Updates to Changes: Beer Hads, Full Reviews & Ratings

Blog Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by Todd, Jan 10, 2013.

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  1. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    I noticed that if you go to a beer and click on the "Bros" review, when the page reloads it will show the hads as well as full reviews (the checkbox is automatically checked off). I am not sure if this is a glitch or it is supposed to happen but I thought I would bring it up.
     
  2. HalfFull

    HalfFull Pooh-Bah (1,870) Feb 19, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    So I've only known about Hads being incorporated into rating reviews for one hour, and it is blatantly obvious to me that serious manipulation is in order. Just as site reviews are sometimes manipulated by owners creating bogus accounts to flood them with 5.0 reviews one after the other, the same seems to be in use by some small brewers. Many sought after beers have now been 'had' by countless users who hide behind a long black veil. I wonder what is the true percentage who have actually had the beer? And they give it a number, but if you review and the weighting changes, then your number changes. The legitimacy of it all, while always taken with a grain of salt, is now much more suspect than ever.
     
    spinrsx, endovelico, mactrail and 2 others like this.
  3. gcamparone

    gcamparone Pooh-Bah (2,057) Dec 6, 2011 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Don't let hads influence the rating in my opinion. If you don't have a few minutes to explain your rating, then your rating doesn't deserve to count.
     
    endovelico, kevanb and jrnyc like this.
  4. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    This occurs when you click on a URL that calls for a specific BA's (or Bros) rating. It's not a glitch. It needs to show Hads as the BA might have only done a Had for the beer, so it defaults to Hads view temporarily. Clicking on a link after this that doesn't call for a specific BA rating will result in whatever your current view is set to.
     
  5. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    This UI has already been addressed in the site redesign; it's going to be much more user friendly, functional and efficient. I'm not in favor of having new ratings default on a selected number though.
     
  6. papat444

    papat444 Initiate (0) Dec 28, 2006 Canada (QC)

    The only downside i see is if a beer gets a bad score because of a had, no way of knowing if they're reviewing an out of date bottle and being fair to it.
     
  7. Rochefort10nh

    Rochefort10nh Pooh-Bah (1,816) Sep 30, 2005 New Hampshire
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    After a week or so with the changes I couldn't agree with this more! Hads are useless on the recent review page. Please make the full reviews the default as it is much more informative and entertaining - plus it highlights the site's major difference between the other sites out there - thought, creativity and passion.
     
  8. atone315

    atone315 Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2008 Wisconsin

    After perusing all the threads on "Hads" and "Reviews", I would like to make a suggestion. I use the "Hads" function, exclusively. I would love to contribute more by reviewing beers, but quite frankly I have little faith in my ability to review a beer. I have a feeling I am not the only one either.

    I know there was mention/ suggestion of a middle tier of reviews earlier in this thread, maybe it could be some sort of transition between "Hads" and "Reviews". A type of review which could be more Q&A based, where a short review could be built on top of a series of form questions asked for each beer, i.e. what was the bottling date, what was the color, how was the pour, etc, etc. After doing some reviews in this fashion, it may build confidence and make it easier to write a review which is based on facts and could also include the reviewers opinion...

    If this was taken into consideration, I would weigh the review process like this- Review- 100% value, 2nd tier review- 25% value, Hads-10% value towards it's overall ranking, as each contributes to it's overall score, but they are increasingly valuable to the BA community.

    Hopefully this makes sense, and it is definitely just my .02!!!
     
    Zach136 likes this.
  9. chinabeergeek

    chinabeergeek Pooh-Bah (1,837) Aug 10, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    just dive into the grown up's section of the pool. it's not as deep as you might think, and nobody is going to actually push your head down and try to drown you.
     
  10. atone315

    atone315 Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2008 Wisconsin

    Fair enough....but there is a reason the pool doesn't just go from 2' to 9'. I am just shooting ideas out there other than, "this sucks" or "this doesn't work".
     
  11. Auror

    Auror Pooh-Bah (1,641) Jan 1, 2010 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    I would just drink a beer and read a few reviews from "top reviewers" as you drink it and see what commonly comes up as important in the reviews. Also note what was most useful to you in them. Then use http://beeradvocate.com/articles/637 and http://beeradvocate.com/help/index?topic=reviewing_beers as resources to begin writing reviews. When you think you're ready to review a beer, try NOT to read others' reviews of the beer prior to your own review to keep yourself unbiased. Also, be aware of your surroundings, your palates condition, etc; Learning when to review is almost as important as learning how. Lastly, as someone who used Hads previously, try to keep your score in-line with your Hads (bearing the weights of the components in mind). It would be unfair if you gave a 5 to a good beer, then 4.3 to a great beer after doing a review.

    You don't need to be able to pick out every flavor or component of the aroma to review beers. You just need to be able to articulate your thoughts on the beer, and give a score that is an accurate representation of your impression. Experience helps, but everyone has to start somewhere.
     
    LeRose, ehammond1, endovelico and 2 others like this.
  12. Franch

    Franch Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 District of Columbia

    so if someone reviews to a harsher scale/curve (like sean or arbitrator) and believes that a 4.1 or 4.2 is a truly excellent beer writes reviews, it's okay, but if they just 'had' the beer, it's not okay? furthermore, boosters are okay for hads as well, and those who curve their hads to about a 4.2 like many BA reviewers curve their reviews are fine?
     
  13. mactrail

    mactrail Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,415) Mar 24, 2009 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I totally agree. "Hads" should not count toward the score, or anything else. It's an invitation to abuse. On "My Beers," there should be a number for Hads and a number for actual Reviews. Make it easy for people to count, identify, and rate every swill they've sipped, but those Hads should be their own stats, not the community's.

     
  14. dbrauneis

    dbrauneis Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,837) Dec 8, 2007 North Carolina
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I have mixed feelings on whether or not I think the Hads (quick review) should count towards the total score - assuming that what the Bros stated was true, it seems like the rAvg for the Hads are pretty similar to those from the full reviews.

    Well, when I look at someone's Beer Ratings page I see something along the lines of "Hads (2398 w/ 2310 Reviews)" so I can get a decent idea of how many reviews a person has submitted in addition to a quick review/had.

    Is that what you are meaning?
     
  15. mactrail

    mactrail Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,415) Mar 24, 2009 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Yeah, that is helpful to see a person's Hads vs. Reviews. The Had scores may be in the same ballpark as actual reviews for now. But it's so easy to pick some numbers and shazaam! you've had and rated that beer, and jacked up the score. For instance, here's a guy whose entire BA history is one Had-- and a suspiciously high score: http://beeradvocate.com/user/beers?ba=zacajawea56

    Maybe it's not a bad thing that the scores may become more suspicious. It will just encourage people to read the reviews and see who has interesting or insightful comments-- or whose taste buds they agree with.

    dbrauneis said <<Well, when I look at someone's Beer Ratings page I see something along the lines of "Hads (2398 w/ 2310 Reviews)" so I can get a decent idea of how many reviews a person has submitted in addition to a quick review/had.>>
     
  16. TicoCali

    TicoCali Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2010 California

    Thanks for the AWESOME FREE website and keep up the good job.
     
    mnrider and AgentZero like this.
  17. dbrauneis

    dbrauneis Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,837) Dec 8, 2007 North Carolina
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I would consider that "Had" to be a little suspicious but since the member just joined BA last month, I would probably give them a little time to see if they start to "Had" or Full Review some other beers. On the other hand, they are just a small amount higher than the other reviewers of a beer that only had a sample size of 8.
     
  18. DaveAnderson

    DaveAnderson Initiate (0) Jan 11, 2011 Minnesota

    Now, there's an idea. Maybe, in addition to Latest, High, Low, and Top Reviewers, I should be able to sort reviews in manner that puts the BAs I am following first.
     
    dbrauneis likes this.
  19. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    We agree. It's something we've been wanting to do for a long time now.
     
    atone315, richardflyr and dbrauneis like this.
  20. Rutager

    Rutager Initiate (0) Oct 18, 2010 Canada (BC)

    So a review out of a shaker pint doesn't count?? Not ideal, but c'mon, that's just ridiculous.
     
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