red thumbs down - my two cents

[gamergirl]

As a new player, I've received two thumbs down out of 12 total thumbs. I don't have any time outs and have been very pleasant with people (gg and hi and the like). I've followed the rules. I know the second thumbs down I probably received for ending the game (puerto rico - I played mayor and took the last of the colonists - one guy posted "oh my god", so I guess I made him angry-a strategy that I've had played on me). I know everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I'd really like to know WHY I received thumbs down. What did I do to make people want to NOT play with me again (and also influence whether others want to play)? I don't think this system is really fair, and to be honest, it's very discouraging. Two thumbs out of 12 is a 16.7%. That's a relatively high %, especially for someone with only a few games. I'd like to suggest that you add a field that people must fill in (maybe a multiple choice option) if they want to give a thumbs down. Or take away the whole public thumbs up or thumbs down and make it a private option. Qualities in a player that warrant a thumbs down from one person, may very well earn a thumbs up from another. I may not like someone because they are too aggressive or not aggressive enough, but others might appreciate those qualities. It is not fair to just give a blanket thumbs down without citing reasons. Just my two cents. Thanks for listening.

[magposunnie]

you are correct in that people's own personal opinion of what warrants a thumbs down varies and it may not coincide with what the site developers had in mind, but also be mindful there are just 'those' people out there that do destructive-like things. I got a couple thumbs down that I can't think of a moment when my chat was remotely less than cordial or civil, nor was my plays ever been intentionally hostile...only that they gave me a thumbs down for running out of time when my computer or ISP lags me out and I could not fix the problem. I give thumbs up for anyone I merely have no problem with, which is practically everyone, for it lets me mark who I would play with. If someone was slow or new, I would not give them a thumbs down; I'd just not give anything at all.

Don't let it get to you. They're still just a stranger to you. The more games you play the more thumbs up you can get. In fact, add me and play me if you like. =) Sometimes I believe it may also be a cultural thing; For most Americans, you will find they tend to give thumbs up for generally anything, after all they hit LIKE on facebook for anything or clap for most things performing on a stage. For my family's culture, they are very critical and believe a positive feedback goes to above-and-beyond results. We can't force people of other cultures to act under our standards or impose it on them, so I just let it be. Just play more and get more thumbs from others.

[F_Corb]

Maybe there is a post on this matter, but I'm gonna suggest it anyway:

I was thinking about a new system of votation to make sure that people play with the kind of players they want. I, too, give a lot of green thumbs, but there are some people whom I really (but really) enjoyed playing with. A green thumb seems like too low for a compliment and I don't want to add them as friends: I only played one or two games with them, I don't know who they are.

My suggestion is to change the thumbs for a star system with rating from 1 to 5. If I see a person with a five-star rating, I will be willing to play with him (or her). I could manage playing with someone with a three-star vote, but not with a one star. In the profile page of players, we could see the average of the votation a player has (4,23 on 47 votes for exemple).

I think it would be a better system.

Feel free to comment!

F_Corb

[Trociu]

F_Corb, I really like your system. I usually don't give thumbs up because of this. I save greens for people who i really enjoyed to play with, or people who are nice to others etc. For regular plays i don't give thumbs because for me green thumb is for those people who i want to play with more, not "just play". And as I saw I got one red thumb because of this

But i would put that "star system" and left the thumbs but to mark people i really enjoy playing with or i really hate (sometimes you may hate someone who is nice to other people).

[ChazM]

Thumbs down are a misguided idea with terrible consequences.

Getting a thubmbs down is especially discouraging for new players. If you get a thumbs down in your first 10 games, you are stuck with "a high percentage of players, more than 10%, don't like playing with this person", for at least those 10 games.

Facebook has it right - have a like button, but don't allow insults to be cast among strangers by providing a dislike button.

[infomage27]

My suggestion is to change the thumbs for a star system with rating from 1 to 5.

I really like that idea!it shouldn't be much more difficult than the existing system (instead of +1/-1, you have 0, +1, -1, +2, -2 ratings to average together), and if a player rated you they should just see their rating (i think this is similar to how the thumbs work now), and I can differentiate people who behave from people who really rock

maybe make a new thread with this so the admins see it

[gurdhilpowerfull51]

Just for say that when you play game how needs social interraction it is more easy to got red one
my technics is to play seasons so i got green.
when my stats are good i play saboteur.
So I can't play as much as i want at saboteur

[Darth_Ninja]

I give everyone I play with who isn't an angry jerk a green thumb, regardless of whether I care to play against them in future games or not (perhaps due to their skill level being way too high for mine). But I give the green thumb because I want one back. I'm a new player and already have two red thumbs, over 20 greens. One of those reds I have no idea who gave it or why, the other was from me not understanding how to play Saboteur in my first game and maybe taking too long on my turns or making a bad joke. Either way, I don't feel it was fair. I don't want to be one of those players who the site falsely claims "a high percentage of players don't like to play with this person."

Please either change the rating system, or else change the percentages so a couple red thumbs isn't a death sentence for new players in terms of being sable to join games. That said, it's nice to know which players are trouble, but that system needs to be more fair and accurate.

[ivan the tolerable]

I am a new player. I knew the board games I have played beforehand, have always been polite and not even a player with any aggressive strategies, been the fastest of the players, and given everyone I have played with thumbs up.

Until I won a game. As soon as you win, you get a thumbs down. Pretty much the way it works here I guess - you are tolerated only as long as you lose.

That is the feeling I get from this whole rating system. Any goodwill this site had as a newb went away right then, and instead of a first victory to celebrate i got my first punishment. especially galling to me as I had green thumbed everyone in that game. Rewarding poor sportsmanship and giving jackasses an unlimited tool of pure petty spite does not seem to make the game environment a better one. Just the new guys perspective.

[Jest Phulin]

I too would like to see a scale system with more options. Right now, there is no way to differentiate between "well, this person was a bit annoying, but possibly due to cultural differences" and "wow, this person was helpful, giving a new player good advice without being pushy, answering questions about the game and the interface, and chatting." For me, both of these people get a green thumb.

Even if the rating system wasn't symmetric around zero (-1,0,+1,+2 or -1,+1,+2, eg.), variation would help.