Squidoo Star Ratings

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 58 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #6,636 in How-To, #71,533 overall

Squidoo Star Ratings

Do people like your Squidoo lenses? Do they love your lenses? Or do they think your lenses suck? Star ratings are a way for people to give you anonymous feedback. Unfortunately, some people misuse and abuse the rating system.

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!

This is the absolute worst rating you can get. Everybody wants a 1 star rating about as much as they want week old sushi. If you get 1 star, your lens is either in bad shape, or someone decided to be a meanie.

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.

This is just about as bad as a 1 star rating. It either means that your lens sucks, or someone doesn't like you.

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 

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The Iffy 3 Star Rating 

Pretty good.

You may have a hard time getting lensmasters to agree on this one. According to Squidoo, 3 stars means "pretty darn good." According to some lensmasters, this is a worthy rating for a GOOD lens.

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?

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I 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.

good4us_all says:

I'm a big fan of positive reinforcement

Posted October 24, 2009

meetsuefrank says:

just move on.

Posted October 15, 2009

Spook says:

I just move on as what is the point of being cruel to someone who is perhaps trying their best, or may even be new? Later I may go back (if I remember) to see if there have been any changes. If there have been and I still don't like it I just move on. Having said all that I could quite easily give somebody a five star rating as a form of encouragement, but more importantly, because it's my choice and my taste. To low rate, no I'll just move on which is probably the worst thing one can do.

Posted October 06, 2009

Val_Bonney says:

I'm a newbie, so at the moment I withold my vote ... however, once I'm more confident here I will give it a low rating and some feedback, as I think this is the most helpful thing to do.

Posted July 20, 2009

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

 
view all 47 comments

The Almost Perfect 4 Star Rating 

It's great! But...

A 4 star ratings means your lens is really good. Maybe it's even really, really good. But... yeah, see, there's a "but." The rater thinks you did a splendid job, but they also think you could probably do a tiny bit better. Some raters are generous with 5 star ratings, while others want you to knock their socks off first.
  • "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 

1

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Everyone has different standards for rating lenses.

17 points

2

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Some people just give 5 stars to please a friend.

9 points

3

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People give unfair ratings to some of the best lenses.

8 points

4

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Some people do illegal 5 star exchanges.

7 points

5

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People are afraid to give less than 5 because they're not sure how anonymous it all really is

5 points

6

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People think "pretty darn good" = mediocre & "splendiferous" = not good enough - get a dictionary!

3 points

7

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Lensmasters sometimes place too much importance on star ratings.

2 points

8

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Some lenses are still being developed when they're brand new.

1 point

The Greatest 5 Star Rating 

Awesome!

Apart from leaving glowing feedback on your guestbook and emailing your lens to everyone they know, a 5 star rating is the highest compliment you can get from someone who checks out your lens. They think your lens is just spiffy. Good job!
  1. "This is totally spiffy-cool-awesome!"
  2. "I can tell you worked hard on this."
  3. This fits my standards of what a lens should be: It has X number of modules, a guestbook, pictures, original writing, etc."
  4. "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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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!