What's the best way to rate and review races, hosts?

Good topic, though I personally see no good coming from having a rating system for race hosts. Some nice people that are willing to take the time and energy to host a race may think twice about doing so if even the simplest of criticisms are levelled towards them. People online can be petty and not so nice, regardless of whether the criticism is warranted or not. It's just not going to be worth hosting a race when people are nitpicking every aspect of your efforts to host in the first place. Some other hosts that are deserving of all the criticisms you've mentioned above wouldn't give a crap about a rating system regardless of their being irresponsible as they know that people, with trepidation, will still enter their races because we want more racing, not less. I learned very quickly from experience and, mainly, word of mouth from more experienced racers as to which hosts were trustworthy. Most people in this hobby are friendly, engaging, and welcoming and are more than happy to give you the answers to your queries if you just ask. Well, as long as you're not getting too fast too quickly. Lol

It may be easier/better to have a black list instead - where if a host is ignoring communication/witholding cars etc and for multiple people, then they go on a black list so others don't get caught by them.

This also wouldn't discourage new channels/hosts as they aren't rated on each aspect of their production etc. I know from experience that it can be expensive to set up with all the cameras/lights etc that seems to have become the norm, so if you start rating new channels it might just put them off. There is already enough pressure for most people to get races out as it takes a lot more work than a lot of people realise and making a quality product is not for the fainthearted.

Having hosted a few tournaments now, I have always tried to communicate to people when cars have arrived (cars sent to the canyon are never returned but that is made clear before they get sent), and I'll normally send them a private video of their qualifying runs as soon as i get the cars, so they see something straight away. I try to make the videos as high quality and enterating as I can. I also try to give the cars as much screen time as possible, as I know how much work can go into building them plus the cost of sending them.

In regards to timing of events, the last couple of years we've had the house on the market, then moving house etc it really messed with my timetable for the Outlaws, plus I waited for more cars to turn up, when racers said they'd send them, but they never arrived. Timing of events can be a difficult one to judge hosts on as life easily gets in the way of videos, however if you reach out to them about a car you've sent, then I would expect you should reply and let them know what's going on. Radio silence from any host is not good, even if it's just to say sorry I'm sick/injured etc so at least racers know.

Being fairly new to hosting races, I tend to agree more with Chaos_Canyon and his black list idea.

I hosted my 1st race in June this year. I quickly found out that it's a lot of work. Not everyone that signed up sent in cars and I even accepted cars up until race day. The last 2 cars to arrive got here on raceway. (*cough cough* Numbskull)  But, I still managed to get the race knocked out with multiple videos that evening. It's just me, overhead lighting and my phone for filming. As cars arrived, I would do a mail call video and show the cars on camera. After which, the cars were logged in, given their number and placed in a case until raceway. Due to my work schedule,  all cars that needed to be returned were sent back within 2 weeks. The only exception being the 2 cars sent in by Puff. He won the tournament and by design the winning cars stays here until the next tournament. 

I also found out how important it is to make sure the correct car gets moved to the next round. As I was watching the videos that I had just posted from my tournament,  I saw that I had messed up and advanced the wrong car in 1 round. I felt horrible. I immediately owned up to my mistake with a video and apologized to everyone.  I know that I'm going to try and do my best to make sure I don't mess up like that again. 

I have found 2 tracks that I will most likely not submit cars to for another race. Cars that I sent in were done wrong during the videos. I messaged those hosts about it. One even laughed about it because of his wasted commentary and the jokes he made during the race, but nothing was ever done by either to acknowledge the mess ups. 

So, yeah, I think a black list would be the better option. But live and learn. You will eventually figure out where to and where not to send your cars to race. 

Touchy Topic; was really expecting more discussion. Really good input from all the above and i understand 100% with whats been shared so far. 
I'd like to share my method of, not so much a grading system, but more a guideline for whether I enter a race or not. I look at 3 things:                                                             

• A. Is this channel about (A) content?
• B. Is this channel about (B) competition?
• C. Does this channel (C) comply with what they say they're going to do?

This is usually a scale and some channels score high in some areas and low in others. The formula is simple: +A+B+C = Enter;  -A+B+C = Enter; +A-B+C = Probably Enter; -A-B+C= Probably Not; +A+B-C= Probably Not; -A-B-C= Probably Not

I place higher value on (B) Competition and (C) Compliance rather than (A) Content. Others may place their own values on whichever they choose  Redline Derby and YouTube are my main sources of information, and FB; although I've recently begun leaving pages due to this guide. Im not aware of any other forums or private chatrooms and im very grateful for that.   

As someone who just wandered in off the streets and never experienced Hot Wheels cars growing up here are some thoughts. As someone who ran large projects spanning multiple countries - communication is incredibly important. Lack of communication in many times means lack of any good news which is what people will stew on. 

I think a host rating system would not be bad and it needs to be a simple 5 star rating based on 4 questions: was the race/event well organized, clear communication of race rules - racing - post race results, race results reported via YouTube / Redline, post race activities (returning cars etc.).  It should not be a place for petty - personal sniping. I certainly see hosting an event to be a huge amount of work so I do cut a lot of slack on that basis - but ...if you are going to hold an event and take in money then I do expect the event to be held eventually and my car returned if I paid for it. Otherwise you are just over promising and under planning. I also think that hosts need to drop the hammer on a few things: if you want your car back you need to use a reusable shipping box and provide a preaddressed return label, if your event is a certain casting or theme and you get wrong car types sent in those should be just set aside and put in the winners pile and not run in the race, 

The other question would be - what can Redline do to assist hosts in being successful? First I see some sketchiness and some confusion in race rules-requirements-description(s). Some hosts are clear others I need to read 3 or 4 times to get it clear and others the event reads like a stream of consciousness. Race rules - description needs to be more structured and clear. This would help the noobs. Second is should there be a race number registry? If every car showed up with a number that was unique I would assume that would be good for a host. I would gladly pop a few bucks to one of our decal vendors for some custom number sheets. 

Redline has been a great central place for die cast racing and should serve to help newcomers get involved, help hosts do successful events, and help established racers find events. I'd rather not have a black list which is really just a failure list. A gentle 5 star system should help hosts improve where they need to and help noobs have positive initial experiences. And yeah, I've sent cars to events that were cancelled - are currently delayed and have received no cars back. So yes I've got my list going but that's not how we should 'do business'.

As a host and only speaking for myself and my feelings I would love to see how I rank. And what I need to improve on.  Or what others feel I could do better. I always to and make things right when I make mistakes and always respond to someone when they reach out. But that is what I think of myself I would like to know what others think. 

I do understand the argument that it may turn some people away from hosting because of being afraid of bad reviews. To that all I can say is don't be afraid instead try and get better if you can. The support in the community is so awesome that 99.9%of anything negative is only to help that host out. At least here. YouTube is just YouTube and some stranger being a troll means nothing. But here we are all friends and partners in this thing. And our opinions should be valued as such. If it could some how be done in a voting type system using grades or stars but keep it so reviews are private so people can vote honestly without fear of hurting the host felling or causing bad blood. I think it could be a useful tool to help host improve. 

As far as helping the builders decide who they wish to send to. Ultimately that will still be up to them. Much like it is now. Just because 1 person had a bad experience with a host does not mean they will. Maybe that host has learned and got better.  Sorry to be long winded but I have actually wanted something like this for a while and was just speaking about this today to a friend in the community. 

Could there be a weighting system where experienced racers' opinions mean more? A builder entering their first few events may not fully appreciate the burdens a host faces and post something overly negative while viewing whatever situation didn't suit them through too narrow a lens

For the sake of clarity, if the A & S Tier builders say I run a good event and then there's Noob Saibot of McRookie Racing saying I'm terrible and botching the job after his first race ever, Noob's opinion may not hold as much water then

It only takes one bad experience for the wrong person to blow up a host's opportunities. What is worse, when something happens that is beyond your control, and the host takes the brunt of the blame. I am more concerned with having fun than worried if a hosts has a bad reputation. 

The elephant in the room.
I think some kind of system would be helpful.
Having hosted races, I know the labor of returning cars. But it is not impossible! What really bothers me about it is the money we send, then nothing comes back, sometimes for over a year. (Not to even mention the labor we put into a car, then not see it again for a long time). If multiple cars have been sent to one host, with $8-10 per car, then you get them all back in one shipment a year later, that smacks of dishonesty dealing with $$. Even if it's just being overwhelmed, or lazy, it sends a bad message.
Some hosts are very good at returning cars in a timely fashion, so why are others not? Personally I feel like refraining from sending any more to some of them. A lot of tracks are being created. I may start sticking to the ones who return cars in a timely fashion. It's sad because some of them have fantastic tracks, tournaments and races.....

As far as waiting for races, that doesn't bother me as much. Sometimes life is more important than hobbies.

Last year was my rookie year.

out of 27 cars sent, 

2 events never took place (squid games, and the big rig race)

and one host I had to "hound" to get my cars back

it made me rethink this whole sport for this year, how to avoid that aggrivation.

I have limited myself to 1/2 that many cars this year, and chose the tracks I like.

So maybe something like a certified host. 

Redline (behind the scenes) verifies a hosts address, email, etc...not a scam site

When things "go south" with a host, they loose the ability to host, and because redline has a physical address,

they can't just start a new account.  additionally, proxy shipping should be discouraged.

I always "tip"  the host, too, incase return shipping is more than estimated, because in most cases, I do want my cars back

Thanks to all who host, and to Redline for starting this discussion

dr

Woahs...thanks for all the thoughtful comments. It's nice to see some strong opinions. It gives me a lot to chew on. FWIW, I'm glad to get this conversation out there as I think this type of thing has been brewing for a while.

Believe me, I know a rating/review system can be a slippery slope. I've dealt with them in the past for various web projects...sometimes they just generate more trouble, but in my experience the can also be helpful.

My thought is for it to be a simple star rating type of thing...nothing that lets people type out their grieveances in print. This place is already a message board and I know people aren't always shy about airing laundry...that stuff will happen regardless. No rating system anywhere will solve that problem.

We all know life happens so this isn't about letting people bitch when someone needs time to deal with things. It's about disappointment when someone doesn't communicate their situation while they're sitting on your property and money. Please take time to do what life requires but let people know about it when they're relying on you.

But otherwise I would NOT want the ratings to be about the YouTube videos. This isn't about whether or not the commentary was good or if your car got enough camera time. Production quality would be one very minor thing to consider and it shouldn't tip the scales. We want to capture the quality of people's interactions with hosts so new people jumping into the hobby have some sort of guide to help get their racing career off to a fun start.

This is more about rating customer service, organization, and operations. It's not about YouTube-ability or entertainment value.

Those of us that have hosted know the overhead and stress that comes along with it. You don't start an expert, but it's something you learn from quickly and can improve on quickly. I wouldn't want a rating system to sink a rookie host on their first few attempts either.

I'm thinking ratings would only be attached to posted events and only events that were within the past X days. This way people couldn't just toss out ratings years later. This might also help keep ratings limited to the folks that were involved with the race.

I would also think there would be a "intro" period for new hosts too. Ratings wouldn't appear public until the host runs X number of events, giving them a chance to see the ratings privately and make adjustments. There could be some sort of "rookie" badge for new hosts letting entrants know they're still new to this and trying their best, but to give them a shot so they can learn.

But lets be real, a rating system isn't foolproof and it isn't supposed to be. Every mail-in race is gamble with your time and money. A rookie host is an obvious gamble but one you're often willing to make to help them get better. A host with years of experience is a safer gamble, but I've seen it before where even those with lots of cred will stumble and people lose out. It's all a gamble.

A rating system is a long-term thing too. If someone has a vendetta and bombs someone with 1-star ratings, those ratings should be negated or evened out over time by everyone that is being honest...which I hope - nay - I know is the majority of racers and hosts.

This isn't about pointing fingers, it's about giving people more information so they can make a more informed choice. RLD is not here to pass judgement on hosts...it's a place people can go to learn so they can make their own judgements. People gonna do what people gonna do...just do it with as much information as you can.

I'm still on the fence about adding this type of feature (even though it kinda sounds otherwise). Please keep chiming in with your ideas and concerns...it's all valid and feeds into considerations. Regardless, nothing will happen overnight, trust me.

I got the Ultimate Plan!  (Need help on number four)

1: Host Race

2:  makes everyone think  they won, send lavish prizes and their cars back

3: get great reviews, and

4:  ?????

5:  profit

:)