Has the Pendulum Swung Back Towards Reviews?

Talk Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by woodychandler, Feb 19, 2017.

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  1. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just because I'm a worrier, I'm afraid of ending just ratings in fear of rewarding lackluster reviews. I don't want lackluster reviews to become the thing to tick beers. If folks are already going out of their way to rate a beer on here while they're out drinking with friends, who's to say folks won't type up a couple of notes, draw out the sentences, or use big words, and land a "review". I suppose you can't have everything. I'll take folks who just want to rate over lackluster reviews.

    By the way, I don't understand why ticking is a thing on here. Beer Advocate is a knowledge platform, not a website to track what you have or have not had. I thought Untappd filled that role well.
     
    #21 Harrison8, Feb 19, 2017
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  2. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Ahh, I guess I misunderstood and thought you might not know there was a box to tick so you didn't have to even see the ratings only at all and so could ignore that noise.
     
    #22 drtth, Feb 20, 2017
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  3. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    There was slight decrease years ago when we introduced Hads (now referred to as just a Rating), but it was short-lived and subsequent updates and shifts in focus have resulted in a steady increase in Reviews since. So ... not sad at all.
    Demand, acknowledging changes in our membership, the now dead app, etc. But that was then. We've made a ton of changes since. And today all averages and scores are weighted heavily towards Reviews, and each user's rating history, so there's really nothing to worry about.
     
    #23 Todd, Feb 20, 2017
    champ103, drtth and mudbug like this.
  4. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I figured, or hoped, the overall rating was balanced among ratings and reviews, and across the various rating types and biases. That was a hopeful dream though. Glad to find out I'm wrong. Thanks for your response.

    I'm still hesitant to buy into ratings over reviews + ratings, but I trust Beer Advocate has done its homework to provide the end user with consistent results.
     
    #24 Harrison8, Feb 20, 2017
  5. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    You don't have to buy into "...ratings over reviews + ratings,..." since the weighting is heavier the other way. Reviews+ratings count for more than ratings with no reviews.

    "...today all averages and scores are weighted heavily towards Reviews,..."
     
    #25 drtth, Feb 20, 2017
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  6. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Very well. I learned something new. I trust the folks running the show here have done their homework.
     
    #26 Harrison8, Feb 20, 2017
  7. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,325) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I try to review every beer I rate on here, but sometimes its not possible for a variety of reasons, I do rate beers if I can't do a full review and then I try to go back later and revisit the beer and do a full review. I really appreciate the reviews as I can generally ignore the ratings/score and read a few reviews looking for key descriptors to know if I'd like the beer or not.
     
    #27 FBarber, Feb 21, 2017
  8. NeroFiddled

    NeroFiddled Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,276) Jul 8, 2002 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Interesting observation Woody. I wonder if it's actually true.

    I'd love to see it be all reviews on BA, but I understand why simply rating or ticking is necessary for the site.

    As we're using a limited scale of 5, and everyone has a different sense of how to dole out those numbers, numbers don't really mean much to me. They are a good "rule of thumb" guide when I'm deciding which beers to buy, but nothing is as good as a well written, clear review. That tells me something about the beer, not just where it fits in an overall scale of good or bad.
     
    #28 NeroFiddled, Feb 21, 2017
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