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Dinotoyblog ratings not working

Started by Bokisaurus, November 02, 2020, 04:16:15 PM

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Bokisaurus

Also, I noticed that the last 2 days, when you give a rating on a review it doesn't show up and doesn't give you a notice that it accepted it. The rating also disappears off and on for the last 3 reviews.
Could there be something affected when trying out the fact box?


DinoToyForum

Quote from: Bokisaurus on November 02, 2020, 04:16:15 PM
Good luck!
Also, I noticed that the last 2 days, when you give a rating on a review it doesn't show up and doesn't give you a notice that it accepted it. The rating also disappears off and on for the last 3 reviews.
Could there be something affected when trying out the fact box?

Ah, thanks for pointing this out, you are quite right there is something odd happening with the ratings. It won't be because of the fact box, I'll look into it.


DinoToyForum

#2
So, the reason the star ratings are not working is because the blog has reached the maximum limit of 'signals' (ratings and votes) on my free Crowdsignal plan. This is the ratings plugin I use. I could upgrade by paying $15 a month for a premium plan, which would give me unlimited ratings, but that seems steep to me – I'd rather find a cheaper or free solution! I'll look around. In the meantime, I'm afraid new votes will not be logged. :(


DinoToyForum

Thanks for understanding! A correction to my last post, I think new votes are still being logged by the service, but won't appear on the site...


DinoToyForum

72,735 rating votes have been cast in total, no wonder we reached the limit!


suspsy

Untitled by suspsy3, on Flickr

Libraraptor

Thanks for correcting this, avatar_DinoToyForum @dinotoyforum  ! I was already wondering if something´s wrong with my computer?!

DinoToyForum

#7
I've been putting this off for several years now but had to bite the bullet eventually – I've changed the star ratings system on the Dinosaur Toy Blog.

The old system was broken because we had exceeded the number of allowed votes. So, the only way to make it work again was to pay (nope), or start from scratch with a different system. I loath to lose all of the ratings that visitors have submitted over the past decade but I'm afraid it's the only viable option.

To put a more positive spin on this, it will be fun to go through the blog reviews to add our star ratings again! So, get voting!


ceratopsian

Definitely the right decision not to pay!!

suspsy

I've put out an announcement on the Facebook page. It would probably be a good idea to announce this on the blog itself, avatar_DinoToyForum @DinoToyForum. Why don't I do that now and then you can switch it over to your account like you do with the other announcements?  :)
Untitled by suspsy3, on Flickr


DinoToyForum

Quote from: suspsy on February 05, 2023, 12:49:58 PMI've put out an announcement on the Facebook page. It would probably be a good idea to announce this on the blog itself, avatar_DinoToyForum @DinoToyForum. Why don't I do that now and then you can switch it over to your account like you do with the other announcements?  :)

I think it will suffice to post it here on the forum and on social media. It's not such a big announcement to justify blogging about it as well.


suspsy

Untitled by suspsy3, on Flickr

SidB

Quote from: DinoToyForum on February 05, 2023, 11:22:03 AMI've been putting this off for several years now but had to bite the bullet eventually – I've changed the star ratings system on the Dinosaur Toy Blog.

The old system was broken because we had exceeded the number of allowed votes. So, the only way to make it work again was to pay (nope), or start from scratch with a different system. I loath to lose all of the ratings that visitors have submitted over the past decade but I'm afraid it's the only viable option.

To put a more positive spin on this, it will be fun to go through the blog reviews to add our star ratings again! So, get voting!
I'll bet that the overall ratings for a good number of figures, especially the older ones reviewed in the past, may change and sometimes change quite dramatically. The bar has risen on the standards by which we judge them.

Gwangi

Quote from: SidB on February 05, 2023, 01:47:51 PM
Quote from: DinoToyForum on February 05, 2023, 11:22:03 AMI've been putting this off for several years now but had to bite the bullet eventually – I've changed the star ratings system on the Dinosaur Toy Blog.

The old system was broken because we had exceeded the number of allowed votes. So, the only way to make it work again was to pay (nope), or start from scratch with a different system. I loath to lose all of the ratings that visitors have submitted over the past decade but I'm afraid it's the only viable option.

To put a more positive spin on this, it will be fun to go through the blog reviews to add our star ratings again! So, get voting!
I'll bet that the overall ratings for a good number of figures, especially the older ones reviewed in the past, may change and sometimes change quite dramatically. The bar has risen on the standards by which we judge them.

I already take age into context when voting for a figure. Which is why I gave the Marx T. rex the same rating as PNSO's. I also take what the figure is into context. I'm not looking at and judging a Mattel toy through same lens through which I would something by Eofauna. An action figure should be judged for what it is and how well it succeeds at it, a high end collectible should also. 

Gwangi

Going through and recasting votes and I see that someone does not share my above philosophy. Every Mattel toy I came across was rated 1 star. Ridiculous.  ::)

Crackington

Totally agree avatar_Gwangi @Gwangi - I get a bit annoyed when I see really old figures like Marx or Pyros etc with 1 star on the blog or on the Dinotoycollector site.

I tend to then give them the maximum score to help even things up a bit :D

Gwangi

Quote from: Crackington on February 05, 2023, 06:15:36 PMTotally agree avatar_Gwangi @Gwangi - I get a bit annoyed when I see really old figures like Marx or Pyros etc with 1 star on the blog or on the Dinotoycollector site.

I tend to then give them the maximum score to help even things up a bit :D

Same. I see Marx reviews getting 1 or 2 stars. Personally, I give every Marx toy no less than 3. Some are better than others but we're talking about 60 year old toys here, the age needs to factor in. These were the first mass produced dinosaur toys of their kind and they're way better than a lot of the bargain bin junk that followed and persists to this day. People are unable to look at things objectively. Their line of thinking is as basic as "I don't like it so it's bad". There are a lot of things I do not collect but I can still judge them with a critical eye and assess their quality.

suspsy

I am glad that the Rebor T. rex no longer has . . . what was it, in excess of 500 votes because of that silly spat they caused?
Untitled by suspsy3, on Flickr

SidB

Quote from: Gwangi on February 05, 2023, 06:22:13 PM
Quote from: Crackington on February 05, 2023, 06:15:36 PMTotally agree avatar_Gwangi @Gwangi - I get a bit annoyed when I see really old figures like Marx or Pyros etc with 1 star on the blog or on the Dinotoycollector site.

I tend to then give them the maximum score to help even things up a bit :D

Same. I see Marx reviews getting 1 or 2 stars. Personally, I give every Marx toy no less than 3. Some are better than others but we're talking about 60 year old toys here, the age needs to factor in. These were the first mass produced dinosaur toys of their kind and they're way better than a lot of the bargain bin junk that followed and persists to this day. People are unable to look at things objectively. Their line of thinking is as basic as "I don't like it so it's bad". There are a lot of things I do not collect but I can still judge them with a critical eye and assess their quality.
Many of the Invicta received that same lack of objectivity when rating them too.

SidB

Quote from: suspsy on February 05, 2023, 06:35:57 PMI am glad that the Rebor T. rex no longer has . . . what was it, in excess of 500 votes because of that silly spat they caused?
That might have been the low point on the blog.

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