Important HTL's Post Rating System and Its Proper Use

Hey everyone,

Unfortunately a few instances of misuse of the forums built-in post rating system have been brought to the staff's attention and, as a result, I've been asked to take a few minutes to go over how the system works and how it should and should not be used. I apologize in advance for the giant wall of text but I assure you all of it is important!

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So what's this ratings system?

First, we have the ratings bar. This little guy is present at the bottom of every post on the forums and allows you to rate your fellow users posts:

On your profile page you can see your total amount of ratings per category as well as a breakdown of how many ratings you've given and received for each type of rating. Your avatar block will also show your total amount of ratings (once again per category) next to each post you make and on the home page.

Furthermore, when you rate someone's post they will receive an alert that looks like this (the staff can also see who rated whose post what):

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How does it work?

To break it down, there are three categories of ratings on HTL:

Positive:

- These ratings are green and are used to show your support/appreciation for the contents of a post.

Neutral:

- The ratings are black and are used to show your disagreement with/dislike for the contents of a post.

- There are no consequences to receiving a neutral rating and though you may find them frustrating these should not be taken personally/too seriously.

Negative:

- These ratings are red and are there so you can help the staff identify potential spammers and trolls.

- These ratings are not to be used simply because you disagree with what someone has said or shared.

- Negative ratings are part of the forums built-in disciplinary system and when misused may have unintended consequences.

Ok, now let's go over each of the ratings individually and see what they should and shouldn't be used for. I know some of them are pretty obvious/self-explanatory but bear with me.

"Like"

- This serves the same function as Facebook's "Like" or Google+'s "+1".

- Use it to indicate your appreciation for something someone has posted.

"Dislike"

- Use this to indicate that you don't appreciate something someone posted.

- This should only be used with regards to the contents of the post itself and not, for example, the contents of an article the poster may have linked to.

"Agree"

- Use this to express your agreement with an opinion given or statement made within the post.

"Disagree"

- Use this to show that you disagree with an opinion given or statement made within the post.

"Funny"

- Use this if the post made you laugh.

"Winner"

- Like the icon suggests use this rating if you believe the poster deserves a medal for that particular post. Best used if the post is full of epicness and win and you think it deserves something more than a like.

"Informative"

- Use this if you find the contents of a post particularly informative.

- This could be used for a site announcement, a link to an article, a screenshot of a tweet, etc.

"Friendly"

- Use this if you feel a post constitutes a friendly gesture and you would like to thank the poster for said gesture.

"Useful"

- Use this when you find something in the post particularly useful, for example if someone links to a tool (like the N7 avatar marker).

"Optimistic"

- Use this to show your optimism for the contents of the post. This can apply to something someone said or perhaps the contents of something the poster has linked too.

"Creative"

- Use this to show your appreciation for an original fanart, fanfiction, etc. that someone has been kind enough to share with the community.

- Can also be used to express appreciation for the creativity of an idea for an initiative or something similar.

"Old"

- This is used to indicate that something someone has posted or linked to may be outdated or irrelevant.

- Please try to consider the context of their post and whether or not the information has been shared previously before using this rating.

"Bad Spelling"

- Use this to indicate that a poster may wish to pay attention to their spelling or grammar in the future.

- Please keep in mind that HTL is an international community and therefore our some of our members may have difficulty with the English language.

- This should not be used just because someone makes a few typos.

"Spam"

- This rating is used to alert the staff and the forums built-in disciplinary measures to the presence of a potential spammer or spam bot.

- Spamming is defined as: "The act of obnoxiously doing something repeatedly for attention or in order to disturb others."

- Please note that although frequent/double posting does not necessarily constitute spamming it's best to use the built-in "edit" option (found at the bottom or your post) to change or add to it as needed.

- Under no circumstances is this to be used simply because you disagree with a poster or don't like something that they've posted.

"Trolling"

- This rating is used to alert the staff and the forums built-in disciplinary measures to the presence of a troll.

- Trolling is defined as: "The act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet, generally on message boards."

- Under no circumstances is this to be used simply because you disagree with a poster or don't like something that they've posted.

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But Clarissant, what should I do if someone gives me a rating I feel I don't deserve?

Take a deep breath and consider the rating, if it's a neutral rating it's probably not worth getting upset over. However, should you truly feel you didn't deserve a particular rating I would suggest you politely PM the user who gave it to you and see if you can come to an understanding (ratings can be removed at the bottom of the post to which they were added using the "undo rating" option). You never know, it could have been an accident. Please do not discuss such issues in the threads.

As a policy, HTL staff will not remove neutral ratings (even we've received some!) but if you feel you've received an unwarranted negative rating and cannot resolve the issue with the person who gave it to you please contact us via PM.

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Ok, thanks for taking the time to read this and I'm sure you will all continue to do me proud and do your utmost to ensure you use the ratings systems properly! This thread will be locked for comments but as usual I will be more than happy to answer any questions or concerns if you PM me.

Keelah'Selai! Hold the line!