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So you want to write a review...

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zridling:
Why not, I did! If I can, anyone can. I joined a small, but growing list of DonationCoder.com members who jumped in with both feet and didn't regret it. I studied past reviews, picked a topic, wrote a few notes and shared them with mouser, who approved the review and off I went. I spent a week reading everything I could find on compression and reading the Help files of each program. You need not do that, but it helps me to learn new software quickly. Then I spent three weeks using the testing each program against the other, slowing sifting through shared and unique features and comparing common tasks. The whole time I kept an outline of notes and observations on each program. Sometimes I would write the developer or use their support forum to search for an answer to a specific question I had.

Then, after declaring a winner, I informed mouser again, and off I went to spend a week writing it. Mind you, it didn't take that long; I was merely taking my time. After all, the entire review wrote itself from my notes. After submission, I got help with revisions by mouser and Jibz, and hey, I tweaked the copy and voila! Best Archive Tool review happened.

It was a positive, enjoyable experience, and if you have a category of software you're passionate about or if you'd like to contribute, you have some good models by which to follow in DonationCoder.com reviews. Don't want to do a full review? Practice by sharing in the mini-reviews, (or single review) section.

So good luck, and we can't wait to read yours!

mouser:
maybe nudone can post his thoughts on his review as well.
i should say that nudone and zaine wrote massive reviews, and they don't all have to be so comprehensive - i think that's just too high a bar to reach on a regular basis.  but they do serve as examples of the ideal review.

and like zaine says, i and others would be happy to help as much as is needed; and we really do need more guest reviewers.  if you feel like you would like to do a review of a category, contact me.  although we don't pay for it, we've always been able to reward reviewers with some donated software :)

nudone:
i'd recommend anyone to have a go at writing a review if they have the urge. all i can really advise is that you make sure that you allow enough time for it.

it sounds like Zaine had a better idea of how to plan his time and broke the overall review process into more sensible chunks - this allowing him to tie it up at the end into a excellent coherent article.

i honestly didn't expect the review i did to take so long, i knew it would take a few days but i definitely ran out of time and energy. i'd say it's a good idea if you can allow a short breather away from it before you try and put it altogether - you'll probably see quite a few things you'll want to change. thankfully mouser came to my rescue and tidied it all up after i submitted it to him as i had pretty much become blind to what i was trying to do - my brain had certainly melted on the last day. mouser really was a lifesaver at that moment.

now, i really am not trying to discourage anyone into having a go - far from it. just be aware that these sorts of things can become bigger projects than you first thought. there are plenty of things i would love to have included in the graphics review but i soon realised that i just wasn't being realistic - not with the time i had allowed, at least. hopefully, next time i'll not make the same mistakes and have more of a preset structure to follow.

other than that, i'd definitely say go for it. like mouser says, it doesn't have to be a detailed long review - something concise that gets the main points across about a relatively straightforward category of software would be just as good to read.

try it. i'm sure there are some of you reading this right now that are just itching to have a go.

clif_notes:
they don't all have to be so comprehensive - i think that's just too high a bar to reach on a regular basis-mouser (September 12, 2005, 11:55 AM)
--- End quote ---

I agree, Zaine and Nudone have set the bar pretty high. I've never tried to review a whole class of software. I stay pretty focused on what I've been doing with the freeware reviews. It's not likely you'll see me shell out any money for software. LOL

m_s:
I've posted on this forum and over at Wilders Security trying to get some leads on good calendar programs, without much success.  I wish there was a donationcoder.com review of this type of software, and so I'm thinking about asking if I can do one...  What are the time-frames?  If I were to take on writing a comparative round-up, when would it need to be ready by?

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