#!markdown
Thanks Vik,
I totally agree re. journalistic Smurfiness -- I certainly didn't mean to
phrase the question in terms of covering something up vs. being upfront and
truthful. It doesn't do anyone favours (test writer, publication, readership,
brands) to omit critical events or feedback in the long run as it assaults
everyone's long term credibility as you note and as I think we are seeing in
comments on reviews all over the internet.
How many times have you read, hopefully only in other publications, how much
better a next generation product is than the previous and how it solves known
issue A), B), and C), only to go back and look at a past review and find none
of those issues mentioned?
Regarding the connection between advertising and reviews -- I think Maurice
Tierney (Dirt Rag / Bicycle Times) has published the most interesting opinions
on the separation of church and state
(<http://www.churchoftherotatingmass.com/> ); however, I know from my
conversations with Cam that it is a passionate subject of non-debate here at
NSMB.com as well. There is no connection between my ability to write down what
I experience with a product and NSMB selling advertising and if such a
conflict is ever perceived I'd encourage you, or anyone, to bring it to light
immediately so I can address it.
Back to the point on the headset bearing. If it's a headset review it
obviously gets a mention even if it is a one-in-a-million incident. If I had a
bike with mis-machined fork lowers that caused the stanchions to bind in the
lower bushings (yes I know its a very specific general example) than that
would absolutely bear mentioning as it would have to be taken care of by
warranty before the bike could be properly reviewed and as those issues
generally occur in production runs it would be a good thing for a rider to
check out before they purchased the bike.
My question is, is it worthy to mention issues with a bike that would have
been taken care of if it had been built "properly" (i.e. my opinion of
"properly" if I was building my own bike) -- headset bearing without grease,
axle stuck in frame because of a lack of grease, brakes that fade on the first
ride because they needed a bleed out of the box, etc?
May 12, 2016, 9:36 a.m. - DrewM
#!markdown Thanks Vik, I totally agree re. journalistic Smurfiness -- I certainly didn't mean to phrase the question in terms of covering something up vs. being upfront and truthful. It doesn't do anyone favours (test writer, publication, readership, brands) to omit critical events or feedback in the long run as it assaults everyone's long term credibility as you note and as I think we are seeing in comments on reviews all over the internet. How many times have you read, hopefully only in other publications, how much better a next generation product is than the previous and how it solves known issue A), B), and C), only to go back and look at a past review and find none of those issues mentioned? Regarding the connection between advertising and reviews -- I think Maurice Tierney (Dirt Rag / Bicycle Times) has published the most interesting opinions on the separation of church and state (<http://www.churchoftherotatingmass.com/> ); however, I know from my conversations with Cam that it is a passionate subject of non-debate here at NSMB.com as well. There is no connection between my ability to write down what I experience with a product and NSMB selling advertising and if such a conflict is ever perceived I'd encourage you, or anyone, to bring it to light immediately so I can address it. Back to the point on the headset bearing. If it's a headset review it obviously gets a mention even if it is a one-in-a-million incident. If I had a bike with mis-machined fork lowers that caused the stanchions to bind in the lower bushings (yes I know its a very specific general example) than that would absolutely bear mentioning as it would have to be taken care of by warranty before the bike could be properly reviewed and as those issues generally occur in production runs it would be a good thing for a rider to check out before they purchased the bike. My question is, is it worthy to mention issues with a bike that would have been taken care of if it had been built "properly" (i.e. my opinion of "properly" if I was building my own bike) -- headset bearing without grease, axle stuck in frame because of a lack of grease, brakes that fade on the first ride because they needed a bleed out of the box, etc?