Low votes in squidoo should be banned!

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 40 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #683 in Squidoo Tips, #121,530 overall

1 star ratings suck! But are they fair?

I think people should lighten up about the star ratings. Even a low star rating will boost your lensrank (a bit). So any rating is better than NO rating. Disagree? Tell me!

[That said: it does anger me when a good lens that hasn't been voted on yet gets a one star rating without an explanation or something...]

What the stars mean to me 

Ratings have meanings

0 stars
Squidoo members did not think the lens was interesting enough to vote on. For non-squidoo members it just meant they couldn't vote.
BTW: star ratings CAN be changed. REALLY. I've done it.1 star
Squidoo members who saw this lens DID think it was interesting enough to vote on, but they hated it.
2 stars
Squidoo members who saw this lens thought it was interesting enough to vote on, but they hated it.
3 stars
Squidoo members who saw this lens thought it was interesting enough to vote on, but they did not like it.
4 stars
Squidoo members who saw this lens did like it, but thought that it could be improved.
5 stars
Squidoo members who saw this lens loved it.

What the stars officially mean 

Squidoo says the star ratings mean...

Officially the stars mean the following:

  1. I can do better

  2. Jury's Out

  3. Pretty Darn Good

  4. Splendiferous

  5. Awesometastic


Based on that, only a one-star rating could be seen as an insult. Yet I've seen whole threads in squidu devoted to complaints about low ratings.

Star ratings effect lensrank... 

featured lens Lensrank explained (really)

Well, squidoo lensrank has, by common consensus (at least) the following factors: Lens freshness. sales made through money making modules like amazon and ebay. visitor numbers. star ratings. favorites. whether you've been blessed by an angel. whethe...

So what do you think: should people give low (1) -star ratings? 

Should people give one star ratings at all?

Loading Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

Yes, I want to know when my lens stinks!

ChapelHillFiddler says:

I rarely give a low rating but occasionally I come upon a lens which is so abominable it makes me angry and then yes, one star.

Posted November 28, 2009

spunkyduckling says:

Of course but it could really offend when you get a rating that low even a three two. I hate it when someone rates a five then the next person comes along and rate it a seven. Squidoo should have a system where your highest rating is the one to be shown not the lowest. But who cares right. Maybe its just me. And maybe it would be nice if those same people came back when your lens is improved and rate it higher.

Posted November 12, 2009

Astrieanna says:

If you have a five-star rating system, that gives you five options to say how good you think a lens is. If all you're going to use is 5-star - well, that's limiting things to a "thumbs-up" system - you wouldn't even get a "thumbs-down".

Ratings should be based on merit - is there content there, not just links or products? Do they write understandably (not an overload of grammar mistakes/typos)?
They should not be based on your agreement with the idea (even tho that can be hard to avoid) -- it should be on the quality of the argument.

5-stars should only be used when you finish and don't have anything to add, or any more questions, or anything that needs to be fixed.

1-stars are for spammy lenses or lenses made of a couple linked lists and ebay searches. Something that took 5 minutes to make and doesn't help at all.

Posted June 04, 2009

naturalskinproducts says:

We should be getting ranked based on the impact our lens had on the person doing the rating, and not on how much "heart and soul" or creativity we had to use to make that impact. The truth is, what we've prepared might still be worth very little to one reader yet be exactly what another reader was looking for. On the other hand, rating should not be anonymous. I think our ID should accompany our rating, and I think our ID should show "has rated (this many) lenses; average rating given is(this many) stars." (IE - has rated 7 lenses, average rating 3 stars)

Posted April 08, 2009

JustBon-Crochet-Designs says:

I think I would kinda know if my lenses stink. If someone doesn't like the subject matter, then that's another story. It doesn't mean the lens (or group) stinks though.

Posted March 21, 2009

AdrienneJenkins says:

I rarely use the one star rating but there are a few lenses that look kind of spammy or that people put zero effort in. Usually it's people trying to sell some sort of product and they only have 1 lens on their lensography. I think as lensmasters who are trying to prevent lenses from being banned from Google, we want to keep these lenses out of the spotlight and use the power of the * to do so.

Posted February 07, 2009

Jon_Lyles says:

To me a 2 rating means you need to put more work into it. A 3 rating means the lensmaster did a good job. 4s should go for above average lenses. 5s should go for really exceptional lenses. I've rated lenses at 4 and favorited it. I agree with earlier comments about high ratings given out too easy. If only high ratings are given then the ratings don't mean too much. Seems like almost every site I go to has a overall five rating. On the other hand I agree with Spirituality that sending an email instead of a 1 or 2 would probably do more to help the lensmaster.

Posted January 13, 2009

boshemia says:

Only one person has given me one star ratings on most of my lenses but they weren't voting on the lens, it's really just a game. It would be nice if people weren't allowed to give consistent one star ratings just because they are immature and don't like a person for one reason or another but I'll live... if my lens stinks I'm fine with that but I wish we could block certain people from voting on or even seeing your lenses.

Posted January 05, 2009

Jimmie says:

What's the use of a rating system if the only rating is GREAT? It's totally pointless to me.

Posted October 21, 2008

ParentCoachGTD says:

Seems like the 5s are handed out very easily. Would be cool if the ratings were actually based more on merit. Since so many get fives, it feels like I'd be insulting someone to give them lower. That said, it is hard to picture how this would get going even handedly without some sort of organized Squid campaign to encourage change all at once.

Posted September 17, 2008

No, I don't want to get your negative feedback - it's just so negative!

blue22d says:

Maybe...I am less likely to give only one, but none if it is that bad. I feel if they have the basics (modules, good intro, guestbook, a couple text boxes and maybe a link) they have tried and deserve more than one star. It is better to tell them what is wrong if they have a guestbook.

Posted September 29, 2009

Tipi says:

I always give a 5* and most of the time I Favorite. ~ I don't see that stars really make a difference on a very good lens, and if someone wants to rate one like that low...they have a problem that I don't understand. Maybe its kind of like vandalism, which would really be a shame for them in the long run. I truly believe that what goes around comes around. So! Its all good!!! :)

Posted September 23, 2009

ladyrane says:

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. Give me feedback on the critique section of SquidU; don't blow my chances of getting anything good out of the lens by giving people the impression it sucks before they've even read halfway into it.

Posted September 20, 2009

OhMe says:

I never rate anything below a five. It is five or nothing for me. Who am I to judge someone else's work and there are just too many factors that enter into it. I would be too afraid that the fact that I didn't like the subject would effect my vote and that is not right.

Posted August 13, 2009

spirituality says:

Some people do rating exchanges - it's not the norm, but it does happen.
Other than that: we have HQ word on it that even a rating of 1-star gives a lensrank boost, not making it lower. However getting little traffic will get your lens a lower rating, so if the two coincide, you'd get lower ratings and might blame the one star rating. That rating probably wasn't enough to keep lensrank at the high level it had been because of the five star ratings.

Remember: any lensrank boost is temporary, including ratings.

Posted May 01, 2009

sandyspider says:

After a string of 5* ratings and not much traffic, one low rating can easily be push your lens down. I think some people do this out of spite or it is a game. I have never given out a low rating. If I think their lens don't measure up, I might (which I have often) contacted them on how to make improvements. I'm OK if someone does the same for me.

But I do believe the star ratings can be a popularity contest. I have read lenses that I didn't think were up to pare, Yet they had a high number of star 5 ratings. Why? Popularity?

Posted April 30, 2009

says:

I like to think Squidoo is an overall "happy" place. People are nice, give "5"'s because we are all just a bunch of cool people, but not so. I shudder to think people rate below a 5 to be weird or spiteful and I think this happens.

Posted April 24, 2009

Mortira says:

I didn't have a problem with the star system until someone decided they didn't like me (or my work?) and 1 starred many of my lenses. I worry about what the lower ratings say to readers about the content they are about to see.

Posted March 20, 2009

Dragon82 says:

I think I've just received 1 stars on several lenses because a person has an issue with the company that helps the Musicians I've listed, and nothing to do with the lens itself. I think people should be forced to leave a comment with a low rating so the rating can be removed if it's not appropriate :(

Posted March 06, 2009

lollyj says:

I'm torn. On one hand, I do want to know what people really think of my efforts. On the other hand, personally, I refuse to give low ratings when someone has put their heart, time, energy into a lens. The stars are just one part of the process. I will NEVER give one star to anyone because each person's creativity takes different forms.

Posted March 05, 2009

 
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High trees catch the wind 

Dutch society is very egalitarian. Being different is frowned upon. 'Acting normal is always good enough'. One of our sayings is:

"High Trees catch wind" - which means that once a person gets famous, distinguishes him or herself, they will be criticized.

I wonder if that's not behind the low star ratings that many giant squids complain about.
It's why Oprah gets criticized for trying a new diet and talking about it.
It's why Gandhi gets bad press for trying to keep peace.
And it's why (us) giant squids get 1-star ratings for 5-star lenses: jealousy.

Nothing pretty about it. But it does sort of compensate for the excess of positive attention these same people we also get.

How do you feel about a 1 star rating? 

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How do you feel about a two star rating? 

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How do you feel about a three star rating? 

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How do you feel about a four star rating? 

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How do you feel about FIVE star ratings? 

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People who vote 1-star consistently WILL be banned

People abusing the rating system by consistently giving lenses one star, will be banned from voting.

Have some of your best lenses gotton one star ratings? 

Did some b* give very good, high rating lenses of yours low votes?

Some people give 1 star ratings to lenses that don't deserve that by any normal measure. Have you experienced that?

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So, should 1-star ratings be banned? 

People that give too many 1-star ratings do get their rating-abilities taken away. Should squidoo be more strict in their dealings with 1-star raters?

Should squidoo find a way to filter out undeserved 1-star ratings?

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Yes

spunkyduckling says:

Yes because one star ratings is extremely low

Posted November 12, 2009

OhMe says:

I don't know what the answer is but hope that Squidoo could figure out a way to keep people from giving 1-star ratings.

Posted August 13, 2009

Mortira says:

It would be great if 1 star ratings could somehow be 'washed out' if they are applied to lenses that have otherwise good ratings.

Posted March 20, 2009

julcal says:

would be great if they could, but do they have the time and the technology? Sounds like quite an undertaking.

Posted March 05, 2009

lollyj says:

The same thing happens on Amazon for the same reason -- often sour grapes. Poor rankings are given to good books by people with a sour outlook. If someone gives ME a one star ranking on Squidoo, I would probably believe my lens stinks. If an excellent giant squid lens receives one star, I would know it was for a negative reason. I think it would be difficult and time consuming to weed out people who deliberately down-rate lenses. I don't have the answer, but Amazon successfully cracked down on sneaky raters so maybe Squidoo can too, somehow.

Posted March 05, 2009

No

blue22d says:

No. I believe it gets our attention and makes us aware. We might decided to give it another look and tweak it and make it better. We are big folks and we can take it.

Posted September 29, 2009

Flynn_the_Cat says:

No.
Some people aren't motivated to give praise, and may only give feedback if they think something needs improvement.
Some people are immature, but - whether they know it or not - are still helping the recipients.

Or yes. And if yes, it should apply to those who only give five stars as well. The rankings may be equally false or self-selected, and - while being less damaging to the recipients feelings, may be giving excessive (XD) lens rank boosts.

Posted September 28, 2009

Astrieanna says:

Everyone has an opinion -- the only way to do this that couldn't be worked around would to have someone /look/ are each 1-star rated lens -- or at each disputed one. I just don't think this is a big enough problem to merit that. Other people will visit the lens and things will work out.

The fact that even a 1-star rating boosts lens rank already helps this - boost in lens rank makes it more likely that someone else will see and rate the lens with what it deserves.

Anyway, star ratings are really tiny in general - I usually don't even notice what a lens is ranked until I scroll back up to rank it.

Posted June 04, 2009

FlorenceArt says:

Pardon me, but isn't this a rather silly question? If the rating system stays as it is, then there are 5 possible ratings and it would be just crazy to disable one of them. And next, will 2-star rating become the next 1-star rating?

When I first rated a lens, I gave it 4 stars, because I thought it was cool but not stellar. After that I noticed that most people seem to give 5 stars or nothing, so I do the same. But I think it's rather silly. If everybody is afraid of giving less than 5 stars, then let's replace the rating system with just one "I like it" button.

The whole thing is just a pointless popularity contest anyway. What I hate about so-called social networking is how much it promotes hypocrisy and meaningless competition.

Posted May 20, 2009

JustBon-Crochet-Designs says:

In balance, I believe the rating system works well. There will always be the few that will abuse it. My only gripe is that if someone wants to leave 1 or 2 stars, then they should be prompted to comment on the lens as to why they've left that rating, otherwise the rating won't be recorded. At the end of the day, all ratings big or small boost a lensrank anyway.

Posted March 21, 2009

 
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What issues with star ratings did I miss? 

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  • Reply
    spunkyduckling spunkyduckling Nov 12, 2009 @ 9:56 am
    I haven't gotten one star ratings on five star rates but I've gotten like a four and I think a three. Of course its the persons personal choice but still is it fair? Has jealousy been allowed to creep in when they rate? We'll never know now shall we? Thanks.
  • Reply
    tandemonimom tandemonimom Nov 11, 2009 @ 8:56 am
    If I think a lens deserves a 1 or 2 star rating, I won't rate it - but that's just me! I don't think the system should be abolished. There are ways to get around undeserved low ratings.
  • Reply
    TimArends TimArends Oct 19, 2009 @ 11:10 am
    Those people who say no lens should be judged negatively by its visitors must not be involved in sports, because all of sports involve rating, judging and scoring someone. One side is the winner, one side is the loser. The "anti-rating" folks must not be married, because getting married (or even going out on dates) involves rating other people. They must not be involved in business, because all of business involves judging products and competitors, and being judged. I could give a thousand other examples, but you get the point.
  • Reply
    Cherrybomb2009 Cherrybomb2009 Aug 21, 2009 @ 8:41 pm
    You didn't miss anything. I've been wondering about this ratings system. People love to say it has little effect on your lenses, But when no one or very few people are bothering to rate your lenses at all (and giving it just one star when they do), it makes a BIG difference, as far as I'm concerned.

    I second what OhMe wrote. Send me a message about what I should improve, but then come back and view my lens (to see if I took your advice) and give me an appropriate star rating.
  • Reply
    OhMe OhMe Aug 13, 2009 @ 5:49 am
    I would much rather someone contact me personally and let me know what they think I could do to improve a lens rather than stick the dreaded one star on there. Good discussion.
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