How ratings work
A profile on SideEvents carries three separate things: how it answers requests, the agreements it kept, and what the other side said in reviews. Nobody can buy, edit or hide any of them.
What is a reply-by time?
Every request opens a clock on the person who has to answer it. The reply-by time is when that clock runs out. It is shown as an absolute time in your time zone, never only as a countdown, and reminders arrive at half and at nine tenths of the window.
How long does each request give you?
| Request | Who answers | Window |
|---|---|---|
| An invitation | The provider | 48 hours |
| An application | The host | 72 hours |
| A message | Whoever received it | 24 hours |
| An offer or counter-offer | Whoever received it | 72 hours, never past the offer’s validity |
| A review | Both sides, after the event | 14 days |
With 14 days or fewer to the event, every window but the review’s is halved; with 3 days or fewer, quartered. A shortened window is never under 2 hours. The app shows the exact reply-by before a request is sent.
What counts as on time, late and missed?
- On time: answered before the reply-by time. A yes and a no count the same.
- Late: answered after it, during a grace period as long as the original window. The request is still alive.
- Missed: no answer by the end of grace. An invitation or application then lapses.
- Waived: closed without fault, for example withdrawn by the sender, or closed because the need was filled. It counts for nobody.
Messages carry a clock only while the two sides are still talking; once there is an agreement, they do not.
How is the reply rate worked out?
Over the last 90 days, from invitations, applications, messages and offers, leaving out waived ones:
reply rate = (on time + half of late) ÷ (on time + late + missed)
The typical reply time is the median time to answer, on time or late. A profile shows them as one sentence, for example “Replies to 94% of requests, typically within 3 hours.” Below 5 counted requests it says “New, no reply record yet”, and search treats it as the median so newcomers are neither punished nor boosted.
Search ranks with a responsiveness score from 0 to 100: 75% the reply rate (smoothed towards the platform median with a weight of 5 requests) and 25% speed, the share of each window left when the answer came, averaged over the kinds of request.
What does the record of agreements show?
Plain facts over the last 12 months: agreements completed and agreements this side cancelled. For hosts, also campaigns completed and campaigns cancelled after an agreement existed. A cancellation is recorded on whoever cancelled.
How do reviews work?
After the event, or after an agreement is cancelled, each side has 14 days to review the other: one overall rating from 1 to 5, optional ratings for the details, and a text. Reviews are sealed until both are in or the 14 days end; then both publish at the same moment. The reviewed side can reply once, in public. A profile shows an average from 3 reviews; before that, the reviews are listed without one. Only an admin can remove a review, for a rule breach, and the removal is logged.
Can I go quiet without it counting?
Mark yourself away and no new invitations or applications can be sent to you. Clocks that already started keep running, and away time is capped at 30 days in any 90.