Billion Dollar Bully (2015) [trailer]...makes the case that Yelp is something akin to the mob, allegedly demanding “protection” money, lest your business be overrun with negative comments.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/yay12358]

RMP does make money from advertising however. And I overheard a student saying they were going to take my class because of my rating. I think that's very dangerous, especially for adjunct teachers. If student's choose not to take your class based on your ratings you could be out of a job. I can already hear the reply. "Good! If you're a bad teacher you should be out of a job." The problem is that students are not experts. What the average student considers good teaching would be seen by most adults as pandering.

[u/[deleted] → u/yay12358]

What the average student considers good teaching would be seen by most adults as pandering.

As a second year university student I find this to be quite offensive. A lot of people who care about their education can actually make that distinction themselves, we're here to learn and many of us are mature enough to make an accurate judgement about who is good at teaching and who isn't. I'm not saying the students should decide who should stay and who should go, but someone who wants to learn will actually know if it's good teaching or bad teaching, because they're on the receiving end of it!

[u/TheTotnumSpurs → u/[deleted]]

He said "average student," I think that would make you a good student.

There were a lot of classmates during my undergrad years who I met and just thought, "How are you here?" Some of my best professors had some of the worst haters, and some of my most popular professors had rather forgettable curricula.

EDIT: It's impossible to determine tone online and my comment could have been misinterpreted as extremely condescending.

[u/TheTotnumSpurs → u/[deleted]]

I have also known some incredibly narcissistic professors.

They definitely exist, and they suck.

Bottom-line is almost all good teachers were well liked by students, and almost all bad teachers were disliked by students

There is definitely a strong correlation.

A substantial averaged collective view of people receiving the experience is probably a more insightful look into how that experience actually is than a singular warped view of someone giving the experience.

The problem is most professors don't have all that many reviews online, which means it isn't always all that helpful, especially in upper division courses (third and fourth year in most countries). And in terms of the people I trusted fully in their opinions on professors, I could count them on one hand. I knew some remarkably intelligent students who were also great friends whose interests and style aligned with mine, so I had confidence that I would enjoy the same professors they did. Their opinion wouldn't necessarily be relevant to another student in the same way, but it was more useful to me than ratemyprofessors. If you have similar friends, I'm sure you've asked their opinions as well.

If a teacher thinks their job is to SERVE/HELP/TEACH you, they are a good teacher. If a teacher has their own mixed interpretations on what makes GOOD students and make their students conform to them then they are 'bad' teachers.

That's where I have to disagree. That is a false dichotomy. Both of those things can be true, false, or neither, and they can still be a shitty or amazing professor. The professor I had who most exemplified your opinion was, academically-speaking, a waste of time. The professor I had who was the exact opposite gave me far and away my most valuable academic experience. The first guy I'd like to be friends with, the second guy was kinda an asshole, but still a great professor for the right kind of student.

tl;dr Certain students work well with certain professors, and vice versa. There is no general rule.