I don't wish to waste time here.

We all lost "stars" this weekend. Like the Huns, someone razed many of us to the ground.

I suggest this feature be removed. It is a juvenile feature subject to whimsical adjustments by people with axes to grind or from other sites who are having fun. Neither Squires' site, WLDG, nor now WS has these. They serve no useful function, and as on WS, some of the most erudite---and opinionated---have the lowest numbers. Ironic that they mimic the old WS, but serving no useful purpose. I have never used these, and don't feel elevated by 5 or demeaned by 1 to change my posting style. Since we know each other, it has value only for new people who may get the wrong impressions. Who wants to come to a site and be "graded?" Remember, only those who input this function vote.

Conversely, the stars function for posts is useful, subject to many inputs and fit as a guide to surfers for interesting topics.

I can't believe I've wasted time on this. But, so my shareholder vote is to remove personal stars, a puerile feature fit for elementary school classes, but not a mature audience on a wine web site.

DrT,
I heartily agree.
Hopefully it's a 'feature' that Revlis can easily disable.

I think they are silly, too. But I don't care if they are or are not disabled.

Have never even noticed or paid attention, even once. Or, the post counts. But, I agree---silly & all those adjectives...

I have a good friend who I told about this site. He's just getting interested in wine with an earnest desire to build up a quality cellar. This place could help him more than my advice alone. I don't want him to get the wrong impressions. He might mistake Jones' 3 stars for knowledge deficit c/w others. Stars have no useful purpose; in fact, could be misleading.

Just my .02 on a rainy day off.

I didn't notice that I lost one until I read this... now I am depressed. (where is that rolly eyes graemlin?)

I have always thought stars were pointless. I am not even convinced of their utility for rating posts. There is no set criteria for what constitutes a good post and what one person thinks is helpful or interesting might bore the next person to death. Post utility is (to me) often gauged by the number of replies. (but not always)

Yeah, I got nailed this weekend as well. Down to 4. Not that I care that much but I would probably get rid of them anyway. Can't really see the purpose.

i say get rid of the member rating system and i told my fellow moderators the same. hopefully we will be able to address the issue shortly.

Stars for the posters is useless and possibly demeaning. They really serve no purpose.

I do notice the stars on the posts though. Someone has taken the time to point out they are very interested in the thread. What I don't know is does it take just one person to rate a 5-star thread or what? Actually, they don't effect my reading either.

I vote (is this a democracy?) for NO STARS.

Stars. We don't need no stinking stars.

no stars no stars no stars no stars no stars

I read every freaking post on this site, so the thread rating system doesn't matter much to me either. The # of views/reads and the number of messages are usually indicative of what the popular/interesting threads are anyway. Ever tried to sort those columns? It's pretty cool and surprising

If it is true that people from some "other" sites register just to knock down the stars to make some of us (& the site in-general) look bad...that would be even more pathetic than I could ever imagine people could be. I would like to think that no one is that pitiable...

Get rid of it...

i like the stars. they amuse me .

Gus, So it is 967 to 1

i know, david. i can accept defeat gracefully if they go away. i just thought i qould express my opinion. i really don't care that much. as i said, they amuse me .

I pretty much ignore them and it doesn't affect the way I perceive any member's wine knowledge. I agree that they serve no useful function. Do I have any stars left? Pretty soon I can say I'm a Texan, from the Lone Star state.

Hey, I resemble that remark.

Geez, I thought you guys were talking about the Dallas Stars!

After much deliberation..... (actually, none at all)......

The moderators have decided to remove the stars.

It's really silly that someone would spend the time to rate everyone like that.

Anyone have a good estimate of approximate date/time this happened?

It's for future reference mostly in case more things crop up...

I'm not going to track this person down. Just not worth the time.