Guide to post ratings

[Korn]

Post ratings buttons ( & ) are located at the bottom right hand corner of every post, providing you have sufficient Karma. Here is an explanation of the reasons you can select when rating posts.

Good ratings

I agree with this post:
Use this reason if you agree with what the poster has written.
This post is Underrated:
Use this reason if you think the post deserves a better rating than it has, but doesn't fit any of the other options.
This post is Cool:
Use this reason when you've spotted something you think is worth of a cool rating.
This post is Funny:
Use this rating if the post made you laugh.
This post is Helpful:
Use this rating if the post has provided an answer to a question, or posted something you think is useful.
This post is Interesting:
Use this rating if you found the post interesting.
This post is Insightful:
Use this rating if the post has given you a new perspective on a subject.
This post is Informative:
Use this rating if the post has taught you something new, or provided useful information.

Bad ratings

I disagree with this post:
Use this reason if you don't agree with what the poster has written.
This post is Overrated:
Use this reason if you think the post deserves a lower rating than it has, but doesn't fit any of the other options.
This post is Boring:
Use this reason when you find a particular post boring or too long.
This post is Confusing:
Use this reason if you had trouble understanding the poster due to bad spelling / grammar / punctuation.
This post is Redundant:
Use this reason if you've spotted a post which repeats a recent discussion, or asks a question that is covered in the FAQs forum.
This post is Off Topic:
Use this reason when a post has nothing to do with the thread it's posted in, for example if somebody starts talking about their pet hamster in a thread about piston rings.
This post is A Flame:
Use this reason when a poster is making a deliberate attack on somebody else, but without using particularly bad language or racism.
This post is Abusive:
Use this reason when a poster uses extremely bad / racist language in an attack on another user, or gets way too personal in an argument.
This post is SPAM:
Use this reason only if you spot a blatant piece of unsolicited commercial advertising, similar to what you would term junk mail.

Every rating is different in the way it affects the post rating, the overall thread rating, the posters karma and even your own karma. Please use the ratings wisely and without malice, because if your ratings are judged to be unfair or have to be revoked by a moderator you will find your karma rating suffering.

Finally a few questions and answers relating to ratings:

Q) Why should I bother rating posts?
A) Because it is seen as community participation, and can earn you karma.

Q) Does that mean I should go around rating every post to get good karma?
A) No, the karma boost from rating posts does not depend on how many you have rated, or even how you have rated them. The formula is very complicated, and I'm not going to reveal exactly how it works, but sufficed to say if you try to abuse the ratings in order to gain karma - you'll be unpleasantly surprised.

Q) Will I lose karma for giving posts ratings?
A) Only if your ratings are found to be unfair, or a majority of users vote the other way. In some cases, you can even gain karma for handing out bad ratings.

Q) What does it mean when a rating is revoked?
A) It means the rating was judged very unfair by a moderator, and its effects were reversed. Depending on their history with post ratings, the person who cast the rating may have also had their karma lowered because of it. If you're not sure why a rating was revoked, ask the moderator who revoked it.
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries