i saw ratings all along the scale; that is still the case. and i don't know, in advance, how "happy" people here are, so even if there _was_ some skew, i could

i saw ratings all along the scale; that is still the case. and i don't know, in advance, how "happy" people here are, so even if there _was_ some skew, i couldn't interpret it. and if i did, it might be "experimenter confirmation bias" -- one of the most insidious and pernicious forms of bias. and no, it's impossible to know which way the scale runs, because it can run either way. (higher numbers are _not_ always "better", because "top" is often associated with "the top of the charts", where lower numbers are "better". and when i say "i look out for #1", you know what i mean.) it's also unwise to assume that "happy" equals "better", because this is self-report data, and do we really want people to _report_ they are happy if they really are not? depressed people tell us such pressure to "just be happy" becomes an additional source of stress on the experience. besides, even if _i_ think i know which way the scale runs, the problem is that i don't have any idea how the people who are _answering_ the survey believe that the scale runs. all of this is straightforward to anyone who has studied survey-research; it's totally obvious and noncontroversial, certainly not the sort of thing that should be _down-voted_. (yes, it was, indeed, believe it or not. so be it, folks.) i also didn't post it with any "attitude", and i note that the original poster accepted the note without much fuss... -bowerbird