by Chrystina Trulove-Reyes

Created on: January 16, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2009

The Helium Rating System is fair and it works, but only if Helium's writers and raters contribute equally. The rating system was created for writers by writers. Its duty was to promote the better articles to the top spot in a title. The idea was that with ranks for each article, writers would want to create better work in order to achieve better ranks. Articles that were well formatted, well written, and on topic were to be rated higher than those that were not.

Unfortunately, many of the articles that are being submitted show the author's lack of concern for their work. Too many writers do not check the document for spelling, punctuation, grammar, or even formatting errors before they click the "Publish" button. They are too eager to start earning from that one article. They are even putting articles in topics that have nothing to do with what they have written. In other words, many writers are stepping over the one hundred dollar bill to pick up a ten.

Authors on Helium should be more concerned about becoming better writers. They should also be interested in catching the eye of a publisher who might be browsing through the articles. This means writing good informative articles with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation to the appropriate titles.

Helium is neither a blog nor a forum and yet it is treated as such. This allows for crude writing and basic mistakes. Many of the mistakes that are noticed have to do with formatting. Fixing formatting issues would take only a minute or two of the writers' time.

Writers and raters should view the contents of the Helium like that of a highly respectable magazine. Helium would even be taken more seriously. Publishers of magazines, e-zines, and websites would become more interested. This, in turn, would help writers earn more money from their articles.

The rating system allows people to view other people's articles and give appropriate feedback. Every writer on Helium has the chance to help another writer become better. Every article that is viewed could be someone who is just beginning their career. They may want the slimmest of scraps of encouragement, help, or support to embark on their journey to become a quality writer.

Teens are writing to Helium. What people see in the rating system can encourage or destroy the next generation of writers. The articles on Helium are available for everyone around the world to look at. People in their 90s are looking at these articles. This also means that children can be looking at the Helium articles, too.

The rating system is supposed to be a useful instrument for writers at the same time it is trying to be fair. However, when people click this or that button just to earn a rating star, and therefore money, it will not be given the respect or understanding that is required in order to be fair. Rating just to get a rating star is not going to cut it. Neither will sloppy articles.

To be a writer, you must first learn to read. By reading the articles in the rating system, anyone can have access to many benefits. Any writer can learn new information, get new ideas, and even learn what to, or not to, do in the future to be a success. So, be a writer. Be a success. Rate the articles on the rating system as you would your own. You might just learn something in the process.

Learn more about this author, Chrystina Trulove-Reyes.
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