Reviews
From SupportWiki
What are reviews?
Reviews are a way to help you improve in Support. In a review, you get feedback on your strengths and weaknesses, how you can improve etc. You, as a volunteer, should gather the most recent requests on which you left an answer or a comment for a specific category and send them requesting a review. If you reply in more than one categories, then you can request a review for each one of these categories separately.
What is the reviewing process?
- You select a category where you would like to be reviewed and collect links to requests from that category.
- You email your review request to support@livejournal.com, following the format described below.
- One of the category admins will post your review in a community where only the category’s SupportHelps and admins have access.
- One of the SupportHelps or admins will claim your review.
- Then, said SupportHelp or admin will go through the links you sent and comment on each one of them. Also, they will provide a summary noting your strengths and weaknesses and offering advice for improvement.
- Once your review is done, it will be sent to you and it may also be posted in the community for discussion.
If you feel uncomfortable with SupportHelps or admins looking at your review, then you may wish to add a note to your review, explaining the situation.
Why are reviews helpful?
Reviews are helpful for two reasons:
- First of all, the volunteer can get feedback on how he/she is doing. Even if you think that your answers are very good and approvable, sometimes the review can help you realize some mistakes you have been making. Also, reviews explain what you should be working on and how you can improve.
- Reviews are also a good way for the admins and the SupportHelps to see what you’re doing wrong and what right, to check your progress etc.
When should I request a review?
If you have never been reviewed before, than you should send in links for a review as soon as you gather enough links in a category!
If you have been reviewed before, then you should wait 2-3 weeks before getting reviewed again, if, of course, you have enough links.
You shouldn’t ask for a review for every 10 - 20 touches you make. You should ask to be reviewed when you feel that you have improved and followed the advice given to you in your previous review, or when you feel that you’re stuck.
How can I get a review?
- Collect your more recent requests. To do this, you can use your You Replied filter at the Support board, the Recent Touches tool, or the Support Search tool; you also can keep track of the requests you’ve replied to in a text file. Please, send all your recent touches from a category without filtering them (except if you’re asked to). This means that you should send your most recent 7-10 G/unk links for a G/unk review, no matter if you were approved on these requests or not. Especially screened volunteers or I1s should not filter their links; you should just send your most recent requests.
- Make sure that you have the right number of links, according to each category’s requirements. If you have too few, wait a bit until you gather more. If you have too many, then select your more recent ones. You can find a list of the required number of links for each category below. (Also, please note that the number of links may change at any time, so make sure you have checked the requirements before sending links for a review.)
- You may wish to comment on the links, ask questions about requests etc. I2s are required to comment on requests, as explained at the #What is the appropriate format? section below. I1s and screened volunteers are encouraged to follow this format, but aren’t obligated to do so.
- Send your review request! All reviews should be sent to support@livejournal.com, regardless of the category.
- Wait to get your review. This may take a while, since reviews need quite some time to be completed and there aren’t always many people that can take reviews around.
What should I be careful about when sending a review?
- It is very important not to filter your reviews (except if you were asked to do so). If you send a filtered review, removing either approved or unapproved answers, then you won’t allow us to give you the proper feedback and we won’t be able to properly judge your level, thus we may provide feedback that will be harmful for your progress instead of helpful.
- Since reviews are category specific (e.g. you need to send G/unk only requests for a G/unk review), make sure that all the links you have sent belong to the category you’re requesting a review at. Please note that some times requests get moved. E.g. a request you have answered in G/unk may have been moved to Web Interface. If this is the case, then you shouldn’t include this link in a G/unk review request, unless you have questions about some aspect of the request that falls under the responsibility of G/unk.
What should I do when I get my review back?
- First of all, read the review carefully, don’t just quickly go through it. And if you can no way resist going through it very quickly, then read it a second time, paying more attention to it ;)
- Make sure you have understood the reviewer’s advice. Think about how you could apply this advice on your answers and what you need to do to improve on the things the reviewer pointed out.
- Do apply the reviewer’s advice. Go to the board and when you answer requests, have that advice in mind. The reviewer gave you all that advice for a reason, so try not to ignore it. Ignoring that advice basically means that you’re not going to progress. If you don’t follow the advice given to you in reviews, then it’s pretty pointless to get reviewed and also, this can be offensive for the reviewer. Reviews need a lot of time to be completed and if you don’t follow the advice given in them, then you practically ignore the reviewer, who has spent a lot of time and energy to do your review.
- If you have questions about the review or if something isn't clear enough, then do not hesitate to email the reviewer or the category admins. It is very important to completely understand the advice given to you in a review, otherwise you won't be able to apply it and improve.
How many links should I include in my review request?
The number of links you should send depends on the category. See the Table of Category Information.
What is the appropriate format?
What is the suggested format?
For every link, you should include:
- The URL to the request (not just the request number)
- The request's summary, or the main topic(s) of the request
- What was good (or needs work) about your answer
- Why you think the approved answer was approved ("I don't know" is perfectly acceptable.)
- Any questions you might have about the request
Who should use this format?
This is the obligatory format for I2s in any public category, but it’d be nice if everyone used it. Also, some volunteers may be asked to follow this format on an individual basis. For your first review, it is okay to send only a list of links to support requests, but you may find that you learn more from the review if you include your own comments.
If you are an I2 or you have been asked to follow this format and you don’t, the admins might ask you to send a new one with your summaries and comments.
Why should I use this format?
Reviews are meant to help you. If you use this format, however, we’ll be able to help you better. Why, though?
- The reviewer doesn’t waste time telling you things that you already know, which means that you’ll get your review faster.
- The reviewer is able to understand why you included some things or didn’t include others in your answer.
- You are able to gain a perspective of how SupportHelps think. This way, you get more familiar with what SupportHelps need to do and yourself, you can become a SupportHelp faster.
