On rating discussions...

I agree-- I rate people who answer my discussions.. I rate people who I like their responses to other peoples discussions. I rate the original person who posted the discussion. One thing I forget to do is when I give someone best response is to also rate them. Rating someone takes very little time and it benefits us all. I don't rate negative unless someone is degrading me personally- You can disagree with me on every post but do it with class and you still get a +...

your rating isnt low. you have a rating of 9. it might also be because mylot goes back oand looks at what you have responded to and if you didnt give quality responses they may drop you down a number... i'm not sure how it works but i do what you say. give everyone + unless they blatantly attack me or someone else

One of us can probably say this everyday, and yet people will still do it. You pretty concisely gave my theory on + and -. The !, of course is a whole different story and is suitable only for people who are scamming and spamming.

That is sound advice esther..it is sad that some misuse this rating system. I remember to rate all the discussions I respond to and also I read and rate all responses I receive on my discussions. I feel nice to give +s all the time and the -s are saved for those cheaters, spammers and one-liners! Again one-liners if relevant to the topic I pass it, anyways they wouldn't be getting paid much for it. I find it disheartening when friends give one-liners, I don't want to give them a - I know I'm being partial so anyways since its relevant to the discussion I let it go. Same with one-liners from others. It is definitely not fair to give a negative when we disagree this is a discussions' forum so we have the right to agree or disagree. I don't understand why some feel we have to agree all the time. I think it's silly..well I just ignore such discussions.

I've never really paid attention to the whole star rating business. I think I'm an 8 or 9, but I don't know why that is, and frankly, I don't really care. I am trying to make an effort to go through and rate other's posts, but I don't really know the reason. Maybe if I do it enough, the reason will become apparent to me. But I guess if it matters to so many of you, I'll help you out and give the ratings. My main focus here is on creating quality responses to intelligent discussions.

I rate people because if they've taken the time to think of a response then they deserve the benefits from that. I don't rate people negative if they don't agree with me. We're all individuals and we have the rights to our own opinions. However ... there are some people that really annoy me. They post a response, but it's obvious from that response that they haven't read the entire discussion. I used to rate people negative for that, but now I don't. I just don't rate them and I don't respond to their response. If they don't read the full discussion, then they don't deserve a response - especially when the answer to their question is contained in the discussion!

i see what you mean. i was a 10 about 3 weeks ago, then i was out of circulation for 2 weeks and when i got back, i joined in halfheartedly. i dropped to 9. thankfully, that was only for a few days because now, i'm back to 10 and rating other people's discussions must have helped coz i did that.

I rate folks replies in my own discussions as I read through them .. negative ratings for folks who reply completely off topic, or with stupid unrelated jokes, or one word answers ... replies that add something to the discussion get plus ratings and my best response gets awarded roughly 2 weeks from when I start ythe discussion ... In others discussions I generally give a plus for exceptionally good replies of info ... and a minus for the same reasons as I would in my own discussions ..

I look for an intelligent discussion, and rate accordingly. Usually give a plus, to every one that I respond. If I see any responses with only 1 or 2 words then I would probably rate them negative, the same with abuse, although if the abuse is very bad and aimed at me then I may report them instead. I don't believe that you can have a proper discussion if everyone agrees with what is written, I can often see both sides to a discussion (and sometimes more that two). I would like to see a reasoned argument about one side, even if it is totally opposed to my ideas.

I never give a negative rating to anyone just because I didagree with them. I think that is just wrong. I belive that we all have the right to have an opinion and I personally value that right. I do rate all the discussions that I comment on and I do rate all comments that I receive on my discussions. You are getting a postive rating in case you are wondering.

You know I had recieved an update from mylot stating that our plus or minus rating dose not affect the other person in any way. I don't know to what extend is it true because then for what reason is the + and the - sign there? I do rate people plus and minus only and only if they are spamers.

I rate every response I receive to my posts...I feel that people deserve it for taking the time to respond...The only time I may skip a rating is when I get a one word answer or a response that has NOTHING to do with the post!!! I have heard that back reviewing by the powers that be can take our ratings down..but I don't know...if you aren't active for a while someone said the ratings drop dramatically...another unsubstantiated bit of info...If you are really concerned about it you could email myLOt and just ask!!! Good Luck..:)

hello estherlou...! i agree with you... we shoould be thankfull that people reply to our created discussion regarless of their opinion... some times being nice will have its perks... thanks!

I have to agree with you. There's no need to rate somebody negative just because you don't like their opinion. That's not exactly being fair.

Yes I rate the discussion and the posts I read. I rarely ever give a minus, unless the post is rude. I often give a plus even if I disagree with the post, if it is thought out as you say, but once in awhile, I don't give a plus if I disagree, instead I don't rate it.. :))

I like you when you are on your soap box, you are giving good advice. I agree with you. I never give a negative if one does not agree with me.

Yes people should be reminded with what you said here although it's common sense and also in mylot guidelines and updates.. I would like to add that if you can't give someone a plus don't give them a negative unless they are really abusing the system, you can just leave them without a rate if you don't like what they are saying.. Also don't give people negative because of spelling and grammar errors, not all people here are native English speakers and it's against mylot guidelines to pick on them for it, if what they say is good (although they may not say it eloquently) then give them a plus too :)

I do rate them all with a + who respond to my discussions unless the responses are copy of another response. Also I give a - if somebody is abusing. For me it does not matter the reponder is agree with me or not, we are not here for debate, we write discussions or reponses to share our thoughts. I rate all those discussions to which I respond. I think if one discussion is worth responding they deserve a plus for sure.

I always rate all the responses in my discussions.I don't use the (-) for anyone who disagrees with me bcause that person too has a point of view that adds to my knowledge and I post the discussions to hear all the possibilities.I hardly use the (-) button.The only time I use it is when the person is too offensive.I also rate all the discussions I like and respond to.

its necessary for every member that we rate every post according to the potential.It helps in getting rated the quality of a member and by this way we aknowledge their quality of posts.i generally try to read each and every discussion and rate them accordingly.but yes every day I don't go for giving best response and its right i think you can only select best responses if there are no of them.