How do you rate puzzles?

[PianoManGidley]

Okay, so in the 10-star rating system for all the different attributes to the puzzle we can rate, how do you determine how much you rate something? For a lot of the puzzles I come across, it feels like either people are just generally very easily impressed, or else they treat issues like Inspiring or Thought-Provoking as a binary issue, where if it provokes even the smallest amount of thought or inspires them a tiny bit, they rate it at 10 stars. Maybe I've just spent more time thinking on philosophical issues in my life, or maybe it just takes more to impress me, but I've rarely come across any quotes here that truly deserve that big of a rating, IMO.

For an example:

"Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself." - Plato

2 people before me had given that a 10-star rating for both Inspirational and Thought-Provoking. It doesn't seem THAT inspiring OR thought-provoking for me. It's a simple statement, somewhat cleverly put, that seems to hold validity. Nothing more. I didn't find it life-changing. I wasn't doing backflips when I read it. I was just like, "...Okay. Seems true."

[pootie49]

My response...

1. Subjective

2. Alot of guests playing, and possibly they like to click on things

IMO

[ferrym85]

Exactly... the ratings are subjective.

Your opinions are not the same as others. It's as simple as that. Rate the puzzles according to how YOU feel and don't worry so much about how the other people on the site rated them.

In the end, does it really matter at all how many stars a puzzle got for being though-provoking or interesting? No. It doesn't.

[PianoManGidley]

Well, I know it's subjective and all that. I'm just trying to see why there's such a discrepancy between my own opinions and others'.

[ferrym85]

Because no two people are exactly the same. That's why.

I'm sure most people aren't putting nearly as much thought into the ratings as you are.

[maradnu]

Rating

Different world views.

"One man's meat is another man's poison", kind of thing.

I'm sure you've looked at a few on-line commentary sites, and if you read many you will see what sometimes is a frightening range of opinions on all manner of things.

[bansaisequoia]

Looking at things with the multi-faceted eyes of a fly passed through a sieve

I've rarely come across any quotes here that truly deserve that big of a rating, IMO. 

PianoManGidley, I'm glad you have a dissenting opinion that compels you to believe that the thoughts of Voltaire, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, Max Planck, Marshall McLuhan and Archimedes are not worthy of big ratings.



Secretly, off the record, I think Plato is not so bright either.

"Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself." - Plato 

He also believed in the lost Continent of Atlantis with no empirical evidence. And the unfounded teachings of his pupil, Aristotle, led to some of the Renaissance persecution of Galileo, a true thinker. Let's hope the 21st Century leads to better things.

[Altoid701]

I rarely rate quotes in that way. I always rate the difficulty, and I have a complex method of doing so, but I'll only rate the other qualities if the quote strikes me in a certain way. For example, if I re-read the quote and it strikes me as thought-provoking and I feel the need to rate it as such, I'll usually give it a 10. I don't really think about the actual number that much, I just feel the need to say that I think it's thought-provoking, click on the 10th star, and move on to the next quote. I'm pretty fast-paced when it comes to cryptos so I don't think about it much. For me, most of the qualities we vote on are kinda hit or miss, meaning that they either are or aren't inspiring, witty, offensive, etc. So if I for some reason feel an urge to vote on one, I don't dwell on the number.

Sorry if any of that explanation was redundant. My brain's fried.

[momof6]

rating the cryptograms

In response to some strange ratings on cryptograms, remember that not everybody takes this site all that seriously. Case in point, two of my kids used to love coming on this site and rating every cryptogram that they solved as extremely offensive. They thought it was hilarious. Then they would go to the chat room and type in comments about how this site wasn't competitive enough..... They got a rise out of Maradnu and that made their day. (Although they were quite put out when he figured out that obeast was my kids). A few days later I was in the chat room and people were commenting on how easily people were offended by quotes that could in no way shape of form be construed as offensive. When I told them, let's just say they were quite pleased with themselves. I'm sure they're not the only ones who have a different type of enjoyable time on this site. As I said to Maradnu at the time, there are worse ways for two teenagers to spend their time.

[bansaisequoia]

there are worse ways for two teenagers to spend their time.
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