How to Use a 5 Star Rating System
How to use a five star rating system
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How I use a 5 star rating system
I’m not doing any research, and I have no idea how others use it.
So ages ago itunes, or maybe winamp, or maybe realplayer, introduced the 5 star rating system for your music. I painstakingly applied it to my library then suffered a hdd crash, lost it all, and didn’t use it again for many years. Several years ago I started using it again, and as a music hoarder it’s been a huge help. Especially through Foobar2000. Search up “%Rating% GREATER 3” and I don’t have to worry about company randomly hearing a Final Fantasy death march.
It’s useful, but daunting, especially if you have a lot of files. But it doesn’t have to be daunting, and it’s so beneficial that I’ve been applying the logic to all of my entertainment files via Tag Spaces.
The secret to it not being daunting, no matter how many files you have?
- Start by rating everything as 3 stars.
That’s your median number. From there everything is essentially a binary that you can say “yes” or “no” to as you come across the files.
But there’s 5 stars, if 2 and 4 are no and yes, what’s 1 and 5? Very no and very yes? Essentially, but if you’re thinking in terms of quality I’m sure you’ll soon notice that gets things pretty muddy pretty quickly. Here’s what your actually rating:
- Repeatability.
You’ve obtained the file, you’ve shown interest in it, give it the benefit of a doubt that it’s earned 3 stars. Now, if you have a mixed playlist and it pops up again, would you consume it again? Heck yes? 4 stars. Mmm, too soon? 3 stars. I’d rather not. 2 stars. I might delete it later, but it’s too soon to tell. 1 star. How about that mythical 5 star rating? Let time determine that one. Have media that still makes you feel warm and fuzzy after 5 years of repeats? Give that the medal.
There, that should help you simplify your feelings towards rating your files, but I admit, it still can be a bit tricky sometimes. So I have a final bit of advice:
- Use a 10 Star Rating System.
The best way to use a 5 star rating system is to use a 10 star one. Actually that gets a little confusing. I still use a 5 star, but I break by 0.5 stars. This allows me to have 3 stars as my median, and keep a 5 star at its legendary status.
1 Star = archives 1.5 Star = It’s a bad joke 2 star = it’s just a joke 2.5 star = I never seem to be in the mood 3 star = It exists. Here it is. 3.5 star = I approve of its existance 4 star = You should approve of its existance 4.5 star = OH YEAH 5 star = volunetarily Rick Rolled
But of course it will depend on having software that allows you to apply your own rating tags… Like Foobar2000 or Tag Spaces.
So because I feel like typing another list, here’s my advice in shortest form:
How to use a 5 star rating system
- Rate everything at 3 stars
- Raise or lower rating by how repeatable it is
- Use a 10 star system
Masterclass.
Post by: saturdayxiii