If community members rated each other, would they rate fairly if money and status were at stake?

Helium is a place where you could write articles. You don't have an editor hacking your draft multiple times before it gets published. But, without an editor reviewing your article, it could still earn money. On top of that, you have the opportunity to earn $20.00 to $100.00, or more, in their Market Place.

So, how could you write articles, not be edited, and still make money? What's the catch? One of them is that your fellow Helium writers rate your articles. Based on how they rate you, your article could rocket to the top, or sink to the bottom like a rock. The higher your article, the more you could earn. The lower your article is ranked; chances are you won't earn money. Is this system fair?

Let's look at Craiglist. One of their goals with their flagging system is to get the community to regulate itself. The idea is that people would flag posts that violate terms of use. However, if you watch a debate in progress there, you'd have an opportunity to see how people could abuse Craiglist's flagging system.

Could Helium's rating system get abused so that a writer could make money at your ranking's expense? If you decide to join, please let them know that the guy that wrote this article sent you:


http://www.helium.com/items/1290186-helium-rating-system-not-fair