We are new to RV Park Reviews. We found the reviews helpful and want to share our experiences while our feedback is still fresh and relevant. However our reviews have not been posted for about two weeks. There is no point in taking the time to share information that is stale by the time it is finally posted. I am not going to bother to share on this site again.
Hi TomandVic and welcome to the RVPR forum. I am not an Admin but I have been a member long enough to know what happens this time of the year with regards to reviews being posted. This is a volunteer run site and those that have taken on the responsibility of reading and posting all the reviews are way overloaded during peak RV season. The Admins volunteer their time to post the hundreds upon hundreds of reviews that are being submitted daily. Everyone of course wants to see their review posted asap but unfortunately it becomes an almost impossible feat for the few Admins to do. As a fellow member I ask you to please be a little patient at this time as your reviews will get posted. I'm sure one of the Admins will jump in here very shortly and give you some further info regarding where you reviews are at in the que, etc. Don't give up on this site and forum just yet as there are a great group of fellow RVers aboard that are helpful in all areas and many are very knowledgeable when it comes to techy stuff and all that. Again, welcome aboard and give it another chance before bowing out. I think you'll find the short wait well worth while and beneficial in many ways................... Regards, BankShot................(aka Terry)
TomandVic, BankShot is correct that we do get behind on posting reviews this time of year as we receive well over 100 a day (sometimes as many as 200). I know you are anxious to have your reviews posted which makes it seem longer than it has actually been since you submitted them. However, your reviews were submitted on July 20, only one week ago. We post reviews as fast as we can, and your patience is appreciated.
Texasrvers, I posted reviews, not because I want to see myself in print, but because I wish I had seen your site before we made a very bad choice. User reviews are the most helpful way to find a site that meets personal need. But delaying the posts, doesn't meet the needs your readers. An automated key word search to kick out reviews with offensive/prohibited terms for a human review would improve the turnaround time immensely. Also, a button for reader flagging for a human review would also be helpful to the volunteers. TomandVic
Hmm, I do believe I'll bow out of this one and let the Admins handle it from here.............. BankShot..............(aka Terry)
I think that this site is endangered unless things can get posted more quickly, and out-dated reviews are weeded. It is frustrating these days with no more trusted Hard Copy directories and then to see that a site such as this seems outdated. A review of a campground from 2006 is not worth much. How do you solicit volunteers to help with fact-checking?
Wow a couple of cranky buggers here. I just love the site. Perhaps instead of complaining an idea would be to actively see how you can help get the reviews out there. The term volunteer does mean these people aren't getting paid to do this, they are doing for the love of it. As I live in Brisbane Australia its a little hard for me to assist with reviews but if I could I would be more than happy to assist the people here. And also because some needs to keep an eye on @BankShot @mdcamping and @BC Wanderer those blokes are crazy...........
TomandVic, We already apply key word searches along with filters for a few other things. We also have ways for reviews to be flagged by our readers, but that procedure takes place after the review is already posted. We prefer that if there is a problem with the review that it not get posted in the first place because we cannot be sure anyone will report it, and this could result in misinformation remaining on the site for quite a long time. The approval procedure normally gets reviews posted in 1-2 days, but in the summer there are just so many reviews received that it takes longer to process them. By having our staff read the reviews we can try to insure that all of them are not only accurate but also provide information that is helpful to our readers. pakngo, As I stated above there is only a short time each year when reviews may not get posted within 1-2 days, but even if it takes a few days longer, the review's information is still quite up-to-date. Also your comment that older reviews are not worth much really depends on your perspective. Many of our members have expressed the desire to be able to see the history of a park's service. If, for example, the reviews for a park show a pattern of service that constantly fluctuates between good and bad, some people might not want to choose this park to stay at. They may prefer to choose one that has shown constantly good reviews. Also some members may feel that a year old review is no longer valid while other members may be comfortable believing that a much older review is current enough. For this reason, we have chosen to retain older reviews, and let our readers use them in a way that best fits their individual needs.
Well said Texasrvers. There's a very old saying that goes something like this.............. "You can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but never all the people all of the time" Regards, Bankshot...............(aka a Crazy Bloke) According to Jason Goodwin that is....
And remember, if you are still dissatisfied with the site, there is always the prompt and friendly $$ back guarantee!
I agree that a review from 10+ years ago isn't as valuable as a current one, but would you prefer that there would be no review at all for a particular park? With ~20,000 parks in our database and most RVers visiting only a handful of them each year, the probability that all parks you are interested in will have multiple recent reviews is very small. Our personal experience has been that reviews are usually quite relevant for at least 3-5 years and often longer than that. Short of paying people to visit parks and review them, I'm not sure how to do much better than we are in generating a current reviews.
Just think how faster reviews could get posted if admins weren't always having to answer posts like this.
Two more cents worth if I may. What I have never understood is why some folks will post stuff like this and get responses from the Admins as well as the general membership, with both trying to explain something to them as to why this can, does, and will happen. And then the OP or someone else comes back with even more flack on the given subject. Hey, the site gets slammed during busy season, we all know that. How much more explanation does a person need for crying out loud. The review will get posted and if it isn't fast enough for them then let them volunteer their time and efforts to becoming an Admin themselves. Perhaps then they might understand what the job entails. Then again, considering the source.................. End of rant, BankShot...............(aka Terry)
Would it be fair to say that this site is one of the very few large "review" sites (like TripAdvisor, yelp, Google) that uses actual real people to check the reviews for accuracy, spelling, correct form, etc? My guess is Most of those sites use automated system to just check for unwanted keywords/phrases, then approves the reviews. Because of this, the general public has become accustomed to their reviews being approved very quickly, so when they encounter this (higher quality) site, they are put off with any delay. Sound right?
Yes, I believe it is. I, for one, appreciate the staff taking their time to insure reviews are accurate & readable. Some of the stuff I read on those other review sites makes me wonder if they even had grammar or spelling taught to them. If one can't take a split second to type "you" instead of "u" in a post, that's just sad. I'd be embarrassed to have my name associated with some of the comments I've seen posted on other sites. Reading and approving reviews is a thankless job, for sure. We live in an instant gratification society & anything less than an instantaneous response, people have to complain. I'd bet we'd think differently if we walked a mile in their shoes. At least here, the staff tries to uphold a higher standard and that's why I use RVPR's for my park search needs. RVPR's Staff!
Darn, thought I could slip a couple extra in w/o being caught but these lads from down under are just too quick. A couple more Bundy knockers and I can outrun'em tho......... Moving right along, BankShot...........(aka Terry)
Hi. I am not a crazy "bugger" and I did offer to update the State Park campground information for Maine, based upon the 2017 State Bulletin. My point is that with the demise of the venerable guides, like Woodalls it is really difficult to trust write-ups on private parks when the postings are older. Parks change quickly in this economy. We drove cross country from Washington to Maine, in January 2017, and finding reliable campsite info was a challenge. In Washington State, where I hail from, we had some excellent camping guides but WA has a lot of Forest Camps, State Parks and the two National Parks - not all States are so lucky.
"Observations and Ramblings of a Newbie" I’ve read the three reviews by TomandVic and believe they were well written. Please do not stop writing reviews. Your one review will now give others a fair warning. Today, even store bought bread does not go stale in two weeks much less an online review. I’ve looked at other RV review sites and find this one IMHO one of the best. One site has as their default setting “Most Helpful Reviews” instead of “Recent Reviews.” This sometimes leads to an older park review at the top of the list written by people/peoples unknown with only one review under their belt whom are never heard from again. And yet, their review has a suspicious number of helpful review points compared to others for the same park. Methinks it may be like Travelocity where owners write poor reviews of their competition. (My favorite- “This is where cockroaches go to die.”) The Statute of Limitations for most crimes is seven years. I think seven years is a good time to start clearing out older reviews. I do note some parks have not had reviews for many years so exceptions could be made. As with all websites I am aware of the adage, “Your game. Your rules.” I will always play by your rules. But, may occasionally offer suggestions to make it a better game. That does not make me a cranky bugger although the wife may disagree.
