Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

variety.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 298 posts

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#191

Post by bubblethink »

M_Grey wrote: post #188
agmcleod wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What other services do you use? I paid for prime, so i've watched some stuff on prime video, but there's really not much on there. Netflix is pretty much my only option for most TV shows. Worth noting I'm in Canada.

I'm in the US here, so I'm not sure where out options differ. For me, I do (as a poster below noted) like anime so Crunchyroll is a good choice. Hulu is good for seasonal TV stuff, and then I actually use a smartDNS to get access to UK channels. It's probably a matter of taste though... I don't like most movies, and prefer longer-forms for telling stories.

>use a smartDNS

At that point, isn't just plain old piracy more convenient ?

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#192

Post by always_good »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #178
sweezyjeezy wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix have said for years that the star ratings they gather are not actually very good indicators for their recommendation engines compared to implicit signals such as - 'did the user watch the show / film to the end?' If they still believe this, it seems fairly irrelevant what they use.

> implicit signals such as - 'did the user watch the show / film to the end?' I hope their version of that signal is better than what they're presenting in the UI. I have a few movies Netflix shows me as not finished, becaue I closed them just as the ending credits started.

Also, it seems incredibly delicate.

Upon finishing the final season of Dexter, I clicked on an episode in the first season to look up something. I jumped to the 18 minute mark and watched about 10 seconds and closed the tab.

Now Netflix asks me every time if I want to continue watching Dexter from where it now thinks I left off in season one even though I spent a whole year watching all of the seasons.

So I have the same concern. If they have a more sophisticated model, it certainly doesn't get reflected in the UI...

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#193

Post by orthecreedence »

AlexandrB wrote: post #15

> The streaming service said it had been testing thumbs up and down ratings “with hundreds of thousands of members” in 2016 – and it led to 200% more ratings being given. I don't understand why engagement is the right metric here. If someone isn't sure how they feel about a movie, why is it a benefit to have them spew their half-formed thoughts into a like/dislike rating?

Thumbs up/down also misses an important metric, for me: the "meh" factor. Maybe something sucks, maybe it's great, but what if it's like...I have nothing to do, I guess I'll watch this show.

You could say "well that's the same as not rating it!" but it's not. I'd like there to be a clear distinction between "I abstain from voting" and "I thought this content neither vomit-inducing nor life-changing."

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#194

Post by phy6 »

bluntfang wrote: post #136
bmelton wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like pure difficulty for me. When I think of thumbs up / down metrics I think in terms of "would I endorse this?" A movie like "Suicide Squad" was (to me at least) highly enjoyable, though I thought it objectively had many problems with plot and delivery. I would probably give it 3 stars, which is relatively neutral for me (or leave it altogether unrated). If it were thumbs up/down, I would probably have t…

I think you are an anomalous user. I'm not sure why you're OK with rating 1-5 stars but not a thumbsup or down. I think you're just upset because they are changing.

Lets say a movie previously would have shown 3 out of 5 stars. Where does that fit in with the binary thumbs up/down? I think they are just doing this because recently some actors movies are being attacked with 1 star ratings for being politically vocal.

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#195

Post by unsigner »

pizzetta wrote: post #74

As I posted in the dupe: This saddens me. >Users would rate documentaries with 5 stars, and silly movies with just 3 stars, but still watch silly movies more often than those high-rated documentaries That's not incongruous to me. The stars are not about "enjoyment" factor, they are about perceived quality. I may have a go to cheap ice-cream and rate it 3-stars but rate a good affogato 5-stars and only have it once in…

If you are sophisticated enough to appreciate "foreign documentaries", you should have little trouble discovering them by another means than Netflix rating algorithm. The latter is for the laziest, couch-potatoest audience, and it makes sense to optimize for that.

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#196

Post by orthecreedence »

minimaxir wrote: post #130
sergiotapia wrote: post #110

Amy Schumer's comedy special bombed so hard they're changing their ranking system? Total failure.

This system would arguably be more unfavorable to Netflix/Amy Schumer.

Right. The original thumbs down means being put to death.

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#198

Post by rebootthesystem »

What Netflix needs to do is improve their content, not screw around with ratings. The quality of the content has definitely deteriorated over the last few years. It is almost impossible to find good material to watch. I have found myself wanting to watch a good movie only to give up after searching for half an hour.

Amazingly enough non-premium TV channels have better movies than Netflix, so we record them and skip the commercials.

Frankly, the only reason we keep Netflix is because there are a couple of kids TV series our kids like. We are using them to improve their Spanish language skills. If it weren't for that we would have cancelled a long time ago.

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#199

Post by chocolatebunny »

pizzetta wrote: post #74

As I posted in the dupe: This saddens me. >Users would rate documentaries with 5 stars, and silly movies with just 3 stars, but still watch silly movies more often than those high-rated documentaries That's not incongruous to me. The stars are not about "enjoyment" factor, they are about perceived quality. I may have a go to cheap ice-cream and rate it 3-stars but rate a good affogato 5-stars and only have it once in…

But Netflix doesn't care about the quality of a movie. They care about whether you would watch it or not.

Re: Netflix Replacing Star Ratings With Thumbs Ups and Thumbs Down

#200

Post by CaptSpify »

bluntfang wrote: post #136
bmelton wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like pure difficulty for me. When I think of thumbs up / down metrics I think in terms of "would I endorse this?" A movie like "Suicide Squad" was (to me at least) highly enjoyable, though I thought it objectively had many problems with plot and delivery. I would probably give it 3 stars, which is relatively neutral for me (or leave it altogether unrated). If it were thumbs up/down, I would probably have t…

I think you are an anomalous user. I'm not sure why you're OK with rating 1-5 stars but not a thumbsup or down. I think you're just upset because they are changing.

I like giving weight to my vote.

3 stars = "not a bad movie, but wouldn't recommend"

4 starts = "decent movie, would recommend"

5 stars = "great movie, would definitely recommend"

A binary choice doesn't have any weight to it.

Post reply on HN