Lately I've been noticing that some outstanding threads that have been given low ratings by a few people and it miffs me. Yes, I know there are some people who are negative about nearly everything, but I think the low ratings are more likely the result of the fact that the rating scale does not indicate whether the best rating is a 5 or a 1. I think some explanation of the scale should accompany the scale itself.

Take Gomason's thread on the V1 stealth install -- why would anyone give this a negative rating? It's a great and very informative post.

 

Personally, Why have a rating system in the first place? I NEVER check out ratings. I read the subject and decide if it is worth visiting or not. Just my opinion.

 

I just gave this thread a "5"! I guess it was always assumed that people would understand that "5 stars" is the best, like it is with hotels etc. I've also always assumed that a "1 star" rating was the Forum equivalent of a "single digit salute"

 

True, the rating system isn't worth much, but if we're going to have it, we might as well understand it. I assumed a 5 was tops, but other rating systems make a 1 best.

 

the rating system for me is a GREAT source of amusement i enjoy guessing who the dwarf is giving my GB and for sale threads 1 stars, and i enjoy giving the mandatory to my imaginary dwarf friend(s).

 

I agree with Rick that the if we use the system we should rearrange the numbers from 1 to 5 instead of 5 to 1 as it currently stands

 

Richard,
Have you been checking the IP LOGS to find out who gave you the 1 star? I guess I need to set up a more accounts on various machines to throw you off. I'm just kidding of course.

 

Being relatively new to the board, I never quite understood the rating system,
but it did (and to a certain point, still does) influence my choice on what topic
to read. I tend to read the 5-stars first, because I assume those topics have
some great feedback for me to learn from. From what I can gather, the 5-star
topics seem to have a higher viewer reply-to-view percentage, between 3-6%.

Those 5-stars have helped me in some of the forums such as Under The Hood, which I'm in awe
of because I'm a complete technical doofus, and I use those particular topics to educate
myself further about my S.

If it's a one star, I usually don't bother to read the topic.

I'm probably over-analyzing this rating thing to death, but I wanted to give my
newbie 2 cents worth.

-V.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by joe_s2k
[B]
Richard,
Have you been checking the IP LOGS to find out who gave you the 1 star?

 

I agree, vinceD.

In fact, I make a special effort to rate topics with a poor (non-descriptive) subject line so that other people (with slow connections or not a lot of free time) can quickly determine whether the subject is worth looking into (usually not).

I like the rating, and it is a good idea to put descriptive marks on the rating scale where voting is happening.

Otherwise, I think Ford's bragging about a five-star rating on their minivans has it engraved in our head that more stars are better (and the TV guide, etc.)