Introducing Conditional Recommendations

When I first introduced the review feature to this blog, you may recall that I had three verdicts- Recommended, Highly Recommended and Not Recommended. At the time, my intent was to create a review system that was simple and less prone to grade inflation, but now, I would like to add a new review- Conditionally Recommended.

Conditionally Recommended sits somewhere between Recommended and Not Recommended, since it is the former for the viewers/players to whom it appeals, and the latter for those outside of the appeal zone. Obviously, this is a far cry from Highly Recommended, as well as Recommended, since I give out the former if I have no reservations about whether the work would appeal to people. Nevertheless, works with this rating have enough merits to avoid a Not Recommended rating. Of course, Conditionally Recommended, like the others, serves to concisely sum up my verdict on the work, and is not a substitute for reading the review and considering the strengths or weaknesses.

If anything, the Conditionally Recommended verdict is a commentary on how people are not guaranteed to like or dislike any work of fiction, hence why I am deciding whether I recommend the works I review, rather than declaring them objectively good or bad. Many people dislike the classics for legitimate reasons, while people often enjoy terrible works, whether ironically or otherwise. Many works are rather divisive, with large and vocal factions of fans and detractors, and this rating helps to serve to help the readers understand whether they will like the work being reviewed.