HELP
General
What is BADUKU?
BADUKU is opinion site helps users gauge how people in the world feel overall about any particular topic. BADUKU helps simplify decision making by consolidating all users opinions into a concise bullet-point format which it easer to read and grasp. Additionally, BADUKU's unique system organizes these robust opinions by presenting the most important and relevant opinions first.
How does BADUKU work?
Instead of asking users to write long individual reviews that can not be cross referenced easily by users, BADUKU asks users to either write short opinions (50 character bullet-points) or confirm existing opinions which they agree with. In our opinion, why should you write a whole paragraph, to essentially agree with something that has already been said before? However of course you still have the freedom of making new important opinions, which allows future users to agree with your opinions.
Is BADUKU free?
Yes, Other than advertising features, you can use the site for free. In the future we will also offer an open API for developers to use for free as well.
Why Use BADUKU?
There are many review sites out there but they have the same problems.
Problems with other review sites:
- First is that you would have to read every review to truly get a full understanding of how people felt about a particular topic or product, this could essentially take hours or days.
- Second is that after just reading the first few reviews depending on if more of them were positive or negative overall, you will already become biased because of "order bias".
- Third is that Star-Based or Thumbs-Based rating systems are not always reliable. Suppose a movie received 100 votes of which half scored it 10-out-of-10 and the other half scored it 0-out-of-10, thus giving it a total average score of 5. Does this mean that the movie was average, or mediocre? Actually what seems to be happening is that half the population really liked it and the other half hated it, a typical response to cult classics, which are far from being mediocre?
- Lastly, most other review site only allow you to review products or places and don't allow you to review more abstract things such as ideas, laws, and people. Even among it's vast database of product reviews, there still is a lack for less common products like insurance, colleges, travel destinations, etc.
So why is BADUKU better:
It solves all of these common problems:
- First you only have to read a few bullet points to get a great understanding of how people feel overall about a topic.
- Second is that we present you with both positive (The Goods) and negative (The Bads) opinions side-by-side in short concise bullet-points which greatly minimizes the chances order bias.
- Third, is that by making opinions easier and quickly to read, the users become less dependent on score based rating system in making their opinion, however we still offer our own unique scoring system for those that need a final nudge.
- Lastly, BADUKU is the only opinion site that allows you to create an opinion for any topic you can imagine. We only have a few rules on using profanity and creating topics about private individuals who don't have notoriety (ie, people who are not famous like someone you don't like at your school or your best friend)
Who Uses BADUKU?
BADUKU is designed for everyone and anyone.
- It is for anyone who wants to get a public opinion on nearly any topic they can imagine.
- It is for anyone who wants to share their opinion about a topic
- It is for anyone who wants to start a topic to ask for the public's opinion about the topic.
What can I create a topic about?
You can create a topic about nearly anything. People, Places, Things, Ideas, whether they are real or unreal, the possibilities are limitless. We only suggest that you use existing topics and opinions as often as possible.
What should I avoid when creating topics or making opinions?
We only have a few exception that we expect BADUKU users to follow and respects.
- Advertising topics that have no valid substance for discussion.
- Racism, sexism and other types of offensive topics and content will not be tolerated.
- Topics and opinions should avoid the use of profanity, unless it is being used in the proper context (i.e. referencing a well-documented public quote, referencing a literal title of a book, movie, song, album, or other publications)
- Pornography and nudity is strictly prohibited or must be adequately censored if used in the proper context. (Nudity is only permissible if referencing classic or modern works of art.
- We respect the privacy of individuals so we do not allow topics to be created about private individuals, however public figures are not shield from this kind of privacy protection. The general rule of notoriety is that if an individual can be found in wikipedia.com or referenced in major publications or broadcast, then they are allowed to be a topic of discussion.
Who can see me and my opinions?
No one can see you or identify what your opinions are on any specific topic. Unlike other review sites that attempt to be mini social networks, we think there are better places to serve your social networking needs. BADUKU is just a tool that is designed to compliment your social networking accounts.
Can I create topics or make opinions without an account?
No, you can view topics and opinions but you must have an account to create topics or make opinions about topics. This helps us prevent people from trying to game the system to falsely affect the opinion rankings.
I'm an individual and I did not give anyone the right to create a topic about myself. What can I do?
Sometimes people might create topics about individuals without their permission, which would be an invasion of their privacy. In these cases we have created a way to quickly resolve this problem. To report this type of issue, just click on the "Report Issue" button and select the "Unauthorized topic about a private individual". This will flag the topic for review by our staff.
However, we also believe that public figures are not protected from this type of privacy and this if they fall into our notability standards, the topic will remain. Please refer to our notability guidelines.
Will BADUKU remove bad opinions if a business or individual asks or pays for it?
No we will not. That would directly contradict the authenticity and reliability of this service. Our belief is that our system is the closest representation to a true public opinion so businesses and individuals can never remove a valid opinion regardless of whether it's good or bad. What they can do however is do their best to get more people to participate in giving opinions on their topic which may or may not push down the ranking of unwanted opinions making them less relevant.
The only exception in which we might consider removing an opinion is if we deem it to be excessively offensive.
Does BADUKU do anything to affect the ranking of opinions if requested by business or individuals?
Generally we will not adjust the ranking of opinions if requested by business or individuals. However, there may be request to merge similar topic together, which would retain the original number of total opinion agreements but the order of opinion ranks may become rearranged according to each opinions total number of agreements.
An opinion I created or edited isn't showing on a certain topic page when I'm logged out, but I still see it on my profile. What happened?
New unique opinions will start at the lowest ranking of 1 agreement (yours) so you won't see it in the top 5 if there are already many existing opinions above it. You will need to get the same or more people agreeing with your opinion as those in the top 5 for it to be raised up to the ranks of the top 5 opinions.
Sometimes the opinions for topics seen to flip around for no reason every time I refresh it, why is that?
New topics usually don't have too many participants making opinions on it yet so most of the opinions are tied in their ranks. If a tie occurs, the system will just randomly place them in the top 5 until over time a stronger consensus begins to form and the rankings between opinions becomes more concrete and distinct.
How do we change topic images if we don't like the current image?
Unfortunately, we didn't want users to be constantly changing images, especially if they are inappropriate, so we designed the system so that the initial image during topic creation becomes the primary topic image for the topic.
However, we understand that the individual who created the topic might have picked an unrepresentative image for the topic so if you don't like an image for any reason, you can easily submit a request to change the image though our "Report Issue" button. This doesn't mean you'll be able to pick your own image to replace it but we will be notified regarding the request and we will pick out an appropriate image ourselves to represent the topic.
How is the opinion ordering determined?
Opinions are ordered by the total number of people agreeing with an opinion by using existing opinions as their own. For example, when a new opinion is created for a topic (one that does not already exist) it immediately gets a vote of 1 point. Only when another user give their opinion to a topic, and rather than creating their own they use that existing opinion as their own, then it gets another vote making it's total score 2 points. The top 5 good and bad opinions represent the top 5 opinions with the highest total score.
What can I do if I see duplicate topics or opinions?
It will be common to see topics that either looks very similar (i.e. just the same topic written differently) or they could be literally the same topic. When this occurs, it is in our and your best interest to merge them together to create a strong single topic on the subject.
To do this, just click on the "Report Issue" button on the topic details page and select "Similar Topic Already Exist". Then in the details write a note and if you can link the other topic's URL into the comment area and submit the issue.
We will then merge the two topics together. Generally we will merge the opinions from the smaller topic into the more popular topic and redirect the page link for the smaller topic to the new merged topic's page.
Rules
What types of topics will violate the rules?
Generally we will try not to restrict users in any way so for the most part, any topic of available for discussion. The only topics we don't allow are the following:
- Advertising topics that have no valid substance for discussion.
- Racism, sexism and other types of offensive topics and content will not be tolerated.
- Topics and opinions should avoid the use of profanity, unless it is being used in the proper context (i.e. referencing a well-documented public quote, referencing a literal title of a book, movie, song, album, or other publications) Also note that our system is design to automatically replace profanity so even though its has been modified by us, it will still be searchable in it's original form.
- Pornography and nudity is strictly prohibited or must be adequately censored if used in the proper context. (Nudity is only permissible if referencing classic or modern works of art.) A common question might be, what if we are creating a topic about a pornographic personality? The answer is, you are certainly allowed to create a topic about that individual but choose a photo that is discrete and has no nudity.
- We respect the privacy of individuals so we do not allow topics to be created about private individuals, however public figures are not shield from this kind of privacy protection. The general rule of notoriety is that if an individual can be found in wikipedia.com or referenced in major publications or broadcast, then they are allowed to be a topic of discussion.
Any of these violations could results in immediate cancellation of the offending user's account.
What types of opinions will violate the rules?
Again, generally we will try not to restrict users in any way from expressing their own opinions; the only exceptions are the following:
- Deceptive and misleading opinions. This would be creating a positive opinion, which most people would consider negative or vice-versa; for example, a good (positive) opinion about the topic of Lung Cancer is Death.
- Spamming opinions. This would be creating multiple copies of the same opinions or similar opinions in an attempt to affect the ranking of opinions overall.
Any of these violations could results in immediate cancellation of the offending user's account.
Profile
How do I verify my BADUKU account?
When you've completed the registration process, you will receive an email with a special link. Click it to verify your account. When the verification message arrives in your email in-box, click the verification link, of copy and paste it into your browser. Your account will be verified at this point. If you did not receive an email to verify your account please let us know.
How do I change my basic account information?
To edit your profile or to change your account preferences, log in and click on the "My Account Settings" link at the top of any page. You will be able to edit your account preferences there.
How do I change my email address?
To edit your email address, log in and click on the "My Account Settings" link at the top of any page. On the "Profile" header tab, you can change your email address in the "Email" text box. We will send you a email address change verification email to confirm the new email address.
Who can see my name?
Your name is only viewable by you and no one else. No where in the site do we reference any individual's name or personal information so you can rest assure that your identity and information is protected. In the future, we will offer user channels as a feature of the site which allows users to share their watchlist, or opinion submissions with others. Only in this case will an individual's identity (username) be made public upon the user's request.
Can I BADUKU under multiple accounts?
No. It's not ok for you to write multiple opinions from multiple accounts about the same topic, we delete multiple accounts when we see them.
What is a Watchlist?
A watchlist is a list of topics that registered users have marked to follow. You must have an account to add topics to your watchlist. To access your watchlist, log in and click on the "My Account Settings" link at the top of any page. Click on the "Watchlist" header tab to see your watchlist.
How do I remove a topic?
You can't remove a topic once it has been submitted. It becomes live and available to the public as soon as you submit the topic with at least one opinion. The only option you have is to edit your opinions for that topic or you can make a formal request to remove the topic if you have a valid reason such as "the topic already exist" in which case we are more likely to merge it with an existing topic.
How do I remove an opinion?
Opinions that you have made about a topic can be removed or edited at anytime. There are a number of way edit or remove opinions that you have made.
- You can visit the details page of the topic which you would like to edit your opinions. On this page, click on the "View My Opinions" button at the bottom of the topic details section. This will pull up a pop-up which lists your current opinions on the topic. Click on the "Edit My Opinion" button inside the pop-up and this will take you to the "Edit Opinions" page for the topic. From here you can remove any of your opinions by clicking the minus (-) button, or edit and add any opinion individually.
- You can also edit opinions by visiting the "My Opinions" tab on the "My Account Settings" page. Log in and click on the "My Account Settings" link at the top of any page. Click on the "My Opinions" header tab.
On this page, click on the "View My Opinions" button below any topic header. This will pull up a pop-up which lists your current opinions on the topic. Click on the "Edit My Opinion" button inside the pop-up and this will take you to the "Edit Opinions" page for the topic. From here you can remove any of your opinions by clicking the minus (-) button, or edit and add any opinion individually.
How do I make sure my topics and opinions show up in Facebook?
The best way to get your reviews to show up in your Facebook updates is to login using the Facebook Connect feature under "My Account Settings". If you are logged in using Facebook Connect, every time you make an opinion or create a topic, you will be promoted to publish the topic to Facebook.
Another way publish the topic to Facebook or other social networks, blogs, and online publications is to click on the "Share" button at the bottom of each Topic Details page. This will launch the "Share" pop-up window. Click on the appropriate icon of the website which you would like to publish to and you will be prompted to log in if you are not logged in already and then follow the instructions for publishing the topic.
Membership
How do I cancel my BADUKU membership?
To cancel your BADUKU membership, please click here.
If you don't mind telling us, we'd love to hear why you want to leave. We value your feedback and it will make a big difference in helping us evolve to make BADUKU a better service for you and everyone else.
How will my topics and opinions be affected if I cancel my BADUKU membership?
If you cancel your BADUKU membership, your topics and opinions will remain in the system and continue to be viewable and editable by other users, however, all records of your participation will be erased. Even if you create a new account that is exactly the same as your original account, all your information such as opinions and watchlist will be reset and you'll have to start again with a new account.
Creating Topics
How do I start a new topic?
To start a new topic, just log in and then click on the "Start New Topic" button in the upper right corner of any page. This will take you to the "Create a new topic" page where you can fill out all the information need to create a new topic. You must submit at least one opinion when creating a new topic. The following are instructions for creating a new topic:
- Topic Title: Start typing in the topic title. As you type, you will be given suggestions of existing topics with the same key words. If you see that the topic you are creating already exist, then you can select it to be taken to the "Edit Topic" page for that topic. Else, you can just selects "Start a new one" at the bottom of the dropdown to, use your new topic title, or just tab on to the next field.
- Link Website URL: Type in the URL if the topic has an official website, or has a reference online that this topic can be linked to. After tabbing out of the Link Website URL field, the images box will be pre-populated with images pulled from the linked address. You can flip though the images to select the appropriate image for the topic
- Upload Image: If your topic does not have a URL to reference images, you can upload your own image by clicking on the "Upload Image" button. On the upload image pop-up window, you can browse your local system for an image to upload.
- Choose Category: You can select up to 3 levels of categories. You don't have to always go as deep as three levels but only a minimum of 1 category is required.
Can I create a new topic even if a similar topic already exists?
Yes, but we don't recommend it. The strength of BADUKU is in having more opinions about one topic rather than having those opinions spread out among multiple similar topics. It is in your best interest to submit your opinion to an existing topic to make the topic as a whole more robust and reliable. Also creating a new topic when one already exist will probably make it a very weak starting topic which will take time to grow, but once it has grown big enough to get attention, we will likely just merge it with the other topic eventually anyhow.
Can I create topics about subjects that I'm personally connected to?
Yes. Every person has the right to create a topic and submit opinions about a subject that they are personally connected to. It's more likely that they will have a strong opinion about those topics.
Does BADUKU ever remove topics?
BADUKU will only remove topics if they violate the rules for creating proper topics and terms of usage. To read more about what these rules are click here. If however you find a topic that does violate the rules and terms of usage, users can request to remove the topic by clicking on the "Report Issue" button. In the pop-up window, select the appropriate issue type and describe in comment box the reason why you believe the topic should be removed. A BADUKU staff member will review it and take the proper action to resolve the issue promptly.
Can I remove a topic I've created?
No. You can't remove a topic once it has been submitted. It becomes live and available to the public as soon as you submit the topic with at least one opinion. The only option you have is to edit your opinions for that topic or you can make a formal request to remove the topic if you have a valid reason such as "the topic already exist" in which case we are more likely to merge it with an existing topic.
Giving Your Opinion
How do I give my opinion on a topic?
Giving your opinion on a topic is very easy. All you have to do is click on the "Give Your Opinion" button at the bottom of any topic.
On the "Give Your Opinion" page for a topic, you can start by typing out your first opinion or you can select from any of the existing opinions below the text fields.
If you start typing your own opinion in any text field, a dropdown will appear giving you suggested existing opinions that already exist based on your keywords. We always prefer that you use existing opinions whenever possible but if users prefer their own opinion, they can simply click the green plus (+) button to add their opinion as is.
You can write as little as one opinion or as many as 5 good and 5 bad opinions. At the bottom of the page you can give the topic an overall rating of "Good" or "Bad". This is used to determine the topics overall score.
I see more than one version of the same or similar topic, which one should I give my opinion to?
The choice of which topic to give your opinion is entirely up to you, however we always recommend that you look at current opinions on each topic to see which one seem more appropriate. Also it is better to add opinions to the more popular of two similar topics because it will make that topic stronger and report other topics so that we can merge them.
Can I create a new opinion even if a similar opinion already exists?
Yes you can, and you should especially if it is unique and has not been mentioned before. However, keep in mind that new opinions will always start at the bottom of the opinions list so it will take sometime before it raises it's rank so only create new opinions if it doesn't already exist.
Can I make opinions about subjects that I'm personally connected to?
Yes. Just like with topics every person has the right to create a topic and submit opinions about a subject that they are personally connected to. It's more likely that they will have a strong opinion about those topics. The only thing that we do not allow is the creation of multiple accounts by the same user to submit opinions about the same topic.
What if I was offered incentives by a business or individual to give my opinion on a topic?
You should never accept anything in exchange for positive or negative opinons. For example, a business or entity offers you money or discounts in exchange for giving them positive opinions and a good overall score.
However if a business has given you discounts or other things in the past without asking to specifically return the favor, you can certainly give them a positive opinion because it was a genuine experience and your honest opinion.
The difference is whether they asked you specifically write positive opinions for them on BADUKU or other websites. Not only would it be morally and ethically wrong but also it would undermine the quality of the system and in time ruin the service for everyone.
What if I had a bad experience? Can I say something negative?
Whether your opinion is good or bad, it is entirely up to you to write what you feel and to be as honest as possible. You can say whatever you want as long as it doesn't violate the rules and terms of use.
The only thing we remind you is to let the opinions be your own and don't give opinions only because you were given incentives to make a particular kind of opinion.
Does BADUKU ever remove opinions?
Generally we will not remove opinions unless they violate the rules and terms of use, such as unnecessary use of profanity or if the opinion is offensive to others.
Can I change or remove opinions I've made about a certain topic?
Yes. We believe that opinions about topics may change over time and that is why we make editing your previous opinions to reflect your current opinions quick and easy. There are two ways to change your opinion.
- You can visit the details page of the topic that you would like to edit your opinions. On this page, click on the "View My Opinions" button at the bottom of the topic details section. This will pull up a pop-up that lists your current opinions on the topic. Click on the "Edit My Opinion" button inside the pop-up and this will take you to the "Edit Opinions" page for the topic. From here you can remove any of your opinions by clicking the minus (-) button, or edit and add any opinion individually.
- You can also edit opinions by visiting the "My Opinions" tab on the "My Account Settings" page. Log in and click on the "My Account Settings" link at the top of any page. Click on the "My Opinions" header tab.
On this page, click on the "View My Opinions" button below any topic header. This will pull up a pop-up which lists your current opinions on the topic. Click on the "Edit My Opinion" button inside the pop-up and this will take you to the "Edit Opinions" page for the topic. From here you can remove any of your opinions by clicking the minus (-) button, or edit and add any opinion individually.
Reporting Issues
What are common issues I should report?
Here are a few common issues that you might report:
- Offensive topics, opinions, or images.
- Duplicate topics or comments.
- Opinion spamming (submission of numerous opinions that all look very similar to each other.)
- Bugs or issues experienced while using the website.
- Deceptive opinions attempting to game the system.
If I report an issue, how long does it take before I see a change?
Issues reported will usually take a day or two to get corrected but it shouldn't take longer than a week. If the issue you reported hasn't been corrected after a week, feel free to resubmit the issue.
How do I know if the issue I've reported has been process?
There is no way for us to communicate with you directly regarding an issue, usually you'll know it's been taken care of when you see that it's been correct for yourself on the website.
I've reported and issue a long time ago and I still don't see any change, should I report the issue again?
If the issue you reported hasn't been corrected after a week, feel free to resubmit the issue.
Invite
How do I invite friends?
The more friends the merrier, and the more your opinions make a difference. BADUKU is the pulse of the nation, a true measure of public opinion and for that to be true, its needs the public, and preferable as much of the public as possible.
The best way to get your friend to start contributing to BADUKU is to share topics you think they would be interested in. There are many ways to share topics. You can post them on your favorite blogs or social network, or you can send your friends an email that directly links to the topic so that they can start giving their own opinions.
We've also made it easy for you to invite your friends if you want them to start exploring BADUKU on their own. All you have to do is click on the ‘Invite Friends" link at the bottom of the page. We'll send them a friendly message about BADUKU and you can personalize the email yourself.
Privacy
What does BADUKU do with my personal information?
We take your privacy very seriously and we hate spam. Please take the time to review our privacy policy so you can exactly what we do with your personal information.
Since we don't share your information with other users or have any way for other users to identify you specifically, for the most part, your participation with BADUKU is pretty much anonymous to other users. However if you should ever feel there is a violation of our Terms of Service, please forward the message to legal@baduku.com.
