This is not a complaint, but trying to find out how this works.
If rules are posted somewhere, please advise - can't seem to find any.

I had a image that was rated higher thatn the lowest 4 on the "Today's top rated' section of the Gallery page, but never made in into the listing. Also, several images are listed that are over 24 hours old. Who/how ?? makes the deterimination of what images appear in the top rated, and when does the "today" start/end??

I assumed (wrongly) that it was an automatic process and a counter for the images was being tracked over a 24 hour period and images automatically diaplayed or rotated into that section.

Thanks -- again, this is not a complaint!

Is this anything like the previous "TOP 20"?

PTB's will tell you "no", but sadly it is very much the buddy system in another name, and this was all too easily confirmed by the new "critique group" who stormed the tower when they started adding artists as favourites.

I believe (and could be wrong as I dont ever recall having an image of mine in that section..LOL)  That it is based on HOW many times an image is rated that day rather then what type of rating they get.. So in theroy you could have an image that is 6 months old but if 40 people rated it today (even if they all rated it with 1 start) it would, or should end up in Todays top rated, could be wrong though

Personally, I really don't see why any gallery has to have a "rating".

thefixer: You're getting your charts mixed up. The only chart the critique group stormed was the "favorite artist" list, which counts how many people added you as a favorite artist for that week. Someone can only vote you as a fav artist once, so if that chart were indeed buddy driven, then 20 new people would have to join the clique each week to keep it's members at the top. I know people love their catty conspiracies but in some cases the charts are accurate.

Below is an explaination on how the TOP listings work (the last 45 days and the "of all time") and the Todays Top works in exactly the same way only its on the last 24 hours (not based on the day the image was uploaded but on ratings, views, comments within the last 24 hours so that list can change all day long)

Top 100 Most Viewed - RecentThis dataset is calculated based on which images were viewed the most in the last 45 days. For any two or more images with the same number of views, the ones with the most recent last view are before the ones with the least recent last view.
Top 100 Most Viewed - All TimeThis dataset is calculated based on which images were viewed the most ever. Ties are handled the same way as above.
Top 100 Most Commented - RecentThis dataset is calculated based on which images have received the most comments in the last 45 days. For any two or more images with the same number of comments, the ones with the most recent last comment are before the ones with the least recent last comment.
Top 100 Most Commented - All TimeIdentical to most commented recent, except without the 45-day restriction.
Top 100 Best Rated - All TimeThe most complicated of the three, this is sorted first by the ratings of images. The higher the rating (5-star) the higher they are on the list. For any two or more images that have the same rating (and 99% of all best-rated images all have 5-star ratings), the image with the most ratings comes first. So, in most cases, the Top 100 is actually sorted by number of ratings since all the images that end up there are 5-star images already. If any two or more images also have the same number of ratings, the ones with the most-recent last ratings will come before the ones with the least-recent last rating.
Top 100 Best Rated - RecentThis one is a little trickier than just limiting it to ratings placed in the last 45 days because average ratings are calculated using a standard deviation, etc. This can't be done on a database level and used for sorting, so what we have to do here is pick all images that have been rated at least once in the last 45 days and then sort by rating, rate count and last rate.

In addition to this logic, Top 100s within sections, genres, and section/genre combinations are also limited to those respective sections, genres, and section/genre combinations.

Hope this helps:)

Thanks to all for the replies and comments! This clears up most of my questions.

I realize there is a potential for abuse in any ratings systems, wether it is biased by the "buddy system" or not, but it is still nice to get feedback on your submissions and some competion (today's top list or top100, whatever)  provides goals and the gives the artist a sense of accomplishment, or recognition, when reached.

Art should be pursued for it's own sake, as opinions will always vary and should not influence the artist from his/her visions. But a lot of what is posted here requires as much technical skill as artistic, and the feedback and tips on the techincal side can be invaluable to the nuby.

Would I like my art to be rated in the top 100, sure, but only if it deserves it and not just as a result of a popularity contest.

Thanks again.

Attached Link: CGSociety Gallery

Here, at this place which claims to be one of the top 'digital art sites'.

For a certain different perspective on the whole CG thing, there's always this:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=121

Unfortunately, you won't find a whole lot of Poser stuff, mostly because these people make their own stuff, and admittedly it lacks the cookie-cutter element which goes over so well here, but....

Thanks Mike. 

Have a great evening:)

Unfortunately I don’t think the top 100 hundred list has no bearing on how good an artist is, only how many ratings they get. I had a bad experience a while ago, where a person asked my to look at there picture and rate it while it was a nice picture it wasn’t worth a 5. I gave it a rating of 4. then that person e-mail me back saying they day deleted my comment and rating and to go back and rate it 5. I didn’t take too kindly to this and I promptly told them what they can do with there rating. So now I have zero belief in the whole rating system and hardly ever rate anyone’s picture I just give constructive advice. Oh well that’s human nature for you.

midnight_stories:-  did that happen here? if so that surprises me as i wouldn't of thought anybody cared that much for the charts to behave like that.

yes it was the guy who has the top two rated pictures at the moment.

Quote - Thanks Mike. 

Have a great evening:)

Oh, no problem, Stacy. You too. :)

(Sorry, but I've been on a serious CG thing lately, finding some amazing developments in the industry, and some amazing artists exploiting these developments their chosen software allows. Poser isn't in there, because its developers are scared sh*tless to update its core for now, choosing, instead, to milk its deficiencies out for as long as possible).

Seriously, though - this site may be one of the top 2 resources for Poser stuff - renderings/products, but it's not even close to possessing the acclaim in the world of CG it claims to.

Therefore, it's amusing to see people worrying about ratings here; the ratings  here amount to little more than a fan club of digital wanabees.

Anyone who wants a true critique or appreciation of his/her work, by those who actually work in the industry ought to consider CG Society.

Poser has limited tools. There are a few people who are able to use them to their utmost and to create great art, but the vast majority just buy stuff and slap it on, render, and then post.

And then complain that it's not the Cookie Cutter element that's at fault, but, rather, it's the whole rating system which keeps them from being properly recognized as the groundbreaker they are...