This is what I propose. Look at the reviews for the books on your shelf. Any books that have reviews that are blatantly not a review--basically either a book condition or random numbers--(not reviews that you don't necessarily like, like "good book") click that it is unhelpful and link it here for those of us that are bored to give thumbs down. After 20 or so thumbs down, the review is removed. I will keep track of the thread and add new links to this first post so that people don't have to scroll through the thread. I will also delete them as soon as I can, after they are removed, so you don't have to go looking for bad reviews that have already been removed. Thanks!

Here are the links compiled throughout this thread: 

(Updated the best I can, as of Monday afternoon.All of the reviews previously listed on this post are gone I believe.) 

Link   6/27/07 review is for completely different book by Carol Higgins Clark, this book is by Johanna Lindsey.

  http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9781551664255-Daughter       (bottom 2 -conditions)  

Actually, the RL3 on the Pokeman book (3rd link) is very helpful.  It means Reading Level 3.  It would be great if that info could be posted (optionally) in the general info of any children's book.

Ohhh thanks. I'll delete that one. I thought that was a bookshelf number.

Here's one of mine. I'll look for more later.

www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780451213990-Dress+Rehearsal

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780671038182-Jewel 

 Okay, how do you make it just say "Link?"

Okay, how do you make it just say "Link?"

I dunno, I just copied and pasted it, it's okay that way too...we can still just click on it and go to it, so it doesn't really matter IMO.

I didn't have any but I voted for the ones you both had.

Hm. Maybe we were wrong about the 13 thing on the other thread. One of them has 13 and it hasn't been automatically deleted. Darn. But thank you for "voting" anyways.

Great idea Angie, I have done my posted books and will try to make a habit of doing this when I see a review about conditions, or on that just repeats the back cover. I also especially get irked about the ones that say "I never read this book" Is that a review??? Maybe if it said why .....

The one that was offering a deal as part of the review was especially irking me. What if a new member saw the review and ordered it from the FIFO system and then was very disappointed to only get one book? Since the 13 thumbs down doesn't seem to be working, I very politely PM'd that person and explained that and asked them to edit it out and that they can offer the deal in the siggy or book bazaar or in their profile/notebook. Hopefully she will. If she gets mad at me, oh well. I was very polite, I promise. :)

The water damage thread made a good point that I had never really thought about. New members especially might see that in a review and think that they will get that book (theoretically they could) and not order it because of a damaged book review. Most of these books shouldn't even be posted in the first place. Before I've pretty much ignored it (I usually don't read the reviews) but now I'm cracking down! lol

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780345427632-The+Angel+of+Darkness

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780399145087-Black+Notice

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780399150890-Blow+Fly+Kay+Scarpetta

Just remember, when deciding to post the books with bad reviews here, whether a review is good or bad, does not have anything to do with whether it is short or long, positive or negative, it has solely to do with whether or not it is an OPINION.

Blurbs from the back or cover of the book, condition descriptions, location notes, "I did not read" all qualify as NOT HELPFUL. Even if they are giving you their SO's opinion of the book, it is still an opinion and might be helpful in deciding whether or not to order the book.

If the review is actually just a blurb from the back or cover of the book, please copy it first and submit a book edit *IF* there is none in the description area. If there's already one there, then give it a thumbs down and that's all.

If you are like a lot of us, and started posting books way back last year or before, when it was not possible to add book descriptions where they belong, so you added them to your reviews, go to your ACCOUNT page, click on the LISTS tab, and then click Book Ratings/Reviews, find the book, and then when you click on the REVIEW button, you will be able to edit the review. Leaving it blank, will remove it completely. Thanks to everybody for pitching lets see those book links! .

Eloise, I'll check, but I think we can use Publisher's Weekly, as that is intended to be used for that purpose. But, I'll make sure. I have sent in Feedback, I'll post when I get a response.

Would you all mind trying to get rid of a useless review on this book? 

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780064436168-Biscuit+Goes+to+School+My+First+I+Can+Read

Edited to add:  Mission accomplished.  Thanks everyone!

So far the mystery number of thumbs down (if it exists) must be higher than 15...(one of the reviews on the Amber Frey book on my shelf.)

i voted as #15 hands down on amber frey too

link mine isn't that great, but at the bottom there are 4 that are pointless

Thanks Sherry, I didn't know we could remove the old reviews. I have to admit that I used to put an explanation of the book in the reviews because I didn't know where else to put it at the time.

Ok I'll keep an eye on this thread and add any new links to the top post and delete any if they ever get removed.

Eloise- I'm holding off on adding some of yours until Sherry let's us know for sure whether it's okay to quote PW or not.

Here are some of the ones from books on my bookshelf

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780373274659-Feels+Like+Home+Oklahoma+All+Girl+Brands+Intimate+Moments+1395 (lots of repeats of book plot)

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780373274659-Feels+Like+Home+Oklahoma+All+Girl+Brands+Intimate+Moments+1395 (Laura P, Debra H, Laura W, repeating book description)

 http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780553587555-Almost+a+Bride (lots of copying from back of book)

Here's one

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780805076554-Fight+Club+A+Novel

speaks of book condition

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780439253222-Holes          - first two reviews speak of book condition

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780316569323-White+Oleander+A+Novel   2 reviews speak of book condition dated 5/31 and 9/28

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780020331056-Reunion+A+Memoir          States "Like New."

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780679752479-A+River+Sutra+Vintage+International        last review states "highlighting"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780399150838-So+Many+Books+So+Little+Time+A+Year+of+Passionate+Reading    review dated 5/24/06 States "Hardback-didn't read- good condition"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780449906361-The+Hyde+Park+Headsman       states "Hardcover in great condition"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780517593226-It+Aint+As+Easy+As+It+Looks+Ted+Turners+Amazing+Story    states "Hard cover in very good condition"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780671637217-Desert+Rose          another review about highlighting in the book

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/74094-Boy+was+I+Mad          comments on the binding being damaged.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780307118202-My+House+LookLook     more on book condittion

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780446605403-Plum+Island         first two reviews say "my cover is different"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780803785748-Theres+a+Nightmare+in+My+Closet     more "old but good condition"

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780812078824-Now+Youre+Talking+Italian+in+No+Time+Now+Youre+Talking+Series2+Books+and+Cassettes          comments on condition of cassettes

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780345303066-2010+Odyssey+Two - the last review talks about condition

Angie, this is purely a guess, but I'd imagine that there is some percentage formula and not a strict number.

For example, if someone got 50 reviews of their review, and 13 found it unhelpful, that mostly helpful review would be removed if it were a flat number.

But if a review has 1 positive and 20 negatives, it's likely that one would be removed.

I don't know the formula, but I'm sure it has to be something other than a hard number.

You know what, I think as we flag the reviews, the members are being notified to edit them or the site admins are editing them b/c the last link on my last post about the cassette condition, is now on the "search member reviews page" dated today, and although the first sentence of the review is the same, the part about the "pristine never used condition cassettes" is gone. 

ETA: Okay I just checked them all and most of the comments regarding the condition of the books is gone.  So if the person said:

"I liked this book.  My copy has cheeto fingerprints."  apparently after a certain number of thumbs down, it's getting edited to "I liked this book." and the cheeto coments are removed, but if the person only commented on the cheeto fingerprints then the whole review is removed.... make sense?