I HATE the Meanings of Netflix Star Ratings !

[Serge]

Netflix uses the following meanings for its star ratings:

5 Stars = "Loved It"
4 Stars = "Really Liked It"
3 Stars = "Liked It"
2 Stars = "Didn't Liked It"
1 Star = "Hated It"

So what's wrong with these meanings ? Here's my main gripes:

(1) What does "Really" in "Really Liked It” supposed to mean? That when you rate a movie as “Liked It” you are just kidding ? Or that you speak like a 8-year old, and express an intensive like of a movie as "Really Like" ? But than how would you rate a movie that you really, really, really, really, really liked ?
(2) The rating is not symmetrical: we have “REALLY Liked It”, but not “REALLY Didn’t Liked It”. Subsequently the intervals between 1 and 2 Stars are larger than between 5 and 4 stars.
(3) Is “Hated It”, really opposite of “Loved it” ? Can’t you hate a movie you love ? Isn't indifference the opposite of love ?


As an alternative I propose the following meanings:
5 Stars = "Loved It"
4 Stars = "Liked It MUCH"
3 Stars = "Liked It MODERATELY"
2 Stars = "Liked It LITTLE"
1 Star = "Didn’t Liked It AT ALL"

Here’s the advantages of the meanings above:

(1) It’s more accurate and consistent, since it measures only one dimension, “Likeability” of the movie, and it doesn’t concern itself about other feelings like “Hate” the viewer might have while watching the movie.
(2) It’s symmetrical. The intervals between stars are roughly equal.
(3) It forces the viewer to recapitulate all they liked about the movie they’ve watched, and the intensity of that feeling. Rather anything they’ve hated it.

While Netflix spends millions on developing a better recommendation algorithm, it should give more thought about the meaning of its rating system: make sure it’s not confusing, ambiguous or overlaping. It must be simple but not juvenile ( “really liked it” and “hated it” do sound juvenile to me).

[Serge]

Of course, "okay" is much weaker than "liked", besides it takes an objective view about the movie, as in "Great", "Good", "Okay" & "Poor". While "liked" is about viewer's feeling about the movie.

Those are two different things. For example Citizen Kane is a great movie, that I did not liked.

[Knaldskalle]

Your criticism is pedantic. You can ascribe whatever values to the stars you want, from "not enough toy cars" to "too many women with an odd number of boobs". All ratings are subjective and "okay" is just as subjective an adjective as "liked".

Citizen Kane is only a great movie if you liked it. If you didn't like it, it's not a great movie.

A 3 star rating is a 3 star rating no matter what adjectives you attach to it. Whether it's "meh", or "okay" or "liked it" or whatever. Ratings are directly transferable between Netflix and Amazon since they use the same scale. The scale is important, not the adjectives attached to each numerical value.

[Serge]

The scale is important, not the adjectives attached to each numerical value.

Actually the scale is nothing without a reference. An reference that varies from user to user can create big problems.

For example a 3-Star-Hotel in US is a decent place to sleep in, while when I've slept in a 3-Star-Hotel in Istanbul, it was a dump with cockroaches, something that shouldn't get more than 1-Star. But that's how it is in much of Europe, anything bellow 4-stars is equvalent to 2-Stars or less in Us. Would I be pedantic if I were to demand some kind of international standards on hotel ratings, or on movie ratings for that matter ?

[Knaldskalle]

I think it's a bad analogy, comparing hotels to movies. There's no uniform standard for the number of stars awarded to/by a hotel, some countries have laws about it, others don't. Hotel ratings may range from 1-5, 1-6 and 1-7 stars, so obviously there's no uniform scale. Besides, hotel guests have little influence on how hotels are rated.

I've stayed in a 5 star hotel in China and hated it. I've also stayed in a 1 star hotel in Paris and loved it. The yardstick by which you measure hotels may be objective to some standard (amenities & services), but staying there is still a subjective experience.

Actually the scale is nothing without a reference. An reference that varies from user to user can create big problems

From 1-5 stars, 5>4>3>2>1. It's that simple. And since we're involving millions of users there will inevitable be many interpretations of what the stars mean. A 3 star movie may be a good rating for some people while it's a bad rating for others. Your suggestion doesn't change that one bit.

[Serge]

Citizen Kane is only a great movie if you liked it. If you didn't like it, it's not a great movie.

Readers complained to Roger Ebert that "Lost in Translation" doesn't merit a "Great Movie" 4-star rating, since it's difficult to like that movie. Ebert replied that professional critics will rate movies as "Great", even if they didn't like it very much, if these movies are technically excellent. I agree. But I don't pretend to be a movie critic and share my wisdom with the world so I rate movies on the intensity of liking them.

P.S.

Even worse than netflix rating is the one on jini.com, while I love the website it's rating meanings are sooo cumbersome:

0 Terrible
1 Awful
2 Bad
3 Poor
4 Disappointing
5 So-So
6 Okay
7 Good
8 Great*
9 Amazing*
10 Must See*
*Recommended

What is the difference between so-so and ok ? Terrible, bad, awful and poor ?
Can't you like a movie you find dissapointing ?

[Knaldskalle]

Ah, missed this post. Sorry.

Thank you for making my point. The adjectives, as you show, are irrelevant. Only the numerical values make any sense. You can call the stars whatever you want, as long as 5>4>3>2>1. From "good" to "okay" to "disappointing" to "crap" to "OMG!WTF?" (5->1) or from "fine" to "good" to "excellent" to "spectacular" to "I died and went to heaven" (1->5).

It doesn't matter what we call the stars.

[Tabigarasu]

I looked you up. You are indeed a registered pedant in the state of Arkansas. STAY AWAY FROM OUR CHILDREN, YOU SICK FUCK!

[Serge]

I've also looked you up, and you are a registered pediatrician in Vermont. Since you've molested little kids, I'll have to KILL YOU !

[Pihk]

Tabi ain't from VT.

VT peeps are chill and cool.

[Tabigarasu]

Serge, why'd you pick Vermont?

[Serge]

Why'd you pick Arkansas ?

[Tabigarasu]

'Cuz everyone knows a properly impaired hillbilly'll throw his hot dog down any hole around just to see what comes out.

Your turn.