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Topic Closed4 and a 1/2 Stars?

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Poll Question: Would you like to see a 4 and 1/2 star rating in the reviews?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
31 [41.33%]
44 [58.67%]
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Epignosis View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 31 2009 at 11:39
Originally posted by p0mt3 p0mt3 wrote:

Originally posted by GaryB GaryB wrote:

When I rate albums in my own collection I rate each song with whole numbers. When I've rated every song I total the score and divide by the number of songs which leaves me with a fraction (4.3, 4.7, etc.) as an overall rating for the album.
This is for my personal collection. On a site this big with so many albums having been rated I think the decimal system would be going too far.


Okay, I give up. Dead

I don;t know how many times myself and all those in favor of this must remind you folks, but we are not asking for a damned decimal system! Jesus! We're simply asking for a half star option between stars 4 and 5, how difficult is that to grasp?

I'm not saying it's worth it, but at least base your arguments in some reality, here. You're talking about why we shouldn't have a decimal system? Fine, but the topic starter said nothing of the kind.


I think you're missing the point, Micah.









Oh how I crack myself up.  LOL
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 31 2009 at 12:17
Originally posted by Passionist Passionist wrote:

If you can't really make up your mind, then bloody listen to the record again. 


This means I can't make up my mind for a 4.5 or a 9 (in a decimal scale)? Great. Thanks for the enlightenment.

While we're at it, we should petition for quitting the 9,7,5 etc. grades from the decimal scale. Some say they make people dizzy. Dead
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 31 2009 at 22:24
The mention of the term "decimal system" was simply a reference to something other than "whole numbers" and not to insinuate that your intent was to add a ".5" after 4, 3, 2 and 1.
The point of the reply was "No, I would not like to see 4 and 1/2 star rating in the review".
According to the green bars at the top of the page "No" is the majority answer.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 31 2009 at 22:40
I did some research on the net and found that the decimal system (.5) and the fraction system (1/2) are just awful darn close to being the same thing.  XXX
 
(XXX is where you would normally put those little yellow faces. But I don't use them.)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 31 2009 at 22:46
After much consideration, I've finally decided to vote 'No'.

This seems really uneccessary, I've never had a problem with voting, because I use my bloody heart!

It just seems really useless at this point - I didn't even really think about it until this whole thread thingy opened up, and its pretty irritating...

JUST CHOOSE 4 OR 5! NOT BOTH!

-Joel
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 01 2009 at 02:44
^ when this site was created a decision was made to have a 5 star rating system. Suppose they would have made it a 3 star system (1 star = bad, 2 stars = good, 3 stars = excellent) ... would you still be telling people to accept it just because it was created that way?

I think that introducing half stars here would indeed be useful, particularly for those who have rated an extensive list of albums (>1000). But then again, considering that ratings - by design - play a minor role here compared to reviews, it's not *that* important.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 01 2009 at 05:25
I voted yes.
 
My reason for that is fairly simple.  There are many albums that are musical masterpieces but may not be progressive masterpieces.  Four stars is where they belong in the current rating system, but sometimes one distinguishes itself far beyond that standard.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 01 2009 at 08:11
Try to see the rating as only a guideline, it's the content of the reviews that are really going to tell you how good it is.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 02 2009 at 03:17
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

Originally posted by p0mt3 p0mt3 wrote:

Originally posted by GaryB GaryB wrote:

When I rate albums in my own collection I rate each song with whole numbers. When I've rated every song I total the score and divide by the number of songs which leaves me with a fraction (4.3, 4.7, etc.) as an overall rating for the album.
This is for my personal collection. On a site this big with so many albums having been rated I think the decimal system would be going too far.


Okay, I give up. Dead

I don;t know how many times myself and all those in favor of this must remind you folks, but we are not asking for a damned decimal system! Jesus! We're simply asking for a half star option between stars 4 and 5, how difficult is that to grasp?

I'm not saying it's worth it, but at least base your arguments in some reality, here. You're talking about why we shouldn't have a decimal system? Fine, but the topic starter said nothing of the kind.


I think you're missing the point, Micah.









Oh how I crack myself up.  LOL


Okay, I admit, that was funny. LOL
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 18 2009 at 16:25
Oh bum - the "no" option is winningCry but tis only 30 to 23 (as of 18th August)

Maybe I should have allowed a third option - 1/2 a yes and 1/2 a noSmile
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Tin Of Hurri Curri View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 18 2009 at 19:39
I think that it would not really be fair to those who struggle between, say, 3 and 4 stars, if there were a 4 1/2 star option but no other half stars allowed.

I also think that 5 stars does not have to mean "perfect album--best music in the universe," because the rating of music is subjective anyway and you can always find a "flaw" in something if you're looking for one.  Therefore, I think that having a 4 1/2 star option would make people a little too intimidated to give something a 5.

I voted for "No," but I definitely understand your difficulty in choosing between 4 and 5 stars, PinkPangolin.

Personally, I like it when people specify "4.5 stars" in their reviews, but the ratings should stay the way they are.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 18 2009 at 22:16
From someone who struggles with 'what stars to give', we are given plenty of space in the reviews to call out any misgivings we have with any album.  We can state those and give the album a 5 (it's perfect, but I personally think some of it ain't great) or a 4 (it's damned good but some of ain't great to the point that I can't give it a 5).  4.5 would just muddy the waters.
Can you tell me where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 18 2009 at 22:20
I have WAY more trouble picking between 3 and 4 stars than between 4 and 5. 

4 or 5 is actually pretty simple because 5 should almost never happen, maybe a few times per year. 

The 3 or 4 thing can be excruciating sometimes.  Smile

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 18 2009 at 23:07
I wouldn't be too against a system that incorporated .5, 1.5, 2.5, etc. but only adding in 4.5 basically makes 5 the new 6.  If any system were added I'd say it should have all the .5s, not just 4.5.  As it is, I voted No, and I'm fine with the rating system the way it is.  Maybe once I've actually reviewed/rated more of my albums I'll change my mind, but that remains to be seen.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2009 at 10:29
I'm late here, sorry about it.
 
The problem at hand is that too many people think that giving 4 stars is harsh for an album that they like, so they go and give 5 stars. This is an attitude that needs to be changed rather than the ranking system.
 
Personnaly, I will give 3 stars to many albums that I really enjoy. I will keep my 4 stars ratings only for exceptional albums that I love listening again and again without skipping any tracks, and which I feel are close to being or becoming a classic of the genre. I will award 5 stars strictly to established classics, true masterpieces that have influenced several other artists, or to the very few albums that simply moved me way beyond 99% of the rest.
 
Thus it's the attitude towards the 3 and 4 stars ratings which should be changed. Once we start to see them as good ratings rather than harsh or poor, it mostly fixes the system.
 
I also think that this problem is especially present within the tech metal genres, where 4 and 5 stars ratings are commonly awarded to just any commonplace tech metal album... 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2009 at 11:13
Originally posted by SentimentalMercenary SentimentalMercenary wrote:

I'm late here, sorry about it.
 
The problem at hand is that too many people think that giving 4 stars is harsh for an album that they like, so they go and give 5 stars. This is an attitude that needs to be changed rather than the ranking system.
 
Personnaly, I will give 3 stars to many albums that I really enjoy. I will keep my 4 stars ratings only for exceptional albums that I love listening again and again without skipping any tracks, and which I feel are close to being or becoming a classic of the genre. I will award 5 stars strictly to established classics, true masterpieces that have influenced several other artists, or to the very few albums that simply moved me way beyond 99% of the rest.
 
Thus it's the attitude towards the 3 and 4 stars ratings which should be changed. Once we start to see them as good ratings rather than harsh or poor, it mostly fixes the system.
 
I also think that this problem is especially present within the tech metal genres, where 4 and 5 stars ratings are commonly awarded to just any commonplace tech metal album... 


Industrial strength praise for the above. Well said sir. I too have long believed that the rating system ain't broke but the raters clearly are. To wit, a positive review of a so-called classic prog album (3 stars) is perceived as a disrespectful slander of a sacred cow. You only need to try to reconcile the body text of reviews with the ratings to see that e.g. "this track's a bit boring and some of the shorter songs are just ok but a prog masterpiece 5 stars" Enough already....
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 23 2009 at 05:00
Originally posted by ExittheLemming ExittheLemming wrote:

Originally posted by SentimentalMercenary SentimentalMercenary wrote:

I'm late here, sorry about it.
 
The problem at hand is that too many people think that giving 4 stars is harsh for an album that they like, so they go and give 5 stars. This is an attitude that needs to be changed rather than the ranking system.
 
Personnaly, I will give 3 stars to many albums that I really enjoy. I will keep my 4 stars ratings only for exceptional albums that I love listening again and again without skipping any tracks, and which I feel are close to being or becoming a classic of the genre. I will award 5 stars strictly to established classics, true masterpieces that have influenced several other artists, or to the very few albums that simply moved me way beyond 99% of the rest.
 
Thus it's the attitude towards the 3 and 4 stars ratings which should be changed. Once we start to see them as good ratings rather than harsh or poor, it mostly fixes the system.
 
I also think that this problem is especially present within the tech metal genres, where 4 and 5 stars ratings are commonly awarded to just any commonplace tech metal album... 


Industrial strength praise for the above. Well said sir. I too have long believed that the rating system ain't broke but the raters clearly are. To wit, a positive review of a so-called classic prog album (3 stars) is perceived as a disrespectful slander of a sacred cow. You only need to try to reconcile the body text of reviews with the ratings to see that e.g. "this track's a bit boring and some of the shorter songs are just ok but a prog masterpiece 5 stars" Enough already....



All the comments from Tin of Hurri Curri (did I get that right?) have been superb - good stuff -thanks

I have never before really appreciated that "3" is a specially good rating.   Does 3 out of 5 equate to 6 out of 10?  For a footballer on his Saturday's performance to be given 6 out of 10 would be considered "satisfactory" - he did his job but no more.  Clearly in this website it means more than that - maybe it's more that the definitions ought to be altered.

Maybe the mark in reality is out of 3.   Then you get 3* and 3** for the "4" and "5" ratings.  "3" is great, "3*" is extra-great, and "3**" is super-dooper unbelievably great....

Does this fit with what you're saying?
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PinkPangolin View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 23 2009 at 05:02
I meant to say "Tin of Hurri Curri" onwards - I left out "onwards" - otherwise it makes no sense...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 23 2009 at 05:56
Just this really:

3 stars = Good, but non-essential

4 stars = Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection (and it needn't necessarily be a prog album)

5 stars = Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music*

*perhaps the 5 star definition is a tad blurry methinks i.e could you give a non-prog album 5 stars ? (I've never really understood this but I guess if it's listed on PA there ain't nowt stopping you landing 5 big wet smackers on that critter's forehead ?)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 23 2009 at 06:12
Originally posted by ExittheLemming ExittheLemming wrote:

Just this really:3 stars = Good, but non-essential4 stars = Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection (and it needn't necessarily be a prog album)5 stars = Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music**perhaps the 5 star definition is a tad blurry methinks i.e could you give a non-prog album 5 stars ? (I've never really understood this but I guess if it's listed on PA there ain't nowt stopping you landing 5 big wet smackers on that critter's forehead ?)


I'll give you an example of what I do for four/five star albums.

YES - 90125.

I love that album, and I think it's perfect, but let's face it... Its only about 10% prog. As much as I'd love to give it 5, it's not a masterpiece of progressive music, rather pop/rock, and thats why a gave it a 4.
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