An idea for the new vb.org - mod ratings not anonymous

[Paul M]

Ratings are nice to have, but I doubt anyone actually uses them to determine if they will install something.

[Alfa1]

I researched the international meaning of rating stars, to determine optimal setup for a reviews section on my website.

It turned out that people in different countries give very different meaning to star ratings. Its a cultural difference. In general, people from countries who are used to a 10 point rating system, will only give 5 stars for something that is excellent/can't get much better, while people who are from countries used to 5 point ratings will give 5 stars to anything decent. And there are many other variables.

People from Europe give much lower ratings than people from the USA. Simply because they are used to different meanings.

Stars really mean nothing in an international context. Unless you connect the stars to exact meanings.

Originally Posted by Boofo

Or (dis)like the author, for whatever reason.

Undoubtedly

Originally Posted by Paul M

Ratings are nice to have, but I doubt anyone actually uses them to determine if they will install something.

True. I only mind the star ratings, if there have been a substantial number of ratings and its still 2 stars or lower. That gives an indication that something may be off and is often reflected by posts in the modification thread.

[OldSchoolDSL]

First thing I did to my community

Turned the rating system OFF.

All it did was cause drama and give trolls something new to play with. Also I noticed the site load was so much faster with it OFF (less to query).

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

I researched the international meaning of rating stars, to determine optimal setup for a reviews section on my website.

It turned out that people in different countries give very different meaning to star ratings. Its a cultural difference. In general, people from countries who are used to a 10 point rating system, will only give 5 stars for something that is excellent/can't get much better, while people who are from countries used to 5 point ratings will give 5 stars to anything decent. And there are many other variables.

People from Europe give much lower ratings than people from the USA. Simply because they are used to different meanings.

Stars really mean nothing in an international context. Unless you connect the stars to exact meanings.

Undoubtedly

True. I only mind the star ratings, if there have been a substantial number of ratings and its still 2 stars or lower. That gives an indication that something may be off and is often reflected by posts in the modification thread.

And I find that kind of strange, considering we've used the five star rating system in the US for decades. Maybe more. We use five star ratings for the quality rating on hotels and restaurants. Star Search (the 1980's American Idol) used a five star rating to rate performers. Heck, even the rating system here says "Excellent, Good, Average, Bad, Terrible" next to the stars they represent. I don't get why it I run into such lack of clarity wherever I see this system used, internationally or otherwise.

[Alfa1]

Strange it is indeed. I checked the ratings of a large pool of members and compared them. Contacted members and asked for feedback. Americans where consistently giving higher ratings than Europeans. Even in situations where they agreed on the stores they rated. Even adding the word 'excellent' to the 5th star or Terrible' to the first star was not enough. I had to add 'cant get any better than this' or 'can't get worse than this' to these, before it did the trick.

I can't explain it either. Must be a cultural thing.

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

Strange it is indeed. I checked the ratings of a large pool of members and compared them. Contacted members and asked for feedback. Americans where consistently giving higher ratings than Europeans. Even in situations where they agreed on the stores they rated. Even adding the word 'excellent' to the 5th star or Terrible' to the first star was not enough. I had to add 'cant get any better than this' or 'can't get worse than this' to these, before it did the trick.

I can't explain it either. Must be a cultural thing.

I always laugh at the Android Market or Facebook App reviews when people say "I gave it one star, but I wish I could have rated it no stars...". Uh, okay folks. I hate to be the one to tell you...

[BirdOPrey5]

I change my request... instead of 5 stars we should be able to rate from 1 to 11 stars. Good mods can get 8 or 9 stars, excellent mods 10 stars, and beyond exceptional (like AME) can get 11 stars.

"It goes to 11"

[Boofo]

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

I change my request... instead of 5 stars we should be able to rate from 1 to 11 stars. Good mods can get 8 or 9 stars, excellent mods 10 stars, and beyond exceptional (like AME) can get 11 stars.

"It goes to 11"

It's bad enough at 5, let alone doubling it.

[BirdOPrey5]

[Dismounted]

http://xkcd.com/670/