How do you FEEL about ratings given?

[moe_p]

May I presume to take your pulse on the issue?

 

Has anybody taken a few seconds to carefully analyse what they hope

for from the ratings system? Because it seems to me there is a lot of

emotional involvement in the issue and if there was more thought to

expectations, conflict might not arise so often.

 

"Please do not rate my photo if you will rate outside the bounds of

what I consider acceptable for my picture", is what I think would

suit the continual complainants. What they often seem to do is pester

the rater to justify a low rating. But people are unlikely to accept

what they actually don't want to hear.

 

What happens with ratings for people? I wouldn't feel ratings told me

a lot, because they wouldn't tell my "why" or be constructive. I

could let slip a smile at seeing a rating rise, taking it as

appreciative but I would really hang on for the comments. If I got

bad ratings without comments I would find it vexatious but pay little

respect to the raters. You'll notice it doesn't sound like I upload

photos, and I don't. I'm not enticed and already know the points of

my own photos. Neither have I yet given a numerical rating, because I

had not seen the point of it.

 

Is there a competitive element involved in the averages, rather than

a simple fear of rejection? I have seen a call for not allowing

members who don't upload photos to rate others' photos. This seems to

me to have the subtext of "Only upset me if you are ready to have

your own sandcastle stepped on". I would hope photo.net is not tit-

for-tat.

 

I am not putting myself up here in a competitive spirit, I want to

understand the photo.net culture here more fully.

[cgo]

If you search Photo.net you will find that a discussion like the one your starting has taken place at least once a week for the last number of months. I don't think we need another one ...

[jimvanson]

Moe...go to the archives; its all been said a thosand times before...

[james_oneill]

Most people value comments more than numbers. <br>

The problem with a low number on its own is it feels like it carries the message "I hate your work and I can't be bothered to tell you why". A high number carries the message "I love your work and I can't be bothered to tell you why". That is as unhelpful but people don't feel hurt by it. <p> Brian has said requiring comments just generated "Great" or "Yuk" which was no help. Some people have a good eye, but aren't great with words - especially as not everyone is working in their first language. Similarly there's no corelation between taking a good picture and knowing a good picture when you see it, so demanding uploads to earn the right to rate is not helpful either. <p>

 

When people give a rates to a picture I'm interested in I follow it up by seeing who they are - what they upload, say, and rate highly. If someone never says anything, doesn't upload anything, and has very few (or no) pictures on their "highly rated" page then you have no idea about them - so you don't know whether you should value their opinion or not.<p>

Nudes are a large proportion of what I've uploaded, so if one gets a 2/2 from someone and find they only upload flowers, and their top pictures are flowers I know I probably won't please them. Similarly if I get a 6/6 from someone and flesh features heavily every picture in their top scores then I know they're too easily pleased.

<br> In the last week one person has scored 4 of my pictures the first 2 high and the last 2 lower. I had a look at their top pictures page and I was proud to find my pictures in a collection of great pictures in all sorts of styles. So when this critic rates a picture I take notice.

 

Some people take the scores very seriously, some don't. To keep my portfolio size down I periodically cull the pictures with lowest scores.

 

It's a little dangerous to say you know all the good and bad points of your own pictures, and not rating means your views of the good and bad don't go into the melting pot.... It also means you learn from other peoples pictures, but you're not putting anything back.

[erin_____grasshopper__rice]

Where's the Vino? Grab the popcorn! It's another one!

[LenMarriott]

Moe, It's easy, the closer to 7 they rate my photos the more sophisticated they are; the closer to 1, the less sophisticated they are! :) Best, LM.

[seven]

It's popping, Grasshopper; and the red's breathing. I'm sending over a glass of chardonnay........and a bucketload of vitamin B. Let the party begin.

[h._p.]

Nothing wrong with a little ratings row every week. I've learned the most AMAZING words from them :-)

[jimvanson]

Or to quote Mark...(knopfler) - Baloney Again!

[russell_parker1]

I would like to atleast hear why someone rated the pic either really low or high. One of my pics was given a 1 1 and the next lowest was like a 5 4 So I would liked to have known why it was rated that low by that person...

 

Russell

[brad_hiltbrand]

I wish I did not Feel anything about ratings, but as a flawed

human being, I will admit that I like high ratings, and loathe low

ratings, particularly when given by those with no photographs of

their own on display, or displaying many with relatively high

ratings that really deserve a less than average number.

 

Like many, I do not usually rate photographs I do not like. In fact I

have not rated any photographs for several months now. I

comment on those I like a great deal, and on those rare

occasions where I think I have something constructive to add.

 

But the recent changes in the rate recent photos section has

resulted in a number of low ratings on my photos by relatively

new members without a clue, few if any photographs of their

own, and has caused my general frustration and annoyance with

the ratings system, and my furthered my doubts about the utility

of using this site to display photographs. If the only result is

ratings, and few if any constructive comments, then I can not

LEARN anything, and am posting photographs only for the vain

purpose of receiving high ratings. But that is devoid of any

meaning.

 

I am resisting the impulse to start seriously rating all

photographs in the 'rate recent photographs' section in a honest

and straightforward manner. If I start rating again, I promise to

provide at least some comment on why I rated a photograph low

or high. I have not rated anyone in a retaliatory manner. Several

months ago, when I was new, I was tempted to do just that. One

long time member was highly annoyed with a rating of 3 that I

gave to a photograph that had also recieved a couple of 7/7's,

and challenged my rating in the photographs comment section,

and by (courteous) email. So I posted my reasons and stuck by

my rating. I know I made an enemy that day, and that saddens

me because I really do like most of that photographers images.

 

When inspired by a low rating to retaliate, I looked through folks

folders looking for a phtograph to rate in an honest manner, and

ended up giving much higher ratings than I had recieved for what

I considered poor work. I did not rate obviously bad photographs

at all. Then I stopped rating altogether even though I liked

recieving ratings and comments on my own submissions.

 

Maybe it is time to use the ratings feature in a meaningul way,

honestly rating all photographs in the random recently

photographs display, AND providing comments. No doubt this

will result in retaliatory ratings, but so what. As it stands, ratings

mean next to nothing. The system is abused by known

'mate-raters' and by know-nothing newbies. If I start taking the

time to honestly rate and comment, it will no doubt have a

seriously negative effect on my own ratings. Although that does

not really matter, doing what I propose will take a lot of time, and

I will probably tire of rating and commenting, AND posting any

more photos of my own here.

 

So I guess I do FEEL strongly about ratings, but wish I didn't.

[kathy_landes]

Have you all gone mad! I honestly can not believe all the "to do" about ratings. Do you honestly think just because you can take a photograph that YOU feel is wonderful, that this somehow gives you the authority to dictate what makes a good photograph for everyone to rate. Yes, of course the eliments of good composition,lighting and exposure must be their, but guess what people this isn't rocket science. Many many people do have a "Good Eye" and know what they like. Divercity in images is a must or we will all be striving for the same thing. How boring, for how could we then "rate" ourselves superior (as many of you seem to do) if we all score a 10

Do you think everyone liked Picasso's work?

[markplawchan]

Ultimately, the only image rating that matters is if someone is willing to part with his/her hard-earned money to own the image..I call THAT a 7.

The rest is just "temperature taking"....

[n_p]

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation.tcl?presentation_id=215219"> This guy </a> is beside himself after receiving his first ever 7/7!