[Wondercow]

Moof

@ Wondercow

Try not listening to songs you hate.. but who knows maybe you like sticking your finger in the light socket... so go ahead create your own fantasy rating system.

I listen to music that I own. I like to listen to a variety of songs, not just those tracks that I find exceptional. I enjoy music for the art, and that often means listening to entire albums the way the artist intended.

The "star rating system" has been use for a long, long time and has been used for many, many different items. The one constant through it all has been "1-star = crap . . . 5-star = fantastic". So if that's not the way you do it then perhaps you're the one with a fantasy rating system.

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You have music you "hate" in your library, then you are just as illogical as this tip.

When I buy an album it has at least one song that I like, but, as noted previously, I'll rip the entire CD. I want access to my collection, not just "the good stuff". I enjoy listening to the bad songs sometimes, either as an album or in track shuffle. Not to mention that my wife has different tastes than I, as will my daughter. My tastes will change as most people's do; a song I hated three years ago may just grow on me or I may grow to appreciate it. If I don't have those tracks in my collection I'll never discover them again. And what of friends or family who are visiting? Maybe my 1-star track is their 5-star track.

Going by what you're saying why bother having a star-rating system at all? If all one has is their greatest music there's no need to rate it.
>However, the more probable scenario causing a legitimate use for this tip would be in instances where you were sharing your library with another person. Too bad you didnt think about it as a valid example.
I didn't? Can you please cite where I made any reference to that effect?

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In that case you can enable the 1/2 star system in iTunes as someone mentioned and if that is not enough, create playlists to suite your fancy.

I've been using half-stars for years.

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My response was directed to this guy's particular usage. I find the notion of 6th star, illogical.

It might have started that way but it quickly became a commentary on people's general usage.

I mean the iTunes star system is not for you to "rate" songs from unplayable to your favorite! You still haven't answered my question: if not to rate one's songs from bad to great what is it for?

[Dan Frakes]

Moof

I mean the iTunes star system is not for you to "rate" songs from unplayable to your favorite!

(who keeps hanging on to songs they hate just so they could rate them in their iTunes library?)

In our house, I'm the only one who actually rates tracks; I use those ratings for my personal smart playlists. My wife, on the other hand, couldn't care less about ratings. But since we share a big iTunes library, I can't just delete tracks I don't like, because my wife might like them. (We don't have the exact same taste in music ;) ) So I rate songs I don't want to hear with 1 star and filter them out when I listen, but keep them around.

[Panglos]

The ratings field is volatile. When a track is placed in a new iTunes database, information in tags survives, but ratings don't. Putting ratings information in a non-volatile tag field this way solves that problem.
I use the Grouping field for this function all the time. For example, I've given genre, mood, seasonal and other favorite rating codes there. Sometimes tracks receive more than one code. Isn't this what the Grouping field is for in the first place, to allow the permanent grouping of tracks with similar characteristics?
And since there may already be comments in the Comments field, adding ratings to it en masse may obliterate existing comments. Of course, this can also happen with information in the Grouping field, but it's less likely to occur since the Grouping field is more likely to be blank.
Why not use smart playlists to accomplish this? Because over time they slow the iTunes database down and, as noted above, if they're based on the Ratings field they may not be permanent. A playlist based on a rating coded into the Grouping field or Comments field (or whatever) is much more solid.

[jiclark]

Come now Jon,

Claiming that this hint shows people how to "add a sixth star to iTunes ratings" is so far from "accurate" as to be absurd! As someone who uses the half-star ratings that have been possible for quite some time, to accomplish a finer-grained ratings system, I was very curious to see how one could add a sixth star... But in fact, the hint has nothing whatsoever to do with the star-rating system in iTunes. It's not about understanding the point, it's about being precise, and honest!

[doglesby]

The technique is useful, if not the application. I use the comment field for tags (musical periods, instruments, etc.) and this might be a simple way to apply consistent tags. Thanks.