Squidoo Star Ratings
The purpose of this lens is to explain star ratings on Squidoo. We'll go over how they affect your lenses, what compels people to give 1 or 5 star ratings, why you shouldn't exchange 5 star ratings, and rating abuse.
Do Star Ratings Affect Your Lensrank?
Not really, or at least not very much. Star ratings are nice perks, but they don't have a lot of significance when it comes to lensrank. It's just one of many factors, secondary to things like traffic and lens freshness. Some lensmasters claim that any kind of rating is good for your lens in terms of lensrank.Mostly, star ratings are just another way for readers to express their opinions. Your lensrank is determined by stuff like traffic, outbound clicks, and earnings.
So if someone gives you an undeserved 1 star rating, you don't have to worry about it dragging your lens down. If you still feel an overwhelming urge to track the meanie down and give him what for, most lensmasters will sympathize with you.
The Dreaded 1 Star Rating
This Sucks!
Possible Translations:
- "I can't even begin to describe how badly your lens sucks!"
- "I hate your lens because it supports George Bush/Hillary Clinton/creationism/evolution/etc. I'm going to show you just how disgusted I am with your opinions."
- "I'm jealous of the fact that your lens is doing so well. Instead of building a lens that's just as good as yours, I'm going to be a poopy-head and give your lens 1 star."
- "I'm mad because you didn't accept my irrelevant and low-quality lens into your group, so I'm dinging your lenses!"
Even the Best Lenses Get 1 Star Ratings
Some people have nothing better to do than tear down other people's efforts. If someone feels threatened enough by your lens to 1-star it, that's almost a compliment.
The Measly 2 Star Rating
It still sucks.
Possible Translations:
- "You need to add more content, customize your modules, and learn how to spell."
- "You really didn't spend much time on this, did you?"
- "I'm a jerk. Take that!"
Star Rating Poll
The Iffy 3 Star Rating
Pretty good.
Then you have others who interpret a 3 star rating to be "mediocre" or "poor." It could also mean that the rater thinks your lens stinks but is too nice to give you anything less than a 3.
Possible Translations:
- "Your lens has potential, but it could still use more work. You need to add more stuff or make it more interesting."
- "It's OK, but I don't feel particularly enlightened."
- "The information is solid, but the writing has about as much personality as a rock."
- "When I give a lens 3 stars, it means I think it's pretty good! Stop questioning my motives, dagnabbit!"
War of the Ratings!
When you see a poorly made lens, do you give it a low rating, or do you withhold your vote?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byI blast it with the low rating it deserves!
Kit-Kitty says:
That depends, if it looks finished and isn't very good I will often rate it with a low rating, if it looks like its still under construction... I move on.
Posted December 30, 2008
MexicoLarry says:
I only give bad ratings for lenses that are not in the spirit of Squidoo - for example, today i found a lens promoting a scam.
Posted June 20, 2008
Cinetech says:
I give low ratings when it's deserved, but only after the lens has been up for a while. Is there any other easy way to let people know that they need to improve their lenses? Rating lenses only 5 stars or nothing is really unfair.
Posted June 07, 2008
Noadi says:
If the lens looks like it's still being worked on and it's lens freshness is recent I won't rate the lens. A lens that looks compelte but is really bad or a lens that is incomplete and hasn't been republished recently I give a poor rating to.
Posted June 05, 2008
spirituality says:
It depends. If the lens looks unfinished, I don't rate it. If it looks finished (lots of modules, actual text etc.), but has spammy links for instance, I may give it a low rating.
Posted April 24, 2008
I just move on.
Believe2255 says:
I have yet to give someone a low rating. If it's a bad lens I just move on. What is the point of giving a low rating? If I find a lens that I feel deserves a high rating
(you can pretty much tell when someone put their heart and soul into a lens),then I will take the time to rate it, leave a comment and possibly favor it.
Posted May 14, 2009
tandemonimom says:
I usually rate only 4 or 5 stars; if I don't think it's worth that, I won't rate. The one exception is: I'll give 1 star to an overtly spammy, scammy lens.
Posted April 05, 2009
mothersdayflowers2 says:
withhold my vote. Don't like ruining peoples ratings.
Posted April 03, 2009
GoodBug says:
My mother always told me "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I pause my finger and move on to a more interesting lens.
Posted March 25, 2009
KateWilder says:
I withhold my vote unless there is a blatant violation of Squid rules or etiquette. I'm into making people feel appreciated and valued for their hard efforts; sometimes a person's best is the best they can do.
Posted February 12, 2009
The Almost Perfect 4 Star Rating
It's great! But...
- "Very spiffy! However, I think it would better if you added interactive content/a guestbook/subheadings/more pictures/etc."
- "It's great, really smashing, but it lacks a certain... je ne sais quoi."
- "It'd be PERFECT if you'd just move the guestbook module down to the bottom of the lens instead of leaving it in the middle like that."
Problems with Star Ratings
People are afraid to give less than 5 because they're not sure how anonymous it all really is
5 points
People think "pretty darn good" = mediocre & "splendiferous" = not good enough - get a dictionary!
3 points
The Greatest 5 Star Rating
Awesome!
- "This is totally spiffy-cool-awesome!"
- "I can tell you worked hard on this."
- This fits my standards of what a lens should be: It has X number of modules, a guestbook, pictures, original writing, etc."
- "I could use this as a reference!"
Did You Know?
You can always change your vote. If you make a mistake, you can fix it just by clicking on the correct star.
When lensmasters improve their lenses, you can always go back and give them a new rating.
Don't Do Rate Swaps
The "rate my lens and I'll rate yours" deals are a big no-no on Squidoo. It's perfectly fine to ask people to look at your lens and give feedback, but it's bad form to offer to do star exchanges.The Squidoo team also claims they're working on changes that could negatively impact rate-swappers.
Latest Posts from Little Squid that Could
Little Squid that Could is a blog where I occasionally post tips for building and promoting Squidoo lenses. Be sure to stop by!
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Comment on star ratings, and feel free to rate this lens. ;)
Alouette wrote...
Thanks for a thorough explanation of the relevance or lack of it for star ratings.
Posted June 18, 2009
moneymakingsystemsreviews wrote...
Thanks for your nice explanation :) does make me feel better. There was someone keep going around and rated all of my lenses 1 star!
Posted June 11, 2009
tandemonimom wrote...
A very helpful look into the rating system! Thanks! (And ... okay, 5*****!)
Posted April 05, 2009
Mortira wrote...
A very excellent explaination of the star ratings. I really liked your different definitions of what each star 'could' mean. It's true, every person's idea of 5 stars is different. I like to think of 5 stars as "Keep up the good work!", and anything less means it's time to do some tweaking.
5 stars ;)
Posted February 12, 2009
Clipart By Jeff Bucchino
The cartoons you see on this lens were created by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws." If you'd like to see more of his work, be sure to visit his website: Free Cartoon Clipart by the Wizard of Draws! 
