Thread Rating

Mike Peregrine

EF5
Joined
Dec 8, 2003
Messages
2,208
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Is there any possible way to turn these lame thread rating stars OFF? They're an annoyance and pretty much useless - folks automatically rate their own thread as top notch to score clicks - and then use it as a retaliation tool against the people they have a personal vendetta against for whatever reason. The truly notable threads that we don't want to lose track of can always be moved to a sticky category by a mod if need be.

Some of the ratings I'm getting a kick out of and are good for a laugh ... but for the most part, just find these things a nuisance. What one person considers valuable, another considers pointless ... so there you have it ... totally subjective.
 
I always check in with the View New Posts option. They don't even show up there, so I don't see a rating until I've already started reading the topic. Just a bit of eye candy.

Looks like you only have two stars on this one right now, Mike (wasn't me!).
 
That's okay Eric ... who could have possibly seen that one coming? - I will find those guilty and swear my revenge!

And thanks for the heads up about the new threads thing ... I wasn't even aware of it -
 
I'll agree with Mike on this....I don't see why they stars are there; and if they can be taken off, please do. If newer people on the board misinterpret these stars, they actually might take people's opinion based on the stars--which could be bad or value one thread over another on a similar topic--which could be bad. Further, with some threads as divergent (as they can be) as they are on this board, the stars make absolutely no sense.

BTW, I voted this thread one star....for no reason, just b/c I could :p
 
I am gonna have to agree with you guys, I don't really see the purpose having these ratings up. Half the time I think the ratings are kinda bogus anyway.
 
I never even knew there were stars...so much I haven't noticed since the switch to the new look.
 
I agree with the others. I don't see where they really serve much of a purpose. I think it would be more beneficial if you could rate the posts within the thread.
 
I agree with the others. I don't see where they really serve much of a purpose. I think it would be more beneficial if you could rate the posts within the thread.
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IMO, that would be even worse. The reason Mike P. doesn't like ratings is because people vote just to vote, or just because they don't like the topic (i.e. the "hated" winter storm threads :rolleyes:), or because they are holding some sort of personal grudge. If you ask me, all of that would still translate through and to individual posts and still solve absolutely nothing.

Either way, I don't really care much about the rating... but I agree that it's useless... Even so, I can deal with it, it's not really that big of a deal, LOL
 
IMO, that would be even worse. The reason Mike P. doesn't like ratings is because people vote just to vote, or just because they don't like the topic (i.e. the "hated" winter storm threads :rolleyes:), or because they are holding some sort of personal grudge. If you ask me, all of that would still translate through and to individual posts and still solve absolutely nothing.

Either way, I don't really care much about the rating... but I agree that it's useless... Even so, I can deal with it, it's not really that big of a deal, LOL
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After looking at it that way...I could see where that might easily be a problem LOL.

Anyway, It really doesn't matter to me either I guess. It is just kind of pointless. I usually just hit the "view new posts" button at the top when I first log in anyway, and it doesn't show the star rating when you do it that way.
 
Yeah they're pretty pointless. I don't even pay attention to them knowing that any thread starter has the power to vote for their own thread.

Besides, what some may view as an uninteresting thread, others may think quite differently.
 
Many forums I've been a part of have gotten rid of 5-star rating systems since most people don't bother rating a thread, and those who do rate a thread tend to use it for derogatory behavior (ie, arbitrarily rating threads they don't agree with with one star). This slants the rating system to the negative and is generally destructive rather than adding to the benefit of the threads.

Most stickied threads in this forum are rated 1-3 stars. That seems very contrary to the value that the moderators and many readers feel warranted the sticky to begin with.

Get rid of them. :)
 
Why do people have personal vandettas for storm crap? I guess people get bored when there are droughts and down time. :p
 
Perhaps the stars ratings would make sense if there was a specific "grading rubric" set up for who or what would earn stars in the first place, and what specific level of contribution that each star level was set up to represent. For instance, a thread could be starred for assisting in mastery of accurate forecasting, or for abundance of especially awesome photos, or perhaps general issues crucial to the enhancement- or survival of the hobby of storm chasing, etc.
In this case, color coding could be assigned to stars relative to their specific catagory.
I believe that the current rating system is too objective and arbitrary, and hence the controversy and confusion.
 
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