Systems and methods for securing online content ratings

A computer-implemented method of determining a relative rating given by a rater for a first item, the method comprising:

• receiving for the rater a rating for the first item, the rater including a user in a social network, the social network including a plurality of nodes and links, a link including a connection between a first node and a second node, the first node including a first user, and the second node including a second user;
• receiving a list of at least one additional item rated by the rater;
• assigning a relative rating to the first item equal to the received rating when the list does not include at least one other item;
• assigning a relative rating to the first item when the list includes at least one other item rated by the rater, the method of assigning a relative rating comprising:
• receiving a rating for each of the other items rated by the rater;
• ordering the items by rating from the lowest rating to the highest rating and assigning each item a number corresponding to the order;
• calculating a transformed rating for the first item including subtracting 0.5 from the order number of the first item and dividing the difference by the total number of ratings in the list;
• when the first item has the same rating as at least one other item, calculating a relative rating for the first item comprising averaging the transformed rating of items that share the same rating;
• and
• when the first item does not have the same rating as at least one other item, assigning a relative rating for the first item equal to the transformed rating for the first item.

A system to determine at least one weighted online content rating, the system comprising:

• a receiving module configured to:
• receive at an operator, an identity of a collector, a list of raters, and a social graph,
• the operator including a gatherer of online ratings,
• the collector including a user in the social graph,
• the list of raters including at least one rater operably connected to the collector through the social graph, the at least one rater including a user who has left an online rating, and
• the social graph including a plurality of nodes and links, a link including a connection between a first node and a second node, the first node including a first user, and the second node including a second user;
• receive for the at least one rater a metric, the metric including a value corresponding to an online rating left by the at least one rater;
• and
• receive a path list for the at least one rater including at least one path from the at least one rater to the collector, a path including a list of nodes and links forming the connection between the at least one rater and the collector;
• and
• a rating module operably connected to the receiving module, configured to:
• determine for the at least one rater a set of non-intersecting paths between the rater and the collector, and for each non-intersecting path, assign a unit capacity value to each link in the at least one non-intersecting path;
• calculate a capacity value for each link across all nonintersecting paths, and determine the link values that are overcapacity, an overcapacity link including a link with a capacity value greater than a unit capacity value;
• normalize path values including overcapacity links in order from the least-overcapacity to the most-overcapacity;
• add the normalized path values for each non-intersecting path corresponding to the at least one rater to determine the at least one rater's weight;
• and
• apply the at least one rater's weight to the at least one rater's rating.

A system configured to determine a relative rating given by a rater for a first item, system comprising:

• a receiving module configured to:
• receive for the rater a rating for the first item, the rater including a user in a social network, the social network including a plurality of nodes and links, a link including a connection between a first node and a second node, the first node including a first user, and the second node including a second user;
• and
• receive a list of at least one additional item rated by the rater;
• and
• a rating module operably connected to the receiving module, configured to:
• assign a relative rating to the first item equal to the received rating when the list does not include at least one other item;
• assign a relative rating to the first item when the list includes at least one other item rated by the rater, the rating module configured to:
• receive a rating for each of the other items rated by the rater;
• order the items by rating from the lowest rating to the highest rating and assigning each item a number corresponding to the order;
• calculate a transformed rating for the first item including subtracting 0.5 from the order number of the first item and dividing the difference by the total number of ratings in the list;
• when the first item has the same rating as at least one other item, calculate a relative rating for the first item including averaging the transformed rating of items that share the same rating;
• and
• when the first item does not have the same rating as at least one other item, assign a relative rating for the first item equal to the transformed rating for the first item.