I'm gonna namedrop this user straight up. Miguelavila18 registered 4 January 2022 and has already given out over 3000 10's, over 1000 5's, ~360 1's and only 18 8's. He is online now while I'm writing this and his ratings keeps adding up when I update his album votes page. Since I wrote the first sentence he has now passed 3100 10's. This is either a bot or the biggest troll I've come across here on MS.

I just saw Miguelavila18's profile. The votes are given without a logical sense. Some bands only have 10's and 5's for their albums. Such a user ruins the work of this community. Some staff member should send him a private message explaining the reason for these votes. I think we can do without people like that ... and it's not the first time I've noticed ratings that are too low or too high for albums that don't deserve them.

^ The issue has been dealt with.

Hmmmm...possibilities here...

Persefone gets a 10, and 2 of the 4 albums higher in the rankings get a 1 and a 3
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=322785&r_order=year

16x 10s and 9s, and a single 2 (which happens to be rated just behind one of their 10s)
Checking back each year, they do the same thing rather frequently. Hand out a metric ton of high rankings, then tank a few of the top ranked albums
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=25180&r_order=year

Got 5 more cases for the list (would not be surprised it it is the same guy for all 4 accounts):

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=329515
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=327410
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=329497
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=329512
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=329513 (edit)

Voting pattern makes no sense and Accounts are barely 2 days old.
Cheers

*Edit: forgot 1 more account

Written by Lotuscobra on 09.07.2022 at 13:09

Voting pattern makes no sense and Accounts are barely 2 days old.
Cheers

Good spot I don't know but I'm guessing he must be a big fan of power metal

Written by Lotuscobra on 09.07.2022 at 13:09

Got 5 more cases for the list (would not be surprised it it is the same guy for all 4 accounts):

Nice catch. It is now dealt with, thanks.

On a side note: What about accounts that barely have any ratings and seem to just be created to influence the top 200 board?

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=104878
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=149792
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=303980
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=312303
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=326687

Is this just considered as voicing ones opinion or seen as rating abuse as well?

Written by Lotuscobra on 11.07.2022 at 17:35

Is this just considered as voicing ones opinion or seen as rating abuse as well?

It is rating abuse because it is clear chart manipulation. Keep 'em coming, I'll keep on deleting.

Written by nikarg on 11.07.2022 at 18:18

It is rating abuse because it is clear chart manipulation. Keep 'em coming, I'll keep on deleting.

Got some more that could fall under the category although I am not sure for all of them:

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=100024 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=131965
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=132778
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=157085
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=177402
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=182260
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=329348

Edit – found some more: *** marked accounts look like they are owned by the same guy

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=5779 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=16981
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=21043
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=25783 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=26759
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=30980
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=31009
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=31371
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=99365
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=101988
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=102089
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=107154
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=107599
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=108637
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=110140
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=110829
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=119988
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=131772 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=132137
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=132942
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133170

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=132676 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133619 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133235 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133253 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133619 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133765 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133789 ***

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=136529
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=143470
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=145322 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=147595
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=152200 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=156712
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=157271
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=158363
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=184696
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=194674 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=206121
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=217259
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=242644
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=245869
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=266051 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=322785
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=324691
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=328343 (not sure)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=328654

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=724 (no idea how to feel about this one)
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=275880 (same for this, no real idea what to think about it)

Cheers

I was looking for something like Saturnus and Firmament was pretty high in similar artists here and its Comfortable Oppression had high rating. Turns out someone created 11 accounts and spammed similar artist section to a lot of doom bands and of course gave out 10s and some 9s to this album. It's pretty average stuff tbh. It is every user that gave it 10 or 9 except for DarkenedMind.

Https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=190820

This guy has been around since 2018 and I've noticed him giving a lot of 10's for quite some time now. But it was just until now I actually checked his profile and out of almost 6000 votes he has given 5700 10's with an average rating of 9.87. On the other hand he has posted just two comments so I guess it's not a bot account. Would still call his voting pattern rating abuse though since all bands in his album collection all have straight 10's no matter how big their discography is.

Written by Alien1988 on 22.07.2022 at 11:14

I was looking for something like Saturnus and Firmament was pretty high in similar artists here and its Comfortable Oppression had high rating. Turns out someone created 11 accounts and spammed similar artist section to a lot of doom bands and of course gave out 10s and some 9s to this album. It's pretty average stuff tbh. It is every user that gave it 10 or 9 except for DarkenedMind.

This has been dealt with.

Written by Nejde on 22.07.2022 at 17:53

Https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=190820

As has this one.

Written by Lotuscobra on 13.07.2022 at 17:37

*** marked accounts look like they are owned by the same guy
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=132676 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133619 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133235 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133253 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133619 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133765 ***
https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=133789 ***

These too. I will eventually get to the others soon.

Written by nikarg on 25.07.2022 at 20:12

Written by Alien1988 on 22.07.2022 at 11:14

I was looking for something like Saturnus and Firmament was pretty high in similar artists here and its Comfortable Oppression had high rating. Turns out someone created 11 accounts and spammed similar artist section to a lot of doom bands and of course gave out 10s and some 9s to this album. It's pretty average stuff tbh. It is every user that gave it 10 or 9 except for DarkenedMind.

This has been dealt with.

I noticed that deletion of those users did not affect their votes in the similar bands section. Not the biggest of deals but now Firmament is at top 5 similar artists to a lot of prominent doom metal bands.

Https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=328085 looks like a rating abuse... or he really hates Megadeth, Deftones and Esoctrilihum haha

Rating abuser
https://metalstorm.net/users/profile.php?user_id=331248
All Maiden albums get a rating of 10. Dumb!

Stumbled upon this one as well. Looks like the typical M.O.: https://metalstorm.net/users/Zweitgeist2022/profile

Written by JHK on 12.09.2022 at 20:12

Stumbled upon this one as well. Looks like the typical M.O.: https://metalstorm.net/users/Zweitgeist2022/profile

Wow, crazy how people like this actually exist: 17 10's, one 9, and 20 1's

Written by F3ynman2000 on 12.09.2022 at 20:31

Written by JHK on 12.09.2022 at 20:12

Stumbled upon this one as well. Looks like the typical M.O.: https://metalstorm.net/users/Zweitgeist2022/profile

Wow, crazy how people like this actually exist: 17 10's, one 9, and 20 1's

Some people really don't seem to understand voting systems outside downvote and upvote buttons...

Written by JHK on 12.09.2022 at 20:12

Stumbled upon this one as well. Looks like the typical M.O.: https://metalstorm.net/users/Zweitgeist2022/profile

yup.
Join date - 6 September

rankings
10 = 17, aka "every album Iron Maiden has ever released"

He gave a 9 to Helloween

Then gave a 1 to every other album he rated (20)

Good lord
@nikarg

https://metalstorm.net/users/album_votes.php?user_id=186605&r_order=year

1591 10* ratings
68 1* ratings, comprised exclusively of the entire collections of about 5 or 6 bands

A few brand new accounts which all have one rating on one album.
https://metalstorm.net/users/Jaafar87/profile
https://metalstorm.net/users/bassemsaad89/profile
https://metalstorm.net/users/Suhail/profile
https://metalstorm.net/users/Roydak/profile

Written by 24emd on 18.09.2022 at 08:08

A few brand new accounts which all have one rating on one album.

These are not multi-accounts though.

Written by nikarg on 18.09.2022 at 08:52

Written by 24emd on 18.09.2022 at 08:08

A few brand new accounts which all have one rating on one album.

These are not multi-accounts though.

Are you sure about that? All of these users have exactly one post and one vote... for the same album!

Written by nikarg on 18.09.2022 at 08:52

Written by 24emd on 18.09.2022 at 08:08

A few brand new accounts which all have one rating on one album.

These are not multi-accounts though.

Not sure how this stuff works, but it just seems to me like a way to boost the rating of this one album.

Written by 24emd on 18.09.2022 at 09:47

Not sure how this stuff works, but it just seems to me like a way to boost the rating of this one album.

They might just be people who happened to vote for the same album. The only way to know for sure if they're the same person is with their ip adress, and I'm sure Nikarg has already checked that out

Written by Roman Doez on 18.09.2022 at 12:38

The only way to know for sure if they're the same person is with their ip adress

And even by the IP you cannot be sure if it is the same person. There can either be multiple people sharing one IP, or one person using multiple IP on different machines or servers. But I understand it is the best we can do.

We have already thoroughly looked into the ratings of that album and the accounts involved, and we have found them to be legit. Borderline, but still legit.

Written by nikarg on 18.09.2022 at 20:30

We have already thoroughly looked into the ratings of that album and the accounts involved, and we have found them to be legit. Borderline, but still legit.

Got it. Thanks for explaining. Just another question about rating abuse - If a user intentionally listens to albums from genres they hate and go off rating them with 1s, is that allowed?

Written by 24emd on 19.09.2022 at 00:53

If a user intentionally listens to albums from genres they hate and go off rating them with 1s, is that allowed?

It depends on how you come to the conclusion that this is being done "intentionally". We generally examine such things individually, taking the rules into account. According to said rules, "When voting for an album, remember your vote must be fair and not influenced by what other voters have done before you. Please give realistic ratings and remember a 10 means the album is a masterpiece, an album that changed the way we listen to music nowadays". In the same way, 1 should mean that the album is the worst pile of shit that has ever been put on record. To be honest, I am thinking that we should maybe add some more lines to make it clearer what vote abuse means. Especially for new users.

To answer your question, that would generally be unacceptable. For example, let's say that I hate stoner metal (true story). Going off and rating all stoner classics like Dopesmoker with 1 would be rating abuse. However, it should still be assessed as part of the overall voting pattern. In any case, if in doubt, you can always post the suspicious account here, and we will look into it.