One star ratings? - big deal!

[Sharkman Briton]

Now, gonna try not to rant on but here goes...

I hate it when people get all, for lack of a better word, butthurt... Sorry that was a bit too much, I can't think of a different word though.

Yes, butthurt about getting one star, sure, it means someone doesn't like what you did, but that can be used in many senses, some people might not even understand what the stars mean, I used to think stars were good, one star was good, and five stars even better. I'm sure other people will make the same mistake, though back then I didn't know how to rate a thread.

Now, a few people are saying there might be some troll going around throwing about single stars, but does it really matter that much? That person could just be misled, as I've explained, and even if he IS some troll doing it to annoy people, they're probably getting a kick and doing it because people complain so much about the fact that someone gave them one star.

IMO there are two resolutions to this problem, either A: People stop complaining and ignore their rating, or B: Overhaul the star rating to the method I mentioned above; five stars are good, one star is good as well.

Because it seems as though some people (not saying they are doing this) are complaining about getting one star so people will shower them with high star ratings, I've seen a thread with one star that rocketed up to four or five stars after the maker of the thread complained and all that about the fact that he had one star.

To quote one user whose name I will not state... "Saw someone rated this one star... Jealous, huh?" or something like that....

In a nutshell, I want two things: For the mods to do something about the hard feelings emitted by the star rating, and for the users themselves to stop being so butthurt about star ratings. Who says it WAS a troll, anyway?

No hard feelings to anyone who might think this is directed towards them, I know myself that it's directed to a multitude of people, the mods, the people who complain, the people who may be rating one star to troll, and the general public of the forum to ask them not to do what the complainers and the bad raters are doing.

[Kerbart]

I'd always invite people to pick a random product on amazon and actually read the product reviews. it's quite revealing. Truth is, individual ratings mean nothing.It's the overal mean score you need to look at. People give a certain amount of stars for the wrong reasons, as you already pointed out.

I've seen people complain about notepads "being a lot smaller than I expected" and therefore giving only two or three stars -- when the product size was clearly listed. "it took four weeks for it to be delivered"--one star (the product, not the seller). "I expected the highlighter to be yellow"--one star (for a product called green highlighter). And the list goes on.

You will always have "stupid reasons" why a single star is awarded. What counts is your overall score. 4.0 is better than 3.5, 4.5 is better than 4.0, and 4.98 is better than 5.0. It's as simple as that.

[Alshain]

Certain places shouldn't have the star rating system at all. I was browsing the mod request forum and noticed, most likely a troll, gave all of them one star, but it's a mod request. It's valuable to the person that made it and that should be all that matters.

Does it really matter that they all had 1 star ratings? No not really, in fact I went through the front page and made sure they all had 3 star ratings But the star rating system has no place in that particular forum.

[Gaarst]

I'd like to see poll asking who even uses star system in the forums.

Never personally used it, and most of the time I don't even notice if a thread is rated or not.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Gaarst
Forgot a word

[Alshain]

I'd like to see poll asking who even uses star system in the forums.

Never personally used it, and most of the time I don't even notice a thread is rated or not.

I do in the suggestions forum. I don't bother anywhere else really.

[Tex_NL]

I'd like to see poll asking who even uses star system in the forums.

Never personally used it, and most of the time I don't even notice a thread is rated or not.

Exactly. One star? Five stars? Who fragging cares? I pity the poor, sad little lad whose world revolves around a thread rating.

[justidutch]

I have never voted a rating on a thread before, and never even really knew they existed. I mean, I occasionally noticed a star beside a thread name but never realized it meant anything useful.

So, in an attempt to be ironic I have just voted this thread one star, even though I think it deserves more than one.

[Sanic]

I've never cared, and I doubt anyone ever will.

It's one of those unused features like visitor messages.

[Sharkman Briton]

To all of you: EXACTLY!

[Red Iron Crown]

People look at star ratings? Huh.

(Also, hilarious that this thread is rated one star. XD)

[Guest]

I've never cared, and I doubt anyone ever will.

It's one of those unused features like visitor messages.

Ahem, look at this thread. That´s an example, obviously, but I also think people care too much about the star rating. What is it worth, after all? Who actually looks at it before looking at the thread to get his own opinion? Who will judge you by your star rating? The only person who looks at the star rating is often the creator of the thread, to see how many people liked/disliked his topic. But then, I think, a 5-star rating because you asked for it can´t be better than a 1-star rating from a person who might be a troll, but might also have had a reason to give one star. Maybe he didn´t like you craft? Or he disagrees with your suggestion?

Well, I´d prefer a (probably) honest 1-star to a 5-star out of compassion, honestly.

[Vaporo]

I never look at the star rating. Too often, good threads have one star, and bad ones get 5 stars. If I approve/disapprove of a thread, I just post my thoughts in it. Just like this.

[Red Iron Crown]

I never look at the star rating. Too often, good threads have one star, and bad ones get 5 stars. If I approve/disapprove of a thread, I just post my thoughts in it. Just like this.

I can't tell if you approve of this thread or not, can you rephrase your post in the form of a numerical rating?

[Norpo]

I can't tell if you approve of this thread or not, can you rephrase your post in the form of a numerical rating?

Yelp review of the forum thread: One star ratings? Big deal!

The arguments in it seems to be well thought out, while reading it I felt like I was reading intelligent conversation. While it mostly revolved around one point (who uses the star system anyway), I felt that the permutations of that one point were varied enough that they were many points. Quite a few notable posters, but those don't really make the thread; and there very few to no trolls, either. An alright thread. I felt like it was a good read and don't regret my decision. Tags: #discussion, #starratings, #metaforums. Final rating: 1/5.

On topic: I hardly ever use the star system, if more people used it, it might matter, but as it stands I've only ever seen ratings that suggest 1-3 people rated a thread, and those people seem to mostly be either: 1-starring trolls (i.e people who just rate random threads 1-star, even if the thread was well-thought out), people trying to reverse 1-starring trolls, or people who just rate the thread for their own suggestion/mod/whatever 5-stars.

The star system is barely ever used, and unless the majority of people start actually using it, the star ratings won't matter, because they represent the minority (people who rate threads) who generally don't represent the majority opinion.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

*Resists urge to rate thread highly to improve it's rating* Also, I agree with you.

[kerbiloid]

As there is an obvioud fixed "ceiling" value = 5,

so "5 = close to the ceiling, 1 = close to the floor".

Without the upper limit there would be "a stockpile of 5 is even higher than a stockpile of 1, but both of them are much lower than the sky".

[r4pt0r]

I always give 1 star ratings to ideas I don't like. If they are bad Ideas I comment to express my disdain, and slap a 1 star on it, primarily as there is no 0-star option.

Is it because I am butthurt about something? not in the least. In fact it seems I can take 30 seconds of my time and just 2 clicks to upset someone with a stupid idea. I call that a win.

[WinkAllKerb'']

when you're banned you can access the rep or rating system. So it allow some to continue interact here at some point also.

(also "contribution amount ratio rating" not being accessible for everyone, it could lead to some misunderstood / upvote / downvote etc. "what worth 1 or 5 star if only a few person contributed too the rating ratio ?" ...)

Could also be a invitation for people to discuss around some stuff when the current rating shock them ... etc.

Edited November 9, 2015 by WinkAllKerb''

[Sharkman Briton]

I always give 1 star ratings to ideas I don't like. If they are bad Ideas I comment to express my disdain, and slap a 1 star on it, primarily as there is no 0-star option.

Is it because I am butthurt about something? not in the least. In fact it seems I can take 30 seconds of my time and just 2 clicks to upset someone with a stupid idea. I call that a win.

I didn't say the low star rater was butthurt, anyway...

Good point, but isn't it a bit harsh to do it just to upset someone with a bad idea?

- - - Updated - - -

Ahem, look at this thread. That´s an example, obviously, but I also think people care too much about the star rating. What is it worth, after all? Who actually looks at it before looking at the thread to get his own opinion? Who will judge you by your star rating? The only person who looks at the star rating is often the creator of the thread, to see how many people liked/disliked his topic. But then, I think, a 5-star rating because you asked for it can´t be better than a 1-star rating from a person who might be a troll, but might also have had a reason to give one star. Maybe he didn´t like you craft? Or he disagrees with your suggestion?

Well, I´d prefer a (probably) honest 1-star to a 5-star out of compassion, honestly.

That was the exact thread that caused me to make this thread.

"thanks to whomever rated a clearly labelled, for-fun. work in progress thread a 1.

If the community is going to be so negative with new ideas and experimentation I might as well go somewhere else."

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

I always give 1 star ratings to ideas I don't like. If they are bad Ideas I comment to express my disdain, and slap a 1 star on it, primarily as there is no 0-star option.

Is it because I am butthurt about something? not in the least. In fact it seems I can take 30 seconds of my time and just 2 clicks to upset someone with a stupid idea. I call that a win.

No, because I see a difference between you and the annoying rating trolls; you comment about it. The most annoying thing about the ratings trolls, especially in the spacecraft exchange, is that they give bad ratings all kinds of craft, and don't even say why, or offer constructive criticism.

For me the weird thing about ratings is that they seem to be meant for someone who hasn't even looked at the thread yet, and, in some cases, what one person thinks of a thread is different from others, so it may drive away potential viewers and enjoyers of the thread. Also, it lets the thread poster vote, which makes no sense.

Anyway, that's just my two cents.

[Goddess Bhavani]

Hi,

I'm glad this issue got followed up and yes I am the poster responsible for the above-mentioned "butthurt" response linked to above.

It's fine everyone thinks this as some sort of point to pick on but consider the following scenario:

1) You got posted by winds of career change to the far side of the world and have been disconnected from a certain online community you know and love for the better part of IDK, several years, lurking time included.

2) Finally get the time to post a new idea

3) Idea immediately gets shot down.

Wonderful feeling "coming home" to the image yes? Now, people are commenting that moving on and ignoring the rating is the "correct" thing to do. Well I'll tell you this - different people have different ways of communicating.

A WIP thread is just that, a "I have this idea which I don't have the time to develop fully yet" - maybe you'd like to give pointers and ideas, considering a lot of veteran craft builders might have already done the same concept some time ago, judging by Reddit traffic.

In the same fashion, do you think it appropriate to boo on a new startup business just because it's, IDK, new? Give the idea time and it can grow. Shoot it down and the idea will be dead before it begins.

Thus, negative feedback - you have a choice, unlike everything and make other peoples' labour of love look like utter trash. Or exude some small manner of online courtesy - ugly, mismatched craft turn into splendid showcases in a matter of hours, days, or a couple weeks at most. Collaboration happens all the time here on the forums as you very well know and enjoy.

Hell, for the collaborative projects I've done, great things blossomed with the barest of positive feedback while others were busy laughing at how mismatched, fat and ugly the original creator's craft was. Tell you what, if there's so much negativity floating around, I might even be able to put forth a business case here - things that get downvoted, disliked, laughed at, ignored; these are opportunities to make a junior craft builder / new player's KSP dreams come true. In many cases these "ugly ducklings" have very sound virtual engineering. They just need a good presentation, some streamlining, not get downvoted on sight, to succeed as enduring threads.

Thanks once again everyone for bringing the issue to the attention. The above-linked idea did take off after all, thanks to virtual 'backers' of the idea on Reddit, Facebook, and YouTube. It didn't struggle to gain flight; it exploded with great feedback allowing fellow KSPs to design and enjoy a new class of aerospace craft. With mod parts, they might even look as good as the retro-futuristic posters and pulp fiction they came from.

[John FX]

I`ve noticed that there are people who just post single stars on every thread they can. I would post a craft on kerbal-X and without fail I would get a single star within half an hour of posting for every single craft but then I would wait another half hour and someone else would post a 5 star one meaning I had 3 stars.

From that point the stars would actually reflect the quality of the craft but it lets you know that some people will always post single stars, other will always post 5 stars, possibly to counter the single star poster but then posting would be more... rational.

It really isn`t worth getting bothered by people who post single stars or who post 5 stars or bothered by people who get upset by those that post 1 or 5 stars...