How does the rating system work?

[Rogan]

G'day everyone,
I've got a small question about the rating system. A few days ago, I submitted my version of Krom Dragongaze to the gallery. I don't want to complain about people grading me below my expecations (which wouldn't be true since I expected a score somewhere around 7.5), since my style of painiting is not necessarily everybody's favourite (neither do I like everybody else's style). That's just human.
But.
Three days ago in the morning, my rating was at 8.5. In the evening, it was at 7.8. The next morning, it went up to 8.5 again. Same thing next day. I've been keeping an eye on the number of votes, which then went up from 30 to 33 (33 to 36, respectively) and then decreased back to the former - a clear sign that 3 one-point votes were cast. And magically disappered overnight.
This morning I woke up and checked the miniature's score (I like to imagine a hater's frustrated face when his one-point orgy turns out to have been in vain). A quick typing on the calculator reveals that there must have been at least 1 more one-point rating.

So - how does that rating system work?
I don't believe there's a mod or admin checking on the IP adresses and given ratings for each miniature (they'd go nuts over such a task), but maybe there's some kind of programme eliminating multiple down- and upratings for a single image coming from a single source.

Again, it's not about my rating. 8.2 is still the best rating I ever achieved, although being visibly downrated sure does annoy. I'm just very curious as to how the entire thing works.

Regards,
Rogan

 

[Dragonsreach]

Ok simple version, there is an algorithm in the system which picks out widely variant scores, i.e. Lots of 1's on an average 8.something and balances. That is what has been happening. Plus we moderators have the capacity to check on any reported anomalous scores to see if there is anything which needs "attention".

 

[Garry_&_Sam_Clark]

Hi, I'm a new guy to the site (Kudos by the way), I've painted on and off for a fair few years now and my wife has got into Zombicide painting in a big way, and I've encouraged her to add some pics to the site --- However (getting back to the thread!) - with the rating system that you have in place, is there anyway of allowing the 'poster' to stipulate what 'rating' they are with regards their painting experience. Whether it be novice, casual, intermediate, experienced or professional. (as a broad example)

A rating of 8 against a professional painter might be acceptable to the professional, but an 8 for a novice would be high praise indeed.. is this something that could be considered.

You may also consider a difference in the ratings - I might not pick up on someone's attention to detail within the highlighting/blending/washing element - but the sheer 'feel' of the miniature might be enough for a high score.

I will admit that the second element is more a 'do you rate purely on painting craft' or 'do you take look, feel, story' into consideration - which may be difficult to achieve consistently, but for the former - for the poster to be able to say what skill-level they are at, it may help the 'reviewer' to judge a little bit better.

Just a thought... before us novice's start to post some pics

 

[Bailey03]

Well, I can't speak for CMON policy, but I can respond as a user and voter...

When you post a picture to the gallery there is a box for you to add any comments you'd like. So you can explain a little about where you're coming from (novice, casual, etc). Whether the voters take that into account when rating the figure... well, that's up to them. I tend to rate everything on the same scale whether its posted by a beginner or a pro. Of course there are often cases where I want to rate a figure between scores, 7.5 for example but I can only pick 7 or 8. If I know someone is a beginner and I want to encourage them I'm more likely to pick the 8 in that case.

Most people's ratings are a combination of painting quality and look/feel/story. I'd estimate the scores are 80% painting quality and 20% look/feel/story. A poorly painted figure will get a low score and a well painted one will get a high score. But, if it has that extra cool factor then that's going to bump the score up a bit.

My advice for new users is the forum is a much better place to post than the gallery. If you're looking for feedback and advice, try the Work In Progress section
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?23-Work-in-Progress-and-Project-logs
You can browse through the current topics and see there's a wide range of skill levels. You'll also see that there are many people commenting and giving advice. The gallery, on the other hand, can be a bit harsh and many times people won't leave feedback. You're being judged against some of the best painters around the world so top scores are understandably hard to get. If you just want to see how you rate, that's fine. But if you're looking for constructive feedback the forum is the place to go.

 

[Garry_&_Sam_Clark]

Hi Bailey,

Firstly - many thanks for your response, greatly appreciated. I thought that might be the case with regards people's rating approach - and again, just looking briefly through the gallery the scale of comparison between the best painters and those (perhaps just starting out) less developed artistically for me was painfully obvious. I also noticed that if a painter put 5 or 6 (or more) models up, regardless of whether there was any marked difference between the 80/20 rule, the ratings tended to be the same.

All that being said; everything you have written I agree with, and I appreciate that the principal is to get 'constructive criticism' and hopefully a decent rating for your work.

I had created a joint account so that my wife could (if she wished) put some of her miniatures up, certainly I believe good enough for gaming standard plus a little extra (but I'm her husband, I'm allowed to be biased!!) - but even she was conscious of the standard of some of the models on display and I suppose there is nothing potentially more demoralising than putting a model on there you are proud of as a beginner an have a poor rating. (mind you, who said life was fair).

However your last paragraph on the forum approach is a very good one (and much appreciated); I think that would definitely be the approach we take (I might get Sam to create a Sam_&_Garry profile, so at least we have one each!!).

We will also take advantage of your advise on the 'brief description' bit, which I must admit I didn't think of using when I posted my original so again thanks.

Look forward to seeing what the future holds!!

Much obliged Bailey03!

Regards,
Garry