Here goes...
I humbly propose that when a campaign or scenario has had a rating in the Blacksmith unaltered for four months, that the rating becomes fixed. Future reviews will no longer be calculated into the rating.
In fact, I think it would WAY cool if those "fixed-rating" scenarios which had 4.5 or higher were marked in some way, or could even be moved to a separate "Hall of Fame" Page.
Let me try to explain my reasons for proposing this:
In the past, being reviewed and rated by HGS has served an important function for amateur designers who wanted to become professionals. When game companies like SSSI go looking for new designers, one of the first things they do is look at your ratings here in Heaven. This is also true of gaming magazines. I have had articles written about my scenarios in Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, and other magazines. How did they find my work? Why was my work among the scenarios they singled out (Ingo, Imhotep, and Eggman are among the others who were honored in this way)? Because of the the ratings we received here in Heaven.
If the ratings continue to fluctuate endlessly, this important bridge between amateurs and the professional world will no longer be reliable. Imagine if an emerging young designer sends a note to SSSI saying he has a scenario rated 5.0 in the Blacksmith, but Rick Goodman checks it out and finds it's a 4.8 or 4.6 due to one dissenting (or even malicious) review posted six months after everyone else agreed it was a 5.0?
For me personally this is less of a concern. I got across that bridge two years ago. But it does honestly concern me that the bridge might no longer be available for the next generation of underground designers coming after me.
Opinions? Suggestions?
[This message has been edited by SSSI_Gordon Farrell (edited 08-08-2001 @ 10:59 AM).]