One-Star Posts in CharOp - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

One-Star Posts in CharOp

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Joseph_Silver
Feb 24, 2009 13:14:27 Someone is rating every post in CharOp one star, including posts which have good information on new optimzation options (like my Mage's Weapon thread), requests for practical optimization, etc.

Can the mods do something about this?
#2
zombie_babies
Feb 24, 2009 13:29:07 I don't know if they can or not, but you can do something. Just rate each thread what you think it deserves. This will raise the star rating to a more closely representative level. It only counts one vote per user, too, so the guy doing this will not be able to counter what you do. It will be a tedious and fairly meaningless exercise, but if this is a concern to you and something the mods cannot (or can't be bothered to) assist with, it should function well enough as a "Plan B".
#3
celloshane
Feb 24, 2009 13:32:48 It's annoying, but I fail to see how this actually creates a problem. Anyone logged in can choose to rate a thread. The only issue here is that few people actually do so and someone chose to rate all threads poorly. You could choose to counteract that by rating a thread highly and then the two ratings would be averaged. If it's any consolation, I don't believe many people pay attention to the ratings anyway.
#4
Tsuul
Feb 24, 2009 13:43:23 The person in question may be using the marking system legitimately. After reading your post I could see why someone might give it a 1. I wouldn't, but I'm not them.

...
or am I?

dun dun duuuunnn

There are posts with more stars, and there are posts that have been skipped. Maybe he put one star on every thread and the avg was still higher, but it wouldn't explain the obviously skipped threads.
#5
calronmoonflower
Feb 24, 2009 15:43:48 I've looked back to page 5 and the vast majority up till then seem to have 1 star with one vote or 2.5-3 stars with two votes.

It does seem that someone is doing it intensionally, and while not methodical enough to get all the posts, if they are being disruptive it should be a violation of the code of conduct under section 6.

Posting here really would do much, so try e-mailing Customer Service.
#6
baneofelves
Feb 24, 2009 15:47:45 yeah, but how could we find whoever is doing it?
#7
RUMPLESTIX
Feb 24, 2009 15:58:22 A month or two ago, I believe, the same thing was done in the FR: Running the Realms forum. I think it happens frequently. I have seens of it before in the Off Topic Tavern too, but that has been a while.
#8
Zherog
Feb 24, 2009 16:12:58 I'm surprised it hasn't happened more often, to be honest.
#9
calronmoonflower
Feb 24, 2009 18:03:08
yeah, but how could we find whoever is doing it?

The forum knows who rated each thread to prevent double voting, so customer service could find out who.
They wouldn't tell you who did it though.
#10
lord_karsus
Feb 24, 2009 21:48:22 -The "thread vote" thing is one of the stupidest features available here, especially since it doesn't even mean anything. All it does it clutter the website with golden stars left and right, and cause problems, like this. I know, for a while maybe one or two months ago, one or two regular forum trolls labeled every thread I started with 'One Star', because he/she/they don't like me, and giving my threads 'One Star' is a juvenile way to show that.
#11
RUMPLESTIX
Feb 24, 2009 21:56:30
-The "thread vote" thing is one of the stupidest features available here, especially since it doesn't even mean anything. All it does it clutter the website with golden stars left and right, and cause problems, like this. I know, for a while maybe one or two months ago, one or two regular forum trolls labeled every thread I started with 'One Star', because he/she/they don't like me, and giving my threads 'One Star' is a juvenile way to show that.

Actually, it was more than your threads. For instance, although I don't know why, the 2 stars mercenary thread had 2 votes, an average of 5.00, and five stars for a while. When the one stars started showing up, the 2 star mercenary thread dropped to four stars instead of five: 3 votes with an average of 3.67 (or 3.66 I don't remember). With 2 fives that made the third one a single star. Several other threads also received it that way from a variety of different starting posters. So, I think maybe they were more widespread than originally imagined.
#12
Webster
Feb 24, 2009 22:06:51 Thread ratings mean nothing. You don't win a prize for having a 5 star rating.

Easy enough to ignore.
#13
crimson_lancer
Feb 24, 2009 22:18:19 Oh. My. Goodness. Is this for real? Because this just informs me that once again there is someone out there joining the side of geeks who give the rest of us a bad name. Rather than actually do something useful with their free time, they'd rather spend it rating a bunch of Threads on a Website they obviously are a part of with a System that means nothing?? I mean, I could see this being done once when someone has like, half-an-hour to spare and there's nothing on TV. But really? Multiple times? I'd rather brush up on my SSB Brawl skills, or check some webcomics, or do some frickin' push-ups, for Goodness' sakes! [/rant]

Sorry, but I hate it/am depressed by it when I see yet another person using up the world's oxygen to do absolutely, 100% zilch with themselves. I'd get into the Theological side, as well, but that's probably not only not allowed, but also a bit extreme.
#14
zammm
Feb 24, 2009 22:20:20 Why does that forum (or any forum, really) even have thread rating enabled in the first place?
#15
lord_karsus
Feb 24, 2009 22:22:26
Why does that forum (or any forum, really) even have thread rating enabled in the first place?

-No one knows.
#16
RUMPLESTIX
Feb 24, 2009 22:25:47 When I first saw it done, I figured someone was just getting jollies and didn't worry too much about it. This thread just gave an opportunity to state what I noticed. Sorry, I like number games and such.Things like looking at the ratings and number of ratings to determine the possible rating entries. When anomalies such as one person rating everything a one show up I notice it. I never claimed to not be a geek.
#17
zammm
Feb 24, 2009 22:28:58
-No one knows.

Ah, all right; if there isn't a definite reason for it, then I know why--the tech team either forgot to disable it when they were creating the forum or just didn't care one way or the other and so went with the path of least resistance.

Either way, if you can gather sufficient support, it's likely you could get them to turn it off.
#18
crimson_lancer
Feb 24, 2009 22:54:06 Oh, I so hope they do. :S

'Cause what's the one thing geeks need on an anonymous website? That's right, a popularity contest!!! [/dripping sarcasm]
#19
Tsuul
Feb 24, 2009 23:53:31 Somewhere, the One Star Bandit is dry washing his hands maniacally.

I would have liked to have seen a pitchforks-and-torches response instead of a fascist lockdown of thread 'rights'. But this show will do.
#20
rinonalyrna_fathomlin
Feb 25, 2009 19:41:24
Thread ratings mean nothing.

Then why have them in the first place?

I'm not saying this at you--I concur with you and LK, and I don't really see the point in keeping the ratings if they are pointless and can be abused.
#21
celloshane
Feb 26, 2009 8:21:59
Then why have them in the first place?

I'm not saying this at you--I concur with you and LK, and I don't really see the point in keeping the ratings if they are pointless and can be abused.

If they are pointless, how can they be abused? Seriously, if the rating system isn't enforced, the only side effect is that some individuals might choose to read or ignore threads based on the rating. Such a situation is only likely to occur if the user is new to forums (which is unfortunate but would probably self-correct over time) or intentionally obtuse.
As Zammm said the rating system was probably left on by the tech team accidently, so if there are enough requests to turn it off I'm sure Webster can pass that on the CM.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Joseph_Silver Feb 24, 2009 13:14:27	Someone is rating every post in CharOp one star, including posts which have good information on new optimzation options (like my Mage's Weapon thread), requests for practical optimization, etc. Can the mods do something about this?
#2 zombie_babies Feb 24, 2009 13:29:07	I don't know if they can or not, but you can do something. Just rate each thread what you think it deserves. This will raise the star rating to a more closely representative level. It only counts one vote per user, too, so the guy doing this will not be able to counter what you do. It will be a tedious and fairly meaningless exercise, but if this is a concern to you and something the mods cannot (or can't be bothered to) assist with, it should function well enough as a "Plan B".
#3 celloshane Feb 24, 2009 13:32:48	It's annoying, but I fail to see how this actually creates a problem. Anyone logged in can choose to rate a thread. The only issue here is that few people actually do so and someone chose to rate all threads poorly. You could choose to counteract that by rating a thread highly and then the two ratings would be averaged. If it's any consolation, I don't believe many people pay attention to the ratings anyway.
#4 Tsuul Feb 24, 2009 13:43:23	The person in question may be using the marking system legitimately. After reading your post I could see why someone might give it a 1. I wouldn't, but I'm not them. ... or am I? dun dun duuuunnn There are posts with more stars, and there are posts that have been skipped. Maybe he put one star on every thread and the avg was still higher, but it wouldn't explain the obviously skipped threads.
#5 calronmoonflower Feb 24, 2009 15:43:48	I've looked back to page 5 and the vast majority up till then seem to have 1 star with one vote or 2.5-3 stars with two votes. It does seem that someone is doing it intensionally, and while not methodical enough to get all the posts, if they are being disruptive it should be a violation of the code of conduct under section 6. Posting here really would do much, so try e-mailing Customer Service.
#6 baneofelves Feb 24, 2009 15:47:45	yeah, but how could we find whoever is doing it?
#7 RUMPLESTIX Feb 24, 2009 15:58:22	A month or two ago, I believe, the same thing was done in the FR: Running the Realms forum. I think it happens frequently. I have seens of it before in the Off Topic Tavern too, but that has been a while.
#8 Zherog Feb 24, 2009 16:12:58	I'm surprised it hasn't happened more often, to be honest.
#9 calronmoonflower Feb 24, 2009 18:03:08	yeah, but how could we find whoever is doing it? The forum knows who rated each thread to prevent double voting, so customer service could find out who. They wouldn't tell you who did it though.
#10 lord_karsus Feb 24, 2009 21:48:22	-The "thread vote" thing is one of the stupidest features available here, especially since it doesn't even mean anything. All it does it clutter the website with golden stars left and right, and cause problems, like this. I know, for a while maybe one or two months ago, one or two regular forum trolls labeled every thread I started with 'One Star', because he/she/they don't like me, and giving my threads 'One Star' is a juvenile way to show that.
#11 RUMPLESTIX Feb 24, 2009 21:56:30	-The "thread vote" thing is one of the stupidest features available here, especially since it doesn't even mean anything. All it does it clutter the website with golden stars left and right, and cause problems, like this. I know, for a while maybe one or two months ago, one or two regular forum trolls labeled every thread I started with 'One Star', because he/she/they don't like me, and giving my threads 'One Star' is a juvenile way to show that. Actually, it was more than your threads. For instance, although I don't know why, the 2 stars mercenary thread had 2 votes, an average of 5.00, and five stars for a while. When the one stars started showing up, the 2 star mercenary thread dropped to four stars instead of five: 3 votes with an average of 3.67 (or 3.66 I don't remember). With 2 fives that made the third one a single star. Several other threads also received it that way from a variety of different starting posters. So, I think maybe they were more widespread than originally imagined.
#12 Webster Feb 24, 2009 22:06:51	Thread ratings mean nothing. You don't win a prize for having a 5 star rating. Easy enough to ignore.
#13 crimson_lancer Feb 24, 2009 22:18:19	Oh. My. Goodness. Is this for real? Because this just informs me that once again there is someone out there joining the side of geeks who give the rest of us a bad name. Rather than actually do something useful with their free time, they'd rather spend it rating a bunch of Threads on a Website they obviously are a part of with a System that means nothing?? I mean, I could see this being done once when someone has like, half-an-hour to spare and there's nothing on TV. But really? Multiple times? I'd rather brush up on my SSB Brawl skills, or check some webcomics, or do some frickin' push-ups, for Goodness' sakes! [/rant] Sorry, but I hate it/am depressed by it when I see yet another person using up the world's oxygen to do absolutely, 100% zilch with themselves. I'd get into the Theological side, as well, but that's probably not only not allowed, but also a bit extreme.
#14 zammm Feb 24, 2009 22:20:20	Why does that forum (or any forum, really) even have thread rating enabled in the first place?
#15 lord_karsus Feb 24, 2009 22:22:26	Why does that forum (or any forum, really) even have thread rating enabled in the first place? -No one knows.
#16 RUMPLESTIX Feb 24, 2009 22:25:47	When I first saw it done, I figured someone was just getting jollies and didn't worry too much about it. This thread just gave an opportunity to state what I noticed. Sorry, I like number games and such.Things like looking at the ratings and number of ratings to determine the possible rating entries. When anomalies such as one person rating everything a one show up I notice it. I never claimed to not be a geek.
#17 zammm Feb 24, 2009 22:28:58	-No one knows. Ah, all right; if there isn't a definite reason for it, then I know why--the tech team either forgot to disable it when they were creating the forum or just didn't care one way or the other and so went with the path of least resistance. Either way, if you can gather sufficient support, it's likely you could get them to turn it off.
#18 crimson_lancer Feb 24, 2009 22:54:06	Oh, I so hope they do. :S 'Cause what's the one thing geeks need on an anonymous website? That's right, a popularity contest!!! [/dripping sarcasm]
#19 Tsuul Feb 24, 2009 23:53:31	Somewhere, the One Star Bandit is dry washing his hands maniacally. I would have liked to have seen a pitchforks-and-torches response instead of a fascist lockdown of thread 'rights'. But this show will do.
#20 rinonalyrna_fathomlin Feb 25, 2009 19:41:24	Thread ratings mean nothing. Then why have them in the first place? I'm not saying this at you--I concur with you and LK, and I don't really see the point in keeping the ratings if they are pointless and can be abused.
#21 celloshane Feb 26, 2009 8:21:59	Then why have them in the first place? I'm not saying this at you--I concur with you and LK, and I don't really see the point in keeping the ratings if they are pointless and can be abused. If they are pointless, how can they be abused? Seriously, if the rating system isn't enforced, the only side effect is that some individuals might choose to read or ignore threads based on the rating. Such a situation is only likely to occur if the user is new to forums (which is unfortunate but would probably self-correct over time) or intentionally obtuse. As Zammm said the rating system was probably left on by the tech team accidently, so if there are enough requests to turn it off I'm sure Webster can pass that on the CM.