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I'm a little tired of the term, "Profile Bombing" being thrown around. There is no such thing as "Profile Bombing" at Vampire Rave. Please review the following VR Manual page:

https://www.vampirerave.com/kb.php?chapter=400&page=43

1 is a valid rating. If it wasn't a valid rating, it wouldn't be a rating option.

Creating multiple accounts, which are not valid, is prohibited. It does not matter what these accounts rate. The existance of the accounts themselves are the violation, not the ratings they perform.

However, if a member has 3 accounts and all are Premium, the user is in compliance. If they use all three accounts to rate Profiles as 1's, there is no violation of policy.

Furthermore, if multiple members choose to align their ratings, and each of the accounts is a valid account, there is no violation of policy.

This is a very simple concept but members just don't seem to get it. We cannot "come down" on members that rate other members a 1. Every valid account can rate any account on Vampire Rave in any way the owner of the account deems fit.

I totaly agree With this. Recently a member got mad at me for rating them a 1... He has a quote and one line in his profile... He says I'm "Bombing" him... Update your profile and I will update your rate... I don't get it. How is it bombing when you don't do anything and if it was not allowed then You wouldn't have the 1 option... Its retarded. Sorry but some people are dumb.

Since I know it's possible someone might ask this and it wasn't mentioned in your post.


What is one person makes just one account to give people ones [e.g. just trolling], to get a rise out of people, and is only on for a day or so and then either never signs in again or deletes the account?

MBK,

Ratings aren't really that important, are they?

Besides, if they never log in again, their account will be deleted for inactivity. Or, as you mentioned, they may delete. Either way their actions affect you little in the long run. They aren't important enough to make an issue out of.

Bones -

Never said they were, but that was bound to be an issue that'd come up. Additionally, if they'd choose to reach Mosquito their account wouldn't be deleted.

I know that 'bombing' doesn't exist, but that would have to be the closest thing to it.

Even so, MBK, those who create accounts just to rate 1's are usually just looking for attention. Respond to them and they succeed, ignore them and they lose. There are more important things in life (or online) than getting excited over someone just looking to get a rise out of you with a low rating. You and I are here for completely different reasons than these members, until you respond to their antics.

I have to agree with Cancer . The 1 is a valid rate just as 10 is. If not, then we wouldn't have the option. If people don't want 1's, do the work involved to get higher ratings. If you don't want to take the time to do the work, then stop whining...

i was rated a 1 only because i stamped him , well i'm very proud of my stamp it took me 5 days and a good 4 hours a day, to learn to make it, i'm still trying to get my profile going and it is taking me awhile, but i know i will get it. i never went back to re-rate him. i dont mind getting a 1 from a child.

Well, vines:

If it's TheScybermonk you're speaking of I've gotten a low rating from him on a different profile before, but he kindly goes back and re-rates you if you leave a comment WITH your stamp. I try to put a lot of effort into my stamps too, most times they're animated in one way or another but he wants feedback along with a stamp if you drop one on his profile. Fair enough in my opinion though.

well i tried but i'm not good at the computer and i click around to get to the messeging and dont know how to leave a comment with a stamp so when i finaly got to his profile to message him it was to late, regardless still no big deal,

Well, the way to leave a comment and a stamp is to drop your stamp first then write in your comment after. My stamp is both a graphic anbd a comment I wrote into the stamp box in my personal settings....

But then what would people have to whine about? Come on folks- it is a number on a website. Do you tell people about it? Do you put it on your job application? Do you see it curing an illness?

Face it- rating is used by members to pay someone back for whatever reason, to help the standings in the societies, or to just get drama started and attention for the rater and the rated.

Let it go… your time on VR will be so much better if you do.

MBK, if a member has just one free account and uses it to rate people 1s- it's absolutely fine... as long as that's the only profile they have. It's fine, because the number is not a violation- it's a legitimate rate.

No one can get in trouble for using a selection given to them by Cancer.

If they decide to not sign on again after rating a bunch of 1s... oh well. Although, I've never see someone do such a thing- if they put the energy into creating a profile to rate 1s, they will put energy into coming back and seeing the 'fruits' of their labor. Even if they leave that profile to sit, they'll come back as someone else and then be in violation of having multiple profiles that aren't all PMs. There's always a way to find these people.

Just was wondering if it was if they were trolling.



Thanks images. ;]

My 2 cents worth:

People will always rate 1s and the people rated will always complain or, at least, dislike it. Why? Because they probably tried very hard on their profile and maybe even paid for it just to have a random "troll" (as MBK had mentioned) ruin their rating on their profile. Yes, it's only the internet. Not a resume and not real life. But then, why are we all here? There is a sort of hypocrisy in saying "this is just the internet" when most of us use it every day.

If ratings aren't important, then why do we have a rating system at all? If they are, then they should have rules to protect them too.

Rules to protect how we're rated? If that's what you mean- the rating system is then null and void. If you can't rate how you really feel, the rate means nothing.

Rates here do mean something- it's a combination of how much people like your profile, and how people here on the whole feel about you. Yeah, it goes way beyond any effort you put into sharing who you are and making it look spiffy. And in the end, we don't even have to care. It is good enough for a ton of people just to be able to leave a great rate and great comment for someone they thought was worth it... the 'average rating' may mean zero, but rating does have it's points and benefits. AND, it's part of the work of leveling up :)

i think a rating should be based on the depth and complexity of a page
whether the owner is skilled in HTML or not they can still create an interesting profile
anyone who wont build upon their profile and adorn it is one whom doesnt draw interest from me
i wont downrate them for it i just wont rate them
i think your profile should be a thing of pride as it is
your"first impression"
likewise if you want to know me spend some time in my journal

I'm not saying rules for every rate you get, but if someone is out there just to rate 1s, there should be something to convince them to do otherwise. This is a database, and people who just visit this site will look at the ratings of a database item. That number could mean them leaving the page, or this site entirely, or looking closely at the item. That's just my opinion though.

And since everyone has an opinion, and it's impossible to know every circumstance of good guy/bad guy- there can no way, ever be such rules on rating.

All the admin have very good and valid points. The only thing the ratings is good for is leveling up. Rating others as well as pages viewed.

Other than that, the negative aspect of the rating system seems to me...A popularity contest. The Top list.

Rate what you feel is nessessary. If that premium member has nothing on their page, and looks like a regular member account, then rate it a one for non-participation. As Cancer has stated, this is not against VR policy, if it were, the one's would not be there.

If you are a premium member, damn straight I am going to rate you a one on your account if you are simply too damned lazy to create a good profile with the extra coding that is offered. That is what its there for. dont go crying to the Admin about your rates...Either message the individual accordingly, or live with it...IT IS only a number on a website after all.

Carry on...

To me, ratings are unimportant, they are just numbers at the bottom of your profile, like many have said if the person does not have anything on their profile you have the right to rate them a 1, it is as simple as that, i dont care what i get, as i and all members on here have been rated with the spectrum of the rating system, so all in all what is the big deal?

I actually agree with Lord Peace. Regardless of your ability to use HTML and CSS coding, it is still possible to make an awesome profile. The same goes for those who just have regular profiles. I've seen people, whom I know to have great HTML skills give up on their regular profile because they thought it wouldn't look good no matter what they did. But when I had a regular profile, despite the fact that I couldn't make it exactly the way I wanted it, I always made sure it looked nice. Likewise, I've also seen people who knew nothing about HTML make awesome profiles, simply because they researched how to do it.

I think a profile should be rated based on the effort put into it, and whether or not it holds at least some essence from the person who made it. It's generally easy to tell who puts effort into their profiles or not. I won't deny that when rated a one, it does sting, if only just a little bit, simply because I worked so hard to make a unique profile, however, I just get past it. In the long run, even though I'm here often, whether or not I get a job isn't going to be determined based on the rating I got on my VR profile. A 1 is a legit rating, and even though half of the people who rate ones are just doing it for the attention, it's best if I didn't return it, so I don't.

My stance on profile bombing: I have been saying this for a very long time to people that complain about profile bombing: There is no such thing as profile bombing just as stated above. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and 1 is a fair rate just as much as a 10. You get someone mad and they rate you a 1 well if it matters to you then that sucks. There are no violations of terms of service. If you get someone mad and that person and his/her friends rate you ones as well that is a fair rate too.

If it was against the rules to rate someone a 1 then it would not be available to select.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, if they like your profile, they like it, and if they don't like your profile, then they don't. You can't choose what they feel about your profile and besides, a little corrective criticism is always good, it helps you to improve things.

Cancer,

How do rating affect standings as far as member status is concerned? I agree with what you said; the rating system is 1 through 10 and anyone can hand out 1's should they desire.

However, there seem to be a lot of people (me included) that hand out mostly 10's. I do so because I happen to enjoy most people's profiles. I have handed out 1's when people gave me ones just because they are being jerks. The question is what is stopping people from giving out objective scoring rather then all 1's or 10's?

Ambrosius Amadeus

Ratings do not affect Status, unless you're talking about the number of ratings you've made. In this case, only the number of ratings is counted, not the value.

A portion of Society scoring is based on the average profile ratings of a Society's members.

Handing out all 10's is as objective as handing out all 1's. People don't complain when they get too many 10's.. Hypocrites.

There are 2 things I can do to fix the problem of too many 10's (or 1's) being handed out:

1. Change the rating spread. Decrease it from 1-10 to 9-10 (or 5-6 or 1-2 or whatever). By giving only an up or down vote, ratings will normalize.

2. Weight ratings based on the spread of the rater. For example, if someone gives everyone 10's, count all those 10's as 5's. conversely, is a rater gives everyone 1's, count them all as 5's.

However, if a rater has an even spread of ratings between 1 and 10, count all the ratings exactly as they are.

This is the best solution, but it will require a lot of code and work.

Be thankful I've got other things on my plate right now....

There ya go guys, now stop whining and get on with it. lol

No complaints from me. This is your web site and you can run it however you wish. I happen to like the way it is run and the scoring system. I was just looking for better insight.

A majority of VR members are "adults" yet they are the ones whining about being bombed with 1's.Maybe if they started acting their ages and not like a child,the site could get back to the way it once was.Why should Cancer have to bow down to every member that whines about something then re-write code to make them happy.It IS his site and he set it up fairly for people to rate what they choose.If you don't like being rated a 1,either fix up your profile or do not make one.

Actually, I see the term 'profile bombing' in another light - like people ganging up on one profile with derogatory remarks and the like. As far as rating - like everyone else has pretty much said here - to each his own.

The petty act is only as effective as the petty reaction.

Consider those who go to the effort of creating a secondary account to "dis rate", then consider the block button.

We all want 10's for our work on our profiles, but there is non rule demanding that a person has to rate you highly- if there was one there would be a rating system starting at 5. Really, what does it matter if one person- ONE PERSON, rates you poorly? Move on, it's just a number.

I have found that the majority of my "1" ratings were when I opened my accounts and had two sentences and a lame quote. I have found that most of these folks when I go and rate them out of being curious as to who they are quite often come back for a visit and re-rate me higher. I don't know if it makes a difference in my greater score scheme of things but it does make me feel like I've improved some over time. I like the 1-10 it gives me incentive to try harder but at the same time it isn't everything.

I am with Bloodlife, can we just move on, Numbers are numbers, we are here for the friendship and comaradery and the kbnowledge we gain on things.

People should stop taking this shit so seriously, especially dominars! IT'S JUST A WEBSITE!
What happens here has absolutely NO consequence in the real world...

I've often wondered if there'd just be less drama and back-biting on VR if NOBODY could see what they'd been rated, premium or no...

I know I've worked hard on my profile and if someone comes and gives me a 1 for a rise I don't even bother with them. I respect the right to give or not give 1's! There are rules here and as long as we follow them we cannot waste our time with our emotions. Besides what one of us considers beautiful another considers ugly. What I may think is funny makes someone else mad! This is a site with a mulititude of different types of people with different types of mind-sets. Sure we are all "vampires" "lycans" "emos" "goths" or whatever you prefer, but the bottom line is this: human is human and there will ALWAYS be those that want to disturb the kharma or send out vibes. Those that chose to be different and that is why this place is so unique. I relish it!!!

Well, I personally put a lot of work into both of the profiles I have here, though I don't expect a high rating on either one. Sometimes I'll see solid 10's though sometimes I'll see 1's from those who will rate anything and anyone low just to hack them off. Do I care? No, I don't. Neither a high or low rating will help or hinfer my goals on this site so I barely even pay attention to who rates for any reason but a rate-back if I haven't rated their page.

Why should you let an imaginary number define you?

If you know what you are worth why should another persons opinion matter?

Honestly, I think if you really want to be rated nothing but 10's then you need to go to a different website. The system here is designed for those people that like to be brutally honest.

I ♥ the system the way it is now. Though that other way Cancer mentioned might be fun to see. x)

Even if Cancer did change the rating system (thumbs up or thumbs down, for example) there will still be a preferred rating and people will still complain because they didn't get that preferred rating.

Majority of people define their self-worth from the eyes of others. If their profile is rated low, they aren't a good person (or whatever their self esteem is telling them). No, not everyone thinks like that but not everyone is complaining about ratings.

You can please some of the people all of the time, none of the people some of the time but you can never please everyone all of the time. (That's probably not the exact quote but I'm sure you get the gist of it).

my opinion on the rating of one is a smiple one [HA!]
rate me how you choose, but at least read what I've written. If you just come to see fancy graffix, go elsewhere. Bit tired of being rated low, by those who take no notice of the profile itself.

I personnaly don't care about the number itself.

The only thing that buggs me is a user who comes back to re rate a 1 each time they level up. (had a user come back so far 8 times lol)


I mean, its not bombing, as its not a bomb, but it is annoying to have the same person waist time over and over, each time they level up.


I lost count of the ones I got, since they have no meaning itself.


I mean even those who come back over and over and give a 7 or a 8. Its mainly annoying.


I admit its a bit insulting when a user with an empty profile comes around and gives a 1 just out of bitterness or simply cause they feel insulted, I worked hard on my pro and usually my main reason for rating, is: you work= you deserve, you are lazy= you get lazy.


Beside that sometimes I do ask why the rate I get, if the user has a great pro, I mean they can always help me improove right?

I was one of those people bothered by the one. I used to get mad. It still bugs me a little but not as much any more. Usually people will rate me a one because I gave them a 5 and they thought it was unfair to them. I rate based on what you put in your profile. Descrbie yourself, make an effort and I will rate you well. It took a lot of time and effort for me to make my profile (it's still always a work in progress) and I wish people would take notice of that. If they want to rate me a 1 because they are pissed, then fine. That's their problem. I always rerate when someone updates and lets me know. Some people are just rude and inconsiderate, but that's life, so I try not to let it get to me too much.

There's a reason some members re-rate after leveling. Their rating is worth more, so they choose to re-rate.

I like the rating system and I do care what I get rated. For me getting rated is a way for people to quickly tell me if my profile is good or not, if it's readable, crappy or whatever and I do what I can to make my online presence enjoyable for not only myself but those who happen across it.

However, many people take it way to seriously and obviously it's a matter of some contention. The people that get vocal and angry over it probably shouldn't be on any social site, whether they have a rating system or not.

Yeah I get upset when someone rates me low but 99% of those ratings come from people who have far greater problems than my profile *wink* lol and the 1% who's low ratings have "valid" reasons don't make that big of a difference when you 1,500+ positive rates.

Personally I find nothing wrong with the rating system as it stands, so Cancer, please stay busy with other projects. :)

Yeah, there''s a jerk in every crowd, and there usually ten more who will get all upset about that jerk. Which is a waste of time and energy, a reaction that is what the jerk is looking for, so that's just giving them a proverbial "victory dance". Unfortunately, those ten who get all upset start yelling and then the admins and Cancer end up with the idea that there's a alot more people getting upset about it then there really are.

Which would be unfortunate if those ten succeeded in getting Cancer to go changing a system that's really just fine the way it is.

I am one of those folks who rates 10s as a matter of course, and I see that might offend some. But here is my take on it. I dont know anybody here from adam. I dont know what your level of html wizardry is, I dont know how good your css skillz might be. I dont know if you're shy or if you're lazy, Im rating you because I dont know you.

I can see of you have mad skillz in both css and html, and I can see you have SUCH mad skills, I cant load your profiles as a result, because your profiles are locking up my poor over-worked low-grade laptop. I dont whine. I dont rate out of ire of the screen-freeze. If I can get back and rate you at all, you'll get 10, because I am sure you dont really mean to lock up my screen and cause my laptop all kinds of fits.

Likewise...I'll rate an empty profile a 10, because I dont know how long they've even been in VR. For all I know, they could be in the process of adding mad css to their profile, or they could have created their account minutes before I arrived to rate them. I can say that I had no less than 5 ratings, all low, before I even finished setting up my account, and hadnt even SEEN my own profile when I joined. I pretty much got inundated with 1's and "I rated you fairly, you need to put something on your profile"s in various forms of polite to pain in the ass within the first hour.

If I were someone who really cared what strangers thought, I might have turned around and deleted the account and not looked back just on account of the fact I was getting slammed with ratings before I had even gotten a chance to click on the edit profile button.

I rate the 10s because maybe the person needs to know some folks are at least willing to cut them a little slack on the profile ratings. Not everyone is out there holding them up to their own personal measure of profile standards.

And I dont pretend to know whether someone I dont know at all truly deserves a 1 or a 10, or a 5....I rate them on the benefit of the doubt and leave it at that.

It seems that the major problem is that people just aren't happy when they are viewed as less than perfect. So instead of just working harder at making a better profile, they just whine about it. It requires less effort, and possibly makes them feel better about the situation, should the rater happen to give in and grant the person an undeserved 10.

I admit, with a bit of shame, I care sometimes what I get but not enough to get angry or run and give out 1's. In the end it matters not what rate I got. Life goes on. I go on. This is a place to be "you" and if you chose to give out 1 or 10 that is up to you and you have that right.

Profile Bumming might be a better term as the recipients of 1s feel they've been shafted!!!

I used to care about what I was rated because I see my profiles as a display of my work (in the same way that some members care more about their portfolio ratings). But now I've wised up and realised that ratings very rarely have anything to do with the opinion someone has of your profile, and more to do with whether they got laid last night or are feeling particularly bitchy. So I stopped taking it personally, and stopped caring :-)

Xzavier, I'm glad you said that- I also care what I am rated. But the 10 doesn't matter if there isn't a 1 to be its nemesis :P

And quite frankly, it's all those numbers in between that bother me more, lol '9', not quite cutting it... '2' just above complete and utter crap. ha...

Everyone cares what their rated. And the people that rate 1s care because they're using it to make some kind of e-point. And the 'its not about the number' stuff? Of course it's about the number. That number is the catalyst to the feeling. I've even used that sad line before. We all care. *nothing against my friends here that say they don't :P*

I won't try to lie and say a bad rate never bothered me but on the other hand I've never lost sleep over it either. Low rates didn't really bother me when i started out because i knew i had next to nothing on my profile and knew absolutely nothing about html. The vast majority of my low rates came during that time and I was also not a premium member then. Once I started learning coding and became a premium member at first it did bother me when i would get a low rate after all the work I had put into it because I had learned everything on my own with very little outside help. I still didn't lose any sleep over it though. I personally tend to be very generous in my ratings and thanks to Cancers graciousness that is my right. That also means that the next person has the right to be a hard ass when it comes to ratings. If Cancer took the right of the few people that give out only 1s away then he would also have to take the right of the larger percentage that give out only 10s and in the long run everyone's rating would drop as a result. To me 1s or really low rates for no apparent reason initially were like paper cuts, they kinda hurt a little but were more annoying than anything. Now they are more like a fly buzzing around, just annoying. I used to be brutally honest in my ratings but discovered very quickly that the majority of people don't want honesty like they claim, they want you to stroke their pride and i would be willing to bet that probably very close to 99.9% of everyone has been guilty of this to some degree. If you really want to get technical since 10 is generally considered to be perfect it should be done away with as a rating since no one is perfect therefore the perfect profile/portfolio is impossible. Where as a 1 is easily accomplished by putting nothing on your profile. Cancer has granted us the ability to be generous, harsh or anywhere in-between as we see fit when it comes to ratings and we should all be thankful of that no matter what anyone rates us. The best way to combat a low rate is by rating a lot of people (assuming your profile contains more than "I am me if you want to know something ask me") because more people rate fair and or generous than the ones that don't. Another thing never changer your user name unless you just have to for security reasons. Sure when you change it it wipes out any ones along with all your other rates and you start over, but since your overall rating is an average if you get a 1 after you change it it carries more weight and will drop your overall rating even more. I personally have close to 1200 rates so a 1 effects my rating very little and almost not at all if that person is a whelp. The only ones that ever really ticked me off have been the few that rated me a 1 but said they rated me a 10. I personally think that if you are going to rate someone a 1 you should have the balls to say you rated them a 1 and also be prepared to answer the question of why you rated them a 1. On the other hand if you received a 1 and you start cussing and or generally being rude or malicious to the person that rated you that don't expect a reply to your question at least not a nice one.

What if folk don't rate you at all?

Well they have the option to not rate as well. I know several people who don't rate at all, even I don't rate as much as I used too.

I'm the same i don't, well hardly rate anymore the only people i rate is the ones that rate me, and that can be far and few, can see where people come from with the 1's it is a bit of a blow back, but then it still shouldn't bother you. like people have said its only numbers.

like so many people said before. if a one was not a valid rate option then it would not be rating choice. when i get a one from some one i just go to there page and send them a message as to why they think i deserved a one to improve on my profile. but thats just me.

Nobody strives to be dead last. My friends son is on a soccer team, win, or lose they all get little plastic trophies, but the kids know who won.

A person who stresses their ratings, I have observed, is usually not rated as often as members with the same level.

I have noticed those who post their rating system, this is good, but in a way it can reduce a persons likelihood that they will be rated (usually relating to the "attitude" presented regarding ratings.

If two Winos walked up to me, each asking change of me, I would assess the matter based on personal social presentation.

there's always going to be a low number. we have the right to rate someone whatever we want. that's how it goes. if they complain(most being pm members) then they should be strip of seeing how much someone has rated them

I think it's a little harsh to strip people of a paid account benefit just because a small (but loud) segment complains about low raters.

Really, if someone is finding themselves really bothered by low ratings...why not just stop looking for a month or three, until it no longer becomes such a be all end all habit?

It'll cut down on getting hurt feelings and complaints.

if there wasnt an opition to rate someone im sure whatever sub that would be put into place would have the same problem with people and how they rate that person I love the way the ratings and frankly if you guys make such a big deal about this then in my opinion everyone here has to remember "THIS IS A WEBSITE" and none of it is real so please stop treating as such and move on period.

Images: I couldn't agree more!

I suppose I should say that I don't really care to much if I get rated a 1 and of course I enjoy getting rated a 10 but, if I get rated anything less than an 8 or more than a 2 I tend to get visibly upset lol. What ticks me off more is getting rated 2-8 without an actual comment (not stamp) because chances are I was rated that for a reason and without a comment I have no clue as to why which really gnaws on my mind.

Ratings get taken seriously because it is like the real life, many say they don't care about what others say and think about them, then when they get a harsh critique they take it personally.

We get affected by what others say/think about us, more than we can admit.

If after 5 years of the site existing, people still discuss and make journal entries about ratings, then this means that we all do care, if not about the number, about the topic itself.

At the same time I've noticed that the way people rate, change during time, this especially after the PM was introduced to the site, and it continues to change while more people sign up and other functions get introduced in the site, together with rating fads, etc...

I agree everyone has the right to rate whatever they want to, at the same time everyone has the right to either like or dislike the rating as much as live with it or get mad at it.

IMHO there are more interesting things about the site than bothering about the rating but the topic will always remain popular and interesting.

As for me, I personally put my own thoughts and with that, alot of work into my profile. There is definitely a whole lot of my opinions in it. I was rated lowbefore because the person didnt like the same music as me. I moved on.

I have to say, though, it bothers me some when people rate accordingly to picture quality/ quantity and not how much time and work actually went into the pro. HELLO! Thats why we are allowed to have portfolios!

I personally don't care what soeone rates me. VR is big enough that tthe person who doesn't like whatever about you will disappear into the vapor eventually anyway unless they decide a vendetta is what they want.... then they just never go away. I'll be honest with you, both of my profiles are constant works-in-progress, but if soemone doesn't like them I can't do anything about that.

This is a lil' off the subject, as it pertains more to portfolios than profiles, but here goes:

I always rate a persons' pics in their portfolio a 10 - anything less is being 'superior and snobby' in regards to rating how someone looks - a big no-no in my opinion...of course, this is my opinion.

I agree with you big C, one is there along with all the numbers up ten for to be used if that was not so then you would have just put a rating of ten and no other numbers on the rating dial.

This thread has run its course. I'm closing it.