Understand how the system works: http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forum-help/explanation-reputation-13789.html .

And feel free to let us know why you voted the way you did.

labman

The question is, how does anybody know how good an answer is? This is important. The wrong answer can blow a hard drive destroying priceless pictures and data, kill a dog, or somebody, or burn a house down. Even a system that eliminated spiteful and poorly informed ratings, would still in the end, reflect the common wisdom, which isn't always right. It also would tempt people into answers people like, rather than ones good for them.

All the rating systems I have seen favored those with plenty of time to manipulate the system and willingness to use buddies and multiple identities to raise their clout. I have seen nonsense I can only conclude that a few people so lack a life, that they cheat to become a highly rated internet ''expert''. I know these people have run off many good people and those hoping
for help. When very few here knew there was a rating system, it wasn't a problem. When promoted, it quickly became a big mess.

Without a rating system, if you don't like a post, you are free to say so, and more persuasive if you give a good, reasoned explanation studded with facts. The original poster is free to post back with their own arguments. This works extremely well in a couple of forums I hang out in. The moderators control the language and personal attacks. They also lock the thread when it goes on endlessly with nothing new. Most people coming for help, know enough to sort out much of the chaff. If not, no rating system is going to help anyhow.

rkim291968

There is no point, really. I say, can it.

RickJ

It needs to be there - but needs some serious tweaking.

I suggest a study of many other vBulletin forums that use it to see how they do it.

There will be no way that all will agree is "perfect" but there are some good suggestions here.

Down the road you could check out other forum apps' reputation systems.

fredg

Hi,
My vote is "no", don't have any ratings system.
Labman said "does anybody know how good an answer is?"
Yes, labman, they do. But, only if the Asker has tried the answer, and found that it worked to solve that particular issue. That, of course, could take much time, and the Asker probably wouldn't come back to "rate" anyone. A "rating" just after the Asker reads the answer isn't really a good rating, depending on the question, simply because there has been no time to try the answer.

I agree with labman's opinions, and support them.

Another website, answerway.com, uses a system whereby another expert is allowed to rate any question asked; whether it is from another expert or any other. Ratings from other experts have become a "farce". Some only log on, like one person, with ID "intials" CB, to down-rate other experts' answers, out of pure Harassment, and most are my answers. CB is showing in the Experts' Profile there, of only answering two (2) questions! This abuse has happened 4 times in the last 2 weeks.
Other experts there ask questions, and a group of other experts always rate them 5 stars for any answers, just to keep those ID's at the top of the ratings list!
Allowing another expert to rate other experts is a very bad idea, and again, can turn into a "farse".

If you are going to allow any ratings at all, then it should be ratings from the Askers only. As Labman said, anyone can sign in with another ID and abuse this privilege as well. But with good "overseerers" or moderators, those "outright" abusers can be banned; as has happened here before with a couple of ID's.

Having a ratings system whereby only Askers can rate anyone has the advantage of making those who answer questions do more research before they give an answer; if the answer is not already known to them. Even with this system, not all answers will be rated by the Asker because some don't want to take the time.

StuMegu

I've voted No to the reputation system.

The reason for this is that people come here for answers to their problems - not to find who is the best expert. Why don't we rate the answers on individual basis. For example, Experts Exchange have the accepted answer - given by the asker. This system would allow people browsing the site to see which answer best suited the question and is most appropriate to try. In this way, credit would only attach to the correct answer - not the expert.

I also think we should discard the number of posts count. This has no value other than intimidation for other users. As we all know, volume of posts has no reference to quality. Keep the length of service on, I don't have a problem with that.

If you want new experts to join this site you have to allow them to get credit for good answers. If you do want to keep the reputation system maybe have a "strike rate" system based on frequency of accepted answers per number of posts. This would curb the constant bickering and pointless posting we all see.

Anyway just a few ideas!

Curlyben

Any sort of rating system can be abused, one of the most classic examples is the system on Pointask, whereby a user with MULTIPLE ID's continually downgrades responses that disagree with their own limited knowledge.

labman

I won't even say an answer that the asker is happy with because it worked is a good answer. You can poke about the registry or the main breaker box, and fix a problem, but it doesn't mean the next person should try. Much of this board is about DIY solutions. In every area, some things must be left to the professionals.

Time we spend with a rating system is time we don't spend answering questions or using answers. Providing your own answer is much more valuable to the asker than rating another. In many cases a second answer reassures the asker. I was disapproved for providing reassurance an asker thanked me for. I guess my post was a hazard to a certain ego.

If I posted a Windows question, I would be fairly confident is using a solution if I knew Scott and Labman24 agreed. I would also be happy to see Karma, Psi, and others check in. At this point, if I posted a plumbing question, I wouldn't care what anybody except Tom said. Same with electrical and tkrussel. All the more he posts, it will be a long time before any rep system would give him the credit he deserves.

All the good people here once made their first post. A rep system discredits newbies.

StuMegu

I agree with what you're saying about reassurance for an answer, but if everyone posts with the same recommendation the clarity can be lost, and with the current rating system you are likely to become accused of echoing as you mentioned. However, if others lend support for an answer by ticking a box it saves them time whilst adding support for the correct response and keeping the thread clean. Maybe if you could see the answer rating and who approved of the answer (asker and experts) this would be useful. Disapprovals would be posted as normal and experts could again lend support to the dissaproval.

I do think that a lot of questions (in computers anyway) are repeated and likewise the answers are. I also asume that of the people browsing this site, many will have come from using a search engine with their symptoms. In this case, the reader will usually read the original question and see if their problem is the same before carrying out the advice given. Any modification to the symptoms may require a new thread or just reassurance that the action is still valid in their case.

ScottGem

Hi Admin,
I voted yes, only because I didn't like any of the other options. I explained my reasoning in your announcements post but I'll repeat it here.

In my opinion the value of a rating system is to give askers a way to gauge the quality of a specific answer and/or a specific expert. I have said this several times in the past, askers cannot be the best judge of the quality of an answer. If they could judge the quality then they wouldn't have had to ask the question in the first place. So an asker may waste time following erroneous advice or, worse, cause damage by doing so.

However, a rating system needs to meet several criteria to be effective.
1) It cannot be anonymous. Allowing people to rate answers and experts anonymously is asking for trouble.
2) Ratings need to be explainable. If there is no way for a rater to justify their rating, then it loses value.
3) Ratings must be public and easily found. It doesn't help the asker if they can't see the ratings and comments.
4) Use of ratings needs to be monitored. If someone goes after a specific expert and rates all their answers badly without justification, then the moderators will need to be able to catch this and take action.

So far, the rating system here doesn't meet these criteria, especially #3. I still haven't been able to find ratings for my posts. I've looked in My Profile area and don't see anything. Can someone give me specific instruction on how to find them?

It also suffers from the 'spread it around' limits. I agree that we shouldn't be allowing unlimited, but the limits appear to be too high to allow effective use of it.

Unless the system can be modified to meet the criteria I listed here, then I would change my vote to No. Better no system then a badly flawed one. But if it can be modified to meet all of the criteria, I would want to leave it.

Scott<>