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ghost raters

Vince
Expert Senior Senior Expert
Posted on 04-10-2012 at 11:17 am

First, let me say this is a really great site that has really turned into on of my top three whisky-related sites that I check almost daily now.  Not sure where to put this, since it is a difficult one:  what about ghost raters=people who appear to put up some bogus ratings and then disappear? 

One example is the trio of alfred marx, jacques, and charles who all became members in November 2011 and rated several whiskies 95-100 points out of the blue.  Notably all gave PE 11th release 100 points, which definitely pulled up its average score.  Sure they included legendary whiskies, but still......

In this connection, I also like to echo the poster "suggestion on toplist whisky" that showed that some whiskies have more than one rating by the same member (Dalwhinnie 15 has four 50 points by the same guy). 

Overall, keep up the excellent work!!!

Vince
Expert Senior Senior Expert
Posted on 23-11-2012 at 05:37 am

Sorry to come back to this, but it is something that I find fascinating--and don`t yet see how this can be eliminated as an issue.....although clearly it is one!

For months now, Brora and Port Ellen have ran neck and neck as the whiskybase favorite distillery.  Only a fraction of a score separated these two overall and there was some switching between the two; this was the situation for basically all of 2012 up to now. 

Then, all the sudden, just a few days back, Brora suddenly but emphatically pulled away and today (23 Nov) is at 90.95 with PE well behind at 90.64.  What happened here??  Did some Brora freaks suddenly wake up to whiskybase and decided to post their scores?  More likely, we have a case of ghost raters again--where someone artificially wants (for whatever reason) to make a big impact on aggregate scores. 

Case study:  along comes mrs.alldredge on 19 November.  Out the blue, she lists a number of ratings, only with rare Ardbeg, PEs and Broras in her ratings list (good taste!!!).  Not surprisingly, some distilleries do far better than others and she gives extremely high marks to Brora and Ardbeg.  Much lower ratings are given to PE.   Nonetheless,  mrs.alldredge persists and tries at least 16 PEs trying to find a good bottle.  Too bad, but none makes is above 89 and this must be a disappointment, given how much was spent on the elusive PE.  Now, this could be a real case of a connoisseur listing their preferences and experiences, in which case mrs.alldredge is owed an apology by me.

However, I think the real case here is a bogus ID, with the explicit objective of distorting the statistics. Ghost raters strike again??!!

peathead
Expert Senior Senior Expert
Posted on 25-11-2012 at 01:55 am

Same kind of story with whikylad88.  Check out his rates.  Amazing!

mrs.alldredge
Member Junior Junior Member
Posted on 26-11-2012 at 00:07 am

wow I just came across this thread and got struck seeing my id on it. I appreciate the interest risen on ghost raters busting, job that is highly neccessary to maintain the rate accurate.
I do not consider myself as a ghost rater and would not want to treated like one. it`s been years since i play around with whisky drams because I work as a bartender at a hotel and ended up getting some knowledge from all the connoisseurs I met and own tasting experience. just to erase confusion off the topic, i am NOT a ghost rater, in fact i joined whiskybase short ago as a friend`s recommendation, and my votes on port ellen are what I do think it`s worth, as they`re so overvalued recently. No tasting samples of PE 9th,11th or 30yo DL got in my hands which are seen as better ones, so why should I rate them higher than "expected"? What`s the interest in keeping Brora and Port Ellen levelled when quality and taste are way too different in most cases (especially among the rated bottles)?
cheers, and thanks for being on the ghost-raters chase.
Elizabeth

Vince
Expert Senior Senior Expert
Posted on 26-11-2012 at 04:02 am

Hi Elizabeth,

Thanks for clarifying that and my sincere apologies--it was not my intention to smear anyone who is putting up honest ratings, especially not of those with some serious experience to offer, like yourself.

What I am merely trying to point out is that, although 99.9% of the users here are honest and add information to the whiskybase founded on their own experience, there is also that .1% (or hopefully even less) that can have potentially serious effects on skewing the aggregate data.  We just all have to be aware of that when looking at summary scores for distilleries or single bottles for that matter.  With so many raters, there are bound to be some ghosts around.

With regards to Port Ellen and Brora, I have to admit I never tried Brora yet--I will open a bottle of the 2010 special release next month as a Christmas season dram.  Honestly, I would be thrilled if it blows the few PEs I tried so far away!!

I would also say that sentimental value is something very strong in the rater`s mind--and for me it is no coincidence that 7/10 of the top rated distilleries of whiskybase are silent..... 

Whisky
Specialist Specialist
Posted on 26-11-2012 at 07:38 am


Elizabeth,

I think you`re right! You score Whisky your own way AND Port Ellen is overrated.

Please keep on scoring

mrs.alldredge
Member Junior Junior Member
Posted on 26-11-2012 at 09:45 am

Still I appreaciate your concern for busting fakers.
Brora 30/2010 is not the best one to blow most PEs away though IMO. Try 2004, 2006, 2007 releases and you`ll get the difference.
cheers

donbanana
Member Senior Senior Member
Posted on 19-01-2013 at 23:14 pm


If you want a ghost rater, here is one

charles

Latest Activity

charles rated a Royal Lochnagar 1977 NC for 90 points
435 days ago
charles rated a Glenfarclas 1962 for 96 points
435 days ago
435 days ago
charles rated a Glenfarclas 1964 NC for 100 points
435 days ago
charles rated a Karuizawa 1967 for 100 points
435 days ago
charles rated a Glenfarclas 1960 for 100 points
435 days ago
charles rated a Glenrothes John Ramsay Legacy for 100 points
435 days ago
charles rated a Port Ellen 11th Release for 100 points
435 days ago
charles is a new user of Whiskybase!
 
Why not just delete all accounts without any activity over a certain period? say one year

 

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