Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer

I'm unsure what value ratings have. There's already a measure I find useful - number of views. In less frequented forums that may not work so well but then neither would ratings IMHO.

Thread ratings also have a significant shortcoming (in my eyes) that no-one has mentioned. You can only vote once, but the "value" of the thread may change after you've voted. Eg a thread may initially be full of rubbish, but then later some valuable info or comments may well change the tone & usefulness completely - or vice versa.