Thread Ratings / User rankings

[tommac]

Can thread ratings and user rankings be turned on?

[antoniseb]

Originally Posted by tommac

Can thread ratings and user rankings be turned on?

I don't think they will make this forum a better place. How do you think they will help anything?

[01101001]

This is like a little bit o' deja vu, from the previous tommac suggestion: topic
add rankings to this board

[Veeger]

oops Just posted a question on the linked thread. Sorry. So I'll ask here - what is the advantage or purpose of ratings, etc. I don't think I've been on a board that uses them.

-V

[01101001]

Originally Posted by Veeger

[...] what is the advantage or purpose of ratings, etc.

(Check the vBulletin Manual for descriptions of features for the current forum software.)

There are user reputations and topic ratings that aren't used here. The intended purpose would be along the lines of letting the members collectively associate some value to a user or to a topic, so that others might have a shortcut to quickly know quality.

User titles, tracking of post counts, is slightly used here, with just three categories: junior member, member, and senior member -- with a highest threshold of 50 or 100 or some such fairly small; few pay it much attention. User rankings, unused, are similar, but offer more flexibility.

We've discussed them all before, I think, and the administrators have made active decisions, based upon experience and wisdom, of whether or how to use them. I'd expect any member (yo, tommac) that desired to alter those decisions present a strong case for change, rather than just an unpersuasive, unsupported request.

[Neverfly]

Basically, on a large board like this, with many members, many of whom post only occasionally, it seems very likely that user ratings would be very inaccurate and may even become a kind of popularity contest.

[geonuc]

Originally Posted by 01101001

This is like a little bit o' deja vu, from the previous tommac suggestion: topic
add rankings to this board

And it was only three weeks ago.

[grant hutchison]

What would people be ranked on? Presumably if you were uncongenial and wrong most of the time, you'd score poorly. But congenial folk who post nonsense might score as high or higher than uncongenial people who are usually correct.
And people often post outside their area of expertise (I know that I rarely post about the knowledge I earn my living from): so a new poster might easily be misled by a someone who has ranked highly because of consistently accurate physics posts, who just happens to post some bit of dubious folk medicine one day.
It sounds like little more than an unhelpful popularity contest, as Neverfly says.

Perhaps people should just learn Internet Survival 101, and appreciate that the moment they connect to the Internet they are submerging themselves in a sea of information of dubious provenance. That's life.

Grant Hutchison

[Neverfly]

Originally Posted by grant hutchison

What would people be ranked on? Presumably if you were uncongenial and wrong most of the time, you'd score poorly. But congenial folk who post nonsense might score as high or higher than uncongenial people who are usually correct.
And people often post outside their area of expertise (I know that I rarely post about the knowledge I earn my living from): so a new poster might easily be misled by a someone who has ranked highly because of consistently accurate physics posts, who just happens to post some bit of dubious folk medicine one day.

Yeah no one ever posts here about Plumbing or carpentry or tile or sheetrock! It's like... what the HECK!?

Originally Posted by grant hutchison

It sounds like little more than an unhelpful popularity contest, as Neverfly says.

Well, I'm just opposed because I would quickly get ranked in negative numbers.

Originally Posted by grant hutchison

Perhaps people should just learn Internet Survival 101, and appreciate that the moment they connect to the Internet they are submerging themselves in a sea of information of dubious provenance. That's life.

I don't think it takes very long to begin to see who posts reliable information.
Most of us could probably make some long lists about whose posts they are more inclined to pay attention to as it is.

[geonuc]

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Most of us could probably make some long lists about whose posts they are more inclined to pay attention to as it is.

Yep.

[John Mendenhall]

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Well, I'm just opposed because I would quickly get ranked in negative numbers.

I give you a +10.

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Most of us could probably make some long lists about whose posts they are more inclined to pay attention to as it is.

Short lists.

[NEOWatcher]

Originally Posted by John Mendenhall

I give you a +10.

Well; I would take that as an insult on an astronomy board since it means pretty dim.

[Neverfly]

Originally Posted by NEOWatcher

Well; I would take that as an insult on an astronomy board since it means pretty dim.

Duhh... what? I don't git it...

Ok, okokk I'll try not to take it too Siriusly.

[NEOWatcher]

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Ok, okokk I'll try not to take it too Siriusly.

You just don't understand the magnitude of the situation.

[John Mendenhall]

Originally Posted by NEOWatcher

You just don't understand the magnitude of the situation.

How about pun rating? One groan, two groans, over groan . . .

[Neverfly]

Originally Posted by John Mendenhall

How about pun rating? One groan, two groans, over groan . . .

Swift would Swiftly become over-rated.

[Veeger]

Originally Posted by NEOWatcher

Well; I would take that as an insult on an astronomy board since it means pretty dim.

So an astronomy board should have rankings based on a logarithmic scale where everyone starts at, say, 30 and works their way lower. Which of course makes as much sense as the present stellar system.

[John Mendenhall]

(Poster pulls hard on rope.)

It occured to me last night that any attempt to rate posters on BAUT is going to result in some weirdness. The EU people are all going to rate other EU people high, same for geocentric, and so forth. The mainstreamers are going to rate anybody low who doesn't have error bars on their ratings. Bascially, the ratings would be influenced by what the rater wanted to hear; the administrator's decision not to have ratings is probably correct.

[grant hutchison]

Originally Posted by John Mendenhall

The EU people are all going to rate other EU people high ...

That'll be "Electric Universe", I presume, and not an accusation levelled at the European Union.
Because over here in the EU, we're none of us renowned for rating other members highly.

Grant Hutchison

[Disinfo Agent]

I don't know, John's prediction reminded me of the embarassing votes we come up with in the Eurovision song contest.