Understanding Comments vs Reviews

FourFork separates comments and reviews to provide both casual conversation and structured feedback for recipes.

The Key Difference

Reviews

• Purpose: Provide structured feedback after cooking
• Requirement: Must cook the recipe first
• Components: Star rating (1-5) + optional written feedback + optional photo
• Impact: Affects recipe rating and ranking
• Limit: One review per recipe per user (can edit within 24 hours)

Comments

• Purpose: Ask questions, share tips, have discussions
• Requirement: No cooking required
• Components: Written text + optional photo
• Impact: Facilitates community conversation
• Limit: Unlimited comments allowed

Questions

• Purpose: Ask for help, clarification, or advice
• Requirement: No cooking required
• Components: Question text (no rating)
• Special features: Can be marked as "accepted answer" by recipe owner
• Impact: Helps others with similar questions

When to Use Reviews

Leave a Review After Cooking

1. Click "I Cooked This" on a recipe
2. Mark the recipe as cooked in your calendar or cooking mode
3. Review prompt appears
4. Rate 1-5 stars
5. Optionally add written feedback
6. Optionally add a photo of your results

Adding Photos to Reviews

• Upload a photo of your finished dish
• Shows others what to expect
• Helps validate your review
• Can be removed or changed when editing
• Accepted formats: JPG, PNG
• Maximum file size: 5MB

What to Include in Reviews

• Overall experience: Did it work well?
• Taste and flavor: How did it turn out?
• Clarity: Were instructions clear?
• Accuracy: Were times and quantities right?
• Modifications: What did you change, if anything?
• Recommendations: Would you make it again?

Review Guidelines

Do:

• Be honest and constructive
• Mention modifications you made
• Note if you followed recipe exactly
• Share what worked and what didn't
• Consider difficulty for the target audience
• Rate fairly based on recipe quality, not personal taste
• Add a photo if possible

Don't:

• Rate before cooking
• Rate based on ingredient preferences (e.g., "I don't like mushrooms - 1 star")
• Give bad rating for your own mistakes
• Use reviews for questions
• Rate multiple times with different accounts

Review Rating Scale

5 Stars - Excellent

• Outstanding recipe
• Would make again and again
• Clear instructions
• Perfect results

4 Stars - Very Good

• Great recipe
• Minor improvements possible
• Would make again
• Recommend to others

3 Stars - Good

• Decent recipe
• Some issues or adjustments needed
• Might make again with modifications
• Average result

2 Stars - Fair

• Below expectations
• Significant problems
• Needs major improvements
• Unlikely to make again

1 Star - Poor

• Did not work as written
• Major errors or omissions
• Would not recommend
• Fundamentally flawed

When to Use Comments

Before Cooking

• Ask clarification questions
• Request substitution advice
• Discuss ingredient availability
• Share excitement about trying it

During Cooking

• Real-time questions while preparing
• Clarify confusing steps
• Ask about timing
• Troubleshoot issues

After Cooking (In Addition to Review)

• Share detailed experience
• Post additional photos of your results
• Discuss modifications in depth
• Help others with tips

General Discussion

• Share variations you're planning
• Discuss related recipes
• Share cooking tips
• Ask the recipe creator questions

When to Ask Questions

Questions are a special type of comment for:

• Requesting clarification on steps
• Asking about substitutions
• Troubleshooting specific issues
• Seeking advice before cooking

Similar Questions Feature

When typing a question:

• System searches for similar existing questions
• Shows questions with similar wording
• Helps you find answers faster
• Reduces duplicate questions

Accepted Answers

• Recipe owner can mark one answer as "accepted"
• Shows a checkmark badge
• Indicates the most helpful or official answer
• Helps future users find the best answer quickly

Upvoting and Downvoting

Voting on Helpfulness

All comments, reviews, and answers can be voted on:

• Upvote (👍): This was helpful
• Downvote (👎): This wasn't helpful or was inaccurate

Why Vote?

• Helps surface the most useful feedback
• Rewards helpful community members
• Improves user reputation scores
• Makes it easier for others to find good advice

Voting Guidelines

• Vote based on helpfulness, not agreement
• Upvote constructive, detailed feedback
• Downvote spam, off-topic, or unhelpful content
• Don't downvote just because you disagree

Reply and Threading System

Replying to Comments

• Click "Reply" button on any comment or review
• Your reply appears nested underneath
• Creates a conversation thread
• Original commenter gets notified

Threading Benefits

• Keeps related discussions together
• Easy to follow conversations
• Notifications for participants
• Context preserved

When to Reply vs New Comment

• Reply: Responding to specific comment or question
• New Comment: New topic or general comment

Adding Photos

Photo Uploads

You can add photos to:

• Reviews (show your results)
• Comments (share visual tips)
• Answers (demonstrate solutions)

Photo Guidelines

• Show the finished dish or relevant step
• Good lighting and focus
• Appropriate for all audiences
• Your own photo (don't steal)
• Maximum 5MB file size

Viewing Photos

• Click photo to see full size
• Close with X button
• Photos from reviews marked "Verified Cook"

Advanced Filtering

Filter Reviews By:

• Star rating: Only 5-star, 4-star, etc.
• With photo: See only photo reviews
• With text: Reviews that include written feedback
• From author: Responses from recipe creator
• From myself: Your own reviews
• Recipe version: Filter by specific version
• Timeframe: Last week, month, year, or custom date range
• Has replies: Reviews with discussion

Filter Comments By:

• With photo: Comments with images
• From author: Recipe creator's comments
• From myself: Your comments
• Has replies: Comments with conversations
• Timeframe: Date range filtering

Filter Questions By:

• Answered: Questions with accepted answers
• Unanswered: Still waiting for answers
• From myself: Your questions
• Timeframe: When question was asked

Sorting Options

Sort by:

• Newest: Most recent first
• Oldest: Original comments first
• Highest rating: Best reviews first (reviews only)
• Lowest rating: Critical reviews first (reviews only)
• Most recipes: From experienced cooks
• Least recipes: From newcomers

Commenting Best Practices

Be Respectful

• Constructive, not mean
• Remember there's a person behind the recipe
• Disagree politely
• Follow community guidelines

Be Helpful

• Answer others' questions if you can
• Share useful tips
• Explain your modifications
• Help troubleshoot

Be Specific

• Quote the step you're asking about
• Include relevant details
• Describe issues clearly
• Provide context

Be Considerate

• Search existing comments first
• Use similar questions feature
• Don't spam
• Stay on topic
• Credit others' ideas

Engaging with Comments and Reviews

As a Recipe Creator

Respond to Comments:

• Answer questions promptly
• Thank people for feedback
• Clarify confusion
• Engage with your community

Respond to Reviews:

• Thank reviewers
• Address concerns
• Learn from criticism
• Show appreciation for detailed feedback

Mark Accepted Answers:

• Choose the most helpful answer to questions
• Helps future users find good advice
• Shows appreciation for helpful community members

Don't:

• Argue with negative reviews
• Take criticism personally
• Delete honest feedback (except violations)
• Retaliate against reviewers

As a Recipe User

React to Helpful Comments:

• Upvote helpful responses
• Thank people who answer your questions
• Share if their tip worked for you
• Reply to continue helpful discussions

Read Reviews Before Cooking:

• Check common issues
• Learn from others' modifications
• Gauge difficulty accurately
• Set expectations
• Filter for reviews with photos

Editing and Deleting

Edit Your Content

• Comments: Edit anytime
• Reviews: Edit within 24 hours
• Questions: Edit anytime
• After editing, "Edited" label appears

Why 24-Hour Review Limit?

• Prevents gaming the system
• Maintains review integrity
• Your initial honest reaction is most valuable

Delete Your Content

• Comments: Delete anytime
• Reviews: Can delete, but rating data may be anonymized and retained for recipe statistics
• Questions: Delete if no longer relevant

Notifications

You're notified when:

• Someone replies to your comment
• Recipe creator responds to you
• Someone upvotes your comment
• Your answer is marked as accepted
• Someone reviews your recipe (if creator)
• New activity on threads you're in

Moderation

What's Not Allowed

• Spam or advertising
• Personal attacks
• Harassment
• Off-topic content
• Misinformation
• Copyright violations
• Fake reviews

Reporting

If you see violations:

1. Click report button
2. Select reason
3. Provide details
4. Moderators review

Review Authenticity

Verified Cook Badge

Reviews marked "Verified Cook" when:

• User marked recipe as cooked
• Used cooking mode
• Recipe on meal calendar with past date
• Provides confidence in authenticity

Suspicious Review Detection

System flags potentially fake reviews:

• Multiple reviews from same IP
• Timing patterns
• Language analysis
• Reported by community

Impact on Recipe Ranking

What Affects Ranking

• Average star rating
• Number of reviews
• Recency of reviews
• Review quality/depth
• Engagement (comments)
• Cook count
• Upvotes on reviews

What Doesn't Affect Ranking

• Comments without cooking
• Views alone
• Saves (bookmarks)
• Downvotes on comments (unless flagged)

Privacy

Public Information

• Your comments visible to all
• Your reviews visible to all
• Your username shown
• Your uploaded photos visible

Private Information

• Which recipes you viewed
• What you have in cart
• Your meal calendar
• Recipes you saved (unless shared)

Best Practices Summary

For Reviews:

1. Cook the recipe first
2. Rate fairly and honestly
3. Explain your rating
4. Mention modifications
5. Add a photo if possible
6. Be constructive
7. One review per recipe

For Comments:

1. Search existing comments first
2. Be helpful and respectful
3. Share tips after cooking
4. Stay on topic
5. Upvote helpful comments
6. Reply to create discussions

For Questions:

1. Check similar questions first
2. Be specific and clear
3. Provide context
4. Thank those who answer
5. Update if you find solution
6. Help others with similar questions