What should a publisher consider before self-rating?
Web site publishers must decide which (if any) ratings systems to use. Since each ratings system requires a separate valuation process, and separate modifications to web pages, it may not be practical for web-site publishers to use all of the popularly available ratings. In evaluating ratings systems, publishers may want to examine the categories used by each system and the distinctions used by those categories. Different systems will classify ratings systems in different ways, some of which may misrepresent the content of web sites. For example, sites discussing safe sex might not want to be placed in the same category with pornographic sites. Web site publishers might also consider the popularity of the ratings services. There are only a few major ratings services. Publishers are free to user other ratings, but these may not be useful to the Internet users who rely upon the popular systems. This presents a dilemma for some publishers, who can either accept the ratings of the popular
