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What do object ratings mean?

Buildings, structures, and other built objects can be rated on SKYDB by any registered user on a scale of 10 stars. The rating refers to the architectural or aesthetic qualities of the structure, including overall form, detailing, interiors, and architectural functionality. The number of stars assigned to a building is an average of all user ratings. However, buildings with fewer stars may rank higher overall than objects with more stars, because the ranking also credits a larger number of votes. If you rate building designs, please keep the following points in mind:

The rating should have nothing to do with non-design factors, like the service you received in a hotel, or the present condition of the building.
Please be consistent and objective. A building that gets 7 stars in your favorite city should also get 7 stars if the same design were built elsewhere.
The quality of the available photos should be separate from the quality of the building. Photographic quality should not influence building design ratings.

Many users start out with overly generous ratings. The 10 stars are not like a school grading system where only the top 3 ratings are "passing". To achieve a comparable spread across users' tastes, we suggest rating on a bell curve so that most buildings get 4-6 stars, and only a few get 1 or 10. (It may be fair to weight your votes toward the high end of the scale where more excellent buildings are indexed on SKYDB than mediocre and poor designs.) 10 stars: One of your absolute favorite buildings. 9 stars: A very rare work of excellent architecture; highly impressive and close to your favorites. 8 stars: Highly impressive design, possibly worthy of renown. 7 stars: A solid work of good architecture; worthy of note and admiration. 6 stars: Pleasant background architecture, worthy of being preserved. 5 stars: The design is okay, although nothing special. 4 stars: Possibly some merit, just not very much. 3 stars: Not impressive, but not tremendously ugly either. 2 stars: A poor design that strikes you as unpleasant. 1 star: Extremely dislikable; demolition would be an improvement.