Okay I’ve gone all Scarlett O’Hara, wishing I could flounce out of an internet fountain pen forum because of a thread where a number of people were implying, if not stating outright, that fountain pen and ink reviews are necessarily biased, useless and unethical.
So let me just make a statement here about what I believe, and how I behave.
I use things and talk about them on the blog. Sometimes I do a formal review. Sometimes I do less formal pieces.
Here’s how that works.
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Fountain Pen Follies 
Hi Laura
Don’t worry about those people on the forum some of them should learn to engage their brains before putting there mouths in drive. I like your reviews and I am sure there are many others who do too. Your sense of humour shows and so does your positive nature.
I also like Chrissy’s reviews on fpgeeks which are a little more formal but also in a positive way.
Anyway keep up the good work.
Michael
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Anyone who complains that ink reviews are inherently useless has either been reading the wrong kind, or reading the right kind of review in the wrong way. Like anything else, you have to know what you’re looking for, what traits matter to you, and look for info on those while accepting – gasp! – that not all reviews are going to cover what YOU care about.
Besides, I agree with Nadine, who on earth wants the whole tedious pretense of ‘objectivity’ in a review. That’s why you read it: you want the person’s opinion! There’s a gaping chasm between this kind of natural bias, which is a viewpoint, and the outright dishonesty these people seem to see everywhere. Telling the two apart’s what separates the men from the boys: blanket cynicism is as easy as wide-eyed naivety.
For my part I can say I’ve learned a ton from your reviews about inks – and I’ve been writing with FPs my whole life. You keep doing you, it’s working great!
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Your ethics seem pretty sound to me. When it comes to pens, ink etc. it’s hard to be entirely objective in a review (we all have different tastes and preferences). Any effort to ‘standardise’ reviewing risks taking away the emotional element of why we like and use fountain pens. Keep up the good work.
Illegitimi non carborundum!
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Thank you so very much for your forthrightness! This is one reason I keep coming back to your blog.
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Your ethics show in your posts and anyone saying something different didn’t read them fully, if you ask me. But you’ll always get people like that, even if you don’t accept gifts or whatever… and that they aren’t objective… I have to agree, they aren’t. That’s kind of the point for me. But the pictures are – and you make amazing pictures! So I understand. Don’t let yourself be drawn down by this!
And thank you for your amazing reviews. They have helped me several times!
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They are exceedingly fine ethics, and well said. 🙂
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They are indeed! And well said. I had wondered if that discussion hid some other agenda, but I guess I’ll never know. The point about reputations though is worth considering. When one garners a reputation as a ‘voice’ in the hobby (any aspect: pens, nibs, paper etc.) then readers are likely to act upon that. Is this a responsibility that is thrust upon the reviewer by the reader? And does the reviewer have to acknowledge it? Tricky questions, and I don’t have answers. 🙂
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And exceedingly fine ethics they are.
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