Frequently Asked Questions
Getting started
What can I rate on RateWave?
Video games, TV shows, and movies. All three work the same way and sit in the same search, watchlist, and profile.
Do I need an account?
Not to browse. You can search the catalog, open any title, and see community scores without signing up. Rating, commenting, watchlisting, following, and having a profile all require an account.
Is RateWave free?
Yes. RateWave is free to use and the core of it always will be. There are no ads right now. Some paid features may be added in the future, but rating, following, and keeping a watchlist will stay free.
I signed up but never got the confirmation email.
Check your spam folder first. Confirmation and reset emails sometimes land there. Confirmation is a 6-digit code you type back into the signup screen, not a link. Each code is valid for about 10 minutes; if yours has expired, request a new one right there and we’ll email a fresh code. You have up to 24 hours from signing up to confirm; after that the pending signup is discarded and you can register again with the same details. Your account isn’t created until you enter a valid code, so you can’t log in before confirming.
My code keeps getting rejected.
After five incorrect codes, confirmation locks for about 15 minutes (the same wait applies to requesting a new code), and then you can try again. Make sure you’re using the most recent code, since requesting a new one replaces the previous one. If the whole signup is more than 24 hours old it has expired for good; just sign up again.
Ratings and comments
How does the rating scale work?
Ten stars, clickable in half-star steps, giving a score from 0.5 to 10.0. There’s no zero: not rating something is different from rating it badly.
Do I have to write a comment?
No. A comment is optional on every rating. If you do write one it’s public and appears on the title’s page under your username.
Can I change or remove a rating later?
Yes, at any time. Editing replaces your old score, and deleting removes the rating and its comment entirely. Both update the community average immediately.
What is the community score?
The simple average of every rating for that title. It appears as soon as one person has rated something, so early scores move a lot.
What’s the difference between the community score and the following score?
The community score averages everyone. The following score averages only the people you follow. If you’ve followed people with taste close to yours, the second number tends to be the more useful one.
My comment or display name was rejected.
RateWave automatically filters comments and display names for language we don’t allow. If a comment is blocked nothing is saved: your score isn’t recorded either, and any rating you had already saved is left exactly as it was; edit the wording and submit again. We don’t quote the specific words back to you. If you think something was caught unfairly, email [email protected].
Watchlist and following
Does the watchlist track what I’ve finished?
No. It’s a flat saved list: no playing, watching, completed, or dropped states. Rating a title and saving it are completely separate actions; you can do either without the other.
Do people have to approve my follow request?
No. Following is one-way and takes effect immediately. The person you follow doesn’t have to follow you back and isn’t asked to approve anything.
How do I find people worth following?
Search for a username, or look at who has rated a title you care about and follow from there.
Browsing and search
Why does search only run when I press Enter?
Because results for all three media types load together. The games provider has a strict request limit that rules out live type-ahead, so searching as you type would make games lag behind film and TV every time. Submitting the whole bar at once keeps results consistent.
You’ll need at least two characters for a search to run.
I can’t find a title. Can I add it manually?
No. The catalog comes entirely from IGDB and TMDB, so if a title isn’t in their databases it won’t appear here. Adult titles are filtered out everywhere on the site.
Why isn’t a highly rated title on the home page’s Top Rated rail?
The Top Rated rail lists titles with the highest community averages. A title only appears there once it has at least 15 ratings, so a single high score can’t push an obscure title to the top. Individual title pages still show a score from the very first rating; the 15-rating minimum applies only to that rail.
Your account
Is there a minimum age?
Yes. You must be at least 16 to create an account, in line with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Can I make my profile private?
No. RateWave is public by design: your username, avatar, ratings, comments, watchlist, and follower counts are visible to anyone, and search engines can index them. There are no private accounts.
Can I change my username?
No, your @username is permanent once your account is created. You can change your display name at any time from Settings, but the handle others use to find you stays the same. Usernames are 3–20 characters using lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores, and some names are reserved.
Can I change my email address?
Not currently. If you need a different address you’d have to delete your account and register again.
What are the avatar and banner requirements?
JPG, PNG, or WebP: avatars up to 2MB, banners up to 4MB.
I forgot my password.
Use the forgotten-password link on the login screen. The reset link is single-use and expires after about an hour. Completing a reset signs you out everywhere, which is deliberate: if someone else had access, they lose it.
How do I delete my account?
From Settings, confirming with your password. Deletion is permanent: your ratings, comments, watchlist, and follows are removed, and your username and email become available for anyone to register again. There’s no undo and no recovery period.
Comments and moderation
Someone posted something they shouldn’t have.
Use the report control on the comment. Reports are reviewed where possible. Depending on what we find, a moderator may warn the user, mute them, remove the comment, remove an avatar, or ban the account.
I got a warning, or I can’t comment anymore.
A warning is a note shown to you on the site that you can dismiss; it’s kept on your account but doesn’t restrict anything on its own and doesn’t automatically lead to further action. A mute stops you from posting new comments or editing existing ones. You can still rate titles, and your existing comments stay up. Neither signs you out.
What happens when an account is banned?
It can no longer sign in and all its comments are hidden from public view.
Something here infringes my copyright.
Email [email protected] with enough detail to identify the content and explain the problem, and it’ll be reviewed. See the Terms of Service for more.
Anything else
Still stuck? Email [email protected].