I don't know how I missed this...

Duskreign
Duskreign
edited December 2010 in General Discussion
They got rid of the five-star system of rating campaigns. I applaud this decision wholeheartedly. Despite the fact that I had 5.0 for both my campaigns, I found that the old system seemed to be too conducive to abuse by ne'er do well Obsidian Portal drifters, who would create an account just to denigrate campaigns with neither rhyme nor reason to back up their actions.

Bravo, Micah, Ryan, Dan, or whoever it was that made this decision.

"Duskreign":http://www.obsidianportal.com/profile/Duskreign

"Wyrmshadow Campaign Setting":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow

"Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic

Comments

  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    Honestly, I never noticed the star-rating system before, but probably just because I wasn't looking for it. Wait, I seem to remember it, but not thinking it was important to the process. I agree that it would be a shotty way to "rate" a site, and when you consider that Dusk had a 100% approval rating (or whatever) and didn't like the system...it likely needed to be changed, if not gotten rid of altogether.

    If a "star" system were to be re-implemented, however, I would say that the OP staff itself should put together a "jury" or "council" of some kind of eligible voters they trust to be objective, and do it that way...not that it's at all necessary.
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    No, Pal, it was never really necessary. Some campaigns that deserved the highest regard had 3.8 or 4.1 stars (or what have you) just because they were "popular" and thus prime targets for popularity spite. Others had perfect 5.0 ratings, but still had the Welcome To Your Campaign Wiki message up, and did nothing on their pages for over a year. It was flawed, and it was a brilliant move to get rid of the system altogether. We should be a cooperative community, not an overtly competitive one, and certainly not one that allows the ability to put others down on a whim and with little valid reason.
  • Everdark
    Everdark
    Posts: 122
    THEY STOLE MY GOLD STARS!

    ... Eh. I agree with Dusk. =P
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    Did the gold stars give you invincibility like they did in Mario Bros? Unless you jumped in a pit, of course. And did your soundtrack change when you acquired a gold star? That would be pretty cool.
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    Vin, when I read that, I heard it in the "Dey took arr jebs!" voice from South Park. LOL.
  • Everdark
    Everdark
    Posts: 122
    Nah. They were just shiny. I think one of the prerequisites to being an invincibility-star is having eyes. Ours didn't. =(

    Mike... Lol. That's awesome.
  • FrankSirmarco
    FrankSirmarco
    Posts: 250
    Thank gods! There was a big discussion about it on the forums a few months ago, but I wasn't sure if anything was going to be done about it.

    Please allow me to be the first to say, _good riddance_!
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    Huzzah! Free from the shackles of sparkles! (I didn't even notice they were gone, until a myriad of voices all cried out in the night - and got louder, because they noticed they were gone. And then the rioting in the streets began! *Parks his OP Car somewhere safe until the Happy-riot subsides slightly*)
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    I think the favorite function is really all we need. Generally, if I liked a site, I would either rate it a 5 or not at all, so that's practically the same thing. I have noticed however, that characters still have their star rating, but it doesn't show who rated them what anymore. I liked the idea of people being able to make a note of someone's character they particularly liked, but the star system might not be the best way to do it.
  • Idless
    Idless
    Posts: 58
    Ok, so I am anal-retentive apparantly

    Been anoyed it's gone... I would look at and rate a lot of campaigns, from 1 to 5 stars!


    augh, I gave Brandon Sweets a 4 but wanted to give him 5 after some bling was added to his site. Now I/he is stuck with the 4... although you can only see it in my profile, not his!

    but yeah... was probably broken...

    ...Idless
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    For every ten good, decent Obsidian Portal citizens like you who used the star system responsibly, there was one ne'er do well out there who decided to vote everyone he could find with 1 star, just because he could get away with it. One or two bad apples forced them to burn down the entire Orchard, but that's the way it goes down on the Hyperspace Interwebs.
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Personally, I am glad its gone.

    It just didn't make much sense to me. The whole point of this site is that it is constantly being updated and refined. So why give something so dynamic a rating which is so static. I bet Idless was a very generous and reasonable person when passing out ratings, but one of my player's PCs was given a couple of really low star ratings because she just didn't have net access so there was next to nothing there. Now there is much more up, but will those people come back periodically and reassess her character. I highly doubt it.

    Also, I used to just do what Gaaran did, just give 5 stars if I really liked something, or not rate it at all. That really undermines the whole having a 5 star rating system thing anyways though doesn't it. Because we are basically giving it a 5 or a 0, not a 1-5.

    Hurray for progress!
  • Idless
    Idless
    Posts: 58
    So if we ever are to have something similar, just a simple "Like" button?

    And yes, I would reasses... like with Brandons campaign!

    ...Ildess
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Good idea! A like button would be similar to what some of us use to do, give it 5 stars or nothing at all- either you support it activley or just leave it alone. It would be a great way to show support for a campaign without having to add it to favorites if you don't want to.
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    But wouldn't that basically be exactly the same as becoming a "Fan"?
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    I would think that it would be very similar with one exception, you wouldn't receive updates about the campaign and anything else that future OP updates may add to fan status.

    I can't imagine "liking" something and not becoming a fan myself. But it seems that there may be people who would like this ability. Maybe so that they can "like" many campaigns without having hundreds of "favorites" show up on their page. It keep the favorites to a "cream of the crop" status.

    That's my impression. I'm curious what Idless is picturing though.
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850 edited December 2010
    Well yes, and no. You see, when you fan a site you get RSS feed updates at your profile page whenever something's happening at that site. But let's say you "like" a site and would like to acknowledge the author/DM's hard work but don't necessarily want to receive updates whenever that site gets updated. That's where the "like" button would come in handy. You can show your support for a site without having to clutter your profile page and thereby miss out on those updates from your "favorite" sites that you _would_ like to know about.

    By the way, the "like button" proposal was initially made by Sandman in "this thread":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=271 . Also, in that thread Micah responded that if you like a site, _then you should fan it_, in other words it seems that they intend it to be used as a combo "like/fan" button. For what it's worth, that's exactly how I use it. If I like a site, I fan it, regardless of whether or not it's in my top 10 favorites.

    *Edit*: once again I took to long in replying I see...
    Post edited by arsheesh on
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    The sites I have "favourited" are generally ones that I enjoyed or found interest in so I quite look forward to updates. It reminds me every now and again to look into the other sites and keeps me in touch with other OPites. It has worked well for me so far.

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085 edited March 2011
    I currently have a metric buttload of favorites. However, if you look on my profile page, "I highlight a select few of my personal picks for the best wikis on the portal.":http://www.obsidianportal.com/profile/Duskreign In addition to this, on the "front page of Wyrmshadow,":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow I have a section titled Duskreign Recommends, found in the Latest News section on the left side of the wiki. Every month, I feature one of my favorite campaigns. Last month it was "No Rest For The Wicked":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/friday-night-4e and this month's is "The Land of Corra":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/11454 I started this in January with a nod to my "absolute favorite wiki on Obsidian Portal":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/age-of-legends

    I was toying around with the idea of creating a multi-DM wiki called Best of the Portal, inviting a bunch of the more prolific DMs to join up, and make it kind of like our own, community-run newsletter, with our own features, articles, and campaigns of interest in the spotlight. Is this something anyone besides myself would be interested in?
    Post edited by Duskreign on
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    I don't know how prolific I really am compared to some of you guys. It feels like I do a lot of work, but much of my building is not visible at the moment as we are in play and my DM Only section is like the underwater section of an iceberg. However, I always try and look in and comment and so would be into your idea, Duskreign, but with no commitments.....

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

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