New Rating System +/-

Can't wait for the categories to come back! I've got a backlog of a zillion reviews and I've got a serious itch going!

Looking forward to it!
Jeff

 

I see that how the reviews look is now different in terms of the user not being prominently displayed. Is this a permanent change?

 

Gosh, I hope not. Looks rather weird.

 

Agreed, it's rather disconcerting.

 

I think this update will improve the look of the site ever so slightly, but I do think some users were previously ctrl+F searching for the names of specific reviewers so they could read their review...this might reduce accessibility. Granted, there are only what - 20 reviews - per page? The cons are as slight as the pros.

I can see reviewers with lots of reviews taking an ego hit from this update, but meh.

 

What can I say, I'm a very sensitive person.

No, I'm just very used to seeing reviewer's names in large bold letters. It's the first part of the review I look at to see if its someone I recognize from previous reviews. It's a quick barometer of the potential quality of the review I'm about to read. Now it's in small letters at the bottom and I am confuse. But maybe it's for the better..

 

I've learned to recognize users avatars (yours being one that I look for in a review). However, with this new format, there is no name underneath the avatar and the size is incredibly small for us older, slightly seeing impaired users.

I have no positive or negative opinion on the new "look", but I wish the users name was atleast prominently displayed under the avatar, just like it is in a forum post.

 

Ah, of course. Because of the bit at the bottom, right? Touche!

Your idea sounds like a good one. I just want to make sure layout decisions aren't made because whiny top reviewers want their names prominently featured for some kind of bent sense of street cred.

Frankly, it might be better to cut that bit at the end with the reviewers name and move it back near the avatar picture like you suggest. You could put the review date there too; the review date is a rough equivalent to the post timestamp in the forums.

 

The other element that has not been commented on is the new display removes the location of the reviewer which is a step backwards, as I have used that as a proxy for the states in which a beer is available. Frankly, I think it would be helpful to note the city and state of the reviewer - that adds functionality to the site. I don't care if the reviewers name is in bold or not but the location of the reviewer does add value.

 

I use this to factor in the homer factor also, especially for lesser known breweries. A high rating from someone who is out of the area hold more weight to me than a local who may be biased towards their local brewery.

 

I really was used to the old 5 points tally, although the new layout adds more dinamics to the review, the old formula give a perfect description of the qualitys of the beer reviewed. I'd gladly see some style specific review too, because feels strange give a 4,5 rate to Duvel and a similar rate to any lager, when comes to think about it, I aways rate the lagers with low scores, because no lager is good as a trappist or a IPA. IMO

 

I don't mind the new visual layout at all, looks very clean. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of the five separate component scores.

Is there by chance any way for a user to set their preferences such that the 'display reviews only' box is selected by default? I personally have zero need or desire to scroll through a whole list of ratings while looking for reviews (not to say I've never given a rating only myself) as I find reviews much more useful, but find that box unchecking itself all the time.

 

I like the old way primarily because among the categories of look, aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel - some of those are more important (to me, personally) than others, and the old system was simply more conducive to understanding the general perceptions already in motion on a beer you haven't tried, as well as the meaningful development of a well constructed opinion to help others on their beer journey.

While I have no problem utilizing the new system for what it is and what if offers, I implore you @Todd and @Jason to look at the poll results here and listen to what the members - your subscribers - the people who keep you in business - whether you give two shits about their half-cocked opinions or not - listen to the people and keep them happy.

 

One more thing - I like the voting for useful vs unhelpful reviews - and I see the number of votes, but I'm not sure if that 3 denotes three positive votes, 3 negative votes, or some mix?