How do you rate a post star & flag worthy?

I was curious how everyone rates threads that they read worthy of a star and/or a flag, or replies worthy of stars.

Do you judge on the basis of how close what the person is saying is to the truth in your opinion?

Or do you judge based on how well its put together, and if it is backed up with sources?

Of course you could always be like me and judge based on what grabs your attention the longest. So often I find myself reading part of a post and then moving on without even finishing it, being uninterested. But if i read the entire thing, and even go on to reply to that thread, then even if the material is something i think is incorrect or i disagree with, I think that thread should get a star and a flag. Thats how I judge. But if the material is just .. obscenely insulting, prejudice, or utterly retarded, I won't give any stars even if it does grab my attention.

How do you decide what gets a star and/or flag?

I like wit, clever word play, humor, and conceptual nuttiness.
I don't even have to like or agree with the poster, post, thread or OP.

I sometimes give cudos to threads by people that somehow rub me the wrong way. Hey, for all I know they may be nice people. I don't care, I just don't like them. That doesn't keep me from giving praise when it is well deserved.

But I never give stars to people that over use those stupid emoticons.

Obviously ,I will flag a thread I want others to see.
For stars..If I read a post..and I'm nodding my head in agreement the whole way..and end it with a "Freakin right..there buddy!!!"
Definitely worth a star.
I'll also star based on whether a post gets me ROFLMAO!

I'll flag a thread if I reply to that thread because I feel if it warrants a reply it gets a flag. I do flag threads that I think are worthy even if I don't reply, but mostly because someone has already made the point I wanted to add, or I think the topic is important.
I also flag any thread I start because I'm vain.

Stars are different.
I'll read a post that stands above the rest and give it a star even if I disagree with the content. In cases like these I need to see that the member has put some thought into the post, and is not being argumentative just to keep a thread running. I want quality and thought provoking statements that really add something to a thread before I put a star on a post.

I flag threads that I feel need to reach as many people as it can.
Stars I give to posts which aim to deny ignorance, usually when research is shown.

I flag things that I view as important based on several different things.

What are those things? Personal Importance, Community Wide Importance, Intelligence, Insightfulness.

I rarely ever star a post. If I do, it's because it has, in my eyes, gone above and beyond the "standard" level of quality.


Jasn

I like the word play, intelligent, and clever sarcasm posts. I can't help my bias, though, because I rarely star posts I disagree with, even if it has the above qualities. I guess that's a fault of mine.

Flagged threads are ones I feel are important, such as important news, or a good informative thread.

Right on then, I agree with most of whats been said up to here. Amazing.

J/K

But I don't think the general population of ATS does it like we do. I think theres quite a few, a silent majority, who only up people who they are buddies with, only up people who've written something that goes directly along the same path as one of their most fundamental self beliefs, be it religion, the lack of a God, something about aliens, whatever the thing may be.

But I will star and flag threads in direct opposition to what I may believe in, and not just if they suck and I made a good reply I want people to see, lol. I would do it if it is well written b/c obviously it made me read the whole thing and provoke me to attempt to reply or input so obviously it must be good.

I think the whole population of ATS should take a good, hard, look at themselves quietly and see if they are guilty of some of this. If you're for denying ignorance, it's okay to realize that you may be guilty of this and try to change, upping people / threads that are good, not just for simple motives.

Besides.. I am starring just about everyone who replies to this, barring people who might break T&C. What better reason to drop in and say hello, lol.



[edit on 11/25/2007 by runetang]