I have an idea that I like but I have not put the project to the programmers yet but wanted to see the opinion of you guys.

Reviews are on the site and have ratings for:

Fantastic/Left Wanting More

Great Time

Satisfactory

Once is Enough

Not for Me

Not for Anyone

I am thinking about converting this to a point scale of 1-10 or 1-5. The reason is I would like to have an average score for the people reviewed. Ex: if they have 20 reviews, they would also have a score for the Average.

We would then be able to search for most reviewed, highest average, etc.

What are your thoughts? Good Idea? Bad Idea?

If we do this, what number would you give the above ratings that are older on the site? If Fantastic/Left Wanting More is a 10, then what are the other numbers for each category?

Lastly, if we do this, should it be only for those reviewed in the future or we give out those numbers for past reviews as well?

This is not a done deal. TampaYankee is the guy in charge of the reviews and in the end it is his call. But, I wanted to throw this out there to get input on this from members so that he can make a decision.

Please let me know if any of the above needs clarification.

Please give your input on this. Thanks.

Oz

How about just convert the existing scale directly to 0-5:

5 = Fantastic...

0 = Not for anyone

That way the math of average score will work directly equivalent for old and new reviews.

And a "0" rating seems more emphatic than just a "1" to denote "AVOID AT ALL COST." Which regrettably most have had one or two of.

When you institute numerical scores on any website it attracts people to do whatever they can to manipulate the scores. A guy with an axe to grind will create a dozen dummy accounts to lower an average, meanwhile the escort would get all his friends to create accounts to create a fake high average.

That's how the Internet works.

I agree with AdamSmith! 1 - 10 is too big a range I think. What would be the difference between a 1 and a 2 or 3(all would be bad IMHO) or a 7 and 8 on a 10 scale? . for me 3 is a big enough range. 1- forget him 2- ok but wouldn't repeat and 3- set your appointment with him now!

Tomcal's 3 point scale is appealing, but I'd like to be able to distinguish between 'good' & 'outstanding'.

AdamSmith's solution for mapping the current ratings to a number scale is a neat solution, but..I'm not sure of the difference between 'Once is enough' and 'Not for me'.

I think I'd prefer a 1-5 scale, but I'm not sure if I'd combine 'Once is enough' with 'Satisfactory' (3) or 'Not for me' (2).

From discussions elsewhere, I know that some people think 'satisfactory' has negative connotations.

When you institute numerical scores on any website it attracts people to do whatever they can to manipulate the scores. A guy with an axe to grind will create a dozen dummy accounts to lower an average, meanwhile the escort would get all his friends to create accounts to create a fake high average.

That's how the Internet works.

They can do the same thing now (fake reviews) and the new system would require just as much effort, but I guess your point is that an average score is more visible than inividual ratings & therefore attracts more manipulation?

1-5

Best regards,

RA1

1-5 here too..

Yes, average scores are more visable and easily to manipulate.

When you institute numerical scores on any website it attracts people to do whatever they can to manipulate the scores. A guy with an axe to grind will create a dozen dummy accounts to lower an average, meanwhile the escort would get all his friends to create accounts to create a fake high average.

That's how the Internet works.

Yes, but on boytoy, all reviews are vetted for accuracy and reliability. It is not just anyone who gets the review posted and we don't write our own reviews like other sites. Here, the reviews that get counted in the tally would be the ones that were approved by the admin.

IMO changing review ratings to a numerical scale is unnecessary. Software can do that to generate averages which can then be reported numerically or mapped back into the original rating scale. Some computers are smart enough to do that.

It doesn't matter to me either way. The ratings are very subjective anyway, so whether it's a number or a descriptor, it will be the reviewer's interpretation anyway. So I vote for which ever way Oz can utilize the ratings to the advantage of his website.

Nothing wrong with the current system for me. If we're going numerical I like 1 - 5.

My only hesitation is that I think the "Not for me." is really not a score at all.

So if you can opt out of scoring for whatever reason, any scale works for me.

I so rarely read the reviews it wouldn't matter to me. I usually forget that they are there.

1 to 5 would work better than 1 to 10 overall.

Thank you for your advice and input. We are working on some things.

Well, I guess that I should express an opinion. so,

For 1-10 I give it a 7

For 1-5 I give it a 9.5

For 1-3 I give it a 2

Come to think, one has had the occasional experience that needed to be rated using an irrational number.

And one or two that rated an imaginary number.

Well, I guess that I should express an opinion. so,

For 1-10 I give it a 7

For 1-5 I give it a 9.5

For 1-3 I give it a 2

For your scale on this, I'd give it an 8.7.