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This is a general comment. I am not defending Facebook at all. One of the problems with feedback systems is that they truly fail to present a balanced view of

This is a general comment. I am not defending Facebook at all. One of the problems with feedback systems is that they truly fail to present a balanced view of the user or customer base. The people with the motivation and drive to post reviews and feedback in ecosystems such as the App Store and Amazon are those with problems. And so the rating that is produced isn't a true reflection of how well an app is received or how good a product might be. We happen to have both a physical product business operating on Amazon and an app business on the Apple App Store. Based on this experience I'll say most apps and products receive feedback from 1 out of 500 to 1,000 people who purchase the product. Put another way, the rating figure is based on the opinions of approximately 0.1% of users, if that. And it is also far more likely that the review-posting population is highly biased in favor of people experiencing difficulties. In other words, based on my experience, I think these rating systems that consist of a linear vote count equation are deeply flawed as they fail to capture reality in any measurable way.

wl 12y ago
Facebook seems to be fishing for a broader selection of reviewers with nag screens asking for a review.
- jessaustin 12y ago
  That tactic wouldn't seem likely to generate favorable reviews.
throwawaymsft 12y ago
Review systems need "page rank" or at least some way to filter based on whether you, personally, found a review helpful. I don't care if a 10 year old rated an app 1 star because they didn't like the colors, or a new computer user was confused by an interface. I want to know if people like me -- with my experience level -- found the app difficult. Movie reviews follow the same thing, it's hard to look at overall ratings. I want to know the opinions of people like me.
- kevb 12y ago
  App updates also throw off reviews quite a bit, an update that changes a behavior (or color like you said) is likely to receive a large amount of negative reviews, just because users were used to the old way. These reviews are potentially valuable information for other users of the previous version. However it's mostly irrelevant to new users.
im3w1l 12y ago
But, that holds true for all apps. So why is facebook rated comparatively worse?
- rebootthesystem 12y ago
  People don't divide their time equally between apps. I have apps I haven't touched in a year. I would venture to guess the FB app is only behind phone and SMS in terms of usage. This means that, yes, review are far more likely to be left for the FB app and, within that user base, those with issues have far more motivation to leave reviews than those who are happy. Again, not saying the FB app is good. I barely use it. Don't know. What I am saying is that review systems in general are very broken.
dman 12y ago
On the other hand there are various paid schemes that give glowing 5 star reviews without providing any kind of meaningful real world feedback about the product.
Kaibert123 12y ago
Well, if you read the beginning of the post, that's mentioned too. The theory that alot of people are suffering in silence so to speak. A ninety percent negative rating though...that almost puts a guarantee that there is a fire, not just smoke.

wl 12y ago

Facebook seems to be fishing for a broader selection of reviewers with nag screens asking for a review.

jessaustin 12y ago
That tactic wouldn't seem likely to generate favorable reviews.

throwawaymsft 12y ago

Review systems need "page rank" or at least some way to filter based on whether you, personally, found a review helpful. I don't care if a 10 year old rated an app 1 star because they didn't like the colors, or a new computer user was confused by an interface. I want to know if people like me -- with my experience level -- found the app difficult. Movie reviews follow the same thing, it's hard to look at overall ratings. I want to know the opinions of people like me.

kevb 12y ago
App updates also throw off reviews quite a bit, an update that changes a behavior (or color like you said) is likely to receive a large amount of negative reviews, just because users were used to the old way. These reviews are potentially valuable information for other users of the previous version. However it's mostly irrelevant to new users.

im3w1l 12y ago

But, that holds true for all apps. So why is facebook rated comparatively worse?

rebootthesystem 12y ago
People don't divide their time equally between apps. I have apps I haven't touched in a year. I would venture to guess the FB app is only behind phone and SMS in terms of usage. This means that, yes, review are far more likely to be left for the FB app and, within that user base, those with issues have far more motivation to leave reviews than those who are happy. Again, not saying the FB app is good. I barely use it. Don't know. What I am saying is that review systems in general are very broken.

dman 12y ago

On the other hand there are various paid schemes that give glowing 5 star reviews without providing any kind of meaningful real world feedback about the product.

Kaibert123 12y ago

Well, if you read the beginning of the post, that's mentioned too. The theory that alot of people are suffering in silence so to speak. A ninety percent negative rating though...that almost puts a guarantee that there is a fire, not just smoke.