Voting Practices
Having no real place to put this thought I decided to put it here. This is to be read objectively. This is my opinion and my take on the voting system.
Before continuing I want it to be perfectly clear that I am not putting this up because I think my voting practices are better than everyone elses, or that my votes hold more weight. I saw a few comments in a few submissions about voting and it sparked an interest in me to do a little soul searching. I am sure there are some voters here who are geared more to vote higher in some of the members submissions because they are friends. Which is fine. I let it be known a long time ago, I vote the way I do because it is what I feel and believe. I would like to think I have friends here, as much as can be on the internet anyway, but if I am not honest with them how can I know they are honest with me. So the following is why I post the way I do.
I have been busy of late and have found it hard to comment and read everything I wish to. Commenting is one thing I have a real issue about, people reading but never voting kind of thing. Those who know me know that is a pet peeve of mine from my start date here. Well the thought came to me, what is a good vote and how do you come by giving a good vote?
By this I do not mean giving good or bad comments. We have plenty of different submissions regarding that particular subject in and of itself. But what guidelines do we use for voting?
I look through the submissions and the votes. A majority of the time they are close to the same range, give or take a .5 or two. Rarely will you see a range of 1 to 5 in a single submission. It has happened, but rarely.
How do we go about giving these high or low votes? If you follow the written text that goes along with the votes you get this.
5.0 - Awesome one! I'll find a way to use it!
4.5 - On the edge of greatness!
4.0 - Now your talking!
3.5 - Sweet idea!
3.0 - Good solid idea!
2.5 - Shows some definite promise!
2.0 - Idea's there, needs some work!
1.5 - Has a seed of usefulness!
1.0 - AAAHHHHHHHHH!
Ok, now that we can see all of them at once, what do they all mean? Well, they mean something different to everyone. Sure they text is a partial guideline to follow but there are deeper things involved than giving a simple number. Which is why I really dislike just a vote and no comment.
Let me break down what I think of these votes. Again this is how I vote and I am not telling anyone to use this method, but this is an explanation so that should you get a vote from me you know exactly what it means. Lets start with 1.
1.0 - This pretty much means I voted on this simply because I read it. It acknowledges that I read it but that is about it. If I can't understand any of it because of bad grammar, spelling, or punctuation then it lowers the vote. I personally see no use in the submission and it is a waste of time to me. On a vote like this I feel it is imperative to at least give one idea of advice on making it better. A vote like this I usually would recommend being deleted and done over again if it is not at least updated.
1.5 - Pretty much the same as the above vote with a twist. Usually a vote of a 1.5 is close to the same as a 1.0. I can see there was an idea in there but whether it was far to short, spelling and grammar was horrible, or it was obvious the writer didn't take the submission or the reader seriously. I don' usually request something like this to be deleted as long as it is a work in progress.
2.0/ 2.5 - Ok, I see that some thought was put into this submission. There is a purpose behind it that is being torn down by bad grammar, bad spelling, punctuation, or simply not enough information. I can look at a submission and tell there is an idea there but if it is in a manner that I would have to nearly change the entire submission to make it understandable, then it gets something similar to this. The higher I vote the easier it is to see where the idea was going to or from. It isn't bad, it just needs work. This is the type of submission that has a future as long as it is expanded on.
3.0/ 3.5 - Ok, these are you common, hey there is an idea seed here and it works, it's feasible and likeable. It isn't anything close to War and Peace but it is an idea that can be looked at and I can tell, Ok this is what they meant. I can see that. I probably wouldn't ever use it but I can see that someone could. Very common and not a bad rating at all.
4.0/ 4.5 - Now we are getting into the submissions that make me sit back and wonder. These usually either have a great idea, or they were brought in such a manner and detail that it would be something I could probably use in my setting with some alterations. Few errors related to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If I have to alter it to suit me thats fine, I don't mind doing some leg work. Some obscure ideas tend to make this more difficult but they usually do not pull away from the actual submission. I usually comment on these the most and usually more than once.
5.0 - This is the cream of the crop. The bread and butter. Everything about the 4.0/ 4.5 range fits into this with one more thing. If the submission is good enough that I like it, has no issues with spelling or grammar that are extremely heavy, I can use it in my setting with little to no alterations, and I am compelled to read it more than twice. Compelled and not forced. Then this gets a 5.0 from me. If I honestly read a post twice or three times before I even vote, and it isn't because I didn't understand it but because I liked it; that means I was hooked. I loved it and it rates this high a vote.
Hall of Honor - I am also on a defined use of my HOH votes. If I vote a 5.0 there is no reason for me to not use my HOH on this type of submission. As a matter of fact it will be the one and only time I make myself feel guilty for not putting my HOH vote on a sub. If it is a 4.5 vote of mine, I have to think about it. If it shows promise and an everlasting fulfillment with me then it may get a HOH vote. Anything below 4.5 will not.
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? Responses (16)
'Now You're Talking!' :P
Guess I don't need to finish that post now.
Didn't mean to take any of your thunder Moon... I just saw a number of comments lately that made me wonder what people thought of others voting practices... now they can't wonder at mine.
Very useful. Shall I put my voting perferences in this post?
Why not, we can turn it into a scroll of voting techniques.
Good, solid summary of how things probably should work. Nicely done.
Good, solid description of how voting should work. Interestingly, the only point I disagree with you (though of course this is just a personal thing) is on how I use my HOH votes. Although I'll use them for a 5 or a 4.5, I'll also often use them for a 3.5 or 4 (or even a 2.5 or 3) if I think they are things that other people would find interesting. For example, some 3.0 posts contain stunning ideas that are just let down by very poor execution, grammar, description and so on but that someone reading it could still be inspired by. I guess I tend to award marks based on a combination of ideas and execution, but HOH primarily on ideas (unless the execution is of 5 quality).
I mirror Iain's on the HoH's besides that this is a very good post that I have been itching to see in the citadel. I think it is a good idea to have this as a scroll and see what the other strolenites think voting should be. A good initiative Mourngrymn.
By all means at no point did I say this is how it should be with everyone. This is just how I use my votes and how I distinguish one from the other. I see no reason why others couldn't use their HOH in a different manner, I expect that as we all each have our own opinion and that is the one thing we have in this world that is truely unique.
But yes I changed this to a scroll so anyone wishing to add their comments to how they vote should go and add them up. As a matter fo fact I challenge each and everyone of you who have commented to put at least one defined voting practice up in the scroll.
While while a little outdated compared to the current 1-5 voting text, the basic principle still applies solidly.
Perhaps if everyone had such a sub explaining their voting preferences people would be less likely to be confused/upset when someone votes low on a sub others voted high on?
Either way, an enlightening glimpse into the inner workings of Mourns voting method, and well worth the read.
Yes thi is a little dated and I could probably look into fixing it up a bit toward the improved site, however it doesn't change my voting practice to much as a whole so. But I am glad to know it has sparked the idea for you to create one for yourself. I think having it in your head or even written down helps with the personal favorites that get in the way at times. As there are some peoples subs I would tend to vote higher on because I like the author, when I think of that I glimps at this and get my true vote down. It helps, but its not for everyone.
This is definately an interesting submission.
Had I joined the site a few years ago then I would no doubt be able to make my own 'Voting Practices' submission. Alas I suppose it will have to wait.
I also agree with the idea of everyone knowing why they were given X out of 5.
For me this is a 3.5 out of 5.
I shall need to gather more submitting, voting and commenting experience before making my own version.
This is great, actually. It gives insight into how other people vote. And if Mourngrymn ever gives me a 3.5, I can look here and see what he means. I should write something like this.
Aye it'd be handy if more Strolenites had such a sub, knowing how and why people vote rating X on a sub would be extremely helpful in understanding what they look for in a 'excellent' sub, and make the Law of the Hammer largely obsolete.
I wrote one of these ages back, wasn't quite as well received however, likely due to the timing of the presentation.
This is actually VERY old and while most of this I still adhere to my voting has changed some.
3.5/5
I've been meaning to write up my own Voting CoC for a while now. I can't believe I haven't voted or even commented on this one. It has re-ignited the whole 'open/hidden' votes argument in my head.
Thanks for this sub Mourn :)
