RST

As a consumer reading reviews to decide if I want to invest my time, money and materials in a project, I would really want to know that you have not yet actually tried / used the skills.

There is a huge difference between watching a video and coming away saying

"wow, I can't wait to try that out, that was an awesome class"

and

"I went right to my machine, tried it out, found that this worked for me, but I had trouble with that, and I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to do x, y, and z, but the presenter was really great about getting back to me and answering my questions."

The first speaks to a good motivational speaker or infomercial. The second is about real instruction.

I'll also have to disagree with the application of the old "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything" when it comes to online reviews and feedback. Sure, be pleasant about it, but if a product is not a good value, by all means let the instructor know, let other consumers have an idea of it, and let the company offering the class know. There are far too many people who seem to think that the same level of production that is fine for a free blog "tutorial" aka how I made this thing photo-essay is worth charging $40 or more for as a formal class. That kind of thinking can only hurt people who do put together excellent video and online classes.