Rating as a ratio of replies to views?

Darraketh · 25th January 2002, 06:13 PM

I notice that the "rate this thread" feature does not get used for the most part. I was wondering is this column could be used to display a ratio of replies to views. I think that would be a better use for that column and far more interesting than the blank space. Besides as a D&Der I kinda like that statistical type stuff.

BTW have you seen the level of customization that can be achieved with vBulletin. This board is a tweaking, hacking, customizing dream. Over at vB's on board they discuss all kinds of neat stuff that this baby can do.

graydoom · 25th January 2002, 07:19 PM

Personally, I think that the rate this thread column should just be removed. I really doubt it would end up being of any real use.
And if you want the ratio of replies to view, then just get out a calculator or use one on your computer to find it out

. I see even less use for having the rplies to view ratio in that column... the number doesn't really say much and can be figured out by taking about 10 seconds with a calculator.

Darraketh · 25th January 2002, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by graydoom
Personally, I think that the rate this thread column should just be removed. I really doubt it would end up being of any real use.
And if you want the ratio of replies to view, then just get out a calculator or use one on your computer to find it out . I see even less use for having the rplies to view ratio in that column... the number doesn't really say much and can be figured out by taking about 10 seconds with a calculator.

True, all true with the excepion of that part about "less use", but with that said we don't need the views or replies columns either. You can count the replies yourself!! And do you really care how many times a thread was viewed?!?

Actually the "total views" is a gauge of how effective your title is or more realistically the combination of title and "total replies" number. An example is when the title of a post doesn't seem to warrant your attention but you notice the number of "total replies" climbing which may prompt you to have a look at what everyone is discussing.

The "total replies" gauges how motivating the entire thread is.

My suggestion is about making use of an under used feature. I've been looking at other vBulletin forums and as a whole the "rate this thread" feature is rarely used.

A ratio of replies/views in the "rating column" would indicate that out of N number of views, X percent were motivated to post a reply. With that would could infer that a given thread is X percent popular amoung those that have viewed it.

This this ratio displayed I could get a better feel for how popular a given thread truly is. Of course it's all subjective.

I guess the whole idea is driven by the same desire to put counters on webpages or look at server logs for stats.

Well that's my rebuttal.

And I sticking to it!

BTW I have rated this thread a "5 .. Best" Thank You Very Much!

Grandpa · 25th January 2002, 08:32 PM

The ratings seem like they would be useful in certain forums, providing people used them. I really enjoy ratings when deciding which Story Hour to begin reading, but then again, I don't like that it happens at the cost of the person contributing. I would hate it if nervousness or frustration over a rating discouraged someone from sharing a good story.

Hum.

Darraketh · 25th January 2002, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Grandpa
The ratings seem like they would be useful in certain forums, providing people used them. I really enjoy ratings when deciding which Story Hour to begin reading, but then again, I don't like that it happens at the cost of the person contributing. I would hate it if nervousness or frustration over a rating discouraged someone from sharing a good story.

Hum.

True. And my idea of ratios would be of the least use in the story hour forums where there should be more views than replies.

BTW the "rate this thread" feature must be turned off for this forum.:rolleyes:

**Piratecat** · 25th January 2002, 09:39 PM

Nope. It takes a couple of votes - 3? 5? - before a rating shows up.

I don't have much use for ratings, either, although it is nice in the story hour forum. I'll talk with the moderators and Morrus about turning it off, and get their opinion as well.

I don't especially like the idea of a ratio there. I wonder if there's other useful stuff instead?

Galfridus · 25th January 2002, 10:20 PM

A ratio-based rating system would be a bad idea, like titles for people who post a lot. People would be tempted to use refresh-tricks and spam replies to affect the ratings of threads they liked or didn't like, which would be no good for anybody.

As it stands now, you can look at the views and replies and draw your own conclusions, which I like (except when I look at my story hour

)

CRGreathouse · 25th January 2002, 11:14 PM

I don't like the thread rating, either; I don't see much use (does any thread have a rating under 4?), and I see the potential for abuse.

I have a good rating system in mind, but I think it's too computation-heavy... basically it would weight a person's rating with their previous rating history before applying it, so a person who only gives out 4s and 5s would have the same effect when rating "4" as someone who gives even ratings and gives a "1".

Since no one wants to try to put such a system in (if it's even possible), I vote we remove it. Of course, I get 0 votes, but...

Someguy · 26th January 2002, 02:04 PM

We can rate trolls much easier

**Darkness** · 26th January 2002, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Someguy
We can rate trolls much easier

I agree with that.

Darraketh · 26th January 2002, 09:59 PM

One last comment/post on this subject then I'll put this baby to bed.

The suggestion is a way of using the space that is already there, the rating column, that is hardly used as it stands.

The ratio is not a rating but a simple statistic. It's just presenting the information, that is already shown, in another meaningful way.

It the ratio was presented I further suggest changing the column title from "Rating" to simply "Ratio" or something else more descriptive of its function.

Now as far as effecting the ratio as though it were a rating system the only thing you could do is post a reply. By viewing the thread and not replying the ratio decreases.

Either way it doesn't matter if the ratio is 1% or 100% it is just a statistic and not a rating. A rating requires a judgment call this would be an automatic function.

Just think of post counts. The count indicates a level of activity but in no way infers that what was posted was meaningful, useful or warranted.

The post count is a statistic not a rating.

The ration of replies to views is another statistic not a rating.

Stick a fork in me I'm done.

P.S. I love a good debate! Thanks