- NEW!
by Jodie44 on February 2nd, 2007
This question is pretty much obsolete now, but the history behind it may be interesting.
If you've read my answer called, "An Answerbag History", http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/111221/249540 you know that once upon a time in the quaint little village of Answerbag 1.0, life was good. The sun almost always shone in a deep blue sky, the birds chirped merrily, and the villagers, for the most part, got along well.
We lived a happy, peaceful existence off the beaten track. Once in a while, people stopped in on the way to and from the big city of Yahoo, but they didn't tarry long with us, the Answerbumpkins.
The hills and dales were free of billboards, and the air was clear and clean. The children who attended Answerbag Elementary, Answerbag Junior High and Answerbag High School were intelligent and well-behaved. God only knows what happened there <snicker>
Just one troll lived under the Answerbridge that spanned the babbling Answerbrook, and we knew who he was. He liked to torment the village idiot, who wrote something about Scientology into every answer.
Back in those days, there were three possible ratings for answers: Useful, Somewhat Useful, and Not Useful, aka "Useless". When a Bagger rated another Bagger's answer as anything other than "Useful", he had to state why, and the system kindly published his name as the downrater. Convenient, if the downrated answer-writer wanted to express his "appreciation" to the folks who offered low opinions.
Although one Bagger could rate an answer only once, there was no limit on the number of another Bagger's answers he could rate in one day. If he liked every one of Batgirl's 6,000 answers, he was free to uprate every one in a single session. His only limiter was Dial-Up vs. DSL. Conversely, if he disliked Batgirl's answers, he could slam them all down in one day. Since he'd be forced to comment, however, Batgirl would know who downrated. That's what led to the Ratings War.
People dealt with downratings on their answers pretty well, and although retaliatory negative ratings posed a problem at times, Mayor Joel Downs and Constable Rich Gazan kept order in our little Answerburg --
-- until the final months of 2005, that is. The Ratings War began and the governing bodies changed the rules to stop the ratings slaughter.
Firebrand, in response to your answer - which asked me to reply to the question -
Out of the shocking Answerblue, Answerbag HQ suddenly clamped down on limitless ratings. They restricted a Bagger to just five positives/five negatives per day on another individual Bagger's answers. For example, when a Bagger gave a thumbs up to five of the aforementioned Batgirl's answers on Tuesday morning, he was SOL if he read a sixth that he liked on Tuesday night. He waited until Wednesday or beyond if he wished to rate.
As time passed, we discovered the cursed Lifetime Ratings Cap. If one user uprated, say, 300 of Batgirl's answers, that was it. No more. While Batgirl continued to write good answers, anyone who wore the ratings cap was out of the game. Unfair, of course, to Batgirl and the users who'd applauded her efforts too many times.
When Answerbag 4.0 debuted on November 15, 2006, AB HQ did away with both the daily and the lifetime ratings cap. Now the ratings limit is set at 25 upratings over any consecutive seven days.
With the old ratings system, answers showed no points - only percentages - based on the number of Useful, Somewhat Useful, and Useless ratings. If five users liked an answer and no one disliked it, that answer had a 100% average rating. If another user came along and awarded a "Not Useful" (50%), the answer's average was 91.66. If someone else believed it was "Somewhat Useful" (75%), that, too, was figured into the ratings average: (5 x 100)+ 50 + 75 = 625, and 625 divided by 7 = 89.29%.
With a rating of 89.29, people got a better idea of the answer's value. The top-rated Baggers had 95% minimum average ratings and were ranked with letter designations of A++. Answerbag focused on quality, not quantity.
With the current points system, if Bonehead writes a crappy answer, but 100 of Bonehead's buddies, all brainless Sages and Maestros, like and rate it, the crappy answer gets 600 points. Even if 100 brilliant newbies - all Pulitzer-Prize winning, professional writers who know everything about everything, downrate the crappy answer, it still ends up with 500 points. The worst part, and a big reason why points are meaningless - no one will ever know that 100 people liked the answer, and 100 people thought it sucked. Ah, well.
Answerbag is no longer the quiet little village where quality of life is more important than population growth. The new interstate, the Johnny Depp Memorial Highway, plows through the middle of town. People move here looking for lost pills and a place to raise babies they're unsure how they acquired. They teach misspelling and bad grammar at the high school. Text Messaging is a popular class. The troll and the village idiot finally got together and spawned a whole herd of baby trollsters who run around and cause mischief. We're trying hard to stop urban blight.
how do u react when u see a really stupid answer on AB?
by raglin on December 16th, 2011
| 4 people like this
isnt forums like answerbag just stopping people from learning things for themselves, and making them less independent?
by oscareo on November 26th, 2011
| 2 people like this
If you could put all of your answers in a bag full of answers, how many answers could you bag?
by fal10000 on December 31st, 2011
| 1 person likes this
When do you usually check your alerts?
by Anonymous on November 13th, 2011
| 3 people like this
why do people assume a question about a type of people means ALL of that type of people?
by zwatcher on January 4th, 2012
| 1 person likes this
You're reading I attempted to rate an answer but was prevented from doing so because I rated the same user about 15 hours before. What are the details of the new ratings rule(s)?
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Comments
Thankyou Jodie for your trouble and no I did not know how the points capping worked at the moment either. I am still very naive about how the site works this was entertaining and imformative many thanks. Worth a lot more points than I can give.I have taken a copy of it for reference
by Firebrand on February 3rd, 2007
If you ever have questions, email me. I'll be glad to either give you the info, or help you find it:) I know it's hard, though, when you're not exactly sure what it is you don't know. I'm like that a LOT, lol.
by Jodie44 on February 3rd, 2007
Thankyou very much
by Firebrand on February 3rd, 2007
ROTFLMAO!! Winner "Funniest Long Posting of 2006/2007 Winter Season". Too many quotables to list.
by Stableboy on February 3rd, 2007
Why, thank you Stableboy. You and your calls for quality were my inspiration here. That and Johnny Depp, of course. I wonder if he's pregnant.
by Jodie44 on February 3rd, 2007
No, but many of his admirers are carrying his love children, and nobody knows which is his favorite.
by Stableboy on February 3rd, 2007
Well done! This is great stuff.
by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on February 4th, 2007
Thank you, fellow Answerbumpkins:)
by Jodie44 on February 4th, 2007
Lets all go down to the crick and keep anserin' all them here questions :)
by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on February 4th, 2007
"You get a line, I'll get a pole, we'll go fishing at the crawdad hole..." It's a song we sang at Girl Scout camp when I was a kid. You probably heard it someplace like North Africa - Morocco or Algiers. Louisiana, that is. No, wait. Maybe that's where I heard it. On one of my many excursions to New Orleans from Baton Rouge. Now I can't remember. Geez, I guess it helps to stroll down memory lane with a memory. <sigh> I'll think I'll just go back to my Answercottage with the thatched Answerroof and be quiet now.
by Jodie44 on February 4th, 2007
There really ought to be an AB HIstory category. . . .
by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on February 4th, 2007
You're right! <nods head vigorously> Suggest it to the staff.
by Jodie44 on February 4th, 2007
Wow, I always thought my mother made that song up! You're the second person I've ever heard.... um.... sing it. Of course, she was born in Knoxville, TN so maybe it's a Tennessee thing. What a rush to have that just pop up on the radar -- like air traffic control in L.A. suddenly seeing Emilia Earhart coming over the horizon and asking for landing clearance.
by Stableboy on February 4th, 2007
You should write a novel. You are hilarious. Lol.
by Vesper on March 13th, 2007
Wow. Thank you:)
by Jodie44 on March 13th, 2007
You have an interesting and fascinating way with words, really. And you're welcome. I enjoy reading your answers. Even though your name is Jodie (that's my step-mothers name and she despises me)
by Vesper on March 13th, 2007
<Major blushing > Vesper, that's one of the nicest compliments I've ever received. I'm serious. Thanks.
by Jodie44 on March 13th, 2007
Nice Answer, This explains a lot.
by science_geek on March 13th, 2007
Thanks, science_geek. You can probably understand why a lazy person like me would rather link to an already existing explanation than to write another. This one took the better part of two days. Honestly, I think I'd rather eat dirt and howl at the moon than do it again <grin>
by Jodie44 on March 13th, 2007
i concur!! very well described answer jodie44. +4 for you
by Juggernaut on March 14th, 2007
Thanks, Ano1eusbagger. Much appreciated:)
by Jodie44 on March 14th, 2007
told to read your essay by Carmelia explains it all i think err who's Johnny Depp?
by oldmanuk on March 28th, 2007
Johnny Depp is a popular American movie star (Pirates of the Caribbean) who, at one time, was the subject of countless questions on Answerbag. Seems like every day, some adoring fan posted a new question about Johnny. Funny stuff.
by Jodie44 on March 28th, 2007
This is the first time in ages I have actually laughed out loud at an answer. Good stuff :) I love how once in a while one finds a gem nestled in some grotty AB corner. @SB- Your mum's from Knox?! I know someone who lives there!
by Carmella on March 28th, 2007
My mother was born in Knoxville... she loved to slip into her Tennessee accent, mess up her hair, pop her denture plate out partway, and do dazzling impromptu comedy sketches about hillbillies from back home. People would die laughing... too bad this was before YouTube :-(
by Stableboy on March 28th, 2007
Oh him we've got a bloke in the uk who dressess like that he does house m/overs Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen
by oldmanuk on March 28th, 2007
Jodie, I always enjoy these little metaphorical stories you come up with. Thank you.
by BAM@Cyberscrewed.tk on April 10th, 2007
Thanks, BAM. I appeciate your kind words
by Jodie44 on April 10th, 2007
I just read this answer, and the "AB History Part 1" answer...Good explainations Jodie. I was around for all that stuff - but, thankfully, not involved in any of it. (Nor did I really realize what was going on at the time! lol)
by Jenniferocious on April 27th, 2007
Hey, Jennifer! Thank you.
by Jodie44 on April 27th, 2007
Your writing and your wit serve you well. I hope you're a professional writer; if not you could/should be. Thx for the history lesson too!
by Scifisuz on May 9th, 2007
Well...thanks for the compliments! I like you more and more <grin>
by Jodie44 on May 11th, 2007
It would be nice if there was a place that AB staff provided for all these rules....there probably is one that I don't know how to access....
by Scifisuz on June 12th, 2007
It's a crap shoot, quite honestly. The only places are the various "Answerbag" categories and AB's Terms of Service agreement. Anytime you have questions, you can always email me if you can't find the answer on AB. It's not the same, but, you know - the offer's there:)
by Jodie44 on June 12th, 2007
Thx, doll.
by Scifisuz on June 12th, 2007
My God! Sounds just like my home town!! Especially the unkown babies...!
LMFAO!!! Brilliant stuff Jodie - yes, excellent writing, I've the pictures in my head!! When's your book out? Can I have a signed copy? hahaha!!!
@oldmanuk - I love the comparison with JD's Jack Sparrow to LlB's Jack the Stripper - quite apt, tho' I don't see the former bothering with make-overs,more with make-up! :)
by Mimi..smiling...there is no Option Two.. on January 31st, 2008
intresting,i guess answer bag is a victim of it's own succes,but nothing stays the same forever and from what i've seen you and the rest of the "old guard" of baggers have found you place in the busy city that the village of ab 1.0 became,and in the short time i've been here i have enjoyed myself and learnt a lot,so old ab is dead long live new ab!!
by BOOZE HOUND... nothing is nonsence on May 14th, 2008
LOL. Yeah, AB's a lot more fun now. It really is.
by Jodie44 on May 14th, 2008
Lol. What a funny and well written answer;)
by Anonymous on April 9th, 2009