Abuse of Power on Teen Ink | Teen Ink

Abuse of Power on Teen Ink

June 25, 2011
By Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


A few weeks ago, I submitted a story to Teen Ink and I was thrilled to see that in the first couple of days of being online, it was rated and commented on a lot more than most of my other pieces. I worked really hard on this particular story and was pleased to see it get the praise I thought it deserved.

So this was all well and good until I checked the story's ratings. 14 people had rated the story. And 13 of those people had given it five out of five stars. 5 of those people had commented. But I also found that one person had given it only one star out of five. Not only that, but they also decided not to give me any critic on how I could have made it better. They didn't comment to tell me what I did in the story that made them dislike it enough to give it such a low rating. Which is why I ask, "did they even read it at all? Or are they just mocking me with the power they hold over my story in being able to rate without commenting?"

And this isn't the first time something like this has happened. It's happened with several of my other pieces as well. Someone gives it a low rating without telling me what I could have done better. And I know I'm not alone.

I read it in Teen Ink's forums. Many other teens are having the same problem. Teens are abusing their power in rating other's articles low even when the articles are amazingly good. They don't deserve a bad rating. But they are rated badly anyway.

And it's not the bad rating that got me down. It was the lack of respect the person had for my story. They could have at least commented on something they didn't like, something that made them choose to give me one out of five stars. They could have helped me in telling me what to do better the next time I write a story and then I would have let the bad rating pass. If only they had a good reason for rating it poorly. But no. They didn't. And it's not fair to me, the author of the piece, or others who have experienced the same problem.

Which is why I ask you, editors of Teen Ink, to change the layout of your website. Nothing drastic. Just so that people have to comment in order to rate. Only rating a piece should not be an option anymore. The link at the bottom of a article that says COMMENT should be RATE/COMMENT and the RATING stars at the top of the page should be removed. In the current COMMENT box, there should also be the new RATING stars. And teens should not be able to submit a rating or a comment without submitting the other.

I think that this will help make the website we teens love, Teen Ink, even better now. The unfairness of, as the reader, being able to give a praise-deserving article one out of five stars without supporting their rating should be eliminated.



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This article has 12 comments.


on Mar. 8 2013 at 8:32 pm
ChobaniLuvinPenguin PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
29 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well."
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Well said, I completely agree! Great argument made, and brilliant solution as well! 5/5  stars! :)

on Jan. 18 2013 at 1:12 pm
LinkinPark12 PLATINUM, Lincolnshire, Other
45 articles 1 photo 198 comments

Favorite Quote:
Work like you don’t need money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching. ¦ I like change - but only when everything stays the same.

I've heard of this! Although I haven't had a drastic low rating, it's annoying when people don't rate it 5 stars and don't say how you can improve. But with your idea, ypu wouldn't get as many comments/ratings, or feedback altogether. However, to eliminate this problem, it would be better if the lowest rating is discounted to stop any power being abused. But you have to be pretty annoying to rate lowly with no feedback. Good article. I will give it 5 stars!

AriShine GOLD said...
on Aug. 20 2012 at 8:02 pm
AriShine GOLD, Norcross, Georgia
13 articles 0 photos 130 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Whatever you are, be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln

I really love this article. It's funny: I saw this once before and just shrugged at it, but now that this has happened to me, I see how frustrating it must be. I recently recieved a couple horrible rating on a good chunk of my pieces at the same time, so I'm guessing it's the same person, but I wouldn't know. I don't know what they found that was bad about those pieces. Maybe they just didn't get it. Either way, I'm now feeling a little frustrated that articles I worked so hard on were shot down so carelessly by someone who didn't even leave a note. I totally agree with you, and the solution you presented is smart. Keep writing!

on Aug. 6 2012 at 3:30 pm
AndSoItGoes01 SILVER, Reno, Nevada
9 articles 0 photos 147 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The winter I told you icicles are magic, you stole an enormous icicle from my neighbors shingle, and gave it to me as a gift, I kept it in my freezer for seven months. Love isn't always magic, sometimes it's melting." -Andrea Gibson

 I agree 100% with you! I'm going through the same issues as you're talking about. This article is realatible and true. Great job! The only thing i would change is the voice in the writing. It sounds stern and informative (which it should of course!) but it should be more flowy maybe? A little less rough? Still, great job and i'll be sure to read a couple of your stories in search for that 'five star' one. I'm sure it will be great by the looks of just this letter!!! :) Keep writing, you're obviously amazing at it!!!

Lit.rox BRONZE said...
on Nov. 16 2011 at 6:20 am
Lit.rox BRONZE, Kandy, Other
4 articles 0 photos 28 comments
by the way, i gave this piece five stars!!!

Lit.rox BRONZE said...
on Nov. 16 2011 at 6:19 am
Lit.rox BRONZE, Kandy, Other
4 articles 0 photos 28 comments

wow! love it!i've not had this problem so far, but i think i know how such a situation makes you feel.

check out my work.


on Aug. 22 2011 at 11:06 pm
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Haha thanks for the "critique" :) And for leaving a decent comment (unlike other people) I'm Glad you liked it.

on Aug. 22 2011 at 11:04 pm
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thank you!! I'm happy you liked it!

on Aug. 18 2011 at 11:12 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thank you so much for posting this!  I keep getting one star ratings on my article, 'Bullying in School', so I guess I'm hitting a few nerves with it. 

Anyway, great article!  I love how you provided a solution to the problem as well.  My only criticism is that 'critic' should be 'critique'.

I'm rating this five stars. ;)


on Jul. 21 2011 at 5:49 pm
NinjaGirl BRONZE, Valley City, North Dakota
1 article 0 photos 202 comments

Favorite Quote:
The only thing holding us back in life is our desire to stay where we are and not venture further.
~Some random person on the Internet :P

I completely agree with you on this!

on Jul. 13 2011 at 10:20 pm
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I really didn't mind that someone didn't like my story, it's just that they didn't bother to tell me what they hated so much about it. Thanks for commenting anyways. :-)

.Izzy. BRONZE said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 9:54 pm
.Izzy. BRONZE, Broadview Heights, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 388 comments
I know what you meam /: It definitely decreases the amount of confidence we have in our work. I remember talking about this exact topic in the forums. I guess we just have to keep in mind that we are all entitled to our own opinion. There are going to be people who love our work, and there are going to be people who don't care for it. Just because some people don't like it doesn't mean that it's bad at all. However, you bring up a very good point. This is definitely something TeenInk should consider