Each time your read a message, you can give that message a quality assessment based on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. To rate a message, mouse over the grey stars that appear just below the message text. As you do so, the stars turn red and display the label showing what each represents. When you decide on the rating you want to give, click a star and a button to save your rating appears. When you click the "Save Rating" button, your rating displays in red and is combined with ratings from other members of the community to determine that messages community rating. You cannot change your rating after it has been saved.

To make Yahoo! Message Boards the best experience for everyone, it is important to correctly rate messages. Here are some things you should consider when choosing your rating:

= This is the lowest possible rating, so use it only when a message is off-topic or is extremely poorly written.

= This is appropriate for a message that is relevant to the discussion, but doesn't really add any new information or might be very poorly written.

= This rating conveys that a message is average and on topic. The quality of writing is probably not very good, but it is worth reading by other people in the discussion.

= This should be used for messages that are on-topic, well written, and add value to the discussion. It should be evident that the person who wrote the message was concerned about quality.

= This is the highest possible rating. Messages deserving 5 stars should be reserved for posts that you believe anyone reading the discussion should view. These posts should be carefully crafted, convey a strong message, and be written with good use of language.

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

• 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.