4 ms·

Online reviews and rating systems do need an overhaul. I once tried to leave a review of a poor experience I had while staying at a short-term rental property,

Online reviews and rating systems do need an overhaul. I once tried to leave a review of a poor experience I had while staying at a short-term rental property, sticking to the facts with no melodrama; and the platform rejected my review as being "against policy". There's clearly no incentive at all for the platform to accept anyone's poor review, since that would mean less business for the platform. Not to mention all the e-commerce reviews that are along the lines of, "1-star: item was perfect and was everything I wanted it to be but it arrived three days late" or "5-stars: item sucks so bad that I returned it but the platform's return policy is great".

cutenewt 4y ago
Netflix removed 5-star ratings a while back; they don't have reviews either. Seems like it hasn't impacted the user experience. Arguably improved the experience. Perhaps other sites like Amazon and AirBnb should remove ratings and reviews too?
- jokethrowaway 4y ago
  Don't you have access to everything on Netflix? It's a different model On other platforms you're spending time and money, on Netflix only time.
- another_devy 4y ago
  In case of e-commerce reviews are crucial not sure of ratings. If I’m buying an item and couple of reviews point out something wrong in design or usage I avoid it. Without reviews it’s not possible
- superbaconman 4y ago
  Three star reviews feel more intuitive anyway: 1 bad 2 average 3 good. But when it comes to product reviews, accounts of hardware failures is super important imo.
- yakak 4y ago
  I was pretty disappointed with Netflix after they canceled the star system. Before they cancelled it they could fit my likes to other people with similar likes, after they cancelled it they could insist their own content was good enough for everyone.
- marcosdumay 4y ago
  The user experience on Netflix is quite bad. Trying to deduce things for a well optimized application from their example is hopeless.
  - pcurve 4y ago
    Agreed. It’s so bad you have other sites that contain Netflix catalog with much better experience
- YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
  A bad Netflix show can't give me food poisoning or burn my house down.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yet. I’m sure they’re working on it.
- fortran77 4y ago
  Netflix changed its review system after Amy Schumer's "The Leather Special". The story is interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Schumer:_The_Leather_Special#Reception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Schumer:_The_Leather_Speci...
- mckirk 4y ago
  Consequently, the only way I pick what to watch on Netflix is using either ratingraph.com or a browser plugin that shows ratings from other sites directly in Netflix's UI (don't remember what it's called at the moment).
tracker1 4y ago
I kind of wish Amazon would have three up/neutral/down vote options... product, seller, amazon platform... so that they can distinguish between customer service experience and the product itself. Then aggregate the scoring into an overall review experience. Leaving descriptive reviews ranked by positive/negative on the product itself. An leaning heavier on "insightful" feedback to shape rankings a bit.
- spacemadness 4y ago
  I think it’s incredibly convenient for Amazon to wrap it up in one score so it looks like the seller is at fault.
- 6510 4y ago
  Could also make the support conversations public (hiding the names) Some customers are utterly insane.
  - supertrope 4y ago
    Usually the bad reviews are obvious. A product explicitly Windows only in the title is panned by a Mac user. Someone gives one star for slow shipping.
    - 6510 4y ago
      I see plenty of web stores where all google reviews are from people who didn't buy anything: competitors. You can buy them by the thousands positive or negative, its not very expensive. The worse part is that [for a fee] these services offer guaranteed ratings. If you purchase 100 and one is deleted a new review will be posted, it continues until the count is back to 100. The bad reviews are not obvious at all. Even if you could spot them 100% of the time the average customer thinks they are real. Things are so bad the EU now requires any review system to be able to prove the reviews are from actual customers. Removing negative reviews is also not allowed. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_394 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_...

cutenewt 4y ago

Netflix removed 5-star ratings a while back; they don't have reviews either. Seems like it hasn't impacted the user experience. Arguably improved the experience. Perhaps other sites like Amazon and AirBnb should remove ratings and reviews too?

jokethrowaway 4y ago
Don't you have access to everything on Netflix? It's a different model On other platforms you're spending time and money, on Netflix only time.
another_devy 4y ago
In case of e-commerce reviews are crucial not sure of ratings. If I’m buying an item and couple of reviews point out something wrong in design or usage I avoid it. Without reviews it’s not possible
superbaconman 4y ago
Three star reviews feel more intuitive anyway: 1 bad 2 average 3 good. But when it comes to product reviews, accounts of hardware failures is super important imo.
yakak 4y ago
I was pretty disappointed with Netflix after they canceled the star system. Before they cancelled it they could fit my likes to other people with similar likes, after they cancelled it they could insist their own content was good enough for everyone.
marcosdumay 4y ago
The user experience on Netflix is quite bad. Trying to deduce things for a well optimized application from their example is hopeless.
- pcurve 4y ago
  Agreed. It’s so bad you have other sites that contain Netflix catalog with much better experience
YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
A bad Netflix show can't give me food poisoning or burn my house down.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Yet. I’m sure they’re working on it.
fortran77 4y ago
Netflix changed its review system after Amy Schumer's "The Leather Special". The story is interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Schumer:_The_Leather_Special#Reception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Schumer:_The_Leather_Speci...
mckirk 4y ago
Consequently, the only way I pick what to watch on Netflix is using either ratingraph.com or a browser plugin that shows ratings from other sites directly in Netflix's UI (don't remember what it's called at the moment).

tracker1 4y ago

I kind of wish Amazon would have three up/neutral/down vote options... product, seller, amazon platform... so that they can distinguish between customer service experience and the product itself. Then aggregate the scoring into an overall review experience. Leaving descriptive reviews ranked by positive/negative on the product itself. An leaning heavier on "insightful" feedback to shape rankings a bit.

spacemadness 4y ago
I think it’s incredibly convenient for Amazon to wrap it up in one score so it looks like the seller is at fault.
6510 4y ago
Could also make the support conversations public (hiding the names) Some customers are utterly insane.
- supertrope 4y ago
  Usually the bad reviews are obvious. A product explicitly Windows only in the title is panned by a Mac user. Someone gives one star for slow shipping.
  - 6510 4y ago
    I see plenty of web stores where all google reviews are from people who didn't buy anything: competitors. You can buy them by the thousands positive or negative, its not very expensive. The worse part is that [for a fee] these services offer guaranteed ratings. If you purchase 100 and one is deleted a new review will be posted, it continues until the count is back to 100. The bad reviews are not obvious at all. Even if you could spot them 100% of the time the average customer thinks they are real. Things are so bad the EU now requires any review system to be able to prove the reviews are from actual customers. Removing negative reviews is also not allowed. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_394 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_...