It’s been almost a year since I installed the WP Post Ratings plugin here on JaypeeOnline. Anyways, I installed this plugin because I liked the idea of having my posts rated by you, my readers and visitors. This helps me in two ways. First, I can get your immediate feedback regarding the post. Second, ratings that you submit on each post would help coming readers to have an idea whether that particular post is good or not. Of course, assuming that the previous ratings were unbiased or without any prejudice.
The Post Ratings plugin usually works better for a blog with a lot of regular readers and traffic. Here in my blog, only a handful of my regular readers use this feature and rate my posts. Most of the post ratings are submitted by anonymous guests who are brought here by search engines and other sources. Although the response or use of the Post Ratings plugin isn’t what I expected, I haven’t removed it yet because I believe that it is a useful tool for me and for you, my readers.
I’m blogging about this because recently, an anonymous guest rated several of my posts. Nothing wrong with that right? Isn’t that the purpose of the plugin? Yes, but the problem is this anonymous guest is deliberately and maliciously posting negative post ratings to my articles. This also negates the previous post ratings that other readers posted. If you’ve seen it you know that I’m using stars for my post ratings and this “guest” rated several of my posts with 1 star including posts that other readers found to be very useful and was previously rated at 5 stars.
Although I admit that I was pissed off at first, I realized that I should look at it in a positive way. Personally, I wouldn’t want to remove this plugin but this incident made me think and realize that maybe this plugin has lost its purpose or is no longer necessary here in my blog. Should I keep using the Post Ratings plugin or should I remove it? Please submit your answers via the poll in the sidebar and/or if you want to share your opinion or feedback, you can leave a comment below. I need your help and your honest opinion regarding this matter. I am not only doing this for myself but also to improve this blog for you readers.
Also, if you think that I should keep the Post Ratings plugin, I kindly request that you please use it and post ratings for any previous posts or for upcoming posts. It only takes a few seconds of your time. Btw, before I forget I’d also like to thank those who participated and cast their votes in the previous poll question. I really appreciate your help and for your continued support!
@Allen – Hi! Oh okay, I get it now. Yeah, that’s true and that’s why I’m hoping that the author of Post-Ratings would add an option to enable rating moderation so users can check first before the rating gets posted.
Thanks for replying and happy blogging! :D
Hi Jaypee, as a reply to your reply, it’s because as you said, somebody has been rating your posts with malicious intent. It’s a criteria where the results can be manipulated by somebody unlike pageviews and comments. ^_^
@Dre – I wish I knew but I don’t. Hehe Like I said in an earlier comment, I don’t see any reason why that person would be jealous of me. :P
Btw, thanks for being one of the few regular readers who use the post ratings plugin. ;)
Is someone secretly jealous of you? :lol: Maybe that anonymous person is just a joyclicker. I think this is useful. So continue using it ;)
@dimaks – Maybe you can try it in your new blog when it goes online? ;)
Yeah, it can be used for spamming so I do hope that the plugin author would include an option where the rating can be moderated before it gets published or displayed.
@bluep – Yeah, so far that’s what’s keeping me from removing this plugin. That’s true and I hope that if I end up keeping the Post Ratings that you guys would use it and rate future posts.
Bout the anonymous guy, I did ban his IP address. I don’t know what the person’s intentions were in doing that but I don’t see any reason why that person should be jealous of me.
Have a nice day and happy blogging! :D
well, never had the chance to use it but as you indicated, it can be used as a tool for spamming.
Keep it Jaypee. it’s also very handy for readers in browsing the most interested topic on your blog. Plus even if the anonymous guy rates your blog with one star, other readers will negate the rating he made Ban the man (hehe) Someone is indeed jealous of your achievements o sadyang wla lang magawa.
Have a nice week ahead of you.
@Allen – What exactly do you mean by “not a good factor”? Its true that post pageviews and hits are good indicators of a post’s quality but IMO, a plugin like Post Ratings provides optional/additional information for the blog author and readers that the pageviews and hits can’t provide.
I’d suggest that you remove it. It’s not really a good factor. What’s better in my opinion is the pageviews and the visitors visiting that post.
@Melo – That’s true but if you know what to do, then it’s quite easy. I had some issues with it before on my other theme and took a while before I was able to figure out how to make it work. :D
Yeah, but then again it all depends on the readers if they use it and rate the posts.
Btw, long time no comment. Good to see you here again. Hope all is well with you and your blog. :)
too complicated to integrate…. and it can ruin your wordpress theme too… but if you were able to integrate it… well and good.. this will help you identify the most read and appreciated post….
@Ian – I would disagree that post ratings don’t mean anything. As I said earlier, if the readers/visitors just use it and rate the posts, the author would have an idea whether his article was good or not and also, future visitors would have an idea if the article is good or not.
Regarding the number or visitors and comments to determine the quality of posts, I would agree that if your post is good then you’ll get a lot of visitors. But with comments, based on my experience here in JaypeeOnline, not all readers/visitors leave comments even if they found the article useful or of good quality. So I believe that the number of comments doesn’t work all the time or in all situations.
Thanks for sharing you thoughts and for dropping by! :D
I’m not a fan of these post rating things. They don’t really mean anything. A better measure of the quality of your posts is number of visitors and comments.
@SE7EN – Aside from the need, many WordPress plugins are used based ont he blogger’s preference and in this case, I prefer to use the Post Ratings plugin.
I understand your stand but I think if you can give a 4 or 5 for good posts, I guess you can also give a 2 or 3 for a bad post don’t you think?
Anyways, thanks for dropping by and sharing your opinion on this matter. :D
I’m not fan of 5-star rating for blog entries. It’s a bit clutter, imho.
If I like the post I must “think” to give it 4 or 5
If I don’t like/indifferent, I won’t vote.
The only blog I click vote sometimes is Weblogtoolscollection.
My blog use +/- rating and I’m satisfied with the result.
I encourage my reader to vote if they have nothing to say. if their feeling = 0, I suggest them to give me thumb down.
@nick – It does help as long as the readers/visitors use it. So far, only a small percentage of the regular readers and visitors post ratings. I hope that with this post, it can increase awareness and make them use it. :D
@Laarnay – You mean to say your blog theme got messed up because of the Post Ratings plugin?
Oh yeah, been quite busy and forgot to login/visit the forum. Thanks for reminding me. Will do as soon as I fix everything and finish updating, replying to comments and emails. :D
if the plugin seems not to contribute any help in evaluating your posts, you might as well remove it. :neutral:
oh wait. di na pala kita nakikita sa WPP. :P bisita ka naman minsan ah. take care.
Tinanggal ko na yung sa akin after na masira ang buong theme ko. hehehe.
@trench – Why not? You know what, it would work well in your blog for your movie review posts. :D
@K – I think you haven’t seen it but I do have a Poll in the left sidebar. Having a poll question is one thing and a post rating is another.
I like the idea of a rating plugin that you can moderate and I hope the future version of Post Ratings plugin would have that option. :D
@jhay – I’m also a bit OC, but I love plugins. I try to minimize the plugins I use but I don’t using them especially if they can help make the blog better.
Btw, I banned the user who sabotaged the post ratings. ;)
Never been a big fan of it.
Why not use a Poll plugin instead, with questions about how you like the post, product or something that make them think its “pimpable” (hehehe). Or use a Rate plugin where you can actually moderate or approve later and see if it’s coming from a legit person.
I say dump it. Comments are the best indicator whether a post is good or not. If someone causes trouble, you could always delete his/her comment, ban his/her IP or mark his/her comment as spam. :lol:
You know I’m a minimalist blogger with a terrible case of OC, so one less plugin means one less thing to worry about during upgrades or theme changes and one less plugin to burden your server. :mrgreen:
@joie – Thanks for your input and please do rate the posts if you think it’s useful. :D
Yeah! keep the post rating plugins. I will start rating your post.