I agree with this so much. I want to be able to make a living off Time Gate some day, and while it's a pipe dream that may never happen, my integrity as an artist and a storyteller and an entertainer is just as important as my personal reasons for writing and drawing it. While I love Time Gate and it's been my child for the past 10 years, I don't think I'd still be working on it if it weren't for the people that enjoyed reading it. I just wouldn't be able to motivate myself to spend time and money on something that I get no reception on. In high school that was fine because there was nothing else I was doing with my time, so writing fanfictions and drawing for no one all day was fine. Now that I'm an adult though, while Time Gate will always take a priority in my life, there are obviously things I have to set it aside for all the time, things that allow me to actually keep living and continue working on it (like working a regular job).
I want people to enjoy my story. I want to be able to deliver the best story I possibly can. That's my job as a storyteller. Otherwise, I'd just keep a diary - but I hate writing in diaries and writing only for myself lol and it would destroy my integrity as a storyteller to not care what people think of my story. And yeah, I don't, but just in a general "if you don't like it, that's fine". That doesn't mean I don't want to improve my work. And the rating system, once I've pulled in enough votes to balance it out (which I have now... I've been sitting at about 7.50 on average so it's fair to say that that's where Reaper is currently at, and that's a fair rating from my perspective) helps tell me where I am as a storyteller. And the comments that I get help reassure me that there are people that love my story and want to become a part of the adventure with me.
I feel like people who complain about the rating system are the same people that complain about constructive criticism. This is an industry where your work will be rated, even if it doesn't have a rating system. Here on Tapas, even though we don't have a rating system, I can definitely tell you which comics are top tier, and which comics are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. It's just something we naturally do as people. Having a rating system outright helps tell me as a reader "hey, this is the general consensus", NOT "you're not going to like this comic if it doesn't have a perfect 10". There are lots of comics I enjoy that are objectively bad, and there are lots of comics that I don't like that are objectively good. The rating system isn't there to skew your perspective of what you may or may not enjoy, it's there to give you a general audience reception of how it holds up as a comic. And I'm sorry, but I couldn't care less how much you love your own work - if I read it and I don't like it, then I'm not going to read it, regardless of what rating it has or what you think it deserves. There are comics on both Webtoons and Tapas that have 8+/10 ratings and I still don't like them because they're just not my thing. And there are comics on Tapas and Webtoons that have only 1k subs and 6's and 7's and I read them all the time and wish they had more views and subs and better ratings.
Anyway, my lunch is over so I have to get back to work, but I think I've pretty much said everything I had to say on the rating system lol Just stop putting so much personal importance on a number. If you're really, truly drawing your comic for yourself, and don't care about what other people think even if they're constructive opinions that will help you improve, then you really shouldn't care about some number that tells you absolutely nothing about the comic as a whole.