DinoToyBlog Star Ratings

[DinoToyForum]

@DinoToyForum Back on topic for this thread, I wonder if there's a way to reset the votes that had been tampered with by this particular individual (or others)? Perhaps something can be implemented to prevent re-votes (or without one removing them first), like the forum polls do for example.

I can certainly delete the duplicate votes but it would be a time-consuming task to go through them one at a time or even in batches. I'm sure I could simply reset ratings directly in the database, but that would remove all the genuine votes to date, so I'm reluctant to do that.

The good news, I suppose, is that I don't think it is bots after all. I think it is 'enthusiastic' voters voting and counter-voting to bias the results. Now that I'm asking people to stop doing so, and now they know they are leaving a record, I hope it will become easier for me to identify those abusing the system.

I have also started to block the worst offending IP addresses. I'll be happy to remove those blocks that turn out to be enthusiastic members so long as they DM me to promise not to do it again.

[SidB]

@DinoToyForum Back on topic for this thread, I wonder if there's a way to reset the votes that had been tampered with by this particular individual (or others)? Perhaps something can be implemented to prevent re-votes (or without one removing them first), like the forum polls do for example.

I can certainly delete the duplicate votes but it would be a time-consuming task to go through them one at a time or even in batches. I'm sure I could simply reset ratings directly in the database, but that would remove all the genuine votes to date, so I'm reluctant to do that.

The good news, I suppose, is that I don't think it is bots after all. I think it is 'enthusiastic' voters voting and counter-voting to bias the results. Now that I'm asking people to stop doing so, and now they know they are leaving a record, I hope it will become easier for me to identify those abusing the system.

I have also started to block the worst offending IP addresses. I'll be happy to remove those blocks that turn out to be enthusiastic members so long as they DM me to promise not to do it again.

@DinoToyForum , a thought - when I started voting for the renewed listings on the DTB on the chronological pages, I voted directly there. Nothing happened, so I then went to the "Read more" tab and voted there. That registered immediately. I did this a fair number of times, as sometimes my first page vote worked, sometimes NOT. But later I noted that I'd successfully voted twice, in error.. Eventually, the problem no longer manifested (and it no longer does). Perhaps a few other people had the same problem and will show some or many duplicate votes (not multiple, of course).

[Mellow Stego]

I think what might help a lot would be to have a multiple rating system .

So instead of just giving a score of 1 through 5 stars, it can be like:

Paint ⭐️ ⭐️
Sculpt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Accuracy ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Etc...

Ending with an overall average of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Idk, just spit balling here.

[Stegotyranno420]

I think what might help a lot would be to have a multiple rating system .

So instead of just giving a score of 1 through 5 stars, it can be like:

Paint ⭐️ ⭐️
Sculpt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Accuracy ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Etc...

Ending with an overall average of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Idk, just spit balling here.

I agree its a good idea, but not only we will need to go over all past reviews but I am not sure the template has such an option.

[Mellow Stego]

@Stegotyranno420 true, I didn't even think about all the past reviews.

[Crackington]

Yes, that would be a great idea @Mellow Stego, though probably difficult in practice as @Stegotyranno420 points out.

If we could do it the categories and marking might need some thought. The paint category wouldn't apply to monochrome models for example, so I think we would need a "Not applicable" option for each category too.

I'd also like to see another category which somehow allows for a historical perspective so that old figures aren't penalised too much for, well being old and dated .

Maybe we could call it "Historical Significance" and it might work with the "N/A" option for current toys. This would hopefully encourage members to think about these oldies more in the round and hopefully read the actual blog reviews which are generally very good at outlining figures' provenance.

[DinoToyForum]

I think what might help a lot would be to have a multiple rating system .

So instead of just giving a score of 1 through 5 stars, it can be like:

Paint ⭐️ ⭐️
Sculpt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Accuracy ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Etc...

Ending with an overall average of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Idk, just spit balling here.

I believe this is possible with the plugin I use, it would look like so:

I felt it was better to keep it simple rather than clog up the reviews with star categories. I'm not sure how much value ratings for categories would add, or how important star ratings are in general. Unlike movies, books, games etc. where star ratings are likely to influence whether someone buys it, I doubt many readers put much stock in the ratings for dinosaur toys – people can judge a toy and decide whether they want to buy it relatively easily from the pictures.

I'd also be put in a predicament if I had to give a star rating for "accuracy" for, say, an Invicta model, but it would probably be overkill to have an "accuracy for its time" rating and an "accuracy based on current evidence" rating.

However, I could experiment with this if people are overwhelmingly in favour.

[BlueKrono]

Personally I wouldn't need a division of categories. I'm gonna buy a dino toy if I like it even if everyone else on the forum rates it a 1.

[suspsy]

It strikes me as too complicated, especially for casual visitors of the blog. I think the one star rating system should be left as is.

[ceratopsian]

My views too.

It strikes me as too complicated, especially for casual visitors of the blog. I think the one star rating system should be left as is.

[Gwangi]

I also think it's too complicated and unnecessary. The review itself goes over aspects of sculpt and paint quality, accuracy, historical significance (if applicable), etc. You don't have to agree with the sentiments of the reviewer but what is written along with the pictures (if quality is sufficient) should be enough for any undecided person to come to a conclusion about a figure. 

[Gwangi]

Why? Because of Nostalgia? Nostalgia is toxic...just like many of the toys associated with it. KICK NOSTALGIA TO THE CURB!
 

I've been thinking about this sentiment. In a lot of contexts I am pretty suspicious of nostalgia, when it takes the form of "Life was simpler when..." or "This country has gone downhill since..." That kind of nostalgia is often toxic and reactionary. But I guess I think toy nostalgia is one of the more harmless kinds. I don't really understand nostalgia myself--I appreciate the artistry of Invicta or Marx without having any particular attachment to the figures or desire to own them--but it doesn't bother me. Similarly, I think the original Jurassic Park was a very good movie, and I still enjoy watching it from time to time, but I don't have any desire to own figures depicting the characters or creatures in it. Clearly a lot of people do, which is fine, but I don't really relate to it.

When it comes to things like dinosaur toys or movies I am definitely nostalgic but I'm not one of those "life was simpler" kind of people that I frankly find insufferable and potentially dangerous (MAGA). With something like old dinosaur toys or movies they feel like a direct link to another time in my life that I cannot get back. They help me more vividly recall the people, places, and events that are gone and I cannot have again. But a toy or movie that connects you with those things is something that I find powerful and meaningful. When I watch a movie I have nostalgia for and have seen before it ties me to other times when I experienced it. Example...

When I watch Jurassic Park I feel connected to 9 y/o me sitting in the movie theater seeing it for the first time, the 16 y/o me eating an entire watermelon half while watching it on VHS on my bed in the middle of a hot summer day, the 21 y/o me eating chicken wings with my brother-in-law while watching it in my first house, and the 29 y/o me watching it again in the theater in 3D with a group of friends that I'll never have again. I have a vivid memory, I'm not sure that most people can remember where they were and what they were doing when they did something as simple as watch a movie, but I can. Similarly, I collect vintage dinosaur toys because my father collected them when I was a kid, and it was a passion we shared. He's gone now but having Marx dinosaurs around my house feels like a connection to him, an honoring of him. My avatar is actually a childhood drawing of my father's.

But yeah, that's just me and why nostalgia is both a blessing and a curse, because it is often as painful as it is anything else. Maybe other folks don't reflect on the past like that, maybe they haven't lived long enough or experienced enough changes, or maybe they're happy to be rid of the past and only move forward. I can't speak for them but I both envy and pity the people that don't feel the effects of nostalgia and effects of their own lives previously lived. All that said, nostalgia is never much of a factor when it comes to rating dinosaur toys. The age and historical importance of it is though.       

[ceratopsian]

Very well expressed @Gwangi.

I fully realise nostalgia can be dangerous. When that happens it seems to me an abuse of something that is quite a natural emotion, one that can be bitter-sweet. I'm certainly not one who views the past with rose coloured spectacles. But I'm old enough to feel the pull of times, places and people gone that have meant something to me in the course of my life.

[laticauda]

Nostalgia can be nice and wonderful, as well as dangerous and mean, because it is all based on feelings and experiences.  If someone treats a toy, story, music, etc. that I have connection to in a positive way, it can make me happy.  Of course, it can be true the other way as well.  Each person is allowed their opinion.  I grew up watching movies from 30's on up.  Black and white shows in my house was as popular as color shows.  Music was the same way.  To my mind as a child, Beethoven was just as relevant as Madonna, or Glen Miller compared to U2.  When I talk to my students, most of them have little knowledge beyond what is current.   They know the latest Rod Wave song but have no idea who the Beatles were.  Everybody has a reason to why they like or dislike something.  I enjoy exposing people to ideas or things that they haven't heard or seen.  In the end it is their choice what they want to do with it. 

Here's my long-winded point is.  The rankings are nice, and I enjoy putting my opinion in.  If the score is different from what I expect, I don't care.  Maybe I am the only person who likes that toy, or the opposite, I am the only one who dislikes it.  It has no further effect on me.  I am a firm believer in looking into the facts, and not stopping at whatever a ranking tells me. 

[DinoToyForum]

I'll keep the single overall star rating then. I'll see if I can completely reset specific reviews that have been the focus of abuse, e.g. Mattel Nothosaurus.

[DinoToyForum]

I can't reset entire specific reviews so I'm having to delete the duplicate votes manually, one by one. I've begun doing this for the Nothosaurus, so the rating for that is starting to balance out. The scale of the abuse by one particular member, who is currently banned from voting, was immense. They cast literally hundreds of duplicate votes for single figures.

[ceratopsian]

Thanks for undertaking this labour @DinoToyForum.

[Ikessauro]

I can't reset entire specific reviews so I'm having to delete the duplicate votes manually, one by one. I've begun doing this for the Nothosaurus, so the rating for that is starting to balance out. The scale of the abuse by one particular member, who is currently banned from voting, was immense. They cast literally hundreds of duplicate votes for single figures.

I would assume this member is a  younger one to have that amount of free time to spare on this.

[Crackington]

Is there anyway to limit the voting to just one per member? I didn't know you could vote more than once but thinking about it, may have inadvertently done so if I'd forgotten I voted for a figure!

@Ikessauro - it could also be an older member if they are not working any more? I guess we shouldn't speculate though and leave Dr Admin to do what he needs to do to prevent it happening again.

[Ikessauro]

Is there anyway to limit the voting to just one per member? I didn't know you could vote more than once but thinking about it, may have inadvertently done so if I'd forgotten I voted for a figure!

@Ikessauro - it could also be an older member if they are not working any more? I guess we shouldn't speculate though and leave Dr Admin to do what he needs to do to prevent it happening again.

I just don't see an old retired dude that invested in a single figure rating on a toy blog. Could happen, but sounds more like a childish behavior to me. I see no harm in speculating, since I'm not asking anyone to reveal the person's identity. I mentioned it might be a kid because some people seem to be very upset with the situation and it is good to remind everyone that sometimes all that is happening is a small kid that doesn't know better having fun with something they like very, very, VERY much. Not worth losing sleep over .