rating annoyance

[lisilk]

I'm just curious why people that have never had a single post on WC are allowed to rate photo's? Seems like you should at least be required to participate... a little. ( And yes, I always get 2's and 5's from people who don't ever post.) I know the ratings don't really mean anything, people like what they like. It just bugs me.

Okay... mini- temper tandtrum over.

Li

[Yorky]

You're forgiven

There are soo many quirks on wetcanvas!

Doug

[surob]

I am also wondering (I might be blind) how can you tell how many times a photo has been rated?

BTW Li anyone that would rate your photos at 2's and 5's have no business rating photos. IMO

[*Deirdre*]

Originally Posted by surob

I am also wondering (I might be blind) how can you tell how many times a photo has been rated?

BTW Li anyone that would rate your photos at 2's and 5's have no business rating photos. IMO

I agree...Lisilk has done many of the very best photos on WC! I suggest it's a jealousy reaction to rate hers under 5...petty indeed.

[dreamOfSpring]

Oh, boy. I need to make a confession and hope that you won't all hate me as a result. There is at least one other possible explanation for the low rating your photo received. So, here goes...

Lisilk - Before I confess, I would like to say that I love your photos. I have many of them tagged as favorites, photos from which I hope to derive a painting. I untagged a few yesterday when I was desperate to hone my favorites down to something manageable, but I still love even the ones I untagged. All ratings and numbers aside, I suspect that your photos will be inspirational to many.

Now for my confession. While to date I've never intentionally given out a rating lower than 8, a few years ago I accidentally rated a photo giving a 1 to a photo I liked very much. The photo was one I wanted to use as a reference. I don't recall now whose photo it was (wish I did as I would send this message to them directly). I don't believe it was yours, Lisilk, but this could still explain what may have happened to your photo.

At the time, I wasn't even intentionally rating photos. I was tagging favorites when I hit the wrong button by mistake. As soon as it happened, I was incredibly upset to see that I had just given a 1 to a photo which deserved something more like 8 to 10. I wanted to chase that '1' through the network all the way to the server and take it back, but I quickly learned that the system provided no option to correct a mistake of this kind. The instant I clicked on the wrong button, it was a done deal, no turning back, no option to correct.

Not knowing what else to do, I thought if I could get in touch with an Admin, surely I could get my error corrected. I came to this forum where I posted a distraught message indicating my error. It was then that I learned that apparently even Admins can't change a rating once it is entered - not even if the rating was a mistake.

At the time, I remember thinking that, if I had made this mistake, others may also have done so. It's actually easier than you might suspect, especially given our hurried, multi-tasking lives. Now you might be thinking, and rightfully so, that one should be more careful when rating photos. But that's the thing, I wasn't [intentionally] rating photos. I was marking favorites when I accidentally hit the wrong button.

Anyhow, I now see that I was correct about this same mistake happening to others. There is a thread in this forum right now (one of the 1st few threads, no searching required) from someone else who made the same error. My guess is he/she and I are not the only 2 to whom this has happened.

Bottom line, if you receive a particularly low rating on what you think is a good photo (especially one which has been rated high by others), there's a good chance that the low rating was an error, and the person who did it, while distraught at their mistake, is unable to correct it. In retrospect, I wish that in my case I had sent the person a message to explain what happened, but for some reason, perhaps being new here and shy, I failed to do so, and now it's too late as I no longer recall the member/photo involved.

Cheryl

[Yorky]

Cheryl

Doug

[dreamOfSpring]

Thank you, Doug!

[Charlie's Mum]

Cheryl - it's good of you take the time to explain how this could happen.
Thank you)

[dreamOfSpring]

Thank you, Maureen,

I just wanted to let everyone know that this happens. Knowing this won't undo the adverse effect on one's photo rating, but I figure it is at least helpful to know that it may well have been an accident, not an actual reflection on the photo.

Your comments (and Doug's) helped me to feel a little less self conscious about the matter as well as more accepted. I appreciate that.

Cheryl

[lisilk]

Thank you all, esp. Cheryl, for the very thoughtful responses and explanations. I was a little annoyed when I started this thread after one person went through and lowly rated a bunch of my photo's. I do understand that sometimes it is done by accident and the ratings don't really mean anything. I tend to take too many things personally. Really appreciate the feedback!

Cheers! Li

[Poegirl]

I actually did this just the other day! I felt so bad, I totally meant to his the favorite button and I hit the one star. I tried to figure out how to change it but to no avail. I ended up leaving a comment on her pic explaining what happened, so yep I'm guilty of it. I wish there was a way to change the ratings if you needed to.

[oldrockchick]

It would be handy to know how many times the photo has been rated... the max is 10 but i don't know if that is 1 person or an aggregate. I'm not especially bothered but I am a very keen photographer with a vast library and it helps me to see the sort of photos people like.

On the subject of rating.... I only take the time to rate photos I really like otherwise I'd be there forever. I think many are like me and may think... why bother rating low unless you really really dislike a photo so badly that you wish to make apoint.. i probably would only do that if I thought it was so poor as to be unusable, and that is unlikely as the mods are so vigilant and maintain a high quality. SO I only every rate 8 or above... what is the point of any less... saying hmmm 'I sort of like it'.... that's ok for people with thime on their hands.... so i rarely rate... but if I do, it's always high and always because it is something that has stood out.

Rating pictures low just because you dont' like the subject matter is not fair really, I mean some people don't liek spiders,,, it might be an excellent shot of one of these magnificent creatures but someone who dislikes htem may mark it down....

one man's meat is another man's poison as they say.....

I would like to see 'number of ratings' though.... 5 people who gave 10 is better than 1 who gave 10... when searching by 'rating' is this taken into consideration? I'd like to know?

[*Deirdre*]

As one who has been given a couple of 1 ratings...I'm much happier now I've seen the explanations! BTW, the very same picture was rated a 10, when I uploaded a lighter version. And on the other one it's crept up the ratings as others rated it higher. Thank you Cheryl!

I do think that knowing how many times the photo has been rated within the photo's stats would be meaningful.

I could always keep a count, I suppose, as I get notified when someone has commented or rated my photo...but I'd much rather paint...or take photos!

[Charlie's Mum]

Actually, rating doesn't bother me and I would never choose a ref because of its rating.

When I'm searching for a ref I never go by the ratings but if I come across a good pic then I might rate it!

As said earlier (or elsewhere in this forum) if someone mistakenly gives a low rating, it can soon 'disappear' when others give high ratings - unfortunately, it can't be deleted

[oldrockchick]

I'm pretty much the same Maurren