Q: What does GOO stand for?
A: GOO stands for “Giving One’s Opinion.” Because that’s what we’re giving — our opinion. We can’t definitively tell you if something is good or bad (well, bad is usually pretty definitive). We can only tell you what we thought.
GOO also stands for goo. We love goo.
Q: Why should we read your reviews when there are so many other choices out there?
A: Because we’re good people. And that’s a rare commodity on the Internet.
We write our reviews not just to tell you what’s good, bad, or okay, but to entertain you. Our reviews will not only serve to tell you about a title’s quality, but are written to be a source of entertainment in and of themselves. Through them, you’ll get to know us. And if you leave a comment, we’ll probably respond back.
Q: Many startup blogs begin with standards, goals, ambition, hopes and dreams but quickly fizzle out due to humanity’s endless ability to abandon things at a moments notice. How is your website different?
A: Here at GOO Reviews, we’ve somehow managed to hold down the fort for almost three years of weekly and even semi-weekly updates, so we think we know a little bit about updating regularly, if there’s ever a concern (that’s a Kevin Lowe joke in case you missed it; see, we really are from Edmonton).
Q: How does your grading system work?
A: We use a five-star grading system where fewer stars (i.e., 1 star) is bad and more stars (i.e., 5 star) is good. Partial points (i.e., 1/2 star) are also possible. Generally if something receives 2 1/2 stars or better, we liked it at least a little bit.
It goes like this:
is Near Perfect
is Amazing
is Great
is Good
is Decent
is Passable
is Flawed
is Bad
is Horrible
is Nearly Worthless
However, that’s not the whole story.
Sometimes you might see something that is technically brilliant or really well done but you didn’t love it and sometimes you see something utterly awful but you still kind of liked it. That’s where the heart comes in. Taking a cue from Apple Music, we also use a heart system.
When something receives a heart, regardless of the quality of the piece or the score we give it , know that, for whatever reason, it’s something we still loved, possibly beyond reason.
Q: I noticed that most of your older reviews use a grading system from A to F and still others seem to use a scale form one to ten. WTF?
A: That’s a relic of our old grading system from back when we started in 2012, where Grace judged pieces on a letter-grading scale (‘A’ to ‘F’ = bad to good) and Thom judged pieces on a numerical scale (one to ten = bad to good). Even back then we couldn’t agree on things.
Q: Where is Grace anyway?
A: Grace voluntarily downgraded herself from co-editor to occasional (i.e., almost never, maybe really never) contributor in the pursuit of the finer things in life like career and family and love and personal satisfaction. Thom’s still here, though, along with a cavalcade of random other writing “talents”, and really that’s all that matters.
Q: I noticed that some of your formatting, specifically punctuation, is a little weird. Do you not know what you’re doing?
A: Our internal style is a combination of formatting choices that we personally like best. Being a Canadian-based website, we follow CP Style in general but deviate in specific circumstances. For instance, we say “comicbook” because that’s the way Stan Lee prefers it. When we put punctuation outside of quotation marks, it’s because those points of punctuation aren’t part of the original quote. We’re full of eccentricities like that. Just remember, if you think you’ve found an error, you’re mistaken and we meant it to be that way.
Q: Can we request titles for you to review?
A: Yes, see our Contact Us page (and read it carefully). No promises, though.
Q: Do you accept items such as free tickets, sneak preview passes, and other promotional materials?
A: If it’s free, of value, and cannot cause any harm, directly or indirectly, we are happy to accept it. Head over to our Contact Us page to tell us the particulars.
Q: I think your website, your reviews, your ideas, and you are great. What makes you so great?
A: Genetics.
Q: The writing on this blog is of an exceptional and remarkable level of quality. Are you available for hire?
A: God, yes.
Q: And should we pay you well for services rendered?
A: Yes. In fact, forget the job. Just give us some money.
GOO Reviews 