Pity ratings

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   There's no point in rating an album higher than you think it deserves just to give it a shot. Sure, everyone has their own opinion and naturally there's going to be a lot of differences of opinion but the system would be worthless if albums were getting overrated just to give the band in question a chance.
With regard to five star ratings for Prog related albums, if they're Prog enough to be on the site then they're Prog enough for a five star rating if they deserve it I would say. 

Edited by Nightfly - November 05 2007 at 12:52

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Nightfly Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659	Posted: November 05 2007 at 12:51
	There's no point in rating an album higher than you think it deserves just to give it a shot. Sure, everyone has their own opinion and naturally there's going to be a lot of differences of opinion but the system would be worthless if albums were getting overrated just to give the band in question a chance. With regard to five star ratings for Prog related albums, if they're Prog enough to be on the site then they're Prog enough for a five star rating if they deserve it I would say. Edited by Nightfly - November 05 2007 at 12:52

Slartibartfast Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam Joined: April 29 2006 Location: Atlantais Status: Offline Points: 29630	Posted: November 05 2007 at 12:47
	With 16,242 album titles listed here at last check, what constitutes "rare" or "extremely rare" anyway? 1% would be 162 albums. Is that extremely rare enough for you? 16 albums? Can a masterpiece have any flaws at all? Why only 5 stars to deal with when the compiled ratings go to two decimal places? For what it's worth, I don't think I've handed out any 1 star ratings, because if it's that poor, I see no need to waste my time rating or reviewing it. Perhaps I am a little too generous handing out the 5 star ratings.
	Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Raff Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429	Posted: November 05 2007 at 12:22
	I will answer your second question first. I have already stated numerous times that no one will ever force me to give less than five stars to ANY album I consider a masterpiece. If we have PP and PR, then either we change the definition of 'masterpiece of progressive music' and so on and so forth, or people will have to be left free to rate those albums as they see fit. Personally, I would see any attempt to force me to do otherwise as an unacceptable imposition. Distorting the rating of an album just because it's not prog (or fully prog, as it is the case of many PP/PR albums) is not serious. Moreover, it is the review that should state clearly that the album in question is not prog or only partly so. As to your first question, when I still wrote reviews, I only gave five stars to the albums I felt deserved them - certainly not to 'help' correct any injustice. If I gave 5 stars to CTTE, it is because I deem it a masterpiece, not to counteract any 1-star reviews. In any case, I have never been obsessed by the Top 100 and ratings in general, and for me reviewing and rating an album was just something I did for my pleasure and for the site's sake. Anyway, whenever I read reviews, I try to get as many opinions as possible, and then decide on my own. I have bought, and enjoy quite a lot, albums that have a rather low rating on PA. Of course I find 5-star reviews intriguing, but that doesn't mean I depend on them slavishly.

Finnforest Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17309	Posted: November 05 2007 at 12:11
	Ratings are very personal. The only thing I believe is that 5-star ratings should be EXTREMELY rare. 5 stars should MEAN something. Too many dish them out like candy to album after album by their favorite group, that's what drives me nuts. But answering your question, no, I don't rate to correct the injustices of others as a rule, I rate what I really think.
	...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"

Asphalt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: July 07 2006 Status: Offline Points: 456	Posted: November 05 2007 at 12:06
	The subject, I'm sure, got across in many other threads, I'm just not sure it was the main subject of any. A lot of times we see an album that's not really bad - not a masterpiece either - that has a pretty bad rating (2, up to 3 stars). We know that doesn't mean much, while at the same time we realise higher ratings may attract more poeple to giving it a shot. A moral dillema appears: do we stick to our standards and rate it 3 or at most 4 stars and argument it, or do we hit the 5 stars button just to help it a little bit, to correct the injustice that has been made? P.S.: I know the "ratings in your heart are the only ones that matter" rethoric, so try to come up with a more on-topic approach to the issue. P.P.S.: Also, what's with the 5 star ratings for prog-related albums? Isn't it progressive archive in the end? No matter how much you love an album, if it's simply not prog, then don't act as if it is. Edited by Asphalt - November 05 2007 at 12:08