Netflix asked my mom to give a show a 5 star rating in the app. She said no. I said she's a coward and should've reported Netflix for harassment.

I know it sounds ridiculous. But hear me out. "Sir, does this meal deserve a Michelin star?" What kind of question is that? It's harassment.<br><br>A high rated show, even if it's just in a specific category, is more likely to get recommended to new viewers. It's a huge boost to a show if it's "5 star" or "90% liked". That means more views for the show. More views for a show means more money for the show, and a higher chance of renewal.<br><br>By boosting the ratings of certain shows, Netflix is essentially boosting the income of the showrunners and cast. The more hits they have under their belt, the more they are likely to get hired, and at a higher pay, in the future. By giving certain shows an artificial boost in the algorithm, Netflix is essentially giving them a bonus.<br><br>What I don't like is this entire process is absolutely secret, andNetflix will never admit this is how it works. If you ask Netflix "Does a show's popularity in China affect if Americans can see it on their recommendations?" They will say no, because the algorithm doesn't work like that.<br><br>In reality the algorithm works exactly like that. But Netflix only likes to admit to the parts of the algorithm that sound like, you know, an *algorithm*, not a secret way of giving a multi-million dollar bonus to a showrunner by slightly altering a computer program that somehow affects what shows are recommended to you and me.<br><br>Anyway, back to my story.<br><br>I just watched all 10 episodes of a show called "Chucky", another TV show based on a movie franchise that Netflix acquired. I loved it. If you like horror, I would definitely recommend it, especially if you've seen recent horror movies like "Tragedy Girls" or "Fresh".<br><br>I watched the final episode in a friends house. He has a Netflix account, and we use it to watch Chucky every time we get together to game. When we watched the final episode, at the end of it Netflix asked us to give the show a rating, which is completely normal.<br><br>But they didn't just ask once. They asked, and then we skipped the question. And then they asked again.<br><br>"Why did you skip our question?" They said. Like I was in trouble.<br><br>"I appreciate your help in shaping the algorithm" They said.<br><br>This is where I get mad. This isn't helping "shape the algorithm". We all know what's going on here. Netflix is trying to bribe people into giving shows 5/5 stars so Netflix can boost shows they want to boost.<br><br>I said to my friend "Don't answer the prompt. Just give them a 1 star review and report them for harassment."<br><br>My friend said "Nope." and gave it a 5 star review. I asked him why he was a coward, and he said he just didn't care.<br><br>But I care. I don't like Netflix bribing people to give shows 5 star reviews. It probably doesn't help Netflix in the long run, because it makes the algorithm worse, but in the short term it's a 5 million dollar bribe to the showrunners and cast. And probably a nice contract for the showrunner's next show, even if it fails.<br><br>I know it sounds crazy. But Netflix asking me for a 5 star review for a show I already watched every episode of is like a restaurant asking me to leave a 5 star Yelp review and marking the receipt "Comped". It's not a genuine review, it's a bribe.<br><br>So the next time Netflix asks you to leave a review, give them a 1 star. Because a 1 star review is a genuine review.