From: IN%"unicorn@schloss.li" "Black Unicorn" 14-APR-1996 00:37:25.93
I tend to disagree. Ratings are generally consumed by parents and otherwise custodial entities. The largest and richest market anywhere has always been the 18-25 range, or 18-30 depending on who you talk to. I don't have figures, but I think that internet users probably prodominantely fall into 18-25/18-30. This age group generally could care less. It's much easier to search by subject or key word than by paying attention to ratings in any event. There is no real market for ratings. If there were a strong market incentive for it, there would be no need for government intervention, which there clearly is. Sure some schools will purchase the services, maybe some parents, but this is a long leap from major market and industry making entities.
I'm not sure if the major use for ratings may not be searching for material that the raters don't like. I'd be interested in many things the fundys don't like, for instance. One could even do this via one of the "services" that mails out listings of places to be locked from kids - just sign up one of your anonymous employees, and get the data and put it on your anonymous web access site. Doing so - if you don't admit you've done it - may be cheaper than doing the research yourself. Of course, you'll need to check out each such site to make sure that it isn't a decoy that they've inserted. -Allen