Been thinking about ratings and rating etiquette here.

I generally rate 5 stars, or 4 stars, sometimes with context and sometimes without, or else I don't rate. I just want to gas people up and show my appreciation! If I'm giving constructive criticism, it's usually in a more personal, conversational context rather than any sort of review - especially since ratings are unsolicited.

But it's occurred to me, after talking with a couple designers whose work I'd rated 4 stars without context, that such a rating implies room for improvement rather than how I tend to rate things: I loved this, no notes for 5 stars; I liked this but some part of it didn't really vibe for me, for 4 stars.

Perfect example: I'm not an OSR gal. Never have been. I love generating a little guy, but I tend to get overwhelmed in procedurally generating maps/gear/encounters/etc, and that's like 50% of what OSR stuff is! That's not a knock on the merits of any OSR game, that's just personal preference.

So I think what I'm going to do going forward is to rate 5 stars or not at all - with exceptions for 4 stars with context.

There's a place for constructive reviews, and I don't know that the rating system is it. And I firmly believe that low ratings serve no purpose but to make people feel bad, ESPECIALLY without context. So if you're looking for a more in-depth, constructive review of likes/and dislikes, find me elsewhere or tag me here - I'm not going to do that sort of thing if it's not asked for.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on ratings and rating etiquette.

-LT