Calling all TechSpot readers, megafans, and boosters, we can use your help!

[Julio Franco]

Hey there TechSpot readers! If you've been coming to our site for a few weeks, a few months, or many, many years, then you know we're all about tech enthusiast content, PC hardware reporting, reviews and useful resources around those interests.

We are not perfect, but we strive to produce enthusiast-driven content that is fair, accurate and honest. These days there are infinite places from where you can get your daily dose of tech, but evidently not all publications are the same, and we appreciate your continued trust and support.

You can help us by reviewing TechSpot in a handful of websites that are dedicated to gathering feedback from visitors. Sites such as Trustpilot, WOT, and Safe Web rely on user reviews to "rate" if a website is safe, trustworthy, and if it offers good content. Please take the time to write a short paragraph about your experience with TechSpot, why you trust us, what you like about the site, or so forth. Pick any of the sites below (or all of them) and post there...

• Trustpilot
• WOT
• SiteJabber
• Norton Safe Web

As for the reason why we need this...

It turns out that more and more when you Google something, users are presented with "frequently asked questions" about the legitimacy of a certain website. And Google tends to rely on the sites above to present users with some form of user gathered feedback, even if it's not representative of the actual website experience.

Thankfully, TechSpot has been around for a long time and most tech enthusiasts tend to recognize us by name. At the same time, it's a big, big world and there are thousands of prospective new readers who find us daily, who are reading a TechSpot review for the first time, downloading an app from our software section, or following a buying recommendation we provide.

So if you can help us by leaving a few sentences of your experience, we'll seriously appreciate it.

PS: If you feel like researching and writing more than a few lines, Wikipedia used to have an entry for TechSpot, but it was removed a few years ago due to inactivity and lack of sources. This would be a major effort (TS readers assemble!) compared to the above, but it'd be awesome if we got that back, too.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/94591-calling-all-techspot-readers-megafans-can-use-help.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

"We want your honest assessment of what you like and enjoy about the site"

So you're saying my criticisms WON'T be quietly deleted?

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Give us a thumbs up and a thumb down button.

 

[fps4ever]

"We want your honest assessment of what you like and enjoy about the site"

So you're saying my criticisms WON'T be quietly deleted?

You should try cutting down on the troll posts...that might do it.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

You should try cutting down on the troll posts...that might do it.

I'm not trolling. I'm saying things I actually believe.

 

[Julio Franco]

"We want your honest assessment of what you like and enjoy about the site"

So you're saying my criticisms WON'T be quietly deleted?

What you post on those sites is out of our control, if you have something bad to say feel free to do so, that's the "honest" part of the assessment

 

[Sausagemeat]

I like the site generally but I don’t like the CPU/GPU reviews. I’m sick of reviewers on this site labelling buyers of expensive, enthusiast grade components (like the 3090ti) as ”dumb”. Car magazines don’t talk about Ferrari buyers in the same fashion. It feels unprofessional and kinda missing the point.

 

[yRaz]

I wish Shawn Knight would stop trying to be a science journalist

I like the site generally but I don’t like the CPU/GPU reviews. I’m sick of reviewers on this site labelling buyers of expensive, enthusiast grade components (like the 3090ti) as ”dumb”. Car magazines don’t talk about Ferrari buyers in the same fashion. It feels unprofessional and kinda missing the point.

Ferraris at least offer a luxury driving experience, super high end hardware barely offers anything aside from bragging rights. With the super high prices and little gains in performance over products lower in their line up I agree with TechSpots assessment that it is dumb to buy3090's or 3090ti's

You can get a Ferrari 458 for $300,000 or a Ferrari for $3.5 million. Both will provide an amazing driving experience. And at least the ferraris hold their value. In 5-6 years the 3090Ti's are going to be worth maybe a few hundred bucks.

 

[Geralt]

"We want your honest assessment of what you like and enjoy about the site"

So you're saying my criticisms WON'T be quietly deleted?

What I like: The articles and news.
What I dislike: The moderators.

 

[psycros]

You should try cutting down on the troll posts...that might do it.

Says the biggest troll on the site, and probably a few others as well.

What you post on those sites is out of our control, if you have something bad to say feel free to do so, that's the "honest" part of the assessment

Thanks for the tacit admission that you delete posts. You guys have done it to me at least ten times. Mods have sent me threatening messages because I posted something they personally didn't agree with almost as many. I've hesitated using the reputation sites but thanks for giving me the motivation to finally do it.

 

[Shadowboxer]

I like the site generally but I don’t like the CPU/GPU reviews. I’m sick of reviewers on this site labelling buyers of expensive, enthusiast grade components (like the 3090ti) as ”dumb”. Car magazines don’t talk about Ferrari buyers in the same fashion. It feels unprofessional and kinda missing the point.

Completely agreed, it makes me wince whenever I read Steve venomously writing about people who buy a 3090ti or "insert flagship product name here" as stupid. He's either poor and hates rich people or is too simple to grasp that $2,000 for a GPU really isn't very expensive in a world with jewellery, watches, Teslas, Louis Vuitton, NFTs. I mean the last time I flew to New York they were charging the price of a 3090ti to upgrade my seat. I paid more than the cost of a 3090 ti to upgrade the upholstery of my car to leather.

It's at the point where I would expect people who would pay for these things aren't coming to TechSpot. They will be going to Anandtech, der8auer, Linus, Gamers Nexus. Basically anyone except here to read a review without being called stupid..

 

[Nobina]

I like the site generally but I don’t like the CPU/GPU reviews. I’m sick of reviewers on this site labelling buyers of expensive, enthusiast grade components (like the 3090ti) as ”dumb”. Car magazines don’t talk about Ferrari buyers in the same fashion. It feels unprofessional and kinda missing the point.

"Enthusiast grade components" is a way of making dumb buying decisions seem reasonable. Enthusiasts are people passionate about something, they're people who would tinker with hardware rather than spend thousands of dollars on a 5% faster product. You throwing money at something doesn't make you an enthusiast, more like a consumer whale.

 

[Julio Franco]

Give us a thumbs up and a thumb down button.

We've thought about it. May end up implementing one later this year.
The main reason we didn't before is that our forum software didn't offer the option and would have required a third-party add-on/coding, which makes later security upgrades more troublesome. I think that's now resolved so we'll revisit that soon.

 

[Geralt]

Thanks for the tacit admission that you delete posts. You guys have done it to me at least ten times. Mods have sent me threatening messages because I posted something they personally didn't agree with almost as many. I've hesitated using the reputation sites but thanks for giving me the motivation to finally do it.

Me too

 

[theruck]

I never got any message from moderators always a straight ban without any notice so I have no idea which post was supposed to be wrong. whatever. never solved anything. if you want to ban me ban me forever. but first of all ban Shawn Knight from posting his "articles"

 

[Sausagemeat]

I never got any message from moderators always a straight ban without any notice so I have no idea which post was supposed to be wrong. whatever. never solved anything. if you want to ban me ban me forever. but first of all ban Shawn Knight from posting his "articles"

Yeah I’ve been banned before for “rules violations”. But to this day I still don’t know what post it was and why. It would be nice to know.

 

[mountains]

I don't post here that much, but I have been reading for several years. Here is my opinion for this site:

The good: I love how you have short articles about tech news in general, but told from a PC enthusiast's perspective. You have pretty good titles that I can skim quickly that actually, mostly, inform me. If an article I am interested in is too summarized you often have links for more depth. I am (barely) smart enough to search the Internet myself if I need more info. The comments from the readers here are often informative, too (thanks, y'all; be nice to each other!).

What could be better: I know the world has changed, but you (and other sites) used to have much more REAL reviews of PC parts. I miss the roundup parts comparatives of fans, coolers, RAM, drives, cases, etc. Not so much the articles of merely opinions that read like product placement ads, but real data based testing that compare many brands. You should also not be afraid to post links to other tech sites' testing review articles. That is legit tech news, too. Make TechSpot the front page of a PC enthusiast's daily scan of the PC tech news that it used to be. Also, I sometimes think you are too kind to the big tech corporations that don't respect user privacy, though I realize they have an out-sized control over your world, too.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Control your biases.... mods, when you delete a post for being “off topic”, maybe READ the entire thread - and then delete ALL of the posts that are off-topic, not just the one you don’t agree with...

Also, writers, please refrain from linking articles to your own articles for no reason.... looking at you Rob...

 

[theruck]

Also it is ridiculous to receive ban for whatever reason while the article headline states WTF in the first three letters. so you fock in the first word of the article then you have the urge to keep the discussion moderated...

 

[Squid Surprise]

I'm not trolling. I'm saying things I actually believe.

Really? What are your opinions on crypto? Seen you posting both sides... tell me that’s not trolling... or do you just want to talk about your 3090 and your Mercedes S class?

 

[Xex360]

Completely agreed, it makes me wince whenever I read Steve venomously writing about people who buy a 3090ti or "insert flagship product name here" as stupid. He's either poor and hates rich people or is too simple to grasp that $2,000 for a GPU really isn't very expensive in a world with jewellery, watches, Teslas, Louis Vuitton, NFTs. I mean the last time I flew to New York they were charging the price of a 3090ti to upgrade my seat. I paid more than the cost of a 3090 ti to upgrade the upholstery of my car to leather.

It's at the point where I would expect people who would pay for these things aren't coming to TechSpot. They will be going to Anandtech, der8auer, Linus, Gamers Nexus. Basically anyone except here to read a review without being called stupid..

As far as I am concerned I don't care about their opinion, they do an awful job on that front, they only compare US prices ironically they live in shitsville, their recommendations don't make any sense at times. I mean buying RTX for DLSS while none of my games supports it is dumb (I have a 3080).

Agreed on the 3090ti, saying that buying one is stupid doesn't make any sense, as if gaming makes any sort of sense, both are a waste of money just to entertain yourself, some people want or need the best would be in sound quality, video quality or gaming.

Maybe the worst thing is calling fanboys stupid, why is it ok to be a fan of a football team football team but not a brand? If it gives the user satisfaction that's the most important. Plus being a fan doesn't necessarily mean buying blindly, I am an ATI fan but I buy both Radeon and GeForce, an Xbox fan but I buy both PlayStation and Xbox.

Having said that, I do believe they do an excellent job in testing, their tests are very good and give a good idea of what expect from the product. My advice would be to watch the testing and ignore the recommendations, make your decision on your needs/wants/situation.

 

[captaincranky]

I'm not trolling. I'm saying things I actually believe.

More often than not, you'tr bragging about the stock you own, the car you drive, and the "two 3090s you own". Trolling seems to be more of a sideline.

So, don't say I've never said "anything nice" about you.

BTW: Are you sure you're not "big trick series", incognito?.

 

[theruck]

Really? What are your opinions on crypto? Seen you posting both sides... tell me that’s not trolling... or do you just want to talk about your 3090 and your Mercedes S class?

now you are not only off topic but attacking or maybe even trolling a bit lets get us banned all together

 

[captaincranky]

Thanks for the tacit admission that you delete posts. You guys have done it to me at least ten times. Mods have sent me threatening messages because I posted something they personally didn't agree with almost as many. I've hesitated using the reputation sites but thanks for giving me the motivation to finally do it.

I've had at least a dozen times as many posts pulled as you, if not more.

The difference about it and between us is simply this: I'm aware of why my posts were pulled, and generally agree with the mods decisions. In fact, some things I've posted with full knowledge that they would be pulled, if only for that fact that I reported the post I was responding to.

I very rarely question the moderators decisions. After all, I'm not some sanctimonious a** noob who believes that their "contributions" should be incorporated into the New Testament". now am I?.

 

[Shadowboxer]

As far as I am concerned I don't care about their opinion, they do an awful job on that front, they only compare US prices ironically they live in shitsville, their recommendations don't make any sense at times. I mean buying RTX for DLSS while none of my games supports it is dumb (I have a 3080).

Agreed on the 3090ti, saying that buying one is stupid doesn't make any sense, as if gaming makes any sort of sense, both are a waste of money just to entertain yourself, some people want or need the best would be in sound quality, video quality or gaming.

Maybe the worst thing is calling fanboys stupid, why is it ok to be a fan of a football team football team but not a brand? If it gives the user satisfaction that's the most important. Plus being a fan doesn't necessarily mean buying blindly, I am an ATI fan but I buy both Radeon and GeForce, an Xbox fan but I buy both PlayStation and Xbox.

Having said that, I do believe they do an excellent job in testing, their tests are very good and give a good idea of what expect from the product. My advice would be to watch the testing and ignore the recommendations, make your decision on your needs/wants/situation.

I agree generally but not on the fanboy part. These are American corporations who exist to make profits for their shareholders. Being "loyal" to these is questionable at best. And its not usually fanboyism, its often just buyers remorse. Someone spends more than they should on a part that turns out to be the worse buy so that someone decides to start talking up his parts on forums. A lot of them are under the delusion that one of these companies is more or less moral than another. Which is absurd.

As for the testing, its accurate and well presented. But its quite useless to me. I have no interest in how a graphics card performs with RT and DLSS off as I always turn them on. And testing with those things on is limited on this site. I find Steve seems to be doing his absolute best to hide the differences between products when he tests. Whos buying a 3080 and playing death stranding at 4K with DLSS off for example? It performs and looks worse but thats what we get presented with.