In reply to Mark Collins:
> In that way you won't at least get people vindictively voting low, based on previous high votes an image has collected.
I think the best way to avoid this sort of negative voting would be if all votes were positive (maybe 3-excellent, 2-very good, 1-good - like starred climbs) so that any vote at all will improve the overall ranking of a photo.
> My point being that some people (including me), are swayed by the votes of others.
I agree. If people see a photo on 5, I think they are more likely to vote 5 themselves - I think bucking the trend at least often makes people pause to think. The vindictive early 1 votes I get almost certainly have an amplified effect on the overall voting because a good photo will be left languishing on a low score for a while (perhaps deterring high scores) and will be less visible down the rankings for a while (My own photo now second in the rankings at 26 votes at an average 4.6 sat way down on 3 or so for a bit). The very best photos will always win through in the end, but some actually pretty decent ones will disappear off the radar for good.
Anyway, in the end it's all only a fun game, but games are always best if played in a good spirit.
Post edited at 16:49