Actually, I think such an idea would work fine. It would weed out the unnecessary trolls or those abusing the system for one thing. They'll be less likely to post something unfairly negative if they can be caught and reported for it. This also means creators can have constructive criticism. No longer are they getting random ratings without knowing why. They can finally talk to their critics and understand why they're getting these ratings. It may indeed discourage people but I feel it would lead to a much more genuine response. Because I feel anyone who is willing to write out a reasoning, whether as critique or praise,will be far more willing to be genuine about it.
If nothing else, I wouldn't mind if Webtoons implemented a visible/invisible option for ratings (and perhaps others like subs and comments if necessary)
For some people, your rating is a mark of success. If I had an 8.52 or something, I would love to have that on my front page. It's a mark of approval and it says to readers. Look at this! See how high the rating is? Don't you want to check it out?
For other people though, this is a mark of shame. If I had a 2.12 or something very low, I wouldn't want that on the front of my page. This is just a negative blemish on my work. Who wants to read something with such a low rating? It's a biased mark that already gives people a desire to read or not to read something.
Something similar could be done with comments. Maybe I don't want comments and I had an option to prevent anyone from leaving them. On one hand, I don't have to worry about negativity or trolling. On the other hand, I have no way to gain constructive criticism or even gain positive support from my potential fans. Both sides allow for positives and negatives.
I like to imagine it like this. If you were an author and wrote a book, would you want a negative review to plastered on the front of it? Of course not, this is your story, the hard work you put into it. You want your book to say "Check this out, this is awesome."
And how would a page with a rating of 3.19 or something say that?
I have a strong feeling this is probably just a design change. But who knows, maybe this is true and if it is, it just goes to show that Webtoons understands its not good. I don't intend to keep repeating myself but as I said, give people the option.
If you are proud of your rating, show it with pride but don't let the stragglers suffer due to a faulty system.
