[pmwiki-users] Rating cookbooks

[Kathryn Andersen]

On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 09:23:18AM -0600, Patrick R. Michaud wrote:
> Again, +1 doesn't indicate rating, it simply indicates "I support
> the recipe".  Because of allof the confusion/angst regarding
> "what does a rating mean", I'm completely ignoring the notion of
> "rating" recipes for now.

I agree; "rating" is too confusing.
Coming late to this discussion, but what might be simpler than "+1" or
"support" or "endorse" is just "I use this recipe" (implied: "and it
works for me").

1) it is simpler for those who use the recipe to add their feedback;
"Do I use this recipe?" is a simple yes/no question, they don't have to
sit and figure out how many "stars" they might give the recipe.

2) It is helpful for potential users of a recipe, because rather than
rating enthusiasm (which a rating would do) or curiosity (which a count
of downloads would do) it gives an indication of how useful the recipe
is, because it indicates whether people actually use it or not.

3) It is helpful for the recipe developers because it gives them some
idea of how many people they are affecting when they update the recipe.

However, the technical question of how this should be recorded is still
up in the air.

A) counting the links to Profile pages does NOT give us this measure,
because the links don't indicate use, they only indicate that either the
person has made a comment, or they are someone in the "acknowledgements"
section of the recipe.

B) counting the links from Profile pages does not give us this measure,
though it might be closer, since linking to a recipe from one's Profile
does indicate interest, even if it doesn't necessarily indicate use.

C) There are advantages and disadvantages to having this measure
(whatever it is) being on the same page as the recipe page or on a
different page.  Obviously, it's good to be on the same page because
that's what people look at first.  As a recipe developer, however, I
would find it a slight problem, because it makes it more painful to
update the recipe page, since I maintain my own copy on my "test" wiki,
and I find it simpler to be able to just cut and paste from my copy to
the pmwiki.org copy when I'm updating the recipe - which is one reason
why I have a separate -Talk page for my recipes.  But if the "I use
this" section were clearly demarcated, I guess it wouldn't be too much
of a problem.

Kathryn Andersen
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