Even when there was the free for all rating system, ratings were few and far between mostly originating from "buddy raters" in the forums. That's how some got highest rated badge. Without trusted raters ratings would be extremely rare. I always rate or reveiw assets I purchase unlike the vast majority of buyers here which is the real problem with the TS rating system. What's the incentive for the time stressed buyer? So many assets go unrated for months and years sometimes even though they have been purchased many many times. Just look at your own data, for every purchase you should get a rating within a week or so.
Andy Said: "Maybe a partial solution would be to have two ratings (for purchased items only) ... one from customers and one from trusted raters... they can be averaged together but that way the client can see what customers say as well as what the artist's peers think about it..."
Only buyers(really downloaders) may review. It is not as anonymous but it is something similar to what Andy says already. Perhaps simply have an anonymous review button so the review has no name attached to it.
I've used both systems to give low ratings when they deserve it. Remember even a 1* outranks a not ranked in the ratings listing and it helps no one to tell them they have a 4 or 5* model when it is simply not. A 1 or a 2 * tells the vendor to go try again ... not to complain in the forums. For models that are free assets, I'll download and give lengthy reviews to let them know what they did wrong and what to do better.
For the most part I am attracted to higher quality assets when rating because they need to be elevated above the low-Q masses and when I'm actively rating, I'm usually one of the first to catch some of the 5's which is my pleasure.
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