I've been asking questions like this recently too (I started a thread on the feedback forum called "Half scores" as a result of thinking about it, but nobody has responded so far). I quite often find myself wondering why some shots I really like seem to get rated low by other people and vice-versa.
My view is that to have any possibility of getting a 10, the shot has to show the whole person, the face, or the entire body except the face. Shots showing just legs, torsoes or whatever automatically have a lower possible maximum score. Whether or not the person is nude has no influence on the maximum score I'll give, or on the way I work out the score - in fact, many clothed shots are far sexier than nude ones (you only have to follow thehbfactor's threads on WBW for proof of that).
To get above 8 with me, the pose or facial expression has to be good, and to get above 9, the photo has to be of good quality as well (I was a professional photographer when I was younger, and I can still be pretty fussy). This means that the only thing I'd give a 10 to is a really good photo of a really special woman, with either a really good expression or an amazing pose. I think I've only ever given one 10 in nearly 4000 ratings (and unfortunately I didn't remember to add it to my favourites). Naturally, what makes a woman "special" to me is not necessarily the same as anyone else, but that's the joy of diversity.
In my scheme of things, an 8 is very, very good, and a 9 is extraordinary.
I have some other general rules about rating, too:
1: Basic oral and doggy-position sex shots get a generic score of 4-5 unless they have some special merit; I get pretty bored seeing the same thing over and over again.
2: Shots of groups of women taken at parties get a generic score of 4-5 unless one or all of the women are especially attractive.
3: New Orleans Mardi-Gras shots of women pulling up their tee-shirts get a generic score of 4-5 unless the woman is really attractive.
4: Basic shots of two women kissing get a generic score of 4-5 unless the women are really attractive.
These four rules are simply a reflection of boredom, not any specific statement about the women in the photos or women in general; it's just that there are certain types of shot that come up in Hot Or Not
so often that I've become tired of them and rate them on autopilot unless there's something
really striking about them.
I'll also often give shots that have a humorous content a higher score, simply because I like to laugh.
My ratings for DevilHair's shots would be:
1: 7
2: 7.5 (see below)
3: 4 (as tummies go, it's quite nice, and the legs look OK).
4: 6 (purely because I have a
pronounced fondness for that specific part of the female anatomy)
5: 6.5 (see below) - Can't quite put my finger on it, but she's just "not my type".
Numbers 2 and 5 are good examples of why I'd like the ability to give half scores at the high end of the scale. In the case of #2, I'd say that I'd reliably give 7.5 every time if I could, but since only 7 or 8 are the options, some days I'd give 7 and other days I'd give 8. With #5, I'd give 6.5 because even though she's not quite my type, she's very attractive... However, I doubt I'd ever consistently rate her at 7, so she'd always get a 6 instead, even though she deserves more.
I'd be very interested to hear how other people go about rating - I enjoy the "Hot or not" feature a lot, and find it quite addictive.
* This post has been modified
: 19 years ago
