Recommendation System
My rating system for media and sports is pretty simple: watch it or skip it.
- "Watch it" = I think most people would enjoy this
- "Skip it" = Your time is better spent elsewhere
Watch it will get a thumbs up icon. Skip it will get a thumbs down icon. A thumbs down doesn't represent negative opinions of the respective content. A thumbs down simply means you can skip watching it. "I think this sucks" and "You can skip this one" are two different things. Sometimes "skip" just means "not essential" rather than "bad".
System Conversions
5-star scale:
- A+ = 5 stars
- A = 4.5 stars
- A- = 4 stars
- B+ = 3.5 stars
- B = 3 stars
- B- = 2.5 stars
- C = 2 stars
- C- = 1.5 stars
- D = 1 star
- D- = 0.5 star
4-star scale:
- A+/A = 4 stars
- A- = 3.5 stars
- B+ = 3 stars
- B = 2.5 stars
- B- = 2 stars
- C = 1.5 stars
- C-/D = 1 star
- D- = 0.5 star
No F grade — I don't really give Fs.
This is all subjective so there's no right or wrong answer here. If you think my tastes suck or they don't jive with yours then many of my recommendations will fall flat. That's fine. We'll both get by regardless and you can always ignore them, or me entirely.
I tend to quickly ask myself a few questions when deciding on a recommendation:
- Is this worth the time investment?
- What else could someone be watching instead?
- Does this feel a bit too, "been there, done that?"
- Would I feel good if someone spent their time on this based on my recommendation?
That last one's the real test. If you came back and said "that thing you recommended sucked," would I feel ashamed, like, wow, I'm such an idiot for doing this. or would I shrug and say "guess it wasn't for you, but I still stand by it"? I'm aiming for the latter.
One caveat: My recommendations assume you actually enjoy the medium I am thinking about. For example, if you watch three movies a year while scrolling your phone in order to appease a partner or friend, or think the NFL is a boring, barbaric abomination, then I'm not thinking of you when I make these calls. I'm thinking of someone who genuinely enjoys movies/sports/tv shows but has not, as of yet, created infinite time and wants a decent hit rate on recommendations.