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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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091124-rating.jpg


Rate on delete feature introduced in iPhone OS 2.2


Developers will be pleased to learn that Apple has removed a controversial "Rate on Delete" feature from iPhone 4. Starting in iPhone 2.2, when a user deleted an App from their iPhone, the operating system would as the user to rate a App using the 1-5 star rating system in the App Store. The move increased rating participation in the App Store.

However, many developers were unhappy with the system as they felt it skewed the ratings downwards. The system increased the number of ratings from customers who were presumably unhappy with an app, while those who kept an app on their iPhone would never be prompted for a rating.

Article Link: Apple Removes 'Rate on Delete' for Apps in iPhone 4
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
I never liked this myself.

However, many developers were unhappy with the system as they felt it skewed the ratings downwards.

Agreed.
 

AriX

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2007
349
0
FINALLY - I'm surprised it took them so long to take this out. If they want to have a feature like this, they have to balance it out with good feedback by prompting users for feedback after using it for a little bit. Otherwise the ONLY feedback it'll receive is negative.
 

ARF900

macrumors 65816
Oct 30, 2009
1,119
0
I always rate an app 5 stars before I delete it, even if I dont like it. I feel like a dick if I dont.
 

unity

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2005
926
0
Green Bay, WI
Maybe it could be a feature that can be turned on or off in the OS. And then it comes up on the 10th launch of the app or if deleted before 10th launch.
 

kernkraft

macrumors 68020
Jun 25, 2009
2,456
1
Ah, I will miss this great opportunity to rate down apps that are annoying, keep crashing and so on. But in the meantime, I'm on a jailbroken iPhone 3G. WHY WOULD I UPGRADE TO 4.0?!
 

Sleazy E

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2009
1,022
1
Disneyland
Great change. I disliked that annoying screen popping up. If I want to rate it I will, don't shove it in my face.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Ah, I will miss this great opportunity to rate down apps that are annoying, keep crashing and so on. But in the meantime, I'm on a jailbroken iPhone 3G. WHY WOULD I UPGRADE TO 4.0?!

You do understand why jailbreaking is probably not a good idea for most people, right?
 

ipedro

macrumors 603
Nov 30, 2004
6,207
8,425
Toronto, ON
I always rate an app 5 stars before I delete it, even if I dont like it. I feel like a dick if I dont.

I think that you're doing the wrong thing by doing that. You're contributing to tricking people into buying an app because it has a good rating when you must have deleted it because you didn't like it.

Be honest and rate it what it's worth.
 

bindle

macrumors regular
Aug 29, 2008
150
110
Good move. As convenient as it makes rating an app, it is definitely skewed towards low ratings as people deleting apps most likely don't like the app.
And I too found myself sometimes giving 1 stars, purely because I didn't like the popup - I was rating the annoyance of the rating dialog, not the app - bad, i know :p
 

rumplestiltskin

macrumors 6502
Apr 12, 2006
284
103
Totally agree with this decision. If the function included the ability to post a meaningful opinion and back it up with examples (like a regular rating at the App Store would permit), that would be a different story.

I download lots of free apps and, if I delete them because it just wasn't right for me, it wouldn't be fair to post any sort of "rating upon exit".
 

Deelron

macrumors regular
Jan 30, 2009
235
113
I'd prefer if they disabled it by default but moved it into the settings of the phone (to be enabled by the user, if desired), sometimes I grow out of an app (or just bored with it) and enjoy rating it on the way out without having to go through the regular rating process.
 

applesupergeek

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
879
0
Good move. As convenient as it makes rating an app, it is definitely skewed towards low ratings as people deleting apps most likely don't like the app.

You are skewing logic here...

If people delete the app as you say most likely don't like it, so they should be able to give it a low rating. Why is this skewing towards low ratings? The apps that are liked and not deleted, don't get bad ratings, but the ones that are deleted, get the bad ratings. If these apps were any good, they would not be deleted and they wouldn't be getting bad ratings? So, ultimately the good apps that are not deleted get the better grades, and those that do get deleted the worst.

I think this not only does not skew ratings, it rectifies them.

Moronic reporting by macrumors too, who take this biased view without any criticism. This does decrease overall ratings, but it doesn't skew them in any way. The good apps don't get deleted and don't get the bad rating, simple as that, the bad ones do, and deservedly so.

This is a bad move, because now, an app can be very unsatisfactory and it can be deleted by many iphone users, yet none of them will be prompted to rate it, and so give the negative feedback back to the community. Only if the user is really motivated, and the app is atrocious will they explicitly go to the app store and rate it...

Bad, Bad move, now all those third rate apps that we delete from our phones won't get a just low rating, and they will escape for some other poor schmuck to download unbeknownst to them.
 

applesupergeek

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
879
0
Totally agree with this decision. If the function included the ability to post a meaningful opinion and back it up with examples (like a regular rating at the App Store would permit), that would be a different story.

I download lots of free apps and, if I delete them because it just wasn't right for me, it wouldn't be fair to post any sort of "rating upon exit".

What is this thread? A competition on who will post the most inane comment?:rolleyes: Just look at the damn pop up man, you don't have to rate it, you can click no thanks and be done with it....
 

bananafranco

macrumors member
Dec 21, 2008
42
5
Frankfurt
Good move. As convenient as it makes rating an app, it is definitely skewed towards low ratings as people deleting apps most likely don't like the app.
And I too found myself sometimes giving 1 stars, purely because I didn't like the popup - I was rating the annoyance of the rating dialog, not the app - bad, i know :p

Indeed a stupid behaviour. Like applesupergeek says: There's the No, Thanks button. It'll save you one touch ;)
 

Beric

macrumors 68020
Jan 22, 2008
2,148
0
Bay Area
You do understand why jailbreaking is probably not a good idea for most people, right?

I've heard estimates before that of 10%+ of the iPod touch/iPhone userbase has jailbroken their devices. And that's purely from word of mouth contact, with Apple strictly forbidding it. It's SO EASY to do, that tons of people are doing it. I've been using backgrounding, quick setting changes (a swipe of the top bar, and you can turn on and off WiFi, location, etc.) and lots of other useful customization and convenience features. Anyone can do it, and it's so useful.
 

CFreymarc

Suspended
Sep 4, 2009
3,969
1,149
Good riddance! While Apple has some wonderful UI designs, this one was a big mistake. I have noticed several skewed distributions where you have a high peak of single star ratings and another peak in the five to four star ratings. If you are deleting an app, odds are you are getting rid of it for a reason. The only way to balance this out would be the rating prompt come up during a specific period of use such at five to ten minutes of execution time to let satisfied users express their opinion.
 

redkamel

macrumors 6502
Aug 29, 2006
437
34
If people delete the app as you say most likely don't like it, so they should be able to give it a low rating. Why is this skewing towards low ratings? The apps that are liked and not deleted, don't get bad ratings, but the ones that are deleted, get the bad ratings. If these apps were any good, they would not be deleted and they wouldn't be getting bad ratings?

It skews the ratings because it makes it more likely for people who dislike (or even marginally dislike) the app to rate it.

In long terms:
it skews the ratings because you give more of opportunity to rate from one population (people who delete the app) than another (people who don't delete the app). These populations are not the same; one is more likely to dislike the app right? They deleted it. So it is makes it more likely for negative reviews to be turned in than positive ones.

Its like conducting a survey of a movie by specifically targeting all the people who walk out in the middle, then leaving the rest of the surveys for whoever wants to pick one up on the way out.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Why don't you tell us why? I've been jailbroken for over a year and I love it.

For most users jail-breaking their device is a Really Bad Idea™. First of all, it's a violation of Apple's IP, which is totally understandable. The phone is intended to work a certain way, and it's popular and successful precisely because it works in that way. All the time. For everyone. Secondly, jail-breaking opens up the average user (the biggest segment of the market) to unfamiliar territory that presents a learning curve, one which they would naturally rather avoid and just rush into it. This will result in support issues and usability complaints, much of which will be too disjointed and varied to address correctly during support/service calls, not to mention voided warranties and possible refusal of service.

So jail-breaking is nice, but for most users the risk would outweigh the benefits
 

liamhemsworth

macrumors member
Apr 1, 2010
45
0
Why don't you tell us why? I've been jailbroken for over a year and I love it.

You have to excuse L*T*D. (One of the most deranged, pathetic fanboys that ever lived) He literally lives and breathes for Apple and takes every single word they say as the gospel. He wouldn't take a crap if Steve Jobs told him not to, even if it meant blowing up w/ the full of crap (I mean that physically hehehehe although...!). So I applaud you for looking at Apple subjectively, just like you would any other tech. company. There's pluses and minuses... yes, even with L*T*D's Saint Apple.
 
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