New Delhi . Nowadays, before watching any movie or web series, most of the people check its IMDb rating. This rating given on a scale of 1 to 10 is considered trustworthy across the world. But is it just a simple average? Is fraud not possible here? Actually, IMDb’s rating system is quite complex and technical, which has been specifically designed to protect against tampering.
What is IMDb rating?
When you type IMDb along with the name of a movie on Google, a page opens which shows the movie’s cast, story, release date and its rating at the top. This rating is not just a simple average of total votes, but a special mathematical formula works behind it. This is the reason why this platform is considered reliable for films as well as web series and TV shows.
What is weighted average system?
IMDb is the world’s largest online movie database, where millions of users give their ratings. But here every vote does not have the same value. The company uses a “weighted average” system. This means that while rating a movie, every user’s vote is not given equal importance.
Users who are active for a long time, rate movies regularly and whose profiles are considered trustworthy, their votes get more weightage. At the same time, the impact of votes of users with new accounts or suspicious activity is less. With this, no person can influence the system by creating a fake account just to promote or damage a film.
How are fake votes and spam prevented?
Many times, as soon as big films are released, an attempt is made to deliberately impress them with a flood of 1/10 or 10/10. IMDb’s algorithm detects such “outliers,” or unusual voting patterns. If the system thinks a rating is unnatural or part of a campaign, its impact on the final score is greatly reduced.
This means that even if thousands of fake accounts suddenly start giving 10/10 to a film, its impact will be limited. This is why IMDb ratings appear stable and balanced over time.
How is the list of top 250 films made?
A different and more complex formula is used to list IMDb’s Top 250 Movies, called a “Bayesian Estimate.” Only the votes of those users who are considered regular and reliable voters are included in it. Besides, a minimum limit of votes is also fixed for a film. This is why sometimes even after getting thousands of votes, the ranking of a film changes or it gets dropped from the list.
Why is it considered reliable?
IMDb’s transparent system, advanced algorithm and weighted voting model make it trustworthy. Although no system can be completely perfect, filters have been installed at several levels to keep fraud to a minimum. This is the reason why cinema lovers around the world still get their first idea of the quality of a film from its IMDb rating.
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