Controversy Time! (I need people's opinions)

I, Dave Zeeman, have taken on the task which has been deemed by some as "impossible" and by others as "very impossible", but I'm so optimistic I'm willing to try anyways. There are various opinions as to how to use our ratings system. Some want reform while others couldn't care less. What I'm trying to do is create a notecard that a newbie can read and thus understand the SL ratings system. But because of all the differing opinions, it's hard to create such a card without expressing a specific opinion. So, without further adeiu, please reply telling me how the following card can be made more or less neutral to the situation at hand:

This notecard explains the ratings system, and how it is important to Second Life.

You are given the option to rate as many people in Second Life as you like. It costs $1 to rate a person, and you have three scales upon which you can weigh them. You can change any or all of the scales, and it will still be $1. Here's a review of the scales.

Behavior: Rate a person positive on behavior if you like their attitude. Good sense of humor and the ability to carry a conversation can be factors, it all depends on how you scale a person's behavior. Rate a person negative if you don't like how they act, such as if they are rude to you, or curse more than you'd like. If you can't decide, just leave the scale at "No Rating".

Appearance: Rate a person positive if you like how they look. Rate positive if really like how a person's avatar looks, or if it looks as though it took much skill to create that avatar. Rate negative if you think the avatar is annoying or offensive to you. Keep the "No Rating" setting if you are indifferent about the avatar.

Building: Rate a person positive in building if you like the objects they create. If it looks like something you can't build, or somthing that impresses you, then rate this person positive. You can rate a person negative in this category if you don't like the things they build, such as objects that give off annoying sounds or particle effects. Once again, if you are indifferent on the matter, just leave it at "No Rating".

Why is the ratings system important? Well, if a person has high ratings, that person gets more money from the fixed money pool that is held by the Lindens. The ratings basically give the person a specific percentage of that pool. The top rated people are placed on the leaderboard.

Remember that when you look at the leaderboard, you can interpret it any way you like. You may believe these people are the best in their category or just really popular. You won't really know until you find those people and socialize with them. It's all up to what you decide, how you vote, and the way you live your Second Life.

Keep in mind that the Linden pool of money is divided among every member of the Second Life community, and this knowledge may affect the way you decide to use your votes. If your ratings are relatively higher than the ratings of others, then the amount of money you gain will be relatively higher than theirs. The same rule is applied to everyone living in the Second Life world. It's a double-edged sword, and you weild it any way you choose.

Some feel the ratings system is meant to reward those who have advanced their skill at performing tasks in Second Life, some feel it's merely a way to get people to socialize, some just use it as a way to make money. Whatever you think the system is for is up to you, as you are free to formulate your own voting guidelines and use your votes the way you choose. Just be sure to enjoy your Second Life!

I don't know if "freedom to do as you choose" is considered a faction in this controversial issue, and if it is, then that's probably the way this notecard came off, and I apologize for that. What I'm trying to do is basically show what the ratings system is for and how to use it, without specifically setting rules for a person to follow. So... questions? Comments? Concerns? I need everybody's opinion on this if I'm going to reach a middle ground. Please, keep this thread free of flaming, insistency that your beliefs are best, and Rivn Epoch. Hahahaha just kidding Rivn, everyone's opinions are important in this matter, even yours.

It's too long.

I'd combine the three categories into one paragraph, and try to cut some text out.

yup too long. I'm interested and cant bring myself to read it, lol. But then again I havent had my coffee yet.

it won't do anything.....people know what the words mean dave....they just don't care....a select few decide to rate mine....now the newbies think they ahve to in order to keep up....it's not that people don't understand the system.....it's that they understand it too well....and don't care about the rest of the people.

(i understand what you are trying to do.....but it's not gonna work if people don't give a damn

like val said, people don't care. they'll do whatever they want to. we don't need a new notecard. we need a new ratings system.

In that case then... I guess...

The notecard is meant for people who care about community standards and want reasons for every element placed in Second Life. I guess what the notecard is also doing is trying to make a newbie care about these standards, the only problem is that everybody has their own standards, and I'm trying to find a middle grounds between all of them.

I guess what the notecard says is "if you care about community standards, then these are just examples of how to go about following them."

Hrmmm..... *once again goes into deep thought*

Rating system makes my head spin sometimes. =0)

I don't think it would hurt if Dave tried to help explain them to people, I appreciate the gesture and time it would take. Thanks.

Thanks Stellar =) I just look at it as something to do and hopefully a separate way of contributing to the community (plinko and pinball don't seem to be enough lol).

Come to think of it, the notecard is a good idea because it explains the categories and ideally how people should vote. So, for that it's a good thing for the community, especially newcomers.

I just think that the system itself eventually needs to change. But in the meantime it's good to emphasize the right standards, even though a rating doesn't accomplish what it's supposed to IMO.