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+--- Thread: The thread rating system should be removed (/Thread-The-thread-rating-system-should-be-removed)
The thread rating system should be removed - Ingulit - Jun. 22, 2012
Simply put, I don't see a reason for the thread rating system, especially in the customizations forum. In theory, the ratings system should help deter users from poor and/or poorly elaborated customs, but the reality that I've been seeing is that any thread like that is locked and moved almost immediately. What results, then, is that the ratings serve no purpose other than potentially hurting a legitimate combo's visibility.
For example, I don't see why this thread, whose parts are mostly random and whose thread and testing is poorly formatted and unclear/nonstandard:
http://worldbeyblade.org/Thread-MF-F-Diablo-Nemsis-WA130-RF
Should be rated higher than this thread, in which I took great care in part selection, explanation of the part selection, and the formatting of the thread, and I posted very clear, standard, positive test results that showed the custom has a legitimate place in the meta:
http://worldbeyblade.org/Thread-MF-H-Scythe-Uranus-85RS-Updated-6-21-12
I know this comes across as me being butthurt, but I honestly don't see why there is a rating system in the first place, especially with a userbase as young as this. Basically what happens is that the thread creator rates their own thread a 5, and then users who have even the slightest problem rate it a 1; I'd be willing to bet that the majority of users rating threads aren't exactly advanced members, but of course I could be proven wrong by the administration who has access to that data.
As I've already touched on, the fact that the ratings are X out of 5 is a very flawed system in the first place. What, exactly, makes a thread worthy of a 4 over a 3? How bad is a thread for it to deserve a 1 rather than a 2? Is any thread actually worthy of a 5, or should I save my 5s for "perfect" threads? From all my experience, users typically only go to the trouble of rating a thread if they dislike it, and the majority of the time they will rate it a 1. This is the reason why Youtube switched from its star system to like/dislike: the star system is too complex, and this complexity deters users from using it unless they just want to rate a thread a 1 because they don't like it.
Another big issue is that users cannot see how many other people have rated a thread until they, themselves, rate it, so there is no visual difference between a thread with one 5 vote and one 1 vote to one with 50 users rating a thread an average of 3. Thus, whatever the thread's rating is is most often considered to be the popular opinion, since there is no way to tell without voting first (something that, again, most users don't do).
I'd like to reiterate the fact that any problem threads that legitimately deserve low ratings are closed immediately before the rating would even be a factor. Thus, not having the rating system would be no different than it being in place in terms of problem threads, since they'll still be locked just as quickly. Please, if any moderator actually takes a thread's rating into account before locking a thread, I'd love to hear about it, because I'd be incredibly surprised.
In short, I think the rating system is highly flawed, that it serves little positive purpose in the customizations forum, and that there would be almost no downsides to it being removed.
EDIT: And yes, I rated this thread a 5, and I guarantee that, when browsing through this board quickly, many people will see the thread's title and the rating without reading the thread and think that the 5 is a popular opinion rather than just one vote. This, in my opinion, is a great example of the flaw in the system, and I will say again that it can only help if it was removed.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Hitsugiya - Jun. 22, 2012
I only notice the thread rating system when people bring up the thread rating system. Am I the only one the finds it weird that people acknowledge the rating system enough for it to actually come up in a conversion? I think it is very flawed, but at the same time unimportant and insignificant in my eyes.
Edit: I think the upvote/downvote system is really good, but still, on the WBO I don't think the ranks of threads really matter that much IMO.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - sarabscientist - Jun. 22, 2012
Looks like I wasn't the only one thinkning about the un-importance of the rating system XD
Anyways, I was rather confused why exactly it was there. Is it to rate the subject of the thread or the actual content of the thread?
I think the voting system for individual posts didn't work out so they incorporated this as a method of giving a "general" vote on all the posts.
So, I agree with Inguilt that it should be removed because it serves no real purpose and can be slightly misleading (but then again- I never use the rating system myself,lol).
The only place where the thread rating system actually seems to make sense is the "Your Creations" forum.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Kai-V - Jun. 22, 2012
The thread-rating system is a default feature of the MyBB software. It cannot really be removed.
I honestly cannot understand why you wrote nine paragraphs on this system, personally ... I almost never look at it, and I think this is the case for most Members here. Once in a while, I could notice that most of my threads are "well-rated", so in such cases I think it is not as unfairly used as you seem to think it is, but even then, it holds little significance.
We also do not have any way of seeing who voted what, managing the ratings or anything like that.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - sarabscientist - Jun. 22, 2012
(Jun. 22, 2012 12:26 PM)Kai-V Wrote: I honestly cannot understand why you wrote nine paragraphs on this system...
That's Inguilt for you. Don't tell me you haven't seen his posts on Beyblade Customizations...
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - DefStamina88 - Jun. 22, 2012
I gotta agree with Ingulit on this one... This rating system really stirs up some problems to people who think it's all about popularity. I mean, a lot of people, especially new members, want feedback on some of their threads. If they're horrible, people who go by action will vote bad on it, and what's the result? A disappointed or angered member. That sometimes makes them assume that they are unpopular...
Another thing about it is, it ruins some people's self-esteem. Some use the ratings to judge how good their thread is. If they look at it and see a bad rating, they start thinking that what they post isn't good enough for some members of the site...
Basically, I think getting rid of the rating system will get rid of drops in self-esteem and fewer disappointed or angered members...
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Hazel - Jun. 22, 2012
DefStamina88, please read Kai-V's post above.
I only ever notice the rating buttons when I accidentally click one.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - DefStamina88 - Jun. 22, 2012
(Jun. 22, 2012 4:49 PM)Hazel Wrote: DefStamina88, please read Kai-V's post above.
I only ever notice the rating buttons when I accidentally click one.
I know what she said, but I am giving my opinion...
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Hazel - Jun. 22, 2012
"It cannot be turned off."
"My opinion is that it should be turned off!"
...do you see the problem, here?
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Ingulit - Jun. 22, 2012
I was afraid it was something like that (can't be turned off). I wrote nine paragraphs because I wanted to make sure my point got across (that the rating system is flawed) with enough explanation to show I had legitimate reasons for making a bold statement for reasons other than I was butthurt. Like it was said, that's kind of what I do to avoid spamming, heh.
Anyway, I understand it can't be turned off. I just figured I'd post this suggestion in case it was optional since that's what this board is for.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - sarabscientist - Jun. 22, 2012
Hm, like it or not. Useless or not.
Nothing can be done to turn it off.
...so I'd say its time to lock this baby up.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Bey Brad - Jun. 23, 2012
Thread ratings can be turned off in MyBB. Kai-V's post is incorrect.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Hazel - Jun. 23, 2012
Ah, after seeing that, I went digging for it, and found it, too.
And, upon testing it, it works without messing with anything.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Kai-V - Jun. 24, 2012
Oh, it seems I really never saw that before.
I removed star ratings for the following forums :
Beyblade General
Beyblade Customizations
Beywiki Project
Are there any forums that would really deserve to have the star ratings removed ? The Bey Marketplace, I believe, should definitely keep them for obvious reasons even though people can comment on other sellers in their topics, but I think it does not "hurt" to rate episode threads in the Beyblade Anime and Manga forum; the News forum will always only have topics made by a Committee Member; tournament threads can be reasonably rated, it can be a good indicator sometimes; and all the Off-Topic forums should just not really be that much of a bother.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - DefStamina88 - Jun. 24, 2012
I agree with Kai-V. Those threads, IMO, look like the only ones who don't need them...
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Kei - Jun. 24, 2012
Guys, let's stop talking about how functionally useless the thread rating system is, and start talking about how great the custom hexagon/Face icons are.
(By the way, I rated this thread a 5/5)
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Ingulit - Jun. 24, 2012
Wow, this place is awesome; it's really cool to see a community open to suggestions! I think this was a great change
And yes, I do have to say that the hexagons are awesome.
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Duck - Jun. 24, 2012
(Jun. 24, 2012 1:58 AM)Kei Wrote: Guys, let's stop talking about how functionally useless the thread rating system is, and start talking about how great the custom hexagon/Face icons are.
They are definitely awesome, but they would be even more awesome if they had L-Drago faces on them!
But, then again, wouldn't that make the rating system evil? Hm... maybe we should change them to Pegasis faces, so that our ratings will be full of the Bladers' Spirit!RE: The thread rating system should be removed - th!nk - Jun. 25, 2012
Haha, glad to see them gone, I actually completely agreed with ingulit on this one - I usually totally ignore them. The only improvement I would have suggested was to provide more data when hovering over them (average from x ratings) - which IIRC only comes up sometimes (memory is fuzzy).
RE: The thread rating system should be removed - Bey Brad - Jun. 25, 2012
Thread ratings are really useless. I think MyBB is removing them in 2.0 version (not for a few years).
And, thank you Kei for the compliment on my cute little Face icons.