Mandatory review for rating low.

[McPhoenixDavid]

So I saw a thread and the first two guys make a solid argument.

@MafiaNoble said:
What's up with people 1-starring your work because they don't like something while not commenting on what it is, they dislike? The way I see it there are a total of 5 stars, so if my work isn't enjoyable but is readable and makes sense, then 2 stars would make more sense right?

Does anyone else get annoyed by people just pissing over the work you've put time and effort in, downvoting without feedback?

@CharlesEBrown Said:
Personally, I think it should be mandatory to leave comments with 1 or 5 star reviews. 2-4 can go silently but not the extremes. I don't care (much) THAT they hate it (or love it) just want to know WHY... Or if they're rating ME and not my work...

 

[MafiaNoble]

I think you got our names mixed up, Charles was the one that came with the review suggestion.

Still love the feature request/idea <3

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

I suppose it'd be impossible to control if their explanation was in good faith or even meaningful - likely they'd just put in something like 'this is shit' or 'boring'

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I suppose it'd be impossible to control if their explanation was in good faith or even meaningful - likely they'd just put in something like 'this is shit' or 'boring'

If they put that much in, it would be an improvement - either you know you can discount their views or, if more people agree with them, something you need to work on.

 

[L1aei]

Honestly? Get rid of the current rating system as it is, but keep reviews up, though. That can be tied in with the rating system if ya want, and then there is the commentary on why it has that rating. Why though? Because those who read those reviews can also like or dislike it, expressing how helpful that review genuinely is for them.

 

[Agentt]

People are just gonna post N/A or some one word answer if you force them to do that, or they won't ever give those reviews in the first place.

 

[rileykifer]

I agree with everyone on how people will just dumb it down to "I like this" or "I hate this." Inkitt has it so you have to write actual words for the review, and even states above the text box to give details on what you liked or disliked. I think it even has a word minimum imposed. Still, a lot of reviews are still just "I like this" with no further explanation. Honestly I'd be fine with getting rid of ratings altogether. People can leave their opinions in the comments, and favorite chapters.

 

[Fairemont]

If someone wont leave even a small review for a 1 star rating then they didnt hate it enough to give it a 1 star in the first place.

 

[Conqueror_Quack]

So I saw a thread and the first two guys make a solid argument.

@MafiaNoble said:
What's up with people 1-starring your work because they don't like something while not commenting on what it is, they dislike? The way I see it there are a total of 5 stars, so if my work isn't enjoyable but is readable and makes sense, then 2 stars would make more sense right?

Does anyone else get annoyed by people just pissing over the work you've put time and effort in, downvoting without feedback?

@CharlesEBrown Said:
Personally, I think it should be mandatory to leave comments with 1 or 5 star reviews. 2-4 can go silently but not the extremes. I don't care (much) THAT they hate it (or love it) just want to know WHY... Or if they're rating ME and not my work...

People will just abuse it by writing the bare minimum, and that too with something like emojis, "it's bad", random words, or punctuation marks. Just take a gander at Webnovel; it doesn't have the same system, but it has comments that are pretty much like that. Then again, I suppose it could help you distinguish between genuine one-star ratings and trolls.

 

[Thraben]

Stars are and always will be a terrible system for anything other than objective measures of quality. They simply aren't a system meant to accommodate any degree of nuance or preference, and as such shouldn't even be used in the first place.
IMO, all ratings should be posted as reviews, with likes and dislikes for both the story and its reviews. That at least more accurately portrays the way the way people feel about the story. If they felt strongly enough to say 'it's good' they can find an existing review to Like or write one. If they dislike it, they can write a review saying they dislike it or they can like an existing 'dislike' review.

This insistence on stars that every website on the internet has is maddening, only people saying words and other people reacting to them actually means anything.

 

[Tabula_Rasa]

I think instead, people would be happier if readers can choose "zero stars", imagine, 'wow I got one star, at least I didn't get zero stars'.
One stars might not be as damaging to people's fragile mentality.

 

[Failnot]

I think instead, people would be happier if readers can choose "zero stars", imagine, 'wow I got one star, at least I didn't get zero stars'.
One stars might not be as damaging to people's fragile mentality.

I can see a slight problem with this idea

 

[JayMark]

I think instead, people would be happier if readers can choose "zero stars", imagine, 'wow I got one star, at least I didn't get zero stars'.
One stars might not be as damaging to people's fragile mentality.

 

[MFontana]

Personally, I'd say keep the ratings, but adding the prerequisite of giving a review in order to rate a story or series is definitely a good idea.
It won't stop people from leaving hollow reviews, but it will let would-be readers as well as any authors who receive them, filter them out for what they are.
Moderator / Staff review of any bad-faith reviews to remove them could also be a beneficial addition as a way to mitigate such bad-faith "reviews".