I said it from the start that I'm not a big fan of the rating system but I can see that it might have some uses. Not the way it is, though. I think the anonymity is the first thing that needs to change. Knowing that their votes are going to be recorded and visible is going to make some people rethink the ease with which they -1 certain people or posts without obvious reason. We should also be able to see the number of all the positive and negative ratings one post gets (like -3, +5) so we have a better picture of what people actually think about it. I also second Silverstar. There should be a way to explain why one gives a rating, positive or negative.