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Old 2010-11-21, 04:25   Link #1
Akito Kinomoto
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For those of you who have one, what do you think about MAL's rating system?

Do you use all of those numbers, or even a different system altogether? Where do most of your shows tend to fall?
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Last edited by Akito Kinomoto; 2011-06-08 at 11:24. Reason: Way too abrasive now that I think about it
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Old 2010-11-21, 04:30   Link #2
Ichihara Asako
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It is generally considered poor form to complain about one community in another. Since it has nothing to do with this one, even if many here may have MAL accounts.

1-10 systems are pretty much the same as 1-5, anyway. The middle is average ground, the lower side is bad and the upper is good. It doesn't change a lot regardless of how you want to label it. Pretty much all user based rating systems fall in to the same issues; higher figures become the "real" average, because most people don't want to waste their time with mediocre/bad ones.
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Old 2010-11-21, 05:18   Link #3
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MAL's rating system is fine (though I'd prefer decimals). It just makes sense that 5 and 6 is gonna be close to the middle. If you skew too highly, the bottom numbers become useless.

You can use the numbers however you want, since it's all arbitrary anyways. If your ratings are consistent then it will scale properly anyways. That is, if a show is below your own average, it means you probably don't like it as much.

Relative scores are far more important for most people's lists.
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Old 2010-11-21, 13:30   Link #4
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I don't like the MAL rating system since I rate everything on a letter grade scale (A,B,C,D,F). Since I use decimals to grade anything, I have to round the grade up/down and it screws up the average. Scores under 5 doesn't matter since it's failing anyways.

There is a lot of things I hate about MyAnimeList, not just the scoring system. I would rather not talk about it since it's off topic, but yeah... it's bad.
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Old 2010-11-21, 14:48   Link #5
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Just score each show however the hell you want; it's not necessary to conform to the _guidelines_ the site gives you. Heck, I never even knew the official rating system gave each score a label of "average", "great", or whatever.

A decimal system though would be nice, especially for people like me where two scores make up 80% of the list.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto View Post
but then I remembered I could do that here without the repercussions of criticizing the very page you type on.
A little OT here, but if you're making a complaint, you should be doing it upfront. If you just want a formal discussion, you don't really need to justify it.
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Old 2010-11-21, 15:28   Link #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chikorita157 View Post
I don't like the MAL rating system since I rate everything on a letter grade scale (A,B,C,D,F). Since I use decimals to grade anything, I have to round the grade up/down and it screws up the average. Scores under 5 doesn't matter since it's failing anyways.
I actually sorta use ABCDF scoring. It would just have to be stretched out over 10 numbers which isn't too bad if you take in account +/- or 1/2 grades

For me, it's like A=9, B=7, C=5, D=3, F=1
Everything in between is a +/- which gets screwed up if I use .5, but close enough.
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Old 2010-11-21, 17:01   Link #7
Akito Kinomoto
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichihara Asako View Post
It is generally considered poor form to complain about one community in another. Since it has nothing to do with this one, even if many here may have MAL accounts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eater of All View Post
A little OT here, but if you're making a complaint, you should be doing it upfront. If you just want a formal discussion, you don't really need to justify it.
It wasn't an analysis of the site as a whole so much as it was an observation of only one aspect of numbers that can vary from person-to-person. And yes, I will be getting around to talking directly.

Still, I didn't know this was off-topic. Sorry about that.
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Old 2010-11-22, 03:24   Link #8
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Even though I'm somewhat of a harsh critic, anything I rate 5 or above I liked. It just depends on HOW much I liked it. 5=average 6=ok 7=good 8=excellent 9=awesome 10=perfect
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Old 2010-11-23, 13:38   Link #9
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I think people worry too much about MAL's rating system. I also don't care for decimals because I think that, if you give 8.5 for something, you're just indecise. In the end, you just don't want to give 8 because you think it is too low but you also think 9 is too high. Meaning, you're just being picky and not regarding whatever you really though about the show. And I gotta say that those rates with decimals such as 9.9 are beyond ridiculous.
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Old 2011-11-27, 07:59   Link #10
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I like MAL's rating system because I've become naturally inclined towards a scale of 10 points. I don't appreciate their "default" values for scores though, so I outright ignore them. The values of my scoring system skew a bit below MAL's default values because I like to use the entire scale.
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Old 2011-11-27, 08:37   Link #11
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Meh, I kinda like the default scores (mostly because otherwise I'll be too lazy to actually come up with a precise score otherwise.)
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Old 2011-11-27, 09:00   Link #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yuna Amakura View Post
I think people worry too much about MAL's rating system. I also don't care for decimals because I think that, if you give 8.5 for something, you're just indecise. In the end, you just don't want to give 8 because you think it is too low but you also think 9 is too high. Meaning, you're just being picky and not regarding whatever you really though about the show. And I gotta say that those rates with decimals such as 9.9 are beyond ridiculous.
Ha Ha well as someone who does give 8.5's I guess you are right.

I have an 8.5 tag on MAL for all series I don't think are quite 9's but that I think deserve more than 8. Actually I guess the difference for me is an 8 would be a series I really enjoyed but it's not a favorite. An 8.5 would be a favorite but I don't think it was quite as good as a 9. I don't use the .5 for any other number though.

However I think I definitely use MAL's system incorrectly because for me anything less than 6 I didn't like at all. And I know some people consider that average. For me 6 and 7 is average.
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Old 2011-11-27, 17:32   Link #13
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Well, since the numbers are all arbitrary anyways, it doesn't matter how you use them. (Though, if you rated everything a 10 or 1, it's not very helpful to anyone but yourself. )

But regardless, if one's average rating skews low, I would say that they need to have better anime selection. Having a perfect bell curve that averages to 5 (or your equivalent of a c-) is a bad thing! It means you watch every random anime to completion which probably means an unneeded amount of suffering.

Not an exact science, of course, but trends tend to stick.

Then again the very concept of "average" can be underrated a bit. Not every work can be a classic, but it can be useful on a rainy day. We tend to have too much grade inflation in academics which may mean something that's ok, suddenly becomes regarded as bad.

This theoretical 1/10 should be so unwatchable that you should never be able to complete it, except in extreme circumstances. Maybe if it's only 19 minutes like Mars of Destruction. Yet, even that comes into doubt.

In any case I think of these numbers as representing tiers. So 10 is personal favorite tier, 9 is top tier, etc... It makes the most sense on a relative scale where giving a higher number simply means you liked this anime better without having to resort on some bizzare voodoo like I sometimes do.

Some people like to treat 10s as sacred and in some cases unattainable, others think that an anime they hate deserves a bad score regardless of its strength. Some folks think that every anime has enjoyment to be extracted and thus never that bad. None of these are invalid opinions. But do have some consistency!

So 8/10, B+, Diamond -, Marble... whatever. No need to get hung up as long as people can tell what you like and what you don't. That's the original point rather than some abstract sense of art critique.

In essence, we simultaneously underrate and overrate the value of arbitrary metrics.
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Last edited by Archon_Wing; 2011-11-27 at 17:43.
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Old 2011-11-27, 19:30   Link #14
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THe MAL rating system is fine, it's the fact individual people use different rating systems and have different definitions of scores that causes problems.

I, for example, treat 5 as average. That just seems logical to me. 1 is unbearable and 10 is a masterpiece, why wouldn't 5 be in the middle?

However, due to inflation, most people consider 7 an average. I cannot even begin to understand why people do this, being that it leaves them only 8, 9, and 10 to define anime they "like", and 1-6 to define different levels of "dislike". Because of this, most of the time many numbers (usually 2-4) get completely missed, and people will rate things 1 if they nerd-rage hard enough, and 5 if it was just bad.

I try to rate my anime comparitively depending on what I've rated other anime I've finished, so what I do is find an anime I rated perfectly average. Not good, not bad, but a 5, something I just stared at indifferently until it finished. (.hack//SIGN) for example. I'll then think; "Did I like this more or less than .hack?" If so, it goes up to 6. Then I compare it to a benchmark of 6, and then it goes up again or stays at 6, and it continues.

With this system, only my absolute favourite anime get a rating of 10 (Perfect, in my mind), and to me this just makes more sense. If you're rating everything that took you by surprise a 10, where's the prestige? How do you seperate your favourites from things you just liked a lot?...

Anyway I may have gone a bit offtopic with that rant, but I think it's relevant. If you want to get a taste of my way of rating (trying to keep a mean score of 5 or as close as possible), check out my MAL.

TL;DR - The system is fine, it's just up to the individual to use it right.
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Old 2011-11-27, 21:09   Link #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rethice View Post
With this system, only my absolute favourite anime get a rating of 10 (Perfect, in my mind), and to me this just makes more sense. If you're rating everything that took you by surprise a 10, where's the prestige? How do you seperate your favourites from things you just liked a lot?...
Well with my system I have very few 10's. I've rated a few movies with a 10, 1 OVA and only 1 series. I don't think anything is perfect but if it gets a 10 it should be pretty close.

And like I said 9 and 8.5's are my favorites whereas 8's are what I just really enjoyed but not necessarily a favorite.


Anyways I guess I should take back what I say about 6 and 7's being average for me they are either my "guilty pleasures" or series that might have elements I really like but also elements I really dislike (whether I give it a 6 or 7 depends on the likes or dislikes).

So maybe I should say 5 is average but just because it is average that doesn't mean I like it. In fact if I feel a series is just average than that means I didn't like it. Why should I settle for average?

Granted I think I only gave one series below a 4 on MAL just because I guess if it is that bad I won't sit through it and I think I know how to avoid series that I feel are that bad.


Anyways I think everyone should use a system that is best for them. MAL's system doesn't work exactly right for me that is why I tweak the ratings in my head.
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Old 2011-11-27, 21:21   Link #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rethice View Post
The MAL rating system is fine, it's the fact individual people use different rating systems and have different definitions of scores that causes problems.
I'm of the same opinion that MAL's rating system is fine and that the problem lies in a lack of a standardized "universal" way to rate things, which ultimately means a score for individual X means something different to individual Y.

Quote:
I, for example, treat 5 as average. That just seems logical to me. 1 is unbearable and 10 is a masterpiece, why wouldn't 5 be in the middle?

I try to rate my anime comparitively depending on what I've rated other anime I've finished, so what I do is find an anime I rated perfectly average. Not good, not bad, but a 5, something I just stared at indifferently until it finished. (.hack//SIGN) for example. I'll then think; "Did I like this more or less than .hack?" If so, it goes up to 6. Then I compare it to a benchmark of 6, and then it goes up again or stays at 6, and it continues.

-----

With this system, only my absolute favourite anime get a rating of 10 (Perfect, in my mind), and to me this just makes more sense. If you're rating everything that took you by surprise a 10, where's the prestige? How do you seperate your favourites from things you just liked a lot?...
I use to be similar, but lately I've become a bit more generous. Converted to 6 or a C+/B- means average in my books, 10 or A+ being what I consider masterpieces in my own eyes and 1 or F being absolutely terrible material that is so bad to the point it's offensive. 5 means a "pass" (akin to a test score where 50% means you pass, but you still kinda suck lol).

With that in mind my mean on MAL is currently 6.1 for completed series, which is spot on where I wanted it to be. Though if you count only the last two years, I will estimate it to being 6.5 or even 7 since I've become a lot less tolerant of "crap" and I seldom finish a series if I don't consider it at least a 7/10 these days (which means good). I'll typically start a new season off by watching the first few episodes of about 10 or so series, but that number will drastically fall to 3-4 at most in terms of completion.

Quote:
However, due to inflation, most people consider 7 an average. I cannot even begin to understand why people do this, being that it leaves them only 8, 9, and 10 to define anime they "like", and 1-6 to define different levels of "dislike". Because of this, most of the time many numbers (usually 2-4) get completely missed, and people will rate things 1 if they nerd-rage hard enough, and 5 if it was just bad.
Yeh I don't get this either. Reminds me of those IGN, Gamespot, Famitsu etc game ratings where 7 or B+ seems to be the average score. However, a lot of people, (could even be the majority) seem to rate like this so people like me and you might be in the minority. MAL is no different.


Pet Peeve - Lack of decimals infuriates me with some rating sites. For example, the difference between a 8 or 8.5 or a 9 or a 9.5 is quite a bit substantial for me. A difference between 9 or 9.5 means the difference between top tier and favorites, whilst the the different between 8 or 8.5 is the difference where I'll start "fagging" about a series and recommend it to all my friends. Same with 5.5 and 6.5 which means below average and above average respectively.

Last edited by Pocari_Sweat; 2011-11-27 at 21:45.
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Old 2011-11-27, 21:37   Link #17
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I think 7 as "average" is derived from the academic grading system in elementary and high school curriculums.

On the topic, I prefer using a modified 1-10 system as well.
I use 8 as a default score, and series that are scored 8 often give little to no impact on me. (Older series that I have watched at least two episodes are scored 8 as well.)
Series with 9 are those ones that I enjoyed watching. Currently 43 series I've watched belong to this category.
The ones that I scored perfect 10 are "masterpieces" in my own opinion. Most of them have high rewatch values, and have given me intense emotions that they intend to give the viewers. These series include Summer Wars, Gosick, Toradora!, K-ON!!, Rurouni Kenshin, Shakugan no Shana, Ghost Hunt and Suzuka (although seeing Kimi no Iru Machi, I wonder why I graded Suzuka 10 ).

MAL's rating system is surprisingly flexible, and anyone can use their own style of grading. That would pose some problems when a certain user interprets another user's rating system.
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Old 2011-11-27, 21:38   Link #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Archon_Wing View Post
Then again the very concept of "average" can be underrated a bit. Not every work can be a classic, but it can be useful on a rainy day. We tend to have too much grade inflation in academics which may mean something that's ok, suddenly becomes regarded as bad.
That can definitely be annoying. It's like when someone tastes your food, they visibly cringe a little, and then they say it's "okay". I sometimes worry when I call something okay because I might be offending others inadvertently, but I do it anyway out of principle. There are many anime I've rated below or above "average" that I can say with a straight face I enjoyed watching, it's just that I enjoyed them less that the anime I've rated "good".

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rethice View Post
THe MAL rating system is fine, it's the fact individual people use different rating systems and have different definitions of scores that causes problems.
I disagree with MAL's standard values to begin with, so I just use a different scoring system. When in doubt, I check other people's profile to see if they have a written guide to their scoring system (I have one myself, so no confusion here!). If there isn't one, I rely on their mean score, and their tags if applicable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rethice View Post
However, due to inflation, most people consider 7 an average. I cannot even begin to understand why people do this, being that it leaves them only 8, 9, and 10 to define anime they "like", and 1-6 to define different levels of "dislike". Because of this, most of the time many numbers (usually 2-4) get completely missed, and people will rate things 1 if they nerd-rage hard enough, and 5 if it was just bad.
My scoring system is the opposite of your example. "4" and "5" are below average and above average respectively. "6"-"10" are scores for anime I like, and "1"-"3" represent anime I dislike. I just find it the most logical because I watch more good anime than bad anime, so this way my lower ratings aren't empty.
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Old 2011-11-28, 00:32   Link #19
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I try to avoid scoring shows except for 10's when they're my favorites. I kinda think scoring shows is..pretentious? I mean, I didn't make the anime and I certainly don't have the talent to, so for me its more of a matter of, "Does the artist share similar ideas, creativity, and feelings as me? How much do I resonate with these ideas?" things like that. And if the answers to those questions are "negative" then the anime isn't bad, just not for me.
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Old 2011-11-29, 15:45   Link #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto View Post
Do you use all of those numbers, or even a different system altogether? Where do most of your shows tend to fall?
Well, I moved over to Anime-Planet, which uses the 5-star notation. But it allows "half-stars". So, that's still a 0-10 scale.

And see my graph:
http://www.anime-planet.com/users/KyuuAL

However, I still have to make adjustment as I downgraded every item on my list by 1 (half-star) -- except for Haruhi or anything lower than a 4 (or two stars). So, it appears that I have nothing ranked as a 9 (4.5 stars). Simply because, I've been dumping too many into the 9 (4.5 star) category. Instead, I'm going to set a fixed number of series (10% of my completed total) into that category.

The only 10 is reserved for Haruhi.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DemiSoda
why wouldn't 5 be in the middle?
The rank of 5 (2.5 stars) feels low and punishing. I have my "average" at 7 (3.5 stars). So, I use that as a start value for anything "new" to me. As I watch along, I may increase or decrease that number - depending on how I feel about a series.

The 0-5 scale... I use that for dropped series.
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