Why do we review?

If you’re reading this you’re probably a reviewer. If not, that’s OK as well! Might be less applicable.

Why do we review? What’s the point?

The goal of review, simply put, is to help people have a positive experience on their journey to making shipped projects. This means that not only should you be making sure that people make shipped projects, but also that they feel inspired between every review.

The goal of review is not to just go through a checklist and hyper optimize their BOM with a pass/fail. If that’s all we were, why wouldn’t we just replace everyone with AI? Why even have reviewers at all? I heard GPT-5.2 is pretty good nowadays!

The reason we don’t is because that eliminates the human interaction. It eliminates the community aspect. The opportunity to have your project seen and to know that whatever feedback you got came from a real human who has lived experiences as a maker. To know that whoever is on the other side has gone through the same journey as you. And that is all on top of the opportunity to learn how to design & ship your hardware projects!

It is you, the reviewer, who has the unique ability to share your story and make nuanced decisions that only you can make

Ever ask yourself what made a certain event so special? Almost always the answer will be the people & interactions along the way. Be the reason someone walks away from Blueprint feeling part of something bigger than themselves.

Reviewing is an act of mentorship. People look up to you. Be kind. Be inspiring. Be helpful.