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[POLL] Archive Rating and Review Feedback


TidalDragon

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At the moment, it isn't possible to sort by the number of likes - the number of likes/ratings actually doesn't show up at all, just the aggregate result. We're looking into changing that, but as it stands, you can't tell whether the thumbs up or five stars is from twenty ratings or two.

 

As Kevin said, I really want to encourage everyone to think about this from both sides - as readers and writers, and regarding pros and cons. There's still a lot of talk about trolls and wanting to protect people from them, but I think that Alexis's point is right on the nose - sometimes, people will be critical of your writing. The HPFT archive will have active and dedicated staff members who will deal with trolls.

 

There are absolutely cons to ratings, and Laura articulated some of them nicely. At this point, though, I'd really like trolls to be taken out of this conversation, and I also want to urge people to consider the most likely scenario rather than the worst one - and as Kevin said, I don't see the most likely scenario being dozens of random trolls converging on HPFT and spending hours leaving 1-star ratings.

 

Edit: It's also important to keep in mind that if a lot of people are leaving ratings, even five mediocre ones are unlikely to drastically impact the overall stars or whether or not the story has a thumbs up. IMO, what's far more likely is that almost every story will end up clustered in the 3.5-5 stars (if stars) or with a thumbs up (if likes/dislikes), which will dilute the meaning of both systems considerably.

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I really don't have a long opinion of this, but I kind of agree with everyone. Maybe we could have likes/dislikes and star/number ratings, but they could be turned off on the author's settings. So, say I wanted reviews and star ratings on my story, but I didn't want likes/dislikes, I'd just click "off".

 

Also, I wouldn't want an average star/number rating or how many likes/dislikes my story got on the "page" that introduces a story, because I feel like people would judge my story based on other's opinions that aren't even reviews, just because I only got say 3 stars. But, it'd be nice for the person who reviews my story to leave a rating attached to their review (like HPFF). So I think for ratings that it should be similar to HPFF.

 

I'm not sure if that makes sense, but that's my opinion.

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Maybe we could have likes/dislikes and star/number ratings, but they could be turned off on the author's settings.

 

This could be a happy medium, authors making their own choices about ratings, but it is unfortunately not possible as the review system is a sitewide setting.

 

because I feel like people would judge my story based on other's opinions that aren't even reviews

 

Again, it is possible to require a review to accompany ratings if that alleviates your concern.

 

just because I only got say 3 stars.

 

We understand the concern with clicks, reads, etc. But many incredibly popular works of fanfiction and fiction in general are not acclaimed by reviewers for various reasons, but nonetheless reach (and even top) bestseller lists. Think of three (3) and even two (2) star movies you love. Think of people's "guilty pleasures" that are actually shared with millions. Likewise, I think as Branwen suggested in her edit above, it is far more likely for stories to cluster at the higher end of any rating scale than at the bottom given the nature of the fanfiction community - even the vast readerships at AO3, FF.net, and HPFF, all of which are quite diverse both in membership and preferences are not frequently out there panning stories.

 

But, it'd be nice for the person who reviews my story to leave a rating attached to their review (like HPFF). So I think for ratings that it should be similar to HPFF.

 

The mechanics of leaving a review is essentially the same as at HPFF (if not quite as snazzy with character counters, etc. yet). The only difference is that the results of said ratings are publicly viewable as stars. Accordingly, I would encourage people to consider, especially in light of the fact that members here are likely to be the majority of our membership for quite some time in the short run (which is, in the life cycle of a website that we hope will become a go-to place for this fan community, is not actually that short), how often you have rated a story using that system as low as some have expressed fears about.

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Thank you for these answers Kevin! It helps my understanding of everything.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe you could give some writers the choice of having stars on their stories for reviewers to use but making it optional.

 

So people who are nervous about what they write, or do it in good faith but don't want harsh arbitrary marks given can opt out.

 

But people like me who wouldn't mind indicators of where my writing is at could keep it in?

 

So like, it is a box you leave ticked or unticked when you set up your story.

 

For me personally:

 

I honestly don't care if someone gives me 1 star, and as much as I value the community aspect of the site, people should be honest about the writing they read.

 

Flamers and other abusive people are no more than trolls and I have no issue with such reviews being deleted and the users being banned.

 

But honest feedback to improve writing can be constructive and critical.

 

I use fan fiction to improve my OF writing and also because I made some genuine friends on here.

 

If people thought my wrok was 2 stars or 5 stars it wouldn't change my opinion of them. What they write and how constructive it was to helping me would be all that mattered.

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I never did leave a post here though I meant to. Even though I write (and a lot) I consider myself primarily a reader of fanfic. I'm out on the rating system because I know that I personally wouldn't read anything under four stars. It's who I am. So I'd miss all of those three star stories out there that are incredible, but down voted for arbitrary reasons. We've got really talented writers and a star system might stop writers from experimenting with new techniques (epistolary, dialogue only, etc) because non writing readers may think it's difficult to read. I don't even think it has anything to do with whether or not readers will downvote, I think it's the idea that writers are already expressing fear that readers might downvote. I think writers might shy away from controversial endings and wham bam impact chapters for fear of backlash or negative points and I really don't want quality of the story I'm reading to suffer because authors don't wanna get too wild with it. I genuinely think that any feedback you're looking for should be accessible in reviews or through requested critiques.

 

That being said, if we do have a system I'd rather it be a star system because stars are cute.

 

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I think Paula makes a good point. I don't read fic very often and I think having a star rating would actually add to that. On the very rare occasion I'm looking for a fic to read, I probably won't even look at stories with less than five stars. As a reader, it's great! It's pointing me to good stories that I'll likely enjoy without having to read through poor writing or characterization when I just want to get lost in a story. Also I'm kind of a snob.

 

The more I'm thinking about this the more I like it, actually. Right now I judge stories by the number of reviews it has, because it's been drilled into me that reviews are a reward you get for good writing. The more reviews it has the better the story is likely to be. The problem with that thinking is that it discourages thoughtful, constructive reviews, and I think it discourages people from asking for critique as well. I know when I first got back into fic I was super hesitant to request a review because it felt like I buying them, or cheating in some way. In a way, the stars would feel like a more genuine adulation than reviews. Readers are already judging stories, the stars seem like a more objective way to do that than review count, especially if you could rate without reviewing. I don't review as often as I'd like because I don't have the time, so being able to rate a story and go would be a huge plus.

 

I think it'd be nice as a writer too, because you'd get a better idea of what works for people and what doesn't, which is especially helpful if you're looking to publish OF some time in the future.

 

I understand the concern about trolls, and that is certainly the first thing that crossed my mind, but knowing the culture we have here, I doubt that will really be an issue. Everyone here is kind, thoughtful, and considerate, and I don't think anyone would abuse the rating system. Obviously that doesn't account for randos online or new members of the community, but I'd like to think that our culture of kindness would be pervasive enough that abuse of the rating system would be minimal.

 

I think a bigger concern we would have is people giving 5 stars to everything, which is totally what I would be doing. And that's only really a problem if we really want the star ratings to be indicative of quality.

 

I feel like this isn't a well organized post at all but here are my thoughts on it.

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