Inflationary use of 4 and 5 stars rating

[Guest hop_per]

Up to now, the Avsim reviews have helped me a lot in the process of deciding which product to purchase, which freeware addons to download, etc.The "Star Rating System" with 5 stars being "exceptional" has contributed a lot to my decisions.However, I have the impression that in the latest reviews there has been a somewhat inflationary use of 4 or 5 stars. The reviews themselves did not reflect the star rating. To give you two recent examples:Example # 1:KDEN (Denver) & KDTW (Detroit) commercial addons, reviewed by Cameron Jones: 4 stars. But Cameron writes: "DEN and DTW do not score well in the performance category"; and: "the building textures that look excellent at long to medium ranges are not as good up close"; and: "Despite performance problems, if you have a newer computer with plenty of power, you will be quite satisfied..."Ok., from these comments I would conclude, a nice set of sceneries, state-of-the-art, maybe slightly above good average. Certainly not ground-breaking. 3 Points, maybe 3.5, as these are, according to the Avsim Rating Policy, "Today's State-of-the-Art - Where to Begin a Rating" or "Positive Tweaking of Today's State-of-the-Art". And, "a 3-Star rated review at AVSIM Online is nothing to look down on. It means the product is equal to the best in the genre at that time."But hey, we have got massive performance problems. And the textures are not as good as they could be. And yet: 4 stars??? The Policy reads: 4 stars for a "Natural Upward Progression From State-of-the-Art". Sorry, Cameron, I cannot read that in your review, and certainly not between the lines.Example #2:Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets commercial addon, reviewed by David Swindle: 4 stars.To cut a long review short: "VC

[Robert Kirkland 0]

We are looking into the issue you have raised and we will issue a statement as soon as we canhttp://www.avsim.com/pages/robert/kirkland.jpg

[Guest hop_per]

Thanks, Robert!I don

[Guest Aidi]

Just to add a couple of comments on the original post and the follow up. It will be one of my priority tasks on my return home to re-vamp both the commercial and freeware rating systems.As mentioned, a 3 Star review is a very solid mark for the product being reviewed. In recent times it has been seen as a mediocre rating which in essense is not the case. The re-write will highlight this area, which will hopefully leave the 4, 4.5 and 5 star awards to the products that really are cutting a new path in development.Best RgdsAidihttp://www.avsim.com/pages/0100/avsim_sig.jpg