Please, do something about it!

I had a negative comment on one of my skins and the rating on it jumped down to a 4. I figured the commenter was the one that gave it a low rating, but I just took it with a grain of salt. If he didn't like the skin, that's fine with me. I just classified it as a childish power trip.
However, if the low ratings by a person or persons is causing some people to leave, that is not good since it will only decrease the quality of work that is seen here. I would have to agree with adni18 on this.

Nikos..I did a quick run through the most recent 20 walls....the lowest rating on any was a 5, the highest a 10.
If there were ones and twos there'd be more chance of something 'odd' but 5 to 10 is a common spread...always has been...

There is no specific 'trend' in the ratings of those 20...not in 'down-grading', anyway...if anything perhaps the opposite.

pictoratus...I'll look into yours...see if anything is 'wrong' there...

adni, if you have specific names of users that you suspect of always rating low everybody, please email me his username, I'll look it up.

pictoratus....it wasn't anyone who commented...I 'adjusted' the rating a little...and added a new name to my 'watch 'im' list...in case he/she does this to a pattern....

What is the point of having ratings if people are only allowed to rate things they like? And only rate highly? It does not give a true picture at all of public opinion which is ahwta it is supposed to be about as far as I can see. You have to realise people are different. Some people like swirly bryce. Some people don't. If I were to rate walls as I truely feel I would probably be demoted from being a journeyman almost instantly at the request of all the wall artists. One reason why people don't rate more in my opinion is because all is fine while they are rating high but as soon as someone rates low people jump on them. These aren't even that low according to Jafo. If someone was rating everything with a 1 I could see it but it appears from what Jafo said they are not. I personally think that ratings and comments should be linked so a rating can only be given with a comment. Then there is some sort of accountability and discussions like this would be easier to resolve as patterns would be easier to spot.

ahwta == what. (insert spellchecker icon here)

pictoratus, indeed somebody rated your skin very low. I did a quick check up on his past ratings and there doesn't seem to be a trend. He has rated some skins very high, some average and some quite low.
It sadly just seems to be a case of "can't please everybody all the time" kinda thing. Sorry.

Thanks, Jafo

I didn't worry about too much, there always seems to be one spoilsport in every crowd

I'm sure if that person repeats his pattern, it will come back on him/her

paxx, thanks

Hey, it's always nice to know you have room for improvement

pjpowell, I agree, but there are sad people in this world. Some low life people ALWAYS rate low and never seem to like anything. One has to wonder why they bother coming here then. Some people actually rate low "threatening" skins, the ones that are most likely to be more popular than their own. Such people do not belong here and when we identify them (we do catch a few once in a while) we give them strong warnings. Usually they stop when they realise we can spot them.

Ratings have always been a sore point. The best solution would be to loose the anonymity of rating. If people rate something they should put their name to it.

I noticed my last skin, rated at 10 for months, suddenly dropped to 8 - not that I care but a little odd

Adni18, as you are well aware, your work on this site has always been among the best.
Those of us who know you, know this.
Ratings to me are unimportant simply because they will never reflect the truth of anything.
Keep up your good work, and know that WE know your the BEST.

pictoratus....yes, that's the idea of being able to check....to determine if and when there is an abuse of privilege.
Not everyone can actually rate, so it is incumbent on those who can to be fair and responsible. Sure personal tastes vary but that not-withstanding, it is not rocket-science to determine trends that are out of kilter with the norm...

I am visiting in daily basis many times WinCustomize and allow me to know what is going on Paul.

I am sorry paxx, I suspect which may be the responsibles of those ratings, but this can't give me the right to say any names, but from many e-mails that I have from other very gifted authors, they are very bothered about it, as I am too!

Look at my latest wall "Seed" no 1 in downloads now and tell me how from 10 it is having 7 now and if it deserve it. Maybe, after one hour will have 6 and nobody from the visitors may be able to see it!!! Not that I care or I am expecting something to be change, but it is too much for someone like me and if this is going to continue, just give me a reason to go on!

It happens to all my wallpapers lately, they start from 10 and end up with 7 or 6.
What a great way to say thank you for all my work and the 5.000.000 downloads.

"Such people do not belong here and when we identify them (we do catch a few once in a while) we give them strong warnings. Usually they stop when they realise we can spot them."

That is a great idea paxx!!!

Thank you very much for the support sagire

Adni,
It's easy to explain.
Since you are a "Master" your uploads are not moderated. They are uploaded with a default "6". the next real rating that you get will be the start rating. In this case (For Seed), it was a "10". You then received the following: 4, 7, 7, 10, 8, 10 Which then averages to the current "8". There is nothing that I see that is out of line. Obviously, the person that rated it a four just simply didn't like the wall (which is their opinion). There are no malicious signs in the ratings. If there were a bunch of 3 or belows from the same person in your ratings, then we would look into it, but that does not appear to be the case. Ratings are a matter of opinion. Not everyone will like your stuff, while others will love it.

I could care less about ratings... all I care about is the art. And its nice if others get injoyment from it.... thats all I care about.

Guys, why have ratings at all??? Just comments for any errors found would be sufficient, don't you think? Each to their own, I say...

Are the ratings that very important? I rarely use the ratings, unless I feel exceptionally moved by a piece. I prefer to let the author know I liked their product. if I don't like it, I don't comment or download. If it's "eh" I don't comment nor do I download.I think quite a few of us use this "rule of thumb". If ratings are very important I'll begin to make sure I mark each one I view,I'm only one ,but if there's alot of us doing the same thing and we start rating everything, we as a whole can change the ratings.

There's a difference between a correct skin and a good skin, though. Ratings are an important filtering tool.

But adni, I have to wonder what you mean by "What a great way to say thank you for all my work and the 5.000.000 downloads". Do you feel this site owes you something? Isn't having the most downloads reward enough? What if some people just don't like your work? Are you suggesting the admins force people to only rate your skins well?

Also, if you truly don't care, why are you bothering to post?

Thank you KarmaGirl for your explanation
You are right; I know that "Not everyone will like my stuff, while others will love it".
You think it is normal and not malicious if someone put 4 after he see a 10 for a wallpaper?
Sorry but I don't think so.

What you mean "didn't like the wall"?
Is it bad done? Is it because it is abstract or he didn't like the color?
Is it maybe the author of it?
I know you can't answer those questions; nobody does, but him or her.

Now, please, look the rates this person has put to the other wallpapers or to my latest wallpapers and you may find the "God" we are looking for.

The moderators don't have a lot of power any more, the approve a wall and then comes Mr. Perfect who knows all and decides which wallpapers are for public view and which are not, by giving a low ratings to them and exclude them from public view.
Any wall with a rate 6 and below is not visible to public.
Have you ever thought it that way?

In moderators we trust, they are all good artists and they understand, but not to this kind of people who are ruling in a way the site and sending away the authors with their behavior.

Adni I will answer you now and tell you I would give that wall a 4. I do not like it as a wall thought it is no doubt a nice piece of art. However it is in the wallpaper section. There is no defined space to fit my icons. Wherever I put them I am covering part of the background. In my eyes it does not fit the purpose of a wallpaper. Your reason for using a wallpaper may be different to mine. 4 is not a bad score for something I don't like and wouldn't use. Why would I rate something I don't like? Because I want the artist to realise it and cater to my needs. I'm selfish. I come here to download stuff I like not to skip through stuff I don't. Besides a single 4 from me does not pull the overall rating into the range that is not viewable by everyone so who cares? If I put a 1 with the intention to make it so the wall couldn't be viewed by visitors you'd have a case against me.

... though ...

Hey Laurence,
What a great support!!!

Of course the site owes me something for which I never ask anything in return: a considerable part of the popularity.

You ask, "Isn't having the most downloads reward enough?" Reward from whom? I never even get a skin featured.
I never suggest "the admins force people to only rate my skins well", what are you talking about? Is it you the person that I chat? Do you think that I am that kind of person? I am sorry, but I can't understand you my "friend".

Answering your last question, I said that I don't care personally, but I care as an active author in what we call skinning community.