Amazon.com strives to provide customers with the highest quality customer-contributed content. In order to do so, we attempt to determine the quality of individual pieces of content, and then we display the highest quality content most prominently.

We determine content quality in a number of different ways. For example, we look at what people are saying about it through voting (helpful or not helpful). We also look at who authored the content. If the author has a strong reputation (the product of community feedback about the author's past works), it's likely his or her new work is of high quality. To see some of the community members with the best reputations, take a look at our Top Reviewers list.

Sometimes we have very little information about a piece of content because the author is relatively new and/or because there are few votes on the content. This is where Real Name attributions come in.

A Real Name attribution is a signature based on the name entered by the author as the cardholder name on his or her credit card, i.e. the author represents this name as his/her identity in the "real world." An author willing to sign his or her real-world name on a piece of content is essentially saying "With my real-world identity, I stand by what I have written here." A Real Name attribution therefore establishes credibility much as reputations built over time in the Amazon.com community, and just as high-reputation authors and their works receive badges, authors who use a Real Name attribution receive badges. In the absence of a reputation or helpful/not helpful votes, the presence of a Real Name attribution becomes a data point on where to place the review. People with lots of helpful votes will still be the top-ranked reviewers, even if they choose not to use a Real Name attribution.

Read below for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Real Name attributions:

• Why does Amazon.com encourage me to use my Real Name attribution?
• What is my reputation?
• Where will I see my Real Name attribution?
• How are Real Name attribution options generated?
• What if I don't want to use one of the Real Name attribution options?
• Do I have to use my Real Name attribution?
• Am I penalized for using a Pen Name attribution?
• Can I write anonymous reviews?
• Can I switch between using a Real Name attribution and a Pen Name attribution?
• My name is not capitalized correctly--what can I do?
• I wrote anonymous reviews--what will happen to them if I use a Real Name attribution?
• Are my Real Name attribution, Pen Name attribution, and personalized signature unique?

In general, we believe that a community in which people use their Real Name attributions will ultimately have higher quality content, since an author willing to sign his or her real-world name on a piece of content is essentially saying "With my real-world identity, I stand by what I have written here."

Your reputation is based on the Community's assessment of your activity (e.g. content you have authored) at Amazon.com. Positive votes on your content will improve your reputation. To see some of the community members with the best reputations, take a look at our Top Reviewers list.

Your Real Name attribution will be displayed next to any review that you write (except for reviews you wrote anonymously). It will also be displayed in your Profile associated with your account and with other content you submit, like customer images. When you select a Real Name attribution, we will update your existing non-anonymous reviews with your Real Name attribution.

Real Name attribution options are generated by Amazon.com based on the cardholder names entered for credit cards you have registered with us. If you do not have a credit card on file with Amazon.com, we cannot grant a Real Name attribution to you.

If you do not want to use the Real Name attribution options we provided, you may choose to create a Pen Name attribution.

No. You can use a Pen Name attribution instead.

The use of a Real Name attribution is just one input into a function that much more strongly weights "helpful" votes when votes are available. A top-ranked reviewer who writes great reviews and chooses not to use a Real Name attribution will still be a top-ranked reviewer.

Can I write anonymous reviews?

All your new reviews must be signed with either your Real Name attribution or your Pen Name attribution. Old reviews submitted anonymously will remain anonymous.

You can change the name used to sign your content at any time by going to your Profile and clicking on the button labeled "Edit Real Name" to change your Real Name attribution. If you've selected a Pen Name attribution instead, click on the button labeled "Edit Pen Name". Once you make your selection, we'll change your signature on all of your non-anonymous content (past and future).

Your cardholder name is automatically capitalized by Amazon.com. If you would like to use a name with different capitalization than the options we generated, you may create a Pen Name attribution.

Those reviews will remain anonymous.

Your Real Name attribution, Pen Name, and personalized signature are not guaranteed to be unique.