How our creator rankings work
Creators are ranked by the number of upvotes they have received. The creator with the most votes appears first, and the rest follow in descending order. We assign no scores or ratings of our own, and placement cannot be bought.
The ranking method we use is called approval voting. You vote for as many creators as you want, and the ones with the most approvals rise to the top. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes it this way: each voter picks any set of candidates they approve of, and whoever collects the most approvals wins.
This is not a method we invented. Steven Brams and Peter Fishburn described approval voting in a 1978 paper in the American Political Science Review, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission lists it as one of the alternative voting methods used in the country. Big organizations use it: in 1987 and 1988, four scientific and engineering societies with roughly 350,000 members between them switched to approval voting to elect their leaders.
How you vote
Vote for as many creators as you like. There is no cap. If you enjoy five creators, you can back all five, and none of those votes takes anything away from the others. You never have to pick between two people you both like.
The one rule is timing. Once you vote for a creator, you wait 30 days before you can vote for that same creator again.
Why upvotes only
There are no downvotes. Nobody can take a vote away from a creator, so a creator's vote count only ever goes up.
Positions are still relative, though. If a creator behind you gains enough votes, they pass you and you move down a spot. What changed is not your support but theirs. To climb, a creator has to win people over, not tear anyone else down.
So a low spot is not a judgment. It only means fewer votes so far, and that can change as soon as more people show up.
How we keep votes fair
Vote-padding is the obvious way to break a list like this, so we check every vote against IP address and browser cookie. Try to vote twice for the same creator inside 30 days and the second vote does not count.
Regulators are tightening up here as well. The FTC's rule against fake reviews and bought follower counts took effect on October 21, 2024, with fines reaching $51,744 per violation (FTC).
How a creator gets on the list
Anyone can suggest a creator through our submission form. New names start at zero votes and climb only on the support they earn. There is no head start and no reserved spot.
Sources
- Eric Pacuit, "Voting Methods," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: plato.stanford.edu
- Steven J. Brams and Peter C. Fishburn, "Approval Voting," American Political Science Review 72(3), 1978, pp. 831–847: cambridge.org
- Steven J. Brams and Peter C. Fishburn, "Approval voting in scientific and engineering societies," Group Decision and Negotiation: link.springer.com
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission, "Alternative Voting Methods in the United States": eac.gov
- Federal Trade Commission, "Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials," 2024: ftc.gov