150 Stars for 2 Lines in a Post..Are You Freaking Kidding Me?

I agree. I constantly see thread after thread of posts with countless stars that are mediocre, if that. Then I will run across some older posts that are brilliantly written, containing a wealth of information, all while remaining easy to read without losing a vibrant vocabulary that paints a beautiful picture of what the poster was thinking in stunning detail. Unfortunately, those posts will go unrecognized and will obtain 3-5 stars (that's being liberal with the numbers). While I understand that everybody has, at the very least, a slight difference in opinion from other posters on what may make a fantastic thread or post, I think we can all agree that there are too many sub-par posts being starred simply because the member agree's with the point the poster is making.

I'm new here, but not to internet forums, and when I think of what the star is supposed to signify on ATS is similar to a "+rep(utation) on most other forums. It is, in my opinion, not simply an "I Agree" button, but more so an "I agree and this post is extremely well written, educational, gets the point across, and links sources to any facts that you decided to add to help prove your case. Thank you for not wasting my time with another meaningless, factless post." button.



If I'm wrong about the meaning of the star, and it's purpose has been made known before then I apologize. Again, that is just my opinion of it's purpose here at ATS. I think I have starred 2 posts since I have been here... and I've been lurking almost constantly from the time I signed up.

reply to post by BulletsCantSilenceIdeas


Love the HST avatar!

Stars are different things to different people I think. I star posts for a variety of reasons, not just if they are brilliant and/or insightful. Sometimes I star them because they made me laugh, or showed unique and creative thought. I'll star posts from new members who are slowly coming out of their shells. The list goes on.

~Heff

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by BulletsCantSilenceIdeas

 

Love the HST avatar!

Stars are different things to different people I think. I star posts for a variety of reasons, not just if they are brilliant and/or insightful. Sometimes I star them because they made me laugh, or showed unique and creative thought. I'll star posts from new members who are slowly coming out of their shells. The list goes on.

~Heff

Thank you. HST is one of my heros.

Anyways, that's what I meant. Everyone will have their own opinion's on what the star's are to be used for, unless the site owner or admin come along and define it themselves. I did mean to add creative and unique to the lists of reasons why I'd star a post, I spaced on it.

I always just assumed it was in likes of a +reputation button in other forums. Now that I think of it, that button was more of a grossly abused popularity contest button than anything. While I do see abuse with the star here, I still stick with my statement that, unless the star is defined, people will make use of it based on what they believe deserves that lucky click and what doesnt. It's all a matter of opinion right now .

EDIT:

Just for curiosities sake, is there a way to view which of your posts have been starred all together? This would give me more insight on what kind of posts are making a positive impact on the community here.

The position of your response in the thread made all the difference. If it would have been on the third page, you wouldnt have gotten any stars at all for it.

You can check that thread and see that only the first 5 or so posts gets lots of stars, while the others get almost nothing, if you need proof.

So content is not as important as position because most people only scroll through the first page.

Basically ATS rewards you if you post funny, wise and short remarks in newly created threads. For the people who wants a lot of stars, you can collect tons of them by doing that. Personally I just dont care about stars.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
You've got a great point about flagging what's important.

But I think the reason your post got so many stars is simply bc people agreed with you. Sublime wrote an AMAZING thread, I've enjoyed it tremendously, and I bet that's why people gave you stars.

Maybe just affirming their own interest, so to speak.

Although, mods, if you're listening....that thread deserves mega applause...

I understand what you mean, and agree that this is the reason Jude here got so many stars. I often star short posts for this reason. But what you said only makes sense if those people also starred the OP. Jude is saying it does not make sense for a short post saying "great post" should be starred more than the great post which caused that reaction. The only reason to star a response of "great post" is if you also believed it to be a great post, in which case a star for the OP is warranted. At the time of the writing of this thread, I believe Jude said the OP of other thread had LESS stars than he got, for that short "nice post" type comment.

See what I mean?

reply to post by jude11


You know a star means that is exactly what you would say? To save on duplicate posts.....

Either way stars mean as much as a butthole on your elbow....

When I get to a thread late I scan down the first page for posts that have 6 or more stars and read those then the 2nd page for posts with 3 or more.

Stars don't mean anything and lose value after that imo. I don't care if it has 150 or 3-6 stars. I read either one and 150 stars, on ATS, typically doesn't make it more valuable than some posts with 4 because there's lots of idiots and crazy people on here with short attention spans that often like clever one or two liners (just look at the 3rd post in this topic). If you're a Mason or have a "demonic" looking avatar then you're bound to immediately lose 80% of stars you would have gotten here too.

I saw some of the most brilliant posts ever in a discussion between 2 members, in the Lost Civilizations forum, and neither even received 1 star. Each post they made could have been an individual topic but either nobody read it or just didn't understand them.

I wonder how many members are reading this going "wow I starred that two liner didn't I?"

reply to post by EllaMarina


I agree with you. It is always good to see how our efforts here effect others and it's always nice to know there is appreciation for the activity.

On the other hand, I can also see why the mods prefer the use of stars and flags to replace short posts. Keeps the clutter down and allows each page to offer the most on-topic discussion possible.

I am not sure how many others out there have developed some of the same bad habit I admit to have... and I try to avoid my bad habit all the time...

When I'm a littlet bored, or not completely sold on the thread after reading the OP, I find myself scrolling down the page, while monitoring the number of stars each post. I find the posts that have the highest recognition from other members, based on the number of stars the posts have, and read those posts.

It's is a terrible habit to have on internet forums and other places too. I developed the habit after being frustrated from reading post after post where the majority of replies are 1-2 line 'Great Thread', 'Nice Work', etc. posts.

In that respect, leaving out the back-scratching posts makes it much easier, for me anyway, to stay interested in the thread's topic and discussion.

reply to post by BulletsCantSilenceIdeas


There is no current feature to track which of your posts have been starred. There is one to see replies to your posts, but that's it for now.

But if this is a feature you'd like to see, creating a "board and business questions" forum thread would let SkepticOverlord know that there is member interest.

~Heff

Here’s another example of people giving flags and stars for............. whhhhhaaaaatttt???

My Favorate Avatar

To each their own I guess...

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by BulletsCantSilenceIdeas

 

There is no current feature to track which of your posts have been starred. There is one to see replies to your posts, but that's it for now.

But if this is a feature you'd like to see, creating a "board and business questions" forum thread would let SkepticOverlord know that there is member interest.

~Heff

Thank you for the reply, I'll go start a thread there. I appreciate getting not only the answer I needed, but information on how to possibly get the feature added. Have a good night.