do is troll a site like Yelp.com for a few minutes to find a cavalcade of complaints disguised as constructive criticism or--just as bad--positive, and largely tangential, compliments.

In all fairness, most of the reviews are fairly well written and accurate. But after awhile, the mind-numbing level of intricate detail becomes overwhelming. Everyone is sitting around offering his or her opinion on what the texture of noodles should really be like.

It's like meeting the global community, and finding out they are all my mother.

[ChoralScholar]

1. I see the point...

but you can temper yourself to this sort of thing, and read the reviews with an educated eye. You know the problems you care about and the problems you don't.

So - if the review is talking about how the stainless-steel finish on your new microwave is not made with 100% organic free-range steel, then you know you can ignore it.

[mykpart]

2. Not true!

I was a nitpicky old lady before the internet existed!