iRiff Ratings/Feedback...way to implement a more eBay-like approach?

[SJP]

Just sticking this here...it was suggested in the iRiff forums and wanted to stick it here to see if it would be a good idea:

mr. b natural said:
Maybe whenever someone buys an iriff Rifftrax.com should send them emails reminding them to rate until they do.  Sort of like how EBay and other sites are forcing feedback.  As important as feedback is I'd support the move even though it'd be annoying to the customer.  Maybe it doesn't have to be emails but a friendly reminder whenever they sign in to Rifftrax.  It can have it's own section in their account's dropdown list like "Riffs awaiting feedback."

Now, I'm not suggesting an e-mail system to remind purchasers...some may only come to the site once or twice and sending an e-mail to all of them would probably be more trouble than it's worth.  However, I think the eBay sort of thing does have merit, if it s possible to implement such a thing in a reasonable manner.  Could there be something added to the files section that has a 'awaiting feedback' message like what's mentioned above?

I think it's mainly an iRiffs issue, since ratings appear to come few and far between these days, but if it's possible to do it this way, it may help even the official Rifftrax and Rifftrax Presents as well, since the files all appear in the same section.

The only troubles I can think of are:

1. Having the 'awaiting feedback' appear on multiple files, such as an NTSC and PAL of the same riff, even when one standard has been voted on.  Not sure how this could be resolved.

2. Already burdening the hard work of the webmasters with yet another feature to implement that is likely to be rife with issues once completed.

3. Going through and making sure people who have voted already don't "re-vote" once the system is in place, to go along with #2.

It wouldn't necessarily be a complete overhaul of the ratings system, just a way to link to the original iRiff page to apply ratings and comments, and then make sure they get credited with giving a rating and feedback.  But I understand doing something like this is probably way more complicated than it sounds, so pros and cons are welcome.  And I do still credit mr. b natural with the idea; I just think the idea is a good one. if it can be done.

[k1]

I like the idea.

I would prefer it also work this way for RT & RTP riffs as well since I know there's a few I forgot to rate, but can't always easily tell which ones they were.

[mr.b.natural]

This may come as a shock but I am in favor of this idea.

[pezdrake]

Adding my voice of approval. 

[Moleman]

I really don't like the idea of being e-mailed, I get spammed enough as it is and would delete anything from Rifftrax instantly without reading it since there's no need for order confirmation since the files are available instantly.

I do however LOVE the idea of maybe adding another section (along with the my files, my settings, my order history, etc) called "my ratings" which displays a one line name of every riff you've purchased (official or iRiffs) with the 5 stars to the right of the name signifying what you rated.  If you haven't rated that item yet there will be big bold letters that say NOT RATED YET! instead of the star outlines.

I think if it were done that way or similar it would be better because you still won't be forcing people to rate but just having that tab there along with the other my [whatever] tabs will have a lot of people click it out of curiosity or boredom and then feel obligated to rate because they'll see the big "NOT RATED YET".  Plus lots of people can't remember if they rated something yet or forgot and this way they can check instead of going back and re-clicking the stars on everything in case their rating wasn't included.

[mr.b.natural]

I think we all agree that emails aren't the way to go (It was just the engine on the front of the train of thought) but enthusiasm for some kind of way to keep track of ratings and gentle reminders to rate is strong.  Not just by people who want their stuff rated but also by those who can't remember what they've rated or not.  It's a win-win for everyone involved.  Well, customers anyway.  It would mean more work for the webmasters.

However the feature ends up looking it seems the desire for this is strong.  Let's see if we can make this happen.   

[stansimpson]

I would love to see this too. 

If there is hesitation about e-mail, why not some sorta check box about notifications?  Just a thought.  If not that, then maybe a direct message to your iRiff account?

[k1]

I think the email reminder (even if it's once a month) would be useful to remind people who don't often visit the site and picked up one or two after hearing about it from somewhere else that people are promoting their iRiffs.  But it wouldn't be a bad ide to have an opt out of the email bit.

[Darth Geek]

I like the idea of a reminder at the top of the page when you log in.

[mr.b.natural]

I like the idea of a reminder at the top of the page when you log in.

I like that idea.  Maybe just a brief message that says "You have _ files awaiting feedback."  Or messages sent to your account inbox, not your normal email off-site.

And under the "My Files" tab there could either be a full list of your downloaded files and then under that is the list of files you haven't yet rated or (and this would probably be better) in addition to the date, name, size, description, and downloads there can be "Feedback Given."  It can say if you rated it and if so what the rating was.  It can also say if you commented on it or if it's still awaiting feedback.  Language like "still awaiting feedback" is important because it makes the user feel as though they are supposed to leave feedback and by not doing so they are skipping an important step in the process.  And let me tell ya, feedback is important to iriffers.  Regardless of whether or not we can all agree on some form of notification I would say that something like this is a must and was what I meant when I referenced eBay.

Also, is there any chance it could work retroactively?  That is to say, if they added the feedback notification feature would it only work for future purchases or could it also remind people of their past purchases that they failed to rate?  Because that would be cool if it worked retroactively.     

[mr.b.natural]

So does anyone have any ideas on how we can make this happen?

[stansimpson]

So does anyone have any ideas on how we can make this happen?

Let a mod know.

[mr.b.natural]

I've considered PMing someone like Torgo's Pizza.  Perhaps support for the idea should be stronger first.  I will start a topic in some other sections of the forum explaining what the idea is and if people think it's good they should come here to this thread and voice their support.  Thay way when we ask someone from the site to look into this there will be more than just a handful of people calling for it.  My hope is that customers, not just iriffers, will support the idea as well.   

[RoninFox]

I'd suggest against making duplicate threads, might be counter-productive.  Better to get as much support as you can here.

I'll throw my name behind the idea that a system like this could help get more feedback.

[torgosPizza]

I like the idea of a "products awaiting your feedback"... but with the live stuff and other things we have going on right now, we're way too busy to take this on right away. I think it's definitely a cool feature we can implement soon enough, though.