Allowing guest users to review websites listed in my directory.

what's the common practice?

[fischermx]

I am writing my own directory software and I'm now in the part related to write reviews for the website listed. I'm in the dilemma whether I should or should not allow guests to write reviews or should I allow this just for registered users?
In one side, I think allowing guest to write will encourage feed back, but it will also encourage spam as well. On the otherside having everybody to signup just to write some words seems like a lot of maintainance work.
What do you think?

[mister charlie]

personally, i wouldn't allow anonymous users to provide reviews, as it is ripe for unethical activity. could you provide some type of incentive for them to sign-up and review? enhanced features, cheap giveaways.

maybe a drawing at the end of each month for each person who signs up and writes a review?

[Rosalind]

The "rate this site" feature on directories is one of the least useful and most abused features you could have. Even if you demand signup, don't expect honesty.

By including a site, the directory owner is already saying "this site is worth a look". Really that's all you need.

[incrediBILL]

Webmasters will game the hell out of your system whether it's anon or registered.

I used to have "rate the site" and although I had some protection in place to thwart abuse a couple of webmasters were managing to get thousands of ratings for their sites.

When I caught them I sent them to a penalty box with a permanent 0 rating based in 9,999,999 submitted ratings, but eventually I shut it off as useless as they would submit something new and try to be even more clever about bumping their ratings.

Total headache.

[dataguy]

It is a total headache, but if done right it can add real value to your web site.

How about requiring something from everyone who performs a rating? Such as requiring them to have a listing of their own and their web site will be rated by as many listing owners as they rate themselves. In other words, kind of like a traffic exchange where you let people have their listing rated by x number of people after they rate x number of listings themselves. This is much harder to game and it build more of a commitment and a sense of community.