Given the limitations, we have to be responsible in our ratings
Jun 14 '00
If you were to graph my ratings of opinions, you would see something that was similar to a bell curve. I tend to give out mostly Recommended and Somewhat Recommended ratings. I save Highly Recommended and Not Recommended for the very best and the very worst. I do not give out too many of each.
I have said this before, but I feel that the limitations of only four choices does not allow for a very accurate rating system. It is like Siskel and Ebert only being allowed a thumb-up or a thumb-down. There is no way you can limit your opinion to such a black and white, yes or no, rating. So it is with only four choices for rating an opinion. Sometimes you will read an opinion that is full of typos, errors, inaccuracies, no effort at all, it does not have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. I have to not recommend it. Then there are the opinions that are full of typos, and errors, but the person writing it tried. Do you give it a Not Recommended? They at least made an effort and had something to say. Those people should be encouraged to try again, improve their opinions and their writing. They have something to say and have the spirit of Epinions in their heart; I don’t feel they should be given a ‘Not Recommended’.
There are way too many things that can be interpreted in different ways and I think that a scale of one to ten would not just be 2.5 times better, but exponentially better. It would make it much easier to accurately place an opinion in its proper place in relation to other opinions.
Ok, off the soapbox. Given the system as it is in place, here is how I rate opinions:
Highly Recommended
I will rate an opinion highly when there was an obvious effort to cover all bases on the subject. It is complete with very few to no errors in grammar and/or spelling. I like to have learned from the opinion and have more confidence in my knowledge of what I just read about than before I had read it. I like to hear why someone approves or disapproves of something. Another thing I like to see is anecdotal stories of how something is used in people’s lives. Real people are writing these and I would like to hear how it changes their lives. I can go to a web site and get the facts, I want much more than just the facts, I want the human aspect to the subject.
Recommended
I give out a lot of Recommended ratings. I would estimate 30-40 percent of my ratings are Recommended. When I give a Recommended, I keep in mind that other people are going to read this and it should be worth their time. Spelling and grammar mistakes are not as egregious when I Recommend something. Everyone makes mistakes, and nobody can spell everything or know everything. I am more forgiving of grammatical errors than spelling errors. You are given a chance to check your spelling with Epinion’s spell checker. They flag potential spelling errors and those have to be reviewed. You should know what you are writing about, and you should give a lot in your opinion.
Somewhat Recommended
I give out about as many Somewhat Recommendeds as I do Recommendeds. When I read and opinion with errors in spelling and grammar, an opinion that really does not tell me much about the product of service, I don’t recommend it. But if the writer at least tried to say something, if they have the spirit of what Epinions tries to do in their opinion, I do not give it a Not Recommended, I give it a Somewhat Recommended.
Not Recommended
I do not give out too many Not Recommendeds. I reserve this rating for the worst of the worst, the ones that I do not want other people to read. If I do not think it is worth the two minutes to read it, I will give it a Not Recommended to warn other people. If the opinion does not have anything to do with its subject, or if it if full of padding, or if it is obviously not meant to be real, I will give it a Not Recommended.
Conclusion
My ratings have little to do with agreeing with the opinion given. It has almost everything to do with the content, the effort, and the spirit of helping others decide. I really enjoy reading real people and how they use goods and services. I like to hear how things work in real people’s everyday lives. To me, Epinions is all about the people writing and their real lives and what goods and services mean to them. A list of specs can’t tell you how things work in the real world. Epinions is real people in the real world.
When we rate an opinion, we have to keep in mind that other people will be using our ratings of opinions to read that opinion. We have a responsibility to make our ratings as accurate as possible; I don’t think we can do that with four choices. But given those limitations, we have to be constant and reliable in how we rate them. As much thought should go into a rating as does go into writing. That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.
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Epinions.com ID:
dmcostello
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Reviews written: 65
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