Consider this: star ratings versus up or down voting

For your consideration, I present the following article, and the blog post it links to:

http://techcrunch.com/2009/09/22/you...s-are-useless/

I encourage our developers to gather the same information that the YouTube developers did: count the number of n-star ratings to Mission Architect arcs. If the result is the same as it was in YouTube's case, I would also encourage our developers to consider switching to an up-or-down rating system for Mission Architect arcs, as YouTube did. Hall of Fame would need to be retooled appropriately, of course, and existing starred ratings would need to be converted into up-or-down votes by some criterion.

I would like to send this article as a PM to an appropriate developer. Is there a redname whose main purview is Mission Architect backend systems?

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@SPTrashcan
Avatar by Toxic_Shia
Why MA ratings should be changed from stars to "like" or "dislike"
A better algorithm for ordering MA arcs

I don't know for sure, but I'd recommend pohsyb, at the very least he can pass it to the person who should see it.

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"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill

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The Abrams is one of the most effective war machines on the planet. - R. Lee Ermy.

Q: How do you wreck an Abrams?

A: You crash into another one.

Thank you. I will send this link on to pohsyb and Dr. Aeon.

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@SPTrashcan
Avatar by Toxic_Shia
Why MA ratings should be changed from stars to "like" or "dislike"
A better algorithm for ordering MA arcs

Oh, that's why they changed it.

...I still don't like it.

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A certain website that I will not name for its potentially inflammatory nature did this in about February last year, and it was, it has to be said, a really great idea.

There needs to be a weighting, though. Up or down ratings need to be weighted inversely to the number of votes the arc's got, otherwise established arcs get an undue advantage over new arcs. (Though obviously a new arc with one up vote shouldn't outstrip an old arc with 900 up votes and 5 down votes; the weighting would need to be a bit more complex than that.)

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I agree that a simple sum or average of votes would not be the best sort order. Sites that use up/down voting will generally weight those votes based on a large number of factors to determine a final score.

My overarching complaint against the rating system as it exists now is that it is embarrassingly naive, given the amount of prior work done on rating systems and the number of better implementations available for examination elsewhere. If nothing else, the previous forum software's silly and useless five-star thread rating system should have stood out as an example of what not to do, especially in contrast to the current forum software's reputation system (which is, if far from perfect, at least marginally more useful). Switching the user-side choice from stars to up/down voting would be one step in the right direction. There are others.

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@SPTrashcan
Avatar by Toxic_Shia
Why MA ratings should be changed from stars to "like" or "dislike"
A better algorithm for ordering MA arcs