Ratings help the community moderate itself by allowing every member the chance to rate every message read on a quality scale of 1 to 5 stars.

• Each member may only rate an individual message one time.
• The individual ratings given by a member are combined with ratings from other members to create the message's overall rating.
• When viewing a board, you see a list of topics/threads and their ratings. The rating for a topic/thread combines all the average ratings for each individual message within that topic/thread.
• When you give a message a rating, you cannot go back and change your rating.

In general, ratings are to help people find the best quality content on the Yahoo! Message Boards. When you rate a message you should always consider the following:

• Rate on the quality of the message, not your opinion of its content. If you disagree with a message, you can express your opinion by posting a reply.
• Ask yourself if this message adds value to the discussion, not merely if you found it useful.
• Make sure the message is On Topic. A well-written message might still get 1 star if it was posted in the wrong board or topic/thread.
• You cannot rate your own messages. However, your message is given an Initial Rating (from 2-5 stars) at the time you post it. This Initial Rating is based on the quality of your past contributions to the board.