GFA refers to the review categories of Good, Fad and Avoid.

This was meant to be a poke at that one Eastwood film; “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” under the original meanings of Good, Fad and Ugly. I, however completely missed that the abbreviation should be “GFU” and for reasons that should be obvious, I’m not using that term after years of mistaking myself.

I score reviewed items in one of these three categories rather than a numerical scale so the points made stick out more than some arbitrary number.

What do the categories mean?

The Good

I completely recommend these items. There are minimal faults, or faults that do not overall detract from the entire experience. If it is in this category, I remember my time with the content in question fondly and do not see this changing over time. See it, play it, read it, etc. The chances of it being disappointing to you are still there as everyone’s preferences differ, though.

The Fad

“Fad” titles are by no means completely bad, but are unlikely to end up making any seriously lasting impact overall. These items may overall be decent products, but may not relevant for long, or are incredibly niche. An easy comparison would be the Twilight saga, but, even then, I’m fairly certain some of the items in this category are still a better love story. Check ’em out while they’re fresh, or at a discount of some sort if you’re uncertain about them.

The Ugly (Avoidable)

Your aunt for some reason still believes you to be a four year old girl, despite the fact that you want a Red Ryder BB Gun with a compass built into the stock for Christmas.

Items in this category give me that type of feeling. They’re uncomfortable, potentially stomach-churning experiences that should probably be avoided more often than not. There may be some positives to these items, but overall, your experience will be an annoying one. Avoid or purchase/rent/etc. at a deep discount, if at all.