Who can rate a review?
Only registered Ciao members with at least one "helpful" review can rate other reviews and write comments on them. If you are not yet a Ciao member, you can register here.
How do I rate a review?
To rate a review, simply click on the link to view the product review
in its entirety. Then choose one of the six options listed beneath
the review to describe how useful you found it: exceptional, very
helpful, helpful, somewhat unhelpful, not helpful, off topic. To rate a "quick review" just
click on "thumbs up" for helpful or "thumbs down" for not helpful directly in the overview of
reviews on the product page. For further
tips on how to rate a review, please consult our Guidelines for Rating Reviews.
Why should I rate a review?
The ratings which a review receives determine how high in the list
that particular review appears. Reviews with an average rating of
"exceptional" or "very helpful" appear at the
top of the list. Delivering ratings for the reviews you read, therefore,
makes it easier for other members to find the most helpful reviews
and, particularly when many different reviews have been submitted
for the same product, to choose which reviews to read. The more ratings
given, the more representative the overall rating will be. Rating
reviews helps to maintain the quality of the site's content and its
user-friendliness.
What points should I take into account when
rating a review?
When deciding which rating to deliver, it is important to remain objective
and not to be influenced by whether or not you agree with the author's
opinion. Try to focus on how useful you found the review and whether
it helped you to make a product choice. Bear the three following points
in mind: 1. How easy was the review to understand? 2. Did it contain
all the information necessary? 3. Did it help you to make a product
decision?
How is the overall rating for the review determined?
The overall rating for a review is determined by translating the ratings
which have been received into a number of stars (i.e. 5 stars for
"exceptional" and 1 for "not helpful"). These numerical values are then
weighted according to the rater’s behaviour on Ciao. An average is then taken of these
weighted values to calculate an overall rating.
Can I change my rating of a review?
Yes. Should you wish to change the rating you gave a particular review,
for example if the review has been edited or updated, you can do so
by following the same procedure as before and clicking on one of the
six buttons beneath the review. Your original rating will then be
automatically replaced.
Can I see a list of the reviews I have rated?
Yes. Simply log in, go to your "My Ciao" area and click
on the "Statistics" tab. Here you will find details of all
of the reviews, comments and ratings you have written or delivered.
Click on the links to obtain more detailed information about when
you delivered particular ratings and what your ratings were.
Can I find out who rated my review?
Yes. When you have clicked on the link to see the full text of a product
review, you can find details of the ratings that have been delivered,
and the names of the members who have rated a review, to the right
of the text of the review. If you click on the link to see further
details of the ratings delivered, you will also be able to see the
comments that accompanied the ratings, if any have been written. Click
on the Ciao name of the member who delivered a rating to visit his
personal member area. Then click on the "Statistics" tab
to see details of the reviews, comments and ratings (s)he has written
or delivered.
Do I have to write a comment to go with my
rating?
No, you do not have to explain the rating that you deliver, though
this may be useful if it is widely at odds with the ratings that other
members have given. In your comment, you can then explain your rating
and avoid any accusations of revengeful or vindictive rating. A comment
is also a great opportunity for you to give an author advice on how
his/her review could be improved, and tips for future review writing.
