I think the problem here is people attributing different values to the same ratings. I personally look at this from a Holland/UK perspective because I'm from Holland but studying in the UK.

Anyway...

I find that in Holland the ratings are valued like this:

10 - genius
9 - excellent
8 - very good
7 - good
6 - okay, but nothing special
5 - not worth the effort
4 - bad
3 - really bad
2 - crap
1 - an insult to level making

... while in the UK, and I think probably most other countries, it's more like:

10 - the best ever
9 - genius
8 - excellent
7 - very good
6 - good
5 - okay, but nothing special
and so on...

To illustrate, I once got a glowing review on a level of mine only to recieve an in my view somewhat dissappointing 7. With that kind of praise I was expecting an 8 at least... or I've had levels being called average and recieving a to Dutch eyes subpar 5.