Talk:MagicJack/Sentiment

Name and purpose of this chapter
"Panic" (a wikiBooks admin?) pointed out to me that this chapter confused him. Especially the pronounced NPOV message, and the page named "Benefits." I believe some changes need to be made to this section, but I wanted to start a baseline discussion about 1) the purpose of this section, and 2) why it was named as it was (and will be).

The purpose of this books' chapter is to fairly and accurately depict the common user experience with MJ. This creates problems because the experience of users isn't a shared one (like it would be for MS Word users). MJ tends to work, or it doesn't. It tends to evoke "love it," or "hate it," sentiment. And, for good reason.

That's the dilemma I faced when creating this book. I wanted to describe why people use MJ. It's features and benefits (such as the potential for extremely low price). But, that's impossible to do without mentioning the downsides that come with MJ, and which affect users to different degrees. If I didn't mention those downsides which are just as real as the benefits, then this book wouldn't conform to wikiBooks "neutral-point-of-view" policy.

To make matters worse, MJ is (or has the potential to be) a "disruptive (game-changing) technology." This contributes to the passion over often-wildly disparate user experiences:


 * There are some who see any criticism of MJ as jeopardizing a revolution in telecommunications. (They'll even go so far as to suggest that complaints are the result of incumbent providers spreading "FUD," which I personally believe incumbents have a reason to do, and that some criticism can be attributed to them.).
 * Similarly, there are others who bristle at what they consider to be "fan boy" devotion to MJ. They believe MJ is a huge scam, tricking people into pre-purchasing service and will then close down or, become widespread malware/spyware (with no uninstall capability).

To varying degrees either side makes legitimate, compelling points. And, most MJ users see various shades of both sides, picking and choosing based upon what is important (or credible) to them. In essence, there's no way to present MJ's "benefits" (why users choose to use it) without presenting the negatives. And, even the "benefits" are very subjective. Some extremely positive users don't care about quality problems because they need $2-per-month service. Others complain about the quality, and would be happy with $5 a month.

MJ is unique in this way. It is extreme compared to other tools which someone may write a book about. It presents extreme benefits and extreme downsides. It's very situational, depending on what is important to an individual user. Any user who mentions what's important to them is likely to receive 20 responses (on forums) from others who disagree.

Therefore, I tried to create this area to fairly assess both sides (and how they can be taken together in different ways, depending on what is important to an individual).

I also wanted to set the tone for this topic, that it should contain a summary of user sentiment found frequently enough in public forums (reviews, etc.) to justify acknowledgment. It shouldn't be a place for individual reviews. Just an overview of what is commonly expressed by MJ users.

As part of what I tried to accomplish above, I struggled with how to name the sub-pages. I initially called it "Praise" and "Criticism." But, I worried that users who feel more passionately about the benefits of MJ would feel this term diminishes their views, as if it's "religious," faith-based praise.

Therefore, I chose "Benefits" and "Criticism." But, I understood "Panic's" confusion. "Benefits" evokes a more neutral, balanced presentation of what makes MJ different among its peers. I was striving for a different neutrality -- among MJ users -- recognizing that even the most generalized "benefits" can't be fairly presented without acknowledging the problems that do exist. This then leads to those who place more emphasis on MJ's "benefits" wanting to point out more specific benefits (which may not be suitable for the kind of general, comparitave "Benefits" topic normally found in an introduction.

So, I plan to rename the sub-pages to "Pros" and "Cons."

But, I'm still trying to think of the best name for the chapter page to represent the context of these pros/cons. I'm considering:


 * The user experience (good and bad)
 * Common user sentiment (or, just "User sentiment" because, as mentioned above, sentiment is often not shared).
 * Common sentiment (the user experience)
 * MJ in practice: the positives and negatives.

As these issues are further resolved, I think the "features sub-topic (in the "introduction" chapter) should be considered the place for more generalized "benefits" topic, presenting MJ benefits generally, benefits of VOIP generally, acknowledging other services. Maybe a comparison of features.

I created this discussion topic just as a baseline for any further discussion about this chapter. Trying to avert edit wars, etc. If any MJ users take exception to anything in this book's chapter, or feel something should be added (or removed), I strongly suggest we try to operate with the following set of shared values:


 * Start a discussion this page, or on one of the sub-pages. We all know this can be a contentious topic among MJ users. It should be more respectful to talk about it first.
 * Err on the side of caution and respect for opposing viewpoints. Wikibooks encourages contributors to be bold, but in this one facet of using MJ, I suggest we be more careful than bold.
 * Acknowledging the existence of viewpoints (held widely enough to merit acknowledgment) isn't a validation of their validity or importance. We know they exist. That's all we're trying to depict. Not their merits, or how certain things outweigh other things.

--Az2008 (talk) 19:16, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

complains?
My name is Diana, I am from Romania, marriaed in Florida, and I had a majicJack disposal...But my problem is that your disposal could be not use withouth an internet line, and that mince that aniway me must have a contract with an internet operator, wich porovides mandatory services of telephony&internet...So in this condition, we are forced to have and pai for a second telephone line to them, evan if ve do not whant it, and in this situation yours majikJack is anuseles for me-I am sorry.