What's up with the downvoting?

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

Yep, most stories shouldn't be rated a 5, but they get so many of those. And as you said, the 1s kinda balance out. Which is why I think thumb up and thumb down. People have proven they don't know how to rate stories with a 5 star grading system.

Totally, I'd be on board with having some sort of super-like as well, but I'd defer to those better informed on how to weigh it against the 'being nice' issue. Maybe a 'favorite' toggle that automatically added the story to your favorites folder and took you through to a little comment wall to leave a final note. Something that people would only do if they genuinely loved the story.

 

[JordanIda]

Uncommented downvotes in most sites are posted by writers, using guest/sockpuppet accounts. I can't imagine why it would be any different here.

Yep, most stories shouldn't be rated a 5, but they get so many of those. And as you said, the 1s kinda balance out. Which is why I think thumb up and thumb down. People have proven they don't know how to rate stories with a 5 star grading system.

Now see, good idea, but I think if a metric contributes to list placement, writers will find a way to game it. A binary system (thumb up/down) will be gamed differently, but it will still be gamed. With readership in decline in these sites, and writers the worst offenders for all their ills, I think site owners have pretty much given up screwing around with their metrics. They know the systems will be gamed, no matter what they do.

 

[foxes]

What's up with people 1-starring your work because they don't like something while not commenting on what it is, they dislike?

They suffer and die in silence.

 

[JordanIda]

Totally, I'd be on board with having some sort of super-like as well, but I'd defer to those better informed on how to weigh it against the 'being nice' issue. Maybe a 'favorite' toggle that automatically added the story to your favorites folder and took you through to a little comment wall to leave a final note. Something that people would only do if they genuinely loved the story.

Another good idea. But writers and writer-groups using sockpuppet accounts will have no qualms about adding comments to their ratings. "I read stuff that knocks my socks off. And my socks are still on. One half stars."

 

[Arkus86]

I just laugh at the hypocrisy of authors who complain about 1-stars without feedback, but just quietly gloss over the much more prevalent 5-stars without feedback. If your story is good, but not amazing, 4-stars would make more sense, right?
Did you realize the average rating on SH is somewhere around or above 4.5?

Rant aside, I would be up for requiring a review for every rating, then we could see what is actually justified, one way or another.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

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?

I do. But we can't force them to give feedback. Best we can do is to curse them to crash their pinky toe against a wall every time it is about to heal for the rest of their lives.

I just laugh at the hypocrisy of authors who complain about 1-stars without feedback, but just quietly gloss over the much more prevalent 5-stars without feedback. If your story is good, but not amazing, 4-stars would make more sense, right?
Did you realize the average rating on SH is somewhere around or above 4.5?

Rant aside, I would be up for requiring a review for every rating, then we could see what is actually justified, one way or another.

Human nature. Tis nornal.

 

[Wamba2K]

Its the same everywhere.

That's why I will always say that the only type of rating that works is thumbs up and thumbs down.

People mostly either vote 5 or 1 star anyway.

I just laugh at the hypocrisy of authors who complain about 1-stars without feedback, but just quietly gloss over the much more prevalent 5-stars without feedback. If your story is good, but not amazing, 4-stars would make more sense, right?
Did you realize the average rating on SH is somewhere around or above 4.5?

Rant aside, I would be up for requiring a review for every rating, then we could see what is actually justified, one way or another.

I agree so hard with this. My first story instantly got a five star rating when I posted it. I was grateful, don't get me wrong, (and I was convinced it was a bot) but I was also really confused. Because there's only one chapter, what are you so impressed by???

 

[Arkus86]

Human nature. Tis nornal.

It is, and I understand why it is this way. But it's a funny kind of irony nonetheless. Get a meaningless positive rating, nobody bats an eye. But get a meaningless negative rating, and here we are.

 

[Envylope]

It is, and I understand why it is this way. But it's a funny kind of irony nonetheless. Get a meaningless positive rating, nobody bats an eye. But get a meaningless negative rating, and here we are.

That's more points in favor of thumbs up and thumbs down. If all the numbers are meaningless, we might as well just use a like or dislike system.

 

[Ai-chan]

Some people are mean. Ai-chan doesn't like it either. However, it is a valid vote. If the readers really don't like the story, it is their right to rank it as low as they want. Learned that the hard way with Ai-chan's older stories. Just have no expectation and you will not feel angered.

 

[JordanIda]

Rant aside, I would be up for requiring a review for every rating, then we could see what is actually justified, one way or another.

Yet another good idea that would also be gamed by the writers (as now happens on other sites I could name, particularly a scurrilous LitRPG haven with two Rs in its name). The more weight Reviews are given in list placement, the greater the incidence of (1) quid pro quo review swaps ("I'll give you a 5 if you give me a 5") and (2) Discord-based writer groups ganging up on competition.

The essential problem, I think, is that people suck.

This company excluded. :D

Some people are mean. Ai-chan doesn't like it either. However, it is a valid vote. If the readers really don't like the story, it is their right to rank it as low as they want. Learned that the hard way with Ai-chan's older stories. Just have no expectation and you will not feel angered.

Yeah! Yeah! Absolutely. Sometimes the meany who gave us a half star is actually a human reader. And we've wasted enough of his/her time, flipping through the pages. Said reader ought to be able to vent without having to submit a book report.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Example would be if I spent $5/7 on a amazon kindle and the book is filled with plot holes, or things I just get annoyed by. Then i'll probably 2-3 star it.

I get this isn't logical, but that's just my way of thinking ,-.

God, I did that... was like book 13 in a series I enjoyed and should have been the final book, and the ENTIRE BOOK was a flashback to the MC's bodyguard-turned-lover's past and how she got to the point where she met the MC. I was pissed.

 

[Alski]

I still think readers need to pass a basic english literacy test to qualify for rating privilege.

 

[Arkus86]

I still think readers need to pass a basic english literacy test to qualify for rating privilege.

You're not wrong.

 

[Time4T]

As a reader, I think anyone who put in time, effort and maybe a little of themselves to tell a story, then freely offers the product of their imagination for all to see, deserves 5 stars period... even if I didn't like it. I prefer no rating system, but if there has to be one, it should be a thumbs up or nothing.

 

[Piisfun]

Another ratings complaint thread?
Well then, here is the obligatory reminder to put a 1-star rating on all of RepresentingCaution's series!

RepresentingCaution's Profile | Scribble Hub

www.scribblehub.com

(This is not bullying; her profile litterally says to do that)

 

[FRWriter]

As a reader, I think anyone who put in time, effort and maybe a little of themselves to tell a story, then freely offers the product of their imagination for all to see, deserves 5 stars period... even if I didn't like it. I prefer no rating system, but if there has to be one, it should be a thumbs up or nothing.

I am not talking about anyone in particular here, with my examples listed below, but honestly, this seems a little bit soft and wishy-washy to me.
I hate 1 stars, especially if they come without feedback. Man, I've gotten quite a few myself. It especially pisses me off when people who deactivate their profiles do that.

However, I am genuinely curious about asking a reader this, especially one as tolerant as yourself.

Do you think someone who uses AI without proofreading deserves a 5-star?
Do you think that if the story contains hundreds of spelling errors, it deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a story that contradicts itself, forgets plot points, and goes against established lore deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a story stuck at 1 chapter deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a non-formatted story deserves a 5-star?
Do you think fringe topics talking about insane things deserve a blanket 5-star?

I agree with you that anonymous, blanket 1-star reviews are poison, but there needs to be some mechanism in place to hold authors accountable.

Without that, you are encouraging laziness, incompetence, and anti-creativity by placing every story on the same level. Reminds me of the discussion that teachers were supposed to accept wrong answers in math class because it would be mean to correct their students.

Sorry, but 2+2 ain't 5, and 100 spelling errors ain't a 5-star as well, chief.

Create a mandatory 200-word minimum and require reviews/ratings to list examples, but then you gotta do that for the 5-star votes as well.

But then... why should a Reviewer have to research, argue, and create a 200-word review, when some authors are allowed to copy-paste a random 500-word AI pudding without a requirement?

This topic has been argued so many times, and it never reaches a conclusion. There is no perfect system.

However, if authors hold up their stories to a certain standard, like the one listed above, there should be something that's protecting them from a flood of 1-star reviews.

 

[Time4T]

I am not talking about anyone in particular here, with my examples listed below, but honestly, this seems a little bit soft and wishy-washy to me.
I hate 1 stars, especially if they come without feedback. Man, I've gotten quite a few myself. It especially pisses me off when people who deactivate their profiles do that.

However, I am genuinely curious about asking a reader this, especially one as tolerant as yourself.

Do you think someone who uses AI without proofreading deserves a 5-star?
Do you think that if the story contains hundreds of spelling errors, it deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a story that contradicts itself, forgets plot points, and goes against established lore deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a story stuck at 1 chapter deserves a 5-star?
Do you think a non-formatted story deserves a 5-star?
Do you think fringe topics talking about insane things deserve a blanket 5-star?

I agree with you that anonymous, blanket 1-star reviews are poison, but there needs to be some mechanism in place to hold authors accountable.

Without that, you are encouraging laziness, incompetence, and anti-creativity by placing every story on the same level. Reminds me of the discussion that teachers were supposed to accept wrong answers in math class because it would be mean to correct their students.

Sorry, but 2+2 ain't 5, and 100 spelling errors ain't a 5-star as well, chief.

Create a mandatory 200-word minimum and require reviews/ratings to list examples, but then you gotta do that for the 5-star votes as well.

But then... why should a Reviewer have to research, argue, and create a 200-word review, when some authors are allowed to copy-paste a random 500-word AI pudding without a requirement?

This topic has been argued so many times, and it never reaches a conclusion. There is no perfect system.

However, if authors hold up their stories to a certain standard, like the one listed above, there should be something that's protecting them from a flood of 1-star reviews.

"anyone who put in time, effort and maybe a little of themselves to tell a story" Not no effort copy paste stories (that likely should be banned anyway) Bottom line, if it's not something completely disingenuous, that was created with honest effort, it shouldn't be down voted just do to personal preference. The examples you offered might be better addressed by author peer reviews not popularity.

 

[Tabula_Rasa]

Disingenuous 5 stars are also the fucking worst BTW

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

"anyone who put in time, effort and maybe a little of themselves to tell a story" Not no effort copy paste stories (that likely should be banned anyway) Bottom line, if it's not something completely disingenuous, that was created with honest effort, it shouldn't be down voted just do to personal preference. The examples you offered might be better addressed by author peer reviews not popularity.

Sadly, this is the innate problem with any reviews. They leave reviews because of a personal preference.

I have left bad reviews before, but I have always clarified in my reviews why I left them.

Ex, one webnovel's arc 1 was actually really well written, and I loved it. Their Arc 2 was... an abomination.... well IMO, the author got overly ambitious anyway. I think it gave it a 3-star rating and clarified in the review that arc 1 was 5 stars and arc 2 was 1-2 stars, with my reasons why. I didn't even bother reading Arc 3 because of how Arc 2 went.