5-Star Rating — An organization with a 5-Star Rating (e.g. - 5 dark filled stars) has achieved the highest possible endorsement from registered users of the 8towns.com community. 5- Star listings have an average score of 4.75 or higher.

Not Rated — This status is assigned to an organization that has not yet been rated by any registered users of the 8towns.com community.

Rating Pending — To ensure the fairness and integrity of our Ratings System, we require a minimum number of ratings before an average score is reported to those using our service. Rating Pending appears when at least one Rating has been given, but additional user Ratings are required to satisfy the minimum.

0-Star Rating — An organization with a 0 Rating (e.g. - 5 empty star outlines) means the minimum number of users have shared their opinion, but the average rating is still less than 0.25 since the Rating is rounded to the nearest half-point.

Who Can See My Rating ?
Only you and authorized members of the 8Towns Marketing staff will ever see your specific rating for an individual listing. You can share your opinion for as many or as few organizations as you wish. In addition, you can always change your rating for any listing at any point in the future. Simply view the profile for the organization or business in question and your current rating will be displayed (as shown in the example above). Click on your revised rating and press the 'Rate' button.

How Can I Get My Organization Ranked ?
If you have an organization or business listed on 8towns.com, but are listed as "Not Rated" or "Rating Pending" — it is easy to establish a rating. Simply tell your customers, members or those affiliated with your business or group to register on 8towns.com and share their opinion. Once the minimum number of entries has been achieved, your average will be visible to all site users. Note that your rating is always an up-to-date rating reflecting an average of all valid opinions shared up to that moment in time.

How Can I Improve My Rating ?
If your 8Towns Rating is lower than you would like, you should encourage your customers, members or those affiliated with your business or group to register on 8towns.com to share their opinion. As you gain more positive ratings, your score should improve. Since ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star, sometimes it will take just a few postings to impact your score. Your actual score is a statistical average where all ratings are added together, then divided by the number of individuals rating your listing.