Helium’s Star Members

Every day, writers share their passion for topics from pet care to personal finance in articles they publish on Helium. In turn, this same writing community uses a simple yet effective rating process to determine the best content, whether there are 5 or 500 articles on a topic.

Throughout Helium, excellence counts and quality rises to the top!

At the center of Helium is its community of members. And now, in addition to writing and rating, the community recognizes its most active and talented members.

When you see stars next to a writer’s name on Helium, you’ll know that member has achieved special recognition from his or her peers.

Star status is awarded for writing and for rating. Here’s how it works:

Writing Star Status

In the stratosphere. These writers have written a total of 500 or more Helium articles, which rank on average in the top quarter.

Above the clouds. These writers have written a total of 300 to 499 Helium articles, which rank on average in the top quarter.

Above the treetops. These writers have written a total of 100 to 299 articles, which rank on average in the top quarter.

Rising nicely. These writers have written a total of 30 to 99 Helium articles, which rank on average in the top quarter.

Achieving lift-off. These writers have written a total of 4 to 29 Helium articles, which rank on average in the top quarter.

Rating Star Status

Rating is a private affair on Helium, but we can track members’ voting profiles in relation to the rest of the community. Scoring for recognition stars for rating is determined by the quality of rating.

Awesome. These members have consistently high rating quality, and they have completed more than 500 rates in the last 90 days.

Fabulous. These members have consistently high rating quality, and they have completed from 300 to 499 rates in the last 90 days.

Superb. These members have consistently high rating quality, and they have completed from 200 to 299 rates in the last 90 days.

Really good. These members have consistently high rating quality, and they have completed from 100 to 199 rates in the last 90 days.

Admirable. These members have consistently high rating quality, and they have completed from 40 to 99 rates in the last 90 days.

Important notes on earning writing and rating stars

At Helium, there are some important benchmarks that must be met before you can start earning writing and rating stars.

1. For writing stars, at least 25% percent of your articles must be in “competitive titles.” A title becomes competitive when it has three or more articles written to it.

Example: If you wrote 100 articles and 76 were in titles that had fewer than three articles written to them, you wouldn’t qualify for three writing stars. If one of those 76 titles becomes competitive so that 25 of your articles are in competitive titles, all of your articles would qualify for writing stars.

2. For writing stars, we don’t count the lowest-ranked 10% of your articles. So, to receive a star, the top ranked 90% of your articles must have an average rank that is at or above the 75th percentile. Even better, when your average rank is at or above the 85th percentile, you will receive a bonus star on the first 4 member recognition levels. That means that you can earn up to five stars by meeting only the four-star article number requirement (you can’t earn more than five stars, though).

3. To earn rating stars, you must complete a certain number of rates within the last 90 days. To earn writing stars, you must have a certain quantity of articles written on Helium. The more you rate or the more articles you have written, the more stars you are eligible to earn. (Refer back to the star charts for more details.)

A look at rating percentages

Many members have asked about rating percentages and where that stacks up against the number of rates they have performed. This handy chart should outline how many ratings you need to make and what percentage of quality rates you need to qualify for each star.

Rates
40-99	75	85
100-199	73	75	85
200-299	71	73	75	85
300-499	69	71	73	75	85
500 +	67	69	71	73	75

Losing stars

Be careful - you can also lose stars! If your percentile declines, you won’t lose all your stars at once. That’s harsh! Based on a statistical (bell) curve, your stars will decrease as your ranking percentile declines. So, if the number of your articles rated above the 75th percentile goes down, your stars will gradually wink out as that percentile declines.

How can I become a Star Member or get more stars?

It doesn’t take much to get into the game. You only need a minimum of four of your best quality articles. If you’re trying and still not rising high enough, here are some suggestions:

Leapfrog. You can post an improved version of your article. For details, consult “How to edit your articles using Leapfrog” in the User Guide.

Typo Fix. Maybe a couple of teensy flaws are holding you back. Drop a note to the Content & Community Team with the subject line “Typo Fix.” Include the URL of your article and specifics about what you’d like fixed (limit of three typo fixes per article, please!).

Members Feedback Forum. Ask your fellow writers on the Community boards. Fun and supportive.

Writers Workshop. Also on our Community boards, here you’ll find lots of resources and helpful answers.

Mentor@Helium.com. Need one-on-one advice? We can set you up with a Helium Star Member who can work with you privately. Just drop a note to Mentor@Helium.com with specifics such as URLs and what’s troubling you.