Thanks to all the feedback from those willing to reply I've got an answer as to why we don't require reviews when rating. The main reason for anyone wondering is, as of yet, there is no solution that is much better than the current system. Anything will have its ups and downs, and with the current system the flaws are evident, but the benefits are just as strong if not stronger.
I know this isn't the first discussion about the topic, but I was just hoping for a clear answer as to why something like requiring a review when rating a story low hasn't been implemented. It could even be made so that the review had to be at least 30 words. A few reasons I have to support this are(Didn’t mean to make this sound so snobbish):
I also understand that Scribblehub isn't a daycare and criticism is a large part of being a writer, but the feeling of getting a bad review without knowing the reason can be difficult to deal with. A fresh feeling for me as I just got my first 1 star, which is obviously the reason why I felt like writing this post. I fully accept that I probably deserve the rating I got, but I would just like to know where I could improve. And as much as my writing is fueled by annoyance I also feel that this is a reasonable request, although I'd feel bad if it increased Tony's workload by too much.
Another alternative which Discount_Blade mentioned was:
“...do as RRL does and add stars as apart of the actual review process instead of it being separate, meaning you can ONLY LEAVE STARS WHEN WRITING A REVIEW. And the reviews have to be of a certain length though I don't remember how many characters it was.
Someone once mentioned it had to be no less than 450 characters in a review though I can't swear to the accuracy of that.”
- Whether someone rates your story high or low, feedback is always appreciated. Replies/ratings should be from people who have read enough of your work to voice genuine complements/critiques.
- It would reduce the number of bad reviews people give without good reason.
- It would help the rating system become more trustworthy.
- It would allow people to understand if people are rating a series objectively or subjectively.
- Before clicking on a story the number of ratings isn't shown, so fewer reviews wouldn't have a negative impact here.
- Leaving bad reviews could lead to targeting and unwarranted backlash on series of the reviewer. Allowing anonymous reviewing might be necessary.
I also understand that Scribblehub isn't a daycare and criticism is a large part of being a writer, but the feeling of getting a bad review without knowing the reason can be difficult to deal with. A fresh feeling for me as I just got my first 1 star, which is obviously the reason why I felt like writing this post. I fully accept that I probably deserve the rating I got, but I would just like to know where I could improve. And as much as my writing is fueled by annoyance I also feel that this is a reasonable request, although I'd feel bad if it increased Tony's workload by too much.
Another alternative which Discount_Blade mentioned was:
“...do as RRL does and add stars as apart of the actual review process instead of it being separate, meaning you can ONLY LEAVE STARS WHEN WRITING A REVIEW. And the reviews have to be of a certain length though I don't remember how many characters it was.
Someone once mentioned it had to be no less than 450 characters in a review though I can't swear to the accuracy of that.”
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