What is Rekonit?

In Rekonit we collect all the available reviews and ratings for a wide range of products or artistic creations. In Rekonit you can find the most objective assessment for a movie, a car, a game, a book, or whatever else interests you!

You can always add your own products and your own reviews. In Rekonit you can rate all products you care about, you can rate other people's ratings and you can read interesting articles...

How can I use Rekonit?

You can use Rekonit:

1. To find about new products and their worth.
2. To find the better books to read, the most highly rated movies to watch, the most discussed or the most controversial games...
3. Or, alternatively, you can find out the worst of them! It’s not uncommon to find out that an otherwise interesting product gets slammed by the critics. As a result, a lot of people are interested in finding out more about it.
4. You can add any product or product you want, especially yours! We actively encourage you to do so and by this, you can keep track of reviews, opinions, ratings and even create a discussion for your own productions!
5. You can add any reviews you’ve read about any product you want. By doing so you can help create the most objective ratings database ever, for any product or artistic creation you like!

Who writes the reviews here?

NO! Every review here is authored by others in order to promote objectivity: “Published Reviews” consist of short synopses of of reviews published in a third party media (magazines, newspapers, websites) together with a rating that represents the review best and “Visitor Reviews” is the opinion and/or the review of Rekonit's visitors for a given product.

Our staff does not write any of the reviews here. We may simply comment on the on the general consensus of them in order to clear things up or to comment on peculiarities.

The original source of every “Published Review” is linked below its excerpt, in respect of the intellectual property of the original publisher. Visit any original review you find interesting!

How is the score calculated for a product?

The score we assign to each product is a weighted average of the scores given to it by various media and the average score that visitors of Rekonit assign to it.

Scores are calculated on a percentile basis. If the original source's rating is counted on some other way (e.g. 5 stars), we convert that rating to its percentile equivalent (so “4 stars out of 5” is converted to 80% - “7 out of 10” becomes 70%).

In case a review hasn’t got any kind of numerical rating, we estimate its score by the positive and negative remarks on the review.

So, if a review states that product X is completely unacceptable and awful and nobody should buy it, then we consider it deserves a 0% score.

On the other hand, if a review states that product Y is absolutely perfect with no flaws at all, we then consider it deserves a perfect 100%.

The final score of each product is shaped by the average score of published reviews and the average score of the visitors’ votes and reviews.

How to calculate the score of a review

Some of the reviews don't have any kind of numerical score attached. In this case, their score should be calculated using the following rules:

1. If there's no negative comment and the review presents the product as excellent, the score for this review must be 100% (Caution: Some commercial ads take the form of completely favorable reviews, but their intention is overtly to advertise the product and not criticize it. It is not difficult to tell them apart, especially when most commercial texts are copied verbatim in a lot of media and usually don’t even have a visible author name).
2. In a very positive review, any negative remark that expresses subjective opinion of the reviewer (eg “I would prefer the X feature to be different”) subtracts 5 points from the final score.
3. A more severe remark (like “the music is boring” or “the graphics are poorly made”) subtracts 10 points from the final score.
4. If the reviewer argues that an issue affects the product overall (like “the gameplay makes the game totally boring”) this subtracts 20 points from the final score.
5. So, the following statement in a review: "This is a very good album but with a totally awful production and sometimes the singer seems to be off-tune" removes 20 points for the overall problem of the sound and 5 more points for the subjective comment on the singer’s tonality. This way, if this review praises the remaining characteristics of the CD as excellent, it can be calculated as it having a 75% score.
6. • If the reviewer seems undecided on his final assessment, we start on the basis of 50% and add points for each positive remark, or subtract an analogous amount of points for each negative remark. (So, a review that concludes "I cannot decide if I like this car or not, but I must admit that it has good workmanship and a powerful engine. Its cabin though is really uncomfortable" has a score of 60% (starting with 50%, add 10% for two positive attributes, subtract 10% for one negative).
7. • If the critic is generally unfavorable towards the product, start with 0% and add points for each positive remark. This way, a review that states “This movie is unacceptable and boring! It is completely awful! Only the leading actress acts decently” scores 10%.

As a rule, avoid very low scores on the reviews unless they are truly worth it. The act of creation costs money, time, energy, and none deserves to be criticized harshly for being creative. An overtly negative review seems prejudiced and does not help its creators to improve.

I am the author of an original review that some visitor added. I don't agree with the score he/she calculated for it or with the information he/she added for it. How can I make corrections?

If you are the original author of a review that was added by a visitor, you can contact us and ask for the necessary changes.

Keep in mind that a reviewer cannot ask for recurring changes on the same review. Should you need to freely change your reviews, you can ask our technical department to grant you with full and permanent moderation rights for all of your reviews listed in Rekonit (Contact us for more details and instructions).

Are the ratings completely objective?

No review and no score can be 100% objective. Each person evaluates things differently. Even if a product receives a very negative or a very positive score it’s not necessary that it actually is very bad or very good . You may form a completely different opinion on trying it out for yourself and feel that it deserves greater or lower score than what it receives. This is completely expected and normal.

That's why Rekonit enables you to add your opinion, your ratings, your comments, your opinion, and make it count! Rekonit is based on your continuous interaction and participation, and this way it creates the most objective ratings possible!

Why do the scores change over time?

Scores in Rekonit are not static nor definite. If a product receives moderate scores on its first days of release, this does not mean it will be treated the same way ever after.

A product which received raving reviews at its first days of release can later be known as having some fundamental flaw and its reviewers would decide to change their reviews of it.

Instead, a product which started its journey with negative reviews may prove itself later as very reliable and useful and create a huge fan base. Remember that Rekonit users have always the option to change their reviews and ratings. This dynamic approach ensures that in Rekonit you'll always find the most accurate and most up to date information...

Can I review or comment on a product that doesn’t exist in Rekonit?

Of course, however you first have to add that product in Rekonit's database. Suppose you read a very good book and you want to add it to Rekonit.

Choose “Add a new review” in the right panel and follow the instructions. Then, when the product is added, you can add reviews to it.

I have my own product (for example, I have published a music CD) and I want to put it on Rekonit so visitors can learn about it and review it. Am I allowed to add it?

Yes, you are. Rekonit is there to put your products and inform the public of their existence. Choose “Add a new review” and fill in carefully the information that describes it (do not forget to mention how visitors can find or buy your product).

Note: Your product has to comply with the the following rules.

Products you can add to Rekonit:

You can add to Rekonit:

• Films, movies, music videos,
• Technology products (mobile phones, cameras, electronics, computer accessories, PDAs, software programs etc) and all technology services offered as a "package",
• Video games in different formats (console, PC),
• Music compositions, single songs, CDs and DVDs
• Books and various publications,
• Cars, motorcycles, bicycles etc.

For your product to be accepted, you need to add the following information:

• The name of the product ("title"),
• The possible alternative names by which the product is known,
• The official description of the product,
• The category in which it belongs (publications, music, movies, etc),
• Additional information, such as the names of the actors taking part in a film, the number of songs of a music CD, the name of the author of a book, or anything else you consider important. This way the visitor will have a clearer picture of the product,
• An official photo of the product,
• The link to its official site,
• Choose from the list of «tags» those who think that match the product. (Eg For a children's film that adult's also can watch it such as Harry Potter, select “Fiction”, “For Kids", “For Adults”, “Supernatural").

If the above information is false or misleading, we reserve the right to decline this product's addition to Rekonit's database and ban the user's account.

I’ve read somewhere a review about X (a book or a movie or whatever else) and this review is not listed in Rekonit. Can I add it?

If you find a review about some product that's not already listed in Rekonit, you can very easily add it. Just click “Add a new review” at the right panel and follow the instructions.

For a media review to be accepted, it has to conform to the following rules:

• It must be published in some legitimate media (ie newspaper, magazine, website or blog),
• It must be a real, signed review and not some commercial ad, presentation of the product or a paid reivew. Commercials and simple presentations will be removed from Rekonit. Accepted reviews have to clearly evaluate and criticize the product,

Information required when adding a review:

• The link to the review (if one exists),
• The name or signature of the reviewer,
• The name of the media (choose from the drop-down menu),
• A little snippet that shows the general spirit of the review,
• The score indicated in the review - or, if the review does not contain scores, read above how to calculate and assign a score.

If the information about a review is inaccurete, false or misleading in any way, Rekonit maintains the right to remove it and ban or remove the account of the user that added it.

Please note that for any review of some third party media you add, Rekonit will inform its managers about its addition to our. If there are any discrepancies, the review will be removed. So please be careful.

I did a trick to increase traffic to some product pages and my account is banned. Why?

Rekonit uses a series of techniques which can detect improper use of tis facilities. Rekonit reserves the right to ban or delete any user accountable for improper use of Rekonit.

I have added a product. Why don’t I see it immediately on the home page of Rekonit

All new entries are not shown immediately. Sometimes entries must go through the approval of the coordinators of Rekonit, and for various reasons, they may be delayed. If they are not accepted, you will be notified by e-mail. Contact the technical department of Rekonit if any problem occurs and we will resolve it the best way possible.

I forgot my password, what can I do?

If you forgot your password or username, click “Reset Password” and follow the instructions. A new password will be sent to your e-mail. Should any problem occur, contact our technical department of Rekonit.