Crazy Rating Idea

[droopyauthor]

Hello everyone,
I am quite new to writing (compared to others). But I have done a lot of research, and found that for authors, especially budding authors, rating is one of the tools that either helps them a little or just plainly destroy them. No checkpoints in between. So here's an idea, which I just thought lying on bed. It's just me passing time, thinking of hundreds of other authors like me.

1. The major issue for new novels, or for those who are on rise, is random 1 and 2 star ratings with no apparent reason and explanation. Most of them, and I am making an educated guess here, are from readers who didn't find the plot to their liking or maybe something ticked them off. Well, I have a drastic solution for this problem. Remove the option for 1 and 2 star ratings. I said drastic, didn't I?

2. Now we have 3 to 5 star rating left. Let's give the readers option to rate a book in decimals. So 3.0, 3.1, 3.2... 4.8, 4.9, 5.0 etc.

3. If someone wants to rate the book without give review (i.e. typing words/explanation) then they would only have the option to rate between 4.0 to 5.0 (that's 10 levels). To have access to lower rating, a reader must write a review (with character limit)

4. Now, logic dictates that books can still be buried like in the current system, but as an avid reader myself, I can tell that the first look at rating deter most of the readers from taking an attempt at the book. This new system will help eliminate that situation, and with 20 levels of rating (3.0 to 5.0) every point will become a factor of determining book's worth.

So yeah, that's it. It's just fleeting thought, the ones we always have but we don't tell others (lol). Still, i felt it worth sharing, given so many authors faces the same problem. I would very much like to hear more opinions on it. Not that I think it will be implemented, but it's fun anyway.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

We should just destroy the Scribblehub servers scorched earth style. If we Authors can't enjoy SH then no one can! Hail the glorious Author master race! Hail our glorious Czar Putin! Viva la resistance!

Literally based

 

[rain-090]

I'm not sure what you mean, but replacing stars with likes\dislikes is a bad idea.

Why is that?

 

[SailusGebel]

Why is that?

Because ratings are not only a tool for an author, it's also a tool for a reader. For a reader, it's one of the tools to gauge if the story is worth reading. A like to dislike ratio isn't quite the same as looking at why the story's rating is, for example, 3.8 or straight 4. The reader can look at how many 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-star ratings there are. If there are not enough reviews to make a judgment, which is often the case, looking at the star ratio is helpful.

It also lets readers who are pissed about a novel leave a 2, or 3-star rating instead of straight-up dislike(1-star). It also lets those who think about rating more seriously not put a like(5-star) but give a 4-star rating, basically saying that the novel is good but imperfect. Also, the alleged 'trolls' who put 1-star ratings would simply spam dislikes instead of 1-star ratings.

 

[rain-090]

Because ratings are not only a tool for an author, it's also a tool for a reader. For a reader, it's one of the tools to gauge if the story is worth reading. A like to dislike ratio isn't quite the same as looking at why the story's rating is, for example, 3.8 or straight 4. The reader can look at how many 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-star ratings there are. If there are not enough reviews to make a judgment, which is often the case, looking at the star ratio is helpful.

It also lets readers who are pissed about a novel leave a 2, or 3-star rating instead of straight-up dislike(1-star). It also lets those who think about rating more seriously not put a like(5-star) but give a 4-star rating, basically saying that the novel is good but imperfect. Also, the alleged 'trolls' who put 1-star ratings would simply spam dislikes instead of 1-star ratings.

I think most people either go for 1 star or 5 star though?

So it would be the same, no?

Just have calculate a new score based on like to dislike ratio

 

[SailusGebel]

I think most people either go for 1 star or 5 star though?

So it would be the same, no?

Just have calculate a new score based on like to dislike ratio

Let's assume you are right. Why would you change it if it's the same? There are literally zero reasons to change it if it's the same.

 

[strayCat0]

I think most people either go for 1 star or 5 star though?

So it would be the same, no?

Just have calculate a new score based on like to dislike ratio

Except, changing 1-5 star system to like/dislike system only serves nothing but to eliminate more options for readers to properly represent their evaluation. I looked up the stories here, and most of the time, after 5 star, people rate 4 star.

Also star system and review are quantitative and qualitative atributes. It's absolutely stupid to simplify from 1-5 scale system to only 1-2 (like and dislike). 100 likes and 50 dislikes mean nothing but 100 likes and 50 dislikes. How will I know it represents my 'kinda like it' opinion? Or 'I don't care' opinion? Or 'not my cup of coffee' opinion? Sure they'll ratio it, but it's still useless because those ratings were never able to represent my opinion in the first place.

And don't forget SH already has Favorite button. It's basically like system (no dislike) with steroid.

 

[Gryphon]

To tell you the truth, all that would do would change 1 rating being the worst to 3.0 being the worst. Then you're just extending the rating to become even more confusing. This is an awful idea.