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Netflix to Change From Stars to Thumbs

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Mar 17, 2017.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Netflix will be moving away from the star rating system to a thumbs up or thumbs down approach:


    Netflix VP of Product Todd Yellin told journalists on Thursday during a press briefing at the company’s headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif., that the company had tested the new thumbs up and down ratings with hundred of thousands of members in 2016. “We are addicted to the methodology of A/B testing,” Yellin said. The result was that thumbs got 200% more ratings than the traditional star-rating feature.

     
  2. Zilla

    Trusted Supporter

    Feel like they pretty much had to go to this after incidents of people dogpiling on stuff like Amy Schumer's special.
     
    Chase Tremaine likes this.
  3. Hey, kinda like Chorus' reviews!
     
    Jason Tate likes this.
  4. Also, may I point out how Alternative Press got rid of star ratings...and it lasted about two issues before they came back? hahah
     
    Raku and Jason Tate like this.
  5. Chuck!

    Regular

    Will this fix that problem, though?
     
  6. SEANoftheDEAD

    Trusted

    Who has two thumbs and can rate something on Netflix?

    ..this guy.
     
  7. bmir14

    Trusted Supporter

    Yeah i don't get it... can't netflix and rotten tomatoes just bang each other?
     
    Raku and CMilliken like this.
  8. SEANoftheDEAD

    Trusted

    Netflix likes fresh tomatoes.
     
    Raku likes this.
  9. Junction183

    Newbie

    Amy Schumer's special was terrible and deserved to be lambasted.
     
    Raku, Schooner, pauljgreco and 3 others like this.
  10. bmir14

    Trusted Supporter

    I would agree with this
     
  11. a nice person

    Trusted Prestigious

    It would make more sense to require users to view the show/special/movie prior to scoring it. Especially Netflix exclusive content. If they're worried that people are giving one-star ratings to "ruin" someone they don't like, wouldn't this make the most sense? Amazon puts a "verified buyer" tag on reviews of products from people that actually bought the item on the website, which is super helpful to make sure trolls and nasty competitors don't come in and attempt to steer people away from the product for a non-legitimate reason
     
    Raku, Turkeylegz, Essie and 3 others like this.
  12. Junction183

    Newbie

    Brilliant
     
    Mr. Serotonin, CMilliken and Zilla like this.
  13. I don't think they're worried about "ruining" anything or that this is in response to any special getting low stars -- they just flat out have data that people use thumbs up/down more and they can better fine tune their algorithm with more data from people. And they can get a better idea of a what someone likes from this versus 2 or 3 stars and the ambiguous nature of that to different people.

    The stars you see when you watch Netflix right now are what their system thinks you will rate it or not rate it ... not what other people have rated it: What Netflix ratings really mean, and how they work
     
    Tylar, skogsraet, Essie and 2 others like this.
  14. Zilla

    Trusted Supporter

    Ah
    ah ok. That makes sense.
     
    Jason Tate likes this.
  15. CMilliken

    Trusted

    The algorithm for movies it shows you will be better based on your thumbs ups/downs I would think. I rarely rated with the star ratings anyway but would use a thumbs up or down. Easier and much less thought to the process.
     
    skogsraet and Jason Tate like this.
  16. coleslawed

    Eat Pizza

    but what about movies you have watched before, just not on Netflix?

    also, like Jason said, the star system is for Netflix to try to cater to your ratings, not show an aggregate rating across users.
     
    Jason Tate likes this.
  17. billyboatman

    Garden Eyes - Movements

    Hmm, I always rate stuff when I watch it on Netflix.
     
    Jason Tate and coleslawed like this.
  18. Ryan

    Might be Spider-Man...

    Did the stars offend someone ? Just asking
     
  19. Kiana

    Goddamn, man child Prestigious

    Me and my sis have to share a profile cause the account hit a max profile limit and she's always trying to rate things highly that I don't like, and it felt like a compromise to do 2 or 3 stars. Now it's gotta be thumbs up or down but sometimes I don't know!!!

    Can't handle these winds of change rn!
     
  20. ReginaPhilange

    Trusted Prestigious

    Woot actually useful info for our app. We were gonna do a thumbs up/thumbs down approach anyways but this is nice validation.
     
  21. a nice person

    Trusted Prestigious

    I'm thinking more along the lines of original content, they seem to care most about their original content. I know they don't release their viewing numbers, but it's pretty obvious that their best chance to hold onto existing customers is to get customers hooked on long running shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
     
  22. Tylar

    Newbie

    This'll over simplify things in a bad way, because there are movies on Netflix I feel so ambivalent towards that simplifying a rating system to a thumbs up or down won't work
     
    Raku, Turkeylegz and billyboatman like this.
  23. Turkeylegz

    Trusted

    Maybe I am crazy but didn't Netflix adjust stars based on your preferences?

    Plus this will kill me on those nights I want a horror movie in the 2 star range but not 1 star. I'll have to do additional research!!
     
    Raku and CMilliken like this.
  24. honkytonk

    Narcissism on narcotics

    I dunno.. I always just give 5 stars to something I enjoyed and not rate something I didn't enjoy. People take that kind of stuff too seriously!
     
    Raku and CMilliken like this.
  25. Malatesta

    i may get better but we won't ever get well Prestigious

    yeah not too surprising, seems like people more and more like simple data to inform their consumption choices. youtube made this choice years ago. that said, netflix's rating system has always confused me.