Star Rating System

[theone]

I think I have posted this thread in the right place.

I recently wonder if the five star rating system for posts is realistic in practice. I can see the merits of such a system in giving reward points for appreciation of posts but does it realistically serve any real purpose?

If the system simply gave reward stars as an extra bonus for good posts then that is one thing, but the way the system works it goes into negative territory of “bad” and “terrible.”

Most posts don’t receive points at all but the ones that do receive so little votes that the average may be nonsensical. If star points are used in blogs where an opinion is being expressed. One person may give a high score and another low simply on the grounds of agreement with the point made or ideas expressed and not as a reflection of the post quality. Or it could be abused or simply misunderstood.

It’s probably not feasible to change the system due to historical continuity and I think it’s not a major issue for most posters or the site in general.

I just wondered if anybody else has views or opinions on this system, mainly just out of curiosity.

[timetoshine]

I would have to say i agree. One person could vote 5, and then automatically that thread would be viewed more, because it is rated 5, even though it only has one vote.

[Redx000x]

I really don't care one way or another about the rating system. But I do hope Night-1991 comes across this (aka I'm posting the link on his profile) because someone has been 1 staring all his blogs.

[Night-1991]

I really don't care one way or another about the rating system. But I do hope Night-1991 comes across this (aka I'm posting the link on his profile) because someone has been 1 staring all his blogs.

I just want to know who it is. The rating system is useful for posts in the M/s area, but at times it can be abused by some idiot who wants to attack a certain user but not get caught.

Lets say...user1 starts a thread, but user3 is friends of user1, but HATES user2 and wants to attack them and not be seen. So when user2 starts a thread or blog...user3 rates that one star but rates user1 five star.

[SubMissChievous]

I would have to say i agree. One person could vote 5, and then automatically that thread would be viewed more, because it is rated 5, even though it only has one vote.

As far as I know, it takes actually at least 2 votes for the rating to appear. Depp or other mods could confirm that but that's how it used to be before my hiatus.

I have to say that I've had some slight concerns about the star rating system and honestly hope we won't have such problems as we have had with other features before... It seems that every time we have an extra feature on the site some people find a way to abuse it while some others get "obsessed" with it. That's exactly what happened with the old rep system and with dare points (ask MBP about them, he loves talking about dare points LOL)

Personally, I don't see a big deal with the star system... Some users apparently haven't even noticed about it. I normally like rewarding excellent posts with it, especially ads in the S/M area as it brings a bit of attention on those when users browse that forum where it can be frustrating for some to skim through all the one-liner ones :)

Let's just hope that members just remember that this is only an extra feature and are mature enough to use it wisely this time :)

[Slenderman - Doctor]

I think the blog rating system should be banished.

Blogs are for the people who write them, primarily, and then for others. Why should people get to rate an opinion? That's why we have comments. Also, blogs are a lot more personal than threads so it can lead to people abusing the system purely because they dislike someone. Lately, it seems people have gone mad with blog ratings and it's become someone's secret competition.

That, or I believe people who have blogs should have the option to turn the ratings off.

I understand it's good in allowing new people to find the best quality blogs, but every blog is different with different content anyway so finding something for you should be done in other ways such as the tags/search.

I think the ratings for threads are fine and I find a lot of ratings reflect the quality/threads quite decently.

[444]

Meh. Blog rating. Thread rating....

I'm never for any type of voting system. Makes everything seem like a popularity contest. If you get what I mean.

[BettyBoop]

Though I think with the recent blog rating thing, if people didn't make such a big deal then maybe whoever is rating down wouldn't care enough to do it. I'm guessing they want a reaction.

[andrew_b]

I actually just noticed that two of my stories are now rated as 2 stars :( and since the comments for both were nice, I'm guessing someone rated down. It just annoys me cause I put so much time into them. It would probably be better if it wasn't their cause so little people rate on threads and also so little check the rating of threads, for god sake even youtube got rid of rating threads. I suggest we have a like or dislike button at the bottom of every thread. Just a suggestion.

[Night-1991]

Yeah if we can get the rating system removed outright...that'd make my experience on here alot better tbh.

Actually...wouldn't it make everyones experience better.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

Every forum, or most normal ones anyway, have a rating system. Getting rid of it completely would make the forum lose some benefits. I don't know how you'd make it fairer though. I still say get it off the blogs (or allow an option to remove it) and keep it on threads.

Or maybe make it so that a rating doesn't show til there are 5 rates.

[BettyBoop]

I think the rating system is a good thing, especially in the s/M section. I've noticed when those are rated it must make it considerably easier to find a good ad, and that works with stories and most threads.

[Night-1991]

But if keeping it....atleast be given a prompt to type in WHY you rated that thread/blog like you did.

Or list the names of the voters with their rating.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

Actually...wouldn't it make everyones experience better.

I can see that argument but, overall, no.

I know which stories to read because of ratings. I know who puts effort into their threads etc. It's handy.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

But if keeping it....atleast be given a prompt to type in WHY you rated that thread/blog like you did.

Or list the names of the voters with their rating.

That's daft. No other forum does that. A rating is meant to be quick, efficient and easy. And having a list of everyone who votes is just... well, picky (for want of a better word).

[Night-1991]

That's daft. No other forum does that. A rating is meant to be quick, efficient and easy. And having a list of everyone who votes is just... well, picky (for want of a better word).

But it'd give the OP a good example of who liked it, and who hated it.

Plus, it'd sort out that "problem" with the bored forum goer just rating threads one star.

[Night-1991]

I can see that argument but, overall, no.

I know which stories to read because of ratings. I know who puts effort into their threads etc. It's handy.

What if, lets say Betty put alot of thought into one of her threads and she gets a "ONE STAR" for it by a jealous dude. And someone like 444 writes a boring thread and she gets a "FIVE STAR"

It's kind of unfair.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

But it'd give the OP a good example of who liked it, and who hated it.

Plus, it'd sort out that "problem" with the bored forum goer just rating threads one star.

Yeah but part of the charm is that it's anonymous. If people want to show their appreciation, we have the "Thanks" button too. And we should focus on the positives. If people vote a thread one star, well, see it and move on. It's not the end of the world. Initially, I was peeved but I couldn't care less now. As I say everytime something like this happens, it's a website. And on websites are trolls, spammers and people out to cause controversy just for a laugh. Don't let them win.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

What if, lets say Betty put alot of thought into one of her threads and she gets a "ONE STAR" for it by a jealous dude. And someone like 444 writes a boring thread and she gets a "FIVE STAR"

It's kind of unfair.

Then others will see it and probably vote it up.

Ignore the twats and move on. The majority of stuff is fairly rated, especially in the forums.

[Night-1991]

And on websites are trolls, spammers and people out to cause controversy just for a laugh. Don't let them win.

That troll must be one very bored troll then.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

That troll must be one very bored troll then.

That's part of the job for a troll. Or a spammer. Or whatever.

Ultimately, we get rid of star ratings and the whole forum has to suffer. We all lose out. And that one person wins. It's stupid. There are 100s of members here and letting one or two win is just... well, yeah.

[BettyBoop]

I agree with Doctor here.
And if it was made so you have to put why you rated it whatever you did, no one would rate and it would be pointless because you could just post why in a comment and that ruins to entire pointing of expressing how you feel about a thread without posting in it.

[Night-1991]

Ultimately, we get rid of star ratings and the whole forum has to suffer. We all lose out. And that one person wins. It's stupid. There are 100s of members here and letting one or two win is just... well, yeah.

We lost the Rep system because of some arseholes abusing it. Things get abused and the normal people have to suffer because of it.

I don't think the Mods want to lose more community interaction within Getdare. We've got the thanks button.

However, blogs shouldn't have the ratings, comments are for that....Like someone right now just rated one of my dares "one star". But let that arsewipe get on with it. They're missing a cool dare, and i've had good comments from the dare too.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

We lost the Rep system because of some arseholes abusing it. Things get abused and the normal people have to suffer because of it.

I don't think the Mods want to lose more community interaction within Getdare. We've got the thanks button.

However, blogs shouldn't have the ratings, comments are for that.

That's part of my point. People will always find something to abuse. Yeah, okay, if ratings go there isn't much else to abuse, but something will happen. And the forum becomes less like a forum because it loses its basic features.

The "Thanks" button is great but you can't see how many have thanked it from thread listings. If that could be shown, maybe the rating system could go. But thread listings need something to show quality. (You can argue they don't so every thread is equal, but it's more efficient and easier to have some system).

I agree solely on removing blog ratings though. As I said before, blogs are personal. Blogs are places where we can write what we want, whenever we want, within reason. It shouldn't be judged or rated. The comments serve that purpose. Or, if we can turn comments off (which we can), we should be allowed full control and there should be a "Turn ratings off" on everyone's blog.

Just my two cents. Even though I use pounds and pence.

[Night-1991]

Or we could have some "Like" "Dislike" thing like Facebook maybe. But even the lowest rated threads can be hidden gems.

Blogs, i mean...what if someone writes about that a member of their family has passed on, and they get a one star for that blog. How hurtful would that be?

Disrespectful more the better word.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

Or we could have some "Like" "Dislike" thing like Facebook maybe.

But then the spammer person would just go for "dislike". I know it's unbalanced but if that happened, I think it'd have to be "like" only. That'd stop twats. Also, if someone then doesn't like it, they just won't "like" it. Simples :)

[BettyBoop]

You can't really insult someone because they didn't like your dare/story/thread, maybe they just didn't like it.
I don't see the big problem, and I don't really think anyone "has to suffer", just because something they wrote on the internet got rated badly. And if you know it's a troll, you know it doesn't even have to count particularly.
But I like the idea of a like button, but then that's really just like a Thanks button. I like the rep idea with only positive rep also.

[theone]

Yes, the star rating system can be abused by trolls as it can also be used as a popularity contest by friends of the OP.

However the real practical problem with the star rating system is that so few people use it. Low voting equates to poor or inaccurate ratings. Especially given the above. Inaccurate ratings consequently depicts a flawed feature.

Granted there is no big deal with the current system, apart from the obvious frustration shared by some posters on this thread. If consideration could be given to a more positive system, I think that would serve a more realist purpose on this site.

Betty has rightfully pointed out that may result in a sort of duplicate feature being akin to another "Thanks button." The obvious solution would be a "positive only" star rating system, but then that would pose a problem for historic continuity.

Perhaps in conclusion all we can do is accept that the current star rating system, may not reflect an accurate picture as we would like.

[Mere]

My little suggestion is, let us see who rated it and how much, or restrict it to the moderators :)

[444]

I have a better idea. Give us the option to have your blog/post rated.

[BettyBoop]

I have a better idea. Give us the option to have your blog/post rated.
It would be a good idea to have to option to have your blog rated or not and it's personal. But I think star rating should stay on threads so we can find the best threads quicker. I don't mind having my blog rated, there was someone rating them all one star but that's no longer a problem.

[Leopard]

Okay I kind of skimmed over the two pages of crying over someone getting one star because personal moaning isn't really interesting or helpful.

I agree that rating blogs is a backwards concept, but then I never even look at the ratings (although I totes 1-starred Chloe's hiatus blog.) However I don't like the system as it is on threads, for the very reason theone outlined above: it doesn't give a remotely realistic picture most of the time.

I really like youtube's system of like or dislike, and even moreso lookbook's where each user only gets one heart a day to give out, so you really have to like something to do so. I also like it better on a per post basis rather than just thread, but that's getting into complex land.

Limiting an "I love this!" to only being able to being done once a day really makes the votes more worthwhile, IMO. Not sure how complex that is to implement.

Again, as was said above, popularity contest... but that's going to the same with any system.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

The only thing I'd argue with that one is that, well, I could find 5 or 6 bloody fantastic threads now. That means I'd have 5 or 6 backlogged as I can only "like/rate/whatever" one per day. So there'd forever be a backlog. Otherwise, I agree :)

[Night-1991]

Okay I kind of skimmed over the two pages of crying over someone getting one star because personal moaning isn't really interesting or helpful.


I'm sorry but i feel THAT was aimed at me.

[Leopard]

I'm sorry but i feel THAT was aimed at me.

Other people had the same complaint about their own posts. This is a suggestion thread, for suggestions.

[BettyBoop]

If I could like posts, I'd like Leo's.
It's true it doesn't really give a realistic look at the quality of the thread, seeing as two voted sticks the stars. But a lot of people are simply getting mad because there stuff was rated down, I'm not sure, but if everyone gets mad when their stuff isn't rated 5 stars what's the point in rating. Maybe people just didn't like your thread as much as you did?
But at this point I know personally, I'm not all cut up about ratings so maybe I can't comment on that.
I'm not a fan of the "one heart a day" idea, I like the Like & Dislike idea, but I reckon if we had it, straight away someone would be all angry that they got a dislike, but that's the point off rating systems, for people to have an opinion on something.

[Leopard]

But a lot of people are simply getting mad because there stuff was rated down, I'm not sure, but if everyone gets mad when their stuff isn't rated 5 stars what's the point in rating. Maybe people just didn't like your thread as much as you did?


Very well said.

There does seem to be quite an expectation that if there are stars, there must be 5 of them.

[Manbearpig]

If I could like posts, I'd like Leo's.
It's true it doesn't really give a realistic look at the quality of the thread, seeing as two voted sticks the stars. But a lot of people are simply getting mad because there stuff was rated down, I'm not sure, but if everyone gets mad when their stuff isn't rated 5 stars what's the point in rating. Maybe people just didn't like your thread as much as you did?
But at this point I know personally, I'm not all cut up about ratings so maybe I can't comment on that.
I'm not a fan of the "one heart a day" idea, I like the Like & Dislike idea, but I reckon if we had it, straight away someone would be all angry that they got a dislike, but that's the point off rating systems, for people to have an opinion on something.



I really don't like the underlined part to be perfectly honest. This sounds a lot like rep on only the created threads. I think it should be the user option for rating on a blog, and maybe in the lounge. I however think it is needed in the Truth, Dare, Story and M/S section. I occasionally go through the section and just seeing a post that says, "Im mAstr th@ iz nice. Cam required" need to be shown are bad threads. If a user doesn't like it, maybe do some research so next time, they have a better thread. But to totally overall it, I really don't find it necessary and I think there should be higher priorities than this.

[Night-1991]

I really don't like the underlined part to be perfectly honest. This sounds a lot like rep on only the created threads. I think it should be the user option for rating on a blog, and maybe in the lounge. I however think it is needed in the Truth, Dare, Story and M/S section. I occasionally go through the section and just seeing a post that says, "Im mAstr th@ iz nice. Cam required" need to be shown are bad threads. If a user doesn't like it, maybe do some research so next time, they have a better thread. But to totally overall it, I really don't find it necessary and I think there should be higher priorities than this.

What he said.

Though, some of the posts should be rated 5 stars for hilarity. :D

[BettyBoop]

But to totally overall it, I really don't find it necessary and I think there should be higher priorities than this.
Completely agreed with this.