Software Ratings

[Dzz]

It seems like the ratings on archive.gp2x.de could ideally be a valuable resource to help new gp2x purchasers hunt for things they might like. Unfortunately, the current scheme is completely broken, and I wonder if it could be fixed. The best you can say about the "Top Rated" is that it usually contains some pretty good stuff that nobody got around to attacking yet. There is some small value in that but not much.

The biggest problem is lack of regulation. As an experiment, I went to the site as a Guest and quickly gave Minigolf (which had no ratings previously) 20 ratings of 10/10 each, making it the top rated program. Sure enough, within a couple of minutes somebody wanting to keep the Top Rated looking the way they want came along and gave it 8 ratings of 0, bumping it down far enough to not appear. It looks like this sort of stuff goes on all the time and dominates any useful result that the ratings might produce.

As an example easily found, the Cafix source has been downloaded 23 times but has receive 117 rating votes.

Better than the current scheme would be to just disable the rating system entirely.

Better than that would be the following really simple changes:
1) Guests cannot rate things
2) Only one rating per login per item

Ideally, the votes would also be public. It would still be possible to abuse the system by making a bunch of logins, but it would be more difficult.

It would be nice if the main archive site had a non-worthless rating system, but if the archive maintainers don't want to bother, is there another way the community could get a more helpful resource?

 

[X-Code]

I look at content description and comments when available, ratings don't affect my decisions most of the time... Though what you point out is seriously unfair... Something must be done B)

Guest votes shouldn't count unless they have downloaded the prog that they wish to vote... No need to make them register, maybe a cookie or some form of session control could be used, not many people would bother to mask their IP behind a proxy just for this... Maybe I'm wrong :lol: .

 

[NoidZ]

Just make a poll for every program/game released from now on and stick it. Since there isn't a program released every day it could work I think.

 

[K0K0NUT_h3lmut]

Yeah, I have thought of bringing this up for a while. It seriously needs to change. It'll help the noobies know what the good apps and games are too.

 

[Ze_ro]

Doesn't this whole thing kind of fail considering the fact that most of the GP2X programs out there get new (and usually better) versions released every once in a while?

--Zero

 

[tshroom]

With every new release the ratings should be wiped clean. Then the people
who download the newer version can re-rate it. I wouldn't mind seeing mini reviews for some of the best progs and games by guest coders or other valuable members of the community.

 

[iatneH]

Yikes. I feel sorry for the author of Minigolf.

 

[EvilDragon]

Why didn't you say so earlier?

Removed all the votings from the archive, so we'll start from new.

Only registered uses can vote, and only once per program.


That should be all we need, right?

 

[thebooboo]

Just to add my 2 cents as I know you guys all love my opinions...

How about a game only being charted in the top ten etc. if it's received more than a certain number of votes. That way 1 vote of 10/10, 0/10 etc. wouldn't destabilise things so much?

 

[Orkie]

I wouldn't worry too much about that. If it doesn't deserve a 10/10, it won't have such a good rating for very long - somebody will vote it down.

 

[Dzz]

Why didn't you say so earlier?

Removed all the votings from the archive, so we'll start from new.

Only registered uses can vote, and only once per program.


That should be all we need, right?

Wow, ok!

Everybody vote!

 

[Ranma13]

What about implementing a bell curve rating system? Instead of just taking all the scores and averaging them, it takes the mean value and then adds the standard deviation?

 

[tshroom]

What about implementing a bell curve rating system? Instead of just taking all the scores and averaging them, it takes the mean value and then adds the standard deviation?

Calm down spanky.

 

[sand_man]

What about implementing a bell curve rating system? Instead of just taking all the scores and averaging them, it takes the mean value and then adds the standard deviation?

I'm not smart enough to understand that

 

[Parkydr]

Why didn't you say so earlier?

Removed all the votings from the archive, so we'll start from new.

Only registered uses can vote, and only once per program.


That should be all we need, right?

That should work much better.

(Just off to register as Parkydr1, Parkydr2 ... Parkydr100 and give 10/10 to Freedroid, Heroes2X and CDogs2X )

 

[DavidBeoulve]

Why didn't you say so earlier?

Removed all the votings from the archive, so we'll start from new.

Only registered uses can vote, and only once per program.

That should be all we need, right?

EvilDragon, you are super-fly.

 

[StewC869]

What about implementing a bell curve rating system? Instead of just taking all the scores and averaging them, it takes the mean value and then adds the standard deviation?

Calm down spanky.

Sounds more like a bell end rating sysyem to me.

 

[Dzz]

Well now I apologize for even bringing it up. The system I suggested doesn't work either.

 

[Magnulus]

Oh? What happened?

 

[Dzz]

Oh? What happened?

I was obviously curious about what would happen with this experiment so I have been watching the ratings a bit. With the small number of votes (something I unfortunately don't expect to change), it is too easy to bomb a high rated program especially with multiple accounts by giving it zero ratings. I assume this is done just to be annoying as a bit of anonymous vandalism. But as a result, there's only one program at the moment with a rating above 6.

This isn't being sour about my own programs being rated lowly (in fact two of them are at this moment in the top ten). It does mean that when a new program comes out and its author or early fans (who like the program) give it a high rating, it will go right to the top until the bombers come out and send it down and out of the running. This is exactly the same as the problem before the system changed.

Not a big deal of course.