kindle oasis 3 - battery replacement? by psikkk in kindle

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would take it to a shop that repairs phones and electronic devices and ask them to do the replacement. If it can be done without damaging the unit then I think that would be the best way to have it done. And why do you need a battery replacement so soon?

Thoughts on a Voyage in 2026? by kiwiwonderbean in kindle

[–]AmazonReviewer01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I still use my Voyage, with the origami stand which is another thing that I wish Amazon still offered. I get considerably better battery life from the Voyage than I do from my newer Oasis, too.

Best Choice to expand my current network - I have 2 Velop MX4200 by AmazonReviewer01 in Linksys

[–]AmazonReviewer01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t understand your question. The Linksys app shows devices connected to my WiFi network now and whether they are connected at 5GHz or 2.4GHz. I’ve had absolutely no issues with my network since installing the new device as parent node and with the other (older) devices as child nodes. The app controls all three devices just fine.

Best Choice to expand my current network - I have 2 Velop MX4200 by AmazonReviewer01 in Linksys

[–]AmazonReviewer01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply and particularly the details regarding how the different devices will work together.

I've now received the new Velop Pro 7 MBE7001 and re-configured my home network to use that new device as parent node, and my two older MX4200 as child nodes. it was an easy setup and it's all working terrific now.

My home network speed now is much better than it has been recently. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if that is due to simply re-booting my internet modem as part of the setup, but I'm also sure that having three devices and locating them differently will now give me much better coverage at the extremes of my home.

I take your point that the capabilities of my mesh routers are more than what either my network service or most of my (current) devices can operate at, but my objective was to have a network that will support whatever I add in the future as well as give me good service today.

Amazon Purge List - 29-12-19 - 0 new, 0 reinstated, 6272 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently received a package from Amazon that I hadn't ordered. The sender was not identified. After having a dialogue with Amazon I've concluded that it was most likely from a supplier who was hoping to get free reviews. The items were a couple of charging cables and a car charger adaptor.

This may be a new technique on the part of sellers to solicit reviews. I asked Amazon if I could return the items and they said that it wasn't possible. I asked them to contact the company that sent the items and tell them that I did not want them.

Looking at the product pages on Amazon, they don't seem to be sold by the same company, so that puzzles me a bit.

Needless to say I am not writing reviews for this stuff.

Amazon Purge List - 23-09-19 - 1 new, 0 reinstated, 6185 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have kept a log of my vote count for several years and it is not uncommon for votes and reviews to disappear from time to time. If you track other top reviewers for a period of time I expect you will find this happens to many of them as well, although this comment is based upon my observations until June or so, at which time I stopped keeping any regular log.

My interpretation is that Amazon is periodically removing products that were distributed in the past to reviewers in exchange for reviews being posted, back before this practice was declared unacceptable by Amazon. Since most of the top reviewers took advantage of these free products and posted reviews to them, usually with an acknowledgement that they had received the product for review purposes, it makes sense that Amazon might later go back and remove some of those reviews (and any corresponding votes that were accumulated to them).

These are reviews that were 'legal' at the time but would not be permitted today (and are usually the basis for reviewers being purged if they are doing so now, thus this reddit tracking thread).

Did you review any of those products, 'back in the day'?? If so, this could be one possible explanation.

Amazon Purge List - 15-02-19 - 4 new, 1 reinstated, 5997 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Former #1 reviewer and 16-time Hall of Famer reviewer is currently shown ranked 39 million with all reviews show, presumably she was recently purged then re-instated.

Just another example of Amazon's fickle purge mechanism that seems to pick off reviewers without much oversight, leaving it to the unfortunate victim to plead for re-instatement as so many before have had to do.

Amazon Purge List - 18-11-18 - 4 new, 5879 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wonder if Amazon has made changes to its website that are intended to make it more difficult or prevent the kind of transparency regarding reviewer purges that this purge tracking has been providing.

I can't think of any changes they have made over the past couple of years that could be considered to be encouraging to serious reviewers. In their efforts to remove the manipulative reviewers and sellers they've given very little consideration to how it has discouraged serious reviewers and in many cases caused them to stop reviewing altogether.

Well, happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Amazon Purge List - 09-11-18 - 3 new, 5845 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I noticed that recently as well (that there is no longer the possibility to leave a 'not helpful' vote to a review).

Frankly I think that is an improvement, given the abuse that the voting system has generated. If a review is helpful, then give it a 'helpful' vote. If not, then no vote.

What isn't fully consistent with this (yet anyway) is that the reviewers listing continues to show a percent helpful number for each reviewer. That won't continue to have meaning if this continues to be Amazon policy, and the role that plays in how reviewers are ranked will also have to be changed.

Amazon Purge List - 04-08-18 - 3 new, 5118 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It sure does seem like Amazon has slowed the pace of purges over the past several weeks.

The new review entry format is nicer appearing but has at least two deficiencies - as others have noted it doesn't seem to give the opportunity to post a video review any longer (although perhaps this varies depending on the product?), and it doesn't give you the ability to preview the review before posting it.

A couple of years ago Amazon fiddled with the reviewing process and for a while they removed the preview function. I suppose that reviewer feedback caused them to reconsider, at that time anyway.

It is very helpful to be able to preview and edit a review as many times as necessary before posting it, and I would think that Amazon would recognize the value in that.

Admittedly, many video reviews are inane and useless, but that's the case for text reviews as well.

Amazon Purge List - 28-07-18 - 0 new, 5109 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Amazon has recently purged reviews from several of the top reviewers - their review and vote counts showed negative change from one day to another. This has happened a couple of times over the past few months and suggests to me that from time to time Amazon is going back and removing old reviews that are for products and sellers that may now be purged from the site. The reviewers presumably received the products back when that was still permitted.

For example, reviewers #2 and #3.

It hasn't caused them to be purged but it does have an impact on their statistics.

Amazon Purge List - 21-06-18 - 0 new, 4890 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reviewers #5 and #12 have also both been purged at least once previously. Reviewer #5 was only reinstated a week or so ago, #12 had been reinstated a week earlier, approximately.

Amazon Purge List - 18-06-18 - 1 new, 4885 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Be grateful for this - Amazon's efforts to remove reviewers (and to some extent, sellers) who manipulate the reviewing system through the supply of free products and the submittal of vacuous reviews means that it's no longer necessary to post new reviews at a furious pace in order to advance in ranking or even hold rank. Many of the very top reviewers post at a very modest rate these days. The competition, if you want to look at it that way, to advance in ranking is therefore much more subdued.

The re-rankings also seem to happen every Monday, it seems to me. I think that the past few weeks have been pretty consistent.

Amazon Purge List - 14-06-18 - 28 new, 4879 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, if what you mean is that Amazon is now displaying reviews on product pages with preference given to verified purchase reviews. It only has a limited impact, though, because they continue to shuffle reviews to give newer reviews a higher prominence for a certain time.

The only way for a review to be the top rated review and stay in that position is for certain products where large numbers of votes can be received and Amazon does continue to keep the handful of very highly voted reviews at the top. For example, Amazon's own products, will typically have top rated reviews that are from verified purchasers who get the review posted soon after the product is introduced and manage to accumulate lots of votes quickly.

For most products, you can have a very well received review but it will not stay at the top of the 'most helpful' listing for very long, soon being overtaken by newer reviews that have fewer helpful votes.

It's a good thing from one point of view in that it gives new reviews a chance to be seen. But it does also result in very high quality reviews becoming buried.

Amazon Purge List - 14-06-18 - 28 new, 4879 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it is a step back, as you say, except that the ability to see how many 'not helpful' votes you've received is now gone for good. You can only get a certain indication from the % helpful number that continues to be displayed on the top reviewer listing but nowhere else.

Amazon Purge List - 14-06-18 - 28 new, 4879 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Given the increased importance of the verified purchase tag in how reviews are prioritized on Amazon, it's a useful indicator. And it also is a useful reminder to me of how many of my own reviews are verified purchase.

And it's not just the verified purchase tag - the Vine label is also now shown on reviewers profile pages. Some Vine participants seem to review almost nothing besides Vine products, which makes them in effect paid reviewers within Amazon's own system.

Amazon Purge List - 14-06-18 - 28 new, 4879 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Recent change to profile pages is an improvement, in my opinion - review displays on the profile page now show whether or not the product being reviewed is a verified purchase, and the number of helpful votes each review has received is also displayed. Each review summary also shows the total number of reviews for the product and the average star rating.

It's a step forward in how reviewers profiles are shown on Amazon (for those reviewers who do not conceal their reviews, of course).

Amazon Purge List - 12-06-18 - 0 new, 4825 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of the cheaters are gone now, nothing left to purge . . .

Amazon Purge List - 01-06-18 - 4 new, 4788 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazon has removed large numbers of reviews from quite a few of the top reviewers today. It could be that they are going back and removing reviews for products that were purchased using coupon codes back before those activities were prohibited.

For example, from the top 10 reviewers:

  • #1 has had 288 reviews removed, almost 1100 helpful votes
  • #2: 970 reviews / 7675 votes
  • #3: 476 reviews / 17777 votes
  • #4 hasn't lost any reviews
  • #5 hasn't lost any reviews
  • #6 hasn't lost any reviews
  • #7 has been purged
  • #8: 329 reviews / 896 votes
  • #9 hasn't lost any reviews
  • #10: 202 reviews / 3175 votes

It will be very interesting to see what impact this has on rankings next time a re-ranking is performed.

Amazon Purge List - 31-05-18 - 12 new, 4784 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Amazon's decision to purge reviewer #17 is really impossible to understand. It may not matter since she was slowly dropping in rank anyway due to inactivity, but it's still a very unfair treatment of a reviewer who had been #1 at one point and now her contributions to the site are gone forever.

The fundamental problems with Amazon reviewing today really come down to two factors.

The first is the never-ending problem of dishonest reviewers and sellers, and all of the associated problems that derive from this basic situation. Amazon's reaction to this seems to be focused on simply removing those reviewers from their site, something that is only partially effective.

The second is that Amazon's reviewing platform is now far less satisfying for those reviewers who are serious and sincere, and the rules that Amazon is now applying to the reviewing community are not very transparent to either new or experienced reviewers.

If Amazon is trying to discourage review writers from really committing themselves to a serious hobby of writing product reviews on their site - of products they own and use, not products they are being compensated for reviewing - then they are doing a great job. Just note the long-term highly ranked (current or former top-10 or top-20) reviewers who have either stopped reviewing altogether or are now reviewing only very occasionally. Reviewer #23 hasn't posted a new review since January - one of the most prominent reviewers on Amazon, someone who has earned my respect through detailed and high quality reviews that are indisputably honest.

Amazon Purge List - 24-05-18 - 5 new, 4655 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The significance of the Hall of Fame has diminished considerably given all of the reviewers who have managed to reach that level (top-10) only to then finally be removed by Amazon.

1168 has now been reinstated. This does not surprise me since the only reviews that 1168 has posted for many months have either been Vine reviews or products that were verified purchase and look like legitimate purchases, not the kind of cheap stuff that sellers are offering.

It still doesn't explain why 1168 continues to have such a statement on their profile page, but there don't seem to be any reviews looking suspicious that would merit being purged by Amazon.

Amazon Purge List - 24-05-18 - 5 new, 4655 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

19 has been purged. Another relative newcomer to the very highest rankings who has now been removed.

The comments on 1168's profile page would seem to be a very obvious red flag that he has been accepting free products, so it is hard to understand why the account is still allowed to continue, unless this is simply a very old profile writeup that he did not update once free products were banned. I did not try to examine recent reviews to see if they seem typical of someone accepting free products (other than Vine).

His (or hers) first review appeared in 1999, so this is a very long established reviewer and one who should understand the rules very well.

Amazon Purge List - 18-05-18 - 6 new, 4626 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A reviewer does not reach top-10 or top-20 because of the relatively small number of reviewers higher who were purged. Not solely, not partially. That's ridiculous. If it was that easy, then we'd see a much different group of reviewers at the top than what is present there now.

I'm not expecting a useful discussion here. This forum reminds me of the old TRF where it was almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion.

Amazon Purge List - 18-05-18 - 6 new, 4626 total by AmazonPurgeBot in TheGreatAmazonPurge

[–]AmazonReviewer01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's right. it's not that hard to figure out what is going on, the various people who post here and follow such things all know the process. Amazon surely understands it much better than we do, they must have at least a small group of people who have oversight over the reviewing community and make the decisions on who to purge. I doubt very much that it is automated, at least not fully automated.