Technology
This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.
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7: crypto related posts, unless essential, are disallowed
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Star ratings are very broken, because everyone seems to think of the rating differently. IMO the criteria should be like this:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ = The best thing ever.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⚫️ = Above average.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⚫️ ⚫️ = It’s ok. Get’s the job done. Not great, not terrible. The usual. Nothing special. Totally average.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⚫️ ⚫️ ⚫️ = Below average. I’m disappointed.
⭐️ ⚫️ ⚫️ ⚫️ ⚫️ = Worst thing ever. Crime against humanity. Ban this product and burn the remaining stock immediately.
However, in reality people tend to use it like this.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ = It’s ok. I don’t have anything to complain about. Could be ok, could be great or anything in between.
⭐️ I’m not happy. Minor complaints, big complaints and anything in between.
When it comes to book reviews, the five star reviews tend to be useless. Especially when it comes to self help books, it seems like those reviews were made by people who are completely incapable of noticing any flaws in the book. I’m inclined to think those people shouldn’t even review a book if they can’t think of it critically. On Amazon there are always lots and lots of fake reviews produced in a click farm, but in other places you’ll also find genuinely incompetent reviewers too.
To be fair, I think it is reasonable to rate things you have no complaints about as high as possible. If I see a rating with three stars, I assume that it was okay with a few rough spots. I like the idea that all products start out as five stars unless there is something really wrong, and you start knocking points for problems.
Then how do you tell the difference between a good product and a great product? For example, imagine you’re comparing an electric screwdriver from Lidl (parkside) and Boch. Should they both get 5 stars because nothing is broken and they get the job done?
Lidl screwdriver = adequate for occasional DIY, 3 Stars
Bosch screwdriver = can be used as a substitute chisel or crowbar every day for a lifetime, 5 stars