Dropping the Rating System

Cristi wrote: TSoP2018 wrote: In my opinion, a rating should be combined with a review or a short comment. Allowing compulsive rating without any rules or limits makes the rating system itself worthless. For example, if I'm not a fan of Primus, then I can give 1 to all their releases without explanation, and that's ok? Who says there aren't any rules?! Compulsive rating?! I don't know what it means. Rating an entire discography a 1 star is rating abuse. Same for rating it 5 stars. Because both things do not make sense.

with "compulsive" I meant in bursts... a lot of ratings during the same day, too many to be objective.
In any case, if you are happy, I'm happy.

Just a suggestion:

only rating a maximum of 3/day
rating and review no limit

Simple, no?

lazland wrote: I understand why Max & others like the rating system on a site such as PA. For those albums where a significant number have reviewed/rated, it is a pretty good guide to how they are perceived or thought about in the community. I took a decision not to have scores on my website from the off. DPRP are simply playing catchup! Of more concern to me is allowing all and sundry to post reviews. IMO, the first ten reviews submitted by a new member should be vetted before being published.

In the halcyon days of PA, much debate went on behind the curtains about the rating system. Including not only the rating scale, but worthiness of the reviews as well and we came up with this weighing scheme (10/3/1)

We even implemented a 0 stars rating (which either meant avoid at all casts or simply n/a (not applicable) or n/o (no object)), which lasted one year.
We also implemented that the rating space should come below the review space (still the case nowadays)
For years, we also asked M@X to implement the half-star ratings, but he claimed it was not possible under the software used for the database.

AFAIAC, while not really looking at the ratings, it has the merits to set apart the good/excellent albums from the bad/cruddy ones very quickly and therefore saves much time, effort and money.

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For me, outside colours & tastes, the main problem is that we don't rate the same way.

Personally I rate upwards or downwards from an average album (which should be 5/10 or 2.5/5 or 7/15 in the Gnosis scale >> in any case, it should be the middle value).

Most of our personal and collective ratings should be espousing the Gauss bell (look it up) and extreme ratings (5 stars or 1 star) be almost exceptionnal. Now of course, most of us will not be taking time to rate average albums (I try/tried to do so in Gnosis) and only concentrate on what we love or loathe. That trend alone is skewing the stats rules foundations.
The majority are average or medium releases, and should be ranked as such. 5 albums ratings should be - if not rare - carefully used, simply because "masterpieces" are not to be found around every street corner
Of course, in terms of arts, can normal statisticians maths rules applicable? Obviously no... but our top lists systems is based on this statistics bible. Which is why I simply don't even look at these top lists (though I do have an idea of what's on it), but I'm in the clear minority in this isue.

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The odd contradiction on my part is/was that my fave "prog" site is/was a ratings-only site, but there it was the pannel of raters that interested me most, because the members were somehow carefully selected on their seriousness and general or specific tastes (neo and metal fans were not part of the pannel). So yes, in a way, it was a closed circle and the older members' updating visits were getting rare (still alive?).

Gnosis' main attractiveness was (IMHO) its collective force, though the individual raters' rates were easily consulted. But the site's rating side is down (for one year now), and the chances of its 20/25 years-old software being transferred to someting more actual are dwindling (only one person left to administer it) every month or so.



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Edited by Sean Trane - 17 hours 40 minutes ago at 03:35