Does member review get it right?

People are going to bitch either way, imo. As well as like it better one over the other.

Personally, there have been a few sets lately that have not been to my taste at all, but there were sets picked by staff that were the same way for me. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Meh.

What I'm missing about the process is what happens between lots of good comments and a live set. Staff still chooses the sets... it actually seems like just an excuse to reject a set the first time around with less consideration than before, because, hey, it will eventually go up through member review.

I do like the way member review lets girls forget about the old trend reports and do what pleases them artistically.

I don't like the way member review still doesn't seem to screen for quality. There is a lot more noise than signal in there.

I agree. It can be hit or miss no matter who chooses the sets imo.

personally, i'm not a huge fan. it seems that the really creative and artistic sets are lost in the mix, while sets that tend towards the explicit side ("moar spread teh legz plz") seem to get the lion's share of attention, and thus get chosen for the front page. it's not that i am against explicit sets, i would just like to think that concept and theme are just as important as seeing a young woman's unmentionables.

just my opinion.

I think you're asking about the quality of the sets -- has it changed much?

I think Member Review has probably expanded the "range" of sets on offer, which I think is a good thing. A lot of people got excited by the idea of "bringing back darker sets", and maybe that's happened a bit. (Maybe it could still happen more. As mentioned above, MR has somewhat devolved into a spread-teh-leg popularity contest, where it should be a quality/creativity contest, ideally.)

The other -- really big -- effect I think MR has had, is that it's provided an alternative method of existing SGs to get sets up. Many of them are now by-passing the "staff pick" process altogether and going straight for MR.

In particular, it's created a fast-track process for popular SGs to get sets up quickly, avoiding the whole long-set-queue issue.

Personally, I think that benefits popular girls but kind of defeats the purpose of the MR system. I'd like to see the MR process being of real benefit to high quality Hopefuls, but currently it seems to be best serving girls with lots of sets already up.

Others' mileage may vary.

One thing that definitely sets MR apart from the way it used to be is that there's not the "surprise factor" all that much anymore. By the time a set hits the front page, yeah it's nice that the set's recognized in that way, but most of the time it's already been available on the site for weeks.

There's not so much with the, "OMG! NEW [insert SG name] SET!" as there used to be.

Also, I totally agree with what TFOK said.

i like a lot of the sets that have been going up. and the relative freedom we now have with set themes

i do agree that it seems to be favoring popular girls and staff faves a lot, which doesnt sit well with me, but i do generally enjoy their sets.

i also dont like that horrendously long wait that hopeful sets have before they see the member review page. its almost two months now. it took a lot less time to get a yes or no from staff. it also kinda defeats the point ot the contests that you are having. if i did a sept contest set now, it would go up oct30 ( that was the last date a saw someone going up as) i know you give the contests in advance, but there is still no guarantee that your hard work will be considered for the contest.

soo im kinda indifferent

My feelings exactly.

words from quote left to show my strong agreement with atomicant's statements.

"execution" with concept and theme.

also, i miss the suprize.

but i'm also glad to have been able to help some sets from some of my favorite girls, like Nixon & Taye with the set mermaid fantasy, get sets up on the front page & get paid for their work.

that was what i was going to say.

I feel like once screening of sets BEFORE they go into MR gets started things will be better in MR. I like having a say. But I agree with Dot there should be a minimum of 3 months wait on sets that did not win a contest or are themed for that month. Suprise would be nice. But I do like MR.

In general, I think the member review process is a good thing. It puts control of the site in the hands of the people that use it. Has it improved my experience on the site? Not really. I'm seeing roughly the same percentage of sets I enjoy as I did prior to member review.

I strongly agree with this. There are some really bad sets that get a lot of attention, and some really gorgeous sets that barely get any. It's so weird.

I'm pretty sure the number of sets I really like via either method is approximately equal.

As an American, brainwashed into loving democracy, I do like the "we the people" aspect of member review.

On the other hand, staff review sets are fun to look through because I haven't seen the whole set before.

Any kind of staff review is going to tend towards the lowest common denominator, I think, by nature of the committee process.

Yes, there is a lot of crap in member review. However, I haven't really noticed a significant lack of quality in (accepted) member review sets. That's probably because very few people enjoy looking at low quality images. Especially not when they're paying for them.

Anyway, democracy vs. surprise, I guess. Not really sure what the best way to reconcile those two virtues is. I think I value the larger variety afforded by member review, as there was a short period before it really got going when all the new sets were seeming kind of same-y.