SmallNetBuilder

Even though I didn't receive a lot of feedback in response to my call for comment [Adding User Ratings and Comments], I've decided to add the ability for anyone to rate and comment on any product we've reviewed anyway.

You'll now see a User Rating summary box at the top of each review. If no reviews have been posted for the product yet, you'll see the box shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: User Rating box with no reviews yet

If reviews have been added for the product, you'll see a ratings summary as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: User Rating box with reviews

You don't need to be registered to post a review. All you do is click on the link in the top box to go to the bottom of the page, where the reviews are found. Figure 3 shows a dummy review and ratings.

Figure 3: An example review

If you are a registered user, you'll be ranked by how often you rate products and readers will be able to read all your ratings. Note that there is also a link to report spam.

Clicking the Add your rating or comment button, slides down the review entry form shown in Figure 4. If you're a registered user, your review will post without being held for moderation. If you're not registered, you'll just need to provide a name and your review will be posted after it gets a spam check.

Figure 4: Review entry form

Since we already have the Forums for discussions and questions, there is only one post allowed per visitor. And, of course, if you post spam, you'll be banned from further posting.

Once we get enough reviews posted, I'll be adding a page where you can see top-ranked products and other ways to make it easy to browse reviews.

I hope everyone will contribute reviews or just rate products based on their experiences. It takes only a moment and will greatly help your fellow SmallNetBuilder readers! If you have problems or suggestions with this new feature, just drop me a line or post in the Forums via the link below. Happy reviewing!

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