Just a reminder for any new mixer (6 months or less). There is currently a review writing contest here on the sub. It expires on August 11. All you have to do is mix up someone else's recipe and write a review about it, either on ATF, ELR, or here in this thread. Boomdog Writing Review Contest. First prize is a a bunch of flavours that Boomdog donated to the sub. So.. get to mixing and reviewing!!!
Alas I don't think I can call myself a "new" mixer anymore (>6 mos, have >100 flavors, have like 50 recipes that I copied). I do have some notes and I do think it's good for people to also review others' work. Too often the trouble with new mixers is, even as they're told to pick top ranking recipes, is that the reviews are all "oh wow this is so good", which, tbh, isn't very helpful for a new mixer.
Definitely not a new mixer though I haven't really developed many recipes of my own yet. I agree with you on the reviews part. Too many great recipes either aren't reviewed at all or have unhelpful reviews. The ones that really irk me are the 5 star reviews that say "it's great but I subbed XX for YY and ZZ for QQ". When you start subbing flavors and making modifications, it isn't really the original recipe at all anymore.
it's not.. because taste is subjective.. I've probably mixed at least 3-4 highly rated recipes, which were for me, kindof BLAH.