Webtoon unpleasant Rating System inquires

Tanako 2021-03-02 01:45:10 UTC #1

I understand this is already an old subject and there have been several people who have made a post about it and have complained in frustration about how atrocious it is. I just want to know if something is being done about it. as in, if someone or a group of people have complained about it or maybe if anyone has reached out to webtoons to know if it's something that can be taken off.

Is it really important to have a rating system? what value does it contribute to an individual's work? I mean, when one thinks something is not of their taste does that thing deserve a bad rating? I believe as artists we work hard to produce our work . whether there was a lot of time and effort spent in it or not, whether the artwork is bad or the storytelling is poor, it does not deserve a bad rating because we don't know the age,
personal experience, or knowledge of that artist and for someone to come out of now where and belittle it with a 1-star rating is unjust.
if you don't like something you move on or just not read it at all.

So my question is, is webtoon doing something about this? are they going to realize that they don't need a rating system to grab the attention of readers? because other websites perform just fine without it. I don't think it's necessary and it should be removed.

starless 2021-03-02 01:58:06 UTC #2

Totally agree with you. I get that viewers want to express themselves and interact with it but sometimes it feels like a punishment.

Tanako 2021-03-02 02:05:31 UTC #3

Exactly, which is why I don't understand. subscribers should be the only way to gauge the reader's interest. At least that's enough. because just that alone is sometimes is enough to break someone's spirit and adding a rating system to it is just vile.
I personally rather have low subscribers than low ratings because with few subscribers there is an potential to gain more if the opportunity is given but with low ratings, it's a way to deter readers from giving the work a try before concluding it's not worth reading.

joannekwan 2021-03-02 02:08:48 UTC #4

Well if it took them this long to make an episode queuing system, I doubt they'll abolish the rating system for a while yet, if ever.

DiegoPalacios 2021-03-02 02:12:19 UTC #5

they may be the victims of sunken cost fallacy......

rajillustration 2021-03-02 02:13:01 UTC #6

I doubt very much they'll do anything about it. Webtoon is just really slow on Quality of Life features for creators.

DiegoPalacios 2021-03-02 02:14:20 UTC #7

my biggest concern about said rating, is that most people are not objective when rating a story. Fans will treat it as a masterpiece, haters will one-star it, and of course there are cases where people put 1 star just because it's not their cup of tea......

noenoh 2021-03-02 02:17:05 UTC #8

I dont remember clearly but a couple of years ago I heard the low ratings were a creators battle more than readers giving low ratings. This rating systems has been a pain for every creator in WT (another reason for not publishing there tbh at least not for now, they will never be my first option)
I consider more of a reader than a creator and try to support the most (and sinceretly) possible to the stories/creators I read so If you publish in both Tapas and WT Id rather come to read you here casue Im not only can give you ink but I kind of have more interaction with the creators to show them my appretiation. Tbh I read more here on Tapas than on WT (I guess I only follow -let me see..- 24 stories 7 of them finished, meanwhile here on Tapas Im subscribed as for today to almost 100 stories including 5 premium)

Tanako 2021-03-02 02:29:40 UTC #9

Just like you, i interact more on tapas more than on WT as well. not only is the rating system trash, they don't even care enough to create a forum where readers and artists can interact and get to know each other. most of the readers are ghost faces without personalities. most of the comments are ghastly if not even racial. I remember reporting a very derogatory word that was used in my comment section due to my character being "African American". nothing was done about it. I do understand that there are some honest readers there who actually are supportive. some of my readers aren't bad but every once in a while you run into very awful people.

I'm not a very sensitive person i can actually handle some hate comments but sometimes it gets to me.
the only reason why I even bother posting is that I'm trying to grow a brand and also a reader base so I'm utilizing the platform.

Tanako 2021-03-02 02:30:58 UTC #10

And that's just sad...

Kaydreamer 2021-03-02 03:15:51 UTC #11

This is why it's so important that Tapas survives and thrives. This place is so much better for creators in terms of scheduling, little quality-of-life features, audience interaction and so-on. Not to mention, the forums here are amazing. Basically everything except audience size and exposure, really. As Tapas continues to grow, the competition pressure will force WEBTOON to adopt some of those features, however slowly.

That said, it'd certainly be nice to see that process speed up! WEBTOON is a Korean company, so I'm not sure how effective a bunch of western CANVAS creators could actually be at lobbying for changes to things like the rating system. That said, it doesn't mean trying is meaninless.

There are a couple of subreddits dedicated to WEBTOON, and one for CANVAS specifically. That'd be the place to try organising, for instance, an email campaign regarding features important to creators. r/webtoons and r/webtooncanvas are the two most populated ones. There's also a Line Webtoon discord, though it's not terribly active.

I don't have the time to spearhead something like this, though I'd certainly be on board to support it as much as I could, should somebody else take the lead.