1) You can give rating points on questions and on answers. - positive rating: if helpful (or interesting) - negative rating: if not helpful (or not interesting) Some people give also negative points because the question or answer hurts their feeling. The number of points that you can give in a particular rating grows with your level. Look on your profile page under "my ratings" For instance, at the moment, I can give up to 3 positive points for a question or for an answer that I consider to be useful. And up to 2 negative points for questions or answers which I consider not useful. The ratings are given anonymously. However, you could mention your rating in a comment. 2) to choose a particular number of points for your rating, just go with the mouse over the "+" or "-" sign. A scale appears where you can click on the number of points that you want to give. If you just click on the "+" or "-" sign, the maximal number will be given. 3) Every time that your questions and answers are positively rated, your points number increases. Negative rating do not decrease your points. They will just decrease the percentage of positive rating which is indicated in the last column of your profile's "my points" table. 4) incidentally, you can also get positive or negative points if you flag a question or an answer. The AB moderators will review your flagging and take a decision.