George, I combined your two posts into one since they both contained valuble information. Feel free to re-edit again and re-distribute as you see fit. Cheers! (Actually since it's OK to use !! with you two I will put in my Thanks!!!!! here again)

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How does the 5-star voting system work?

Here's an explanation:

a) All members have an opportunity to rate each other from 1-5

b) Members can change their vote at any time. If they think "Bob123" is becoming more valuable, they can change their vote higher. If they think "Bob123" is becoming less valuable, they can change their vote lower.

c) No matter how many times you change your vote for Bob123, only your last vote counts. This prevents vote rigging by having someone vote multiple times to manipulate your rating.

d) The system takes the total amount of votes and divides them to give Bob123 his rating. Votes are tabulated in real-time. Assume Bob123 has 15 votes for a rating of 3.5

e) The system also awards Bob123 points for his activities on the site ("activity points"). Posting, rating members, reporting violations, etc. Points can also be deducted for having a post deleted as a violation. Activity points are tabulated in real time. Assume Bob123 has 200 activity points.

f) They system multiplies his rating (3.5) x his activity points (200) to get his total points (700)

g) Bob123's total points of 700 determines his authority level, which is a treasurer (250-749).

h) It is very important to remember that Bob123's total points will fluctuate many times per day due to additional votes being cast for him, as well as, his activities on the site.

I) It is important to remember that all of these can be taking place at the same moment you are voting for him, causing you to think you just caused a wild swing in his rating and/or total points.

Remember, the 5-star system is a vote for the member who made the post, not the actual post itself. As such, though you can change your vote on a member at anytime (higher because you think they are more valuable, or lower because you think they are becoming less valuable) only your last vote counts. This may explain why some of you think you are not seeing much of a change.

With this is mind, please read the following:

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There are two scenarios where you legitimately would not see any changes after casting a vote:

1] You have already voted for somebody . Assume you had already cast a vote for a member by the name of John123 and you were now changing your vote. In this instance, the number of votes for John123 would not change b/c each member can only vote for another member 1 time. If you vote more than once, only your last vote counts. Otherwise, a single member could vote 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, for a friend and artificially earn them several 5-star votes. Likewise, a member who doesn't like you could vote 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 for you and significantly knock down your average rating.

As such, if John123 had 10 votes prior to your change, he would still only have 10 votes after your change.

2] Your vote does not change the average score of the member. For example, if Bob456 has an average rating of 3.1 on 10 votes and you decide to cast an 11th vote for 3 stars, he will now have an average score of 3.09. Our system would round this up to 3.1 = no change.
Hopefully, this helps clarify this specific issue.

Question: But why The Big Movement When Voting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5?

Answer: One very important thing you have to remember is the fact that - at this early stage - your average rating will be more volatile. Why? If you only have 10 votes cast so far, the 11th vote can substantially affect your average rating because it represents almost 10% of your score.

For example, if you have 10 votes from other members at an average of 4.0 and an 11th vote is cast as a 1, your average vote comes down to 3.7.

That .3 reduction multiplied over 2000 activity points that many of you have equates to a reduction of 600 total points. As such, what appears to be an attack is actually volatility because one person didn't think highly of you.

On the other hand, if you have 100 votes from other members, vote #101 will have next to no affect on your score.

As more and more votes are cast, the volatility will flatten out. Thus, don't worry about it in the early stages...but have fun watching the swings.

Question: Why does the rating change even while checking it from screen to screen?

Answer: It is likely somebody else is casting a vote for the member at the same time.

Hopefully, this helps clarify this specific issue.

Regards,
George