This page answers common questions people have about Urbis. It is created and edited by Urbis members who have completed at least 60 reviews.
FAQ
Last updated by Steves_SisterGetting Started
Submitting and Editing Items
- How do I upload my first item? Updated!
- How do I edit an item?
- How do I delete an item?
- How can I make my item(s) not visible to the public?
- How can I remain anonymous on my item(s)?
- Does Urbis allow mature content?
- How does Urbis protect my work from being stolen?
Receiving Reviews
- How do I receive reviews?
- How does the Review Queue work?
- How may I choose specific types of reviewers to review my work? New!
- How do I STOP receiving reviews on an item?
- Why are my reviews locked? I can’t even read them.
- What are Urbis credits and what do I do with them?
- Do I need to pay credits for reviews that don’t meet the review guidelines?
- What if I get a review that meets guidelines, but isn’t good?
Submitting Reviews
- How do I make sure I am giving quality reviews?
- What’s with my reviews being removed and refunded?
- What if I disagree with the Review Guardians’ decision that my review didn’t meet the guidelines?
- What’s the difference between a review and a comment?
- Why can’t I choose who I review unless they’re my friend?
- What if I don’t want to review the items in my review queue?
- I have submitted a review, but didn’t get my credits!
Ratings and Rankings
- What are Ratings and Rankings, and how do they work?
- What’s the difference between Ratings and Reviews from Friends and Strangers?
- What if I don’t want the automatic criteria for the ‘Overall’?
- How do I remove or add Ratings criteria after I have already submitted an item?
Friends and Networking
- How do I find and add Friends on Urbis?
- How do I review my friend’s items?
- Why didn’t I get credits for reviewing my friend’s item?
- What if I don’t want to be friends with a member anymore?
- How do I invite other people to Urbis?
Stats
- What is the Review Quality number?
- What is the Comment Follow-up number?
- How does ‘average slant’ work?
Other things you may want to know…
- Can I block another member from messaging or reviewing me?
- How do I delete my Urbis account?
- What if I want to get my account back and return to Urbis?
How to Get Started!
Q: Urbis looks fun! How do I join?
A: Anyone can create an Urbis account here: http://www.urbis.com/signup. You’ll get to select a unique username and create your profile. You can choose to upload a picture or leave the default Urbis logo. Once your profile is set up, you can begin to Submit your first item or Review other members’ items.
Q: I’m new to Urbis, so what if I have questions or trouble?
A: After your account is created you’ll have 1 New Friend request from Steves_Sister. This is Lorrie, Steve’s sister, who is here to help in any way. Add this account to your Friends. Then when you want to ask a question, all you need to do is click on the account, click on “Send a Message” and send your question.
You can reach Lorrie here: Steves_Sister
Submitting and Editing Items
Q: How do I upload my first item?
A. To upload an item, click on “SUBMIT” at the top of the page. Follow these simple steps:
The first step to submit an item is Upload Writing:- Enter the title of your Item
- Select the category of your item
- Enter the “notes for reviewers.” This section is for you to give specific directions to reviewers such as “Please don’t correct grammar, just critique the content.”
- Enter the Item text. This is the actual body of your work. You may type the content directly in or paste from word processing programs. The character limit is approximately 14,000. If you wish to submit an entire book, you should submit each chapter separately. Urbis allows very simple textile formatting for items. To format your item using textile, learn the codes by clicking here.
- The item settings are defaulted to allow the item to be seen on your profile page and be put in to a review queue. For additional settings, check the appropriate boxes for making the item private, anonymous, mature, or turning off reviews. The definitions are along the right side of this page to help guide you.
You may click the Preview link to see how your writing will be displayed and then click on the Save link to proceed.
Next, you can choose to Request Reviewers:- You can select several combinations of Reviewer Stats to get your item reviewed by certain members based on age, gender, review experience and more. If you don’t want to request specific members, click on “skip this step” to proceed.
- If you choose to request specific reviewers, select any combination of options.
- Once you’ve chosen the parameters you’d like, click the “I’m done!” link to proceed. If you get this error message, “WorkGroup Cannot Be Saved. Please widen your constraints.” Then you’ll need to change one or more of the Stats options.
To learn more about this PRO option click here.
Last, Add Rating Criteria:- There will be one automatic rating criterion for the genre you’ve selected that you can keep or remove.
- Add as many rating criteria as you’d like reviewers to rate your item with. An excessive amount may overwhelm a reviewer so most members generally have between 1 and 6 criteria.
- Once you’ve added all the criteria for this item, click on “click here to finish.”
Your items that have a PRO feature will have a pink box with the word “PRO” displayed next to the title of the item. Once an item is made PRO, the feature can’t be changed or removed on that version of the item.
Q: How do I edit an item?
A: After you have submitted your item, it can’t be edited. However, you can create new versions of the item with edits. The reason for this is that once you get reviews of the item, those reviews reflect the version originally posted, not a newly edited version. To create a new version, click “new version” just below the title of the item. All your text from the previous version is there and may be edited and then submitted. You can also click between versions to see the differences/changes. Each version can receive reviews, so if you only want the newest version to get reviews, turn reviews “OFF” on the older ones.
Q: How do I delete an item?
A: To delete one of your items, click on “edit item” under the item’s title. In the panel on the right side, click on the option, “delete this item”. You’ll get a confirmation message to be sure you want to permanently delete the item and its review(s). This will only delete this version and not affect any other versions or reviews.
Q: How can I make my item(s) not visible to the public?
A: To designate an item as private, follow these steps:- Click on the item title in your Dashboard
- Under “edit item settings” click the “Private” box to ON
The item will remain in the review queue and ONLY reviewers may view it. The item will not be visible on your profile page, the public gallery, or be indexed by search engines.
NOTE: You may also check the “Make Private” box when you first submit your item by following step 2 and 3 above from the submit page.
Q: How can I remain anonymous on my item(s)?
A: When an item is marked as anonymous, your username will not show and nobody will know that you created them item.
To make an item as “anonymous,” follow these steps:- Click on the item title in your Dashboard
- Under “edit item settings” click the “Anon” box to ON
NOTE: You may also check the “Publish Anonymously” box when you first submit your item, using the same steps above.
Q: Does Urbis allow mature content?
A: Yes. Urbis allows mature content but relies on members to take responsible measures. When submitting an item with mature content please mark it as mature (steps below). Mature items will not appear in public places or the review queue of any member under 18.
- Click on the item title in your Dashboard
- Under “edit item settings” click the “Mature” box to ON
NOTE: You may also check the “Mark as Mature” box when you first submit your item, using the same steps above.
Q: How does Urbis protect my work from being stolen?
A: Urbis is a registered copyright agent. If you believe that your copyrighted work is being infringed on URBIS.COM, please follow these steps.
Urbis has implemented technology to alleviate concerns of copyright infringement:- You may set your work as private. This prevents the general public from viewing your work.
- Urbis time stamps all work submitted to the site. That time stamp can be linked to the e-mail address you have on file with your account. If an Urbis member copies your work, we may use the time stamp as proof and remove any infringing items.
Receiving Reviews
Q: How do I receive reviews?
A: On Urbis, you can receive hundreds of reviews in one day. How? By giving hundreds of reviews in one day. The more reviews you give, the more you receive. When you submit an item, be sure to keep the default “Allow Reviews” checked, then once the item is submitted it will appear in the queue.
Q: How does the Review Queue work?
A: Urbis places items “most deserving of a review” in the top of the Review Queue. The most deserving items are determined by amount of NET credits a member has. The net credits are the amount of credits in the current balance minus the amount of credits needed to unlock unopened reviews. For example, if Josie has a credit balance of 125 credits, but has an unopened review which will cost her 150 credits to open, she has a NET of -25 credits. You can see how many times your item(s) appear(s) in the Review Queue by keeping the default “Display Review Queue Stats” checked.
Q: How may I choose specific types of reviewers to review my work?
A: When you make an item PRO, you may request specific reviewers based on their stats. To make an existing item PRO, click the “Make PRO” link that appears with the item in your dashboard. To make a new item PRO, complete step 2 of the submission process. As a part of this step, you may request reviewers using the following stats:
Basic Filters:- Relationship – Strangers vs. members in your Friends network
- Gender – choose only one gender or both
- Age Range – select an age range from 13 to 120; keep it wide or narrow it to a specific cohort
- Add any genre of writing on Urbis and define how many reviews the reviewer should have completed and the Review Quality rating you desire
- Add as many genres of experience you prefer the review to have
Once you have defined the reviewer parameters, click “I’m Done” and Urbis will notify the best 25 matches. They will be notified via e-mail and your item will then appear in their Requested review queue.
Your items that have a PRO feature will have a pink box with the word “PRO” displayed next to the title of the item. Once an item is made PRO, the feature can’t be changed or removed on that version of the item. Note: If you don’t want the PRO version active anymore, either delete the version or turn reviews “OFF” and create a new version to save all your reviews.
Q: How do I STOP receiving reviews on an item?
A: To take an item out of the Review Queue:- Click on the item title in your Dashboard
- Under “edit item settings” click the “Reviews” box to OFF.
Q: Why are my reviews locked? I can’t even read them.
A: All reviews are locked until the recipient pays for them with credits. Once you have enough credits to unlock the review, click on the title of the item with a review. Scroll down past the text and you’ll see the reviewer’s avatar next to a “lock icon”. Click on the lock next to the review to unlock it. The review will now be visible to read.
Q: What are Urbis credits and what do I do with them?
A: Urbis uses credits as a currency to balance reviews among members. You earn credits when you review the work of other people and refer friends to the site. You spend credits to unlock the reviews you receive. Credits are calculated using both the length of the item reviewed and the length of the review written. Click here to learn more about credits.
Q: Do I need to pay credits for reviews that don’t meet the review guidelines?
A: All Urbis reviews must meet quality guidelines. Click here to read the Review Guidelines.
If you receive a review that does NOT meet the guidelines, you may submit it to the Review Guardians, who democratically decide whether your review meets the guidelines. The review has to be submitted as inappropriate within one hour of being revealed. To submit a review you believe to be inappropriate, go to ‘request refund’ beneath the review and type a short explanation of why you believe the review doesn’t meet the Review Guidelines. If the review is voted as not meeting the guidelines, you’ll get the credits you paid for it refunded. Either way, you’ll be sent a message notifying you of the decision.
You may not remove a review just because the reviewer did not like your work.
Q: What if I get a review that meets guidelines, but isn’t good?
A: Not all reviews tell us what we want to hear either because the Reviewer didn’t like the item or they didn’t touch on the points you wanted them to. This doesn’t qualify the review for a refund though. You can either add a comment under the review to get more clarification from the Reviewer or message them privately.
Another option is to hide the review. To hide the review, click on the “hide review” link under the review. The item and any comments under it will now be hidden from others. If you want to see it or un-hide it, click on the “hidden” link by the item’s title. Here you’ll see your hidden review(s). If you want to display the review(s) again, click on the “unhide review” link.
Submitting Reviews
Q. How do I make sure I am giving quality reviews?
A: Read the creator’s “notes for reviewers” to follow any special instructions. Be sure to read the entire item thoroughly with the same care you’d want others to give your item. In general it’s helpful to write at least one specific part you like and one specific change you can suggest.
The Ratings criteria are given on a scale from 1-10; 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Be fair and do your best to decide how the item relates to the creator’s criteria.
Q: What’s with my reviews being removed and refunded?
A: Creators may submit a review to Urbis moderators if they feel the reviews do not meet the Guidelines. Each review is read by three Guardians before a decision to keep or remove the review is made. The creator will be notified via message whether the refund was granted or not. The reviewer will only be notified if the item did not meet guidelines.
Q: What if I disagree with the Review Guardians’ decision that my review didn’t meet the guidelines?
A: If a member’s review is refunded to its creator and the member doesn’t agree with the panel’s explanations of refund, the member may contact Urbis’ support account, Steves_Sister. The most effective way to dispute the refund is to simply reply to the message, explaining why you feel the review does not violate the guidelines. This way the Urbis Team can read the review and the explanations to help make a determination.
Q: What’s the difference between a review and a comment?
A: A review begins at the “REVIEW” queue. Through this channel, items are posted anonymously and reviewed objectively among “strangers”. Reviews can also be completed among “friends” by selecting an item from the member’s profile page. All reviews must meet the Review Guidelines and follow the creator’s “reviewer’s notes” if posted. As a member completes and submits a review the member earns credits (click here to see About Credits), subsequently the creator of the item must spend credits to reveal and see the review. A comment may be added to the review after it has been revealed by the creator. The reviewer, the creator and any registered Urbis member may add comments, but will not receive nor spend any credits. While there are no guidelines for comments, members must be in accordance with the Urbis Rules of Conduct.
Q: Why can’t I choose who I review unless they’re my friend?
A: Urbis draws a clear division between reviews from friends and reviews from strangers to assure pure rating data on all items. The ratings are very important to the future of Urbis, which includes the ability for those looking for writers to find precisely what they’re looking for.
Q: What if I don’t want to review the items in my review queue?
A: You can skip items in your review queue if you don’t want to review them. The system will allow each member to skip 20 times per 24-hour period. The “skip it” link is next to all the items listed in your queue and on the item page as well. When you click the link, it removes the item from your queue permanently.
Q: I have submitted a review, but didn’t get my credits!
A: If you reviewed a Friend’s item, you will not receive credits until after that member has revealed your review. If you have any other problems with receiving credits, contact support.
Ratings and Rankings
Q: What are Ratings and Rankings, and how do they work?
A: You may choose to receive ratings on specific criteria created by you and the rest of the community. Example criteria are overall, publishable, grammar, and language. As you search for a criterion, the results will automatically update. If you don’t find the criterion you desire, you may create a new one!
Urbis will automatically rank writings from highest to lowest for each criterion. An item is ranked against others after it has received five reviews from strangers.
Q. What’s the difference between Ratings and Reviews from Friends and Strangers?
A: Urbis divides ratings between those from friends and those from strangers. Friend ratings are given by reviewers in your friends network. Stranger ratings are given by reviewers who find you in the blind review queue.
Q: What if I don’t want the automatic criteria for the “Overall”?
A: When you submit an item, the “Overall” criterion is added by default. This criteria is specific to the item’s genre/category (Overall – Poetry, Overall – Short Story, etc). To remove this criterion during submission, click “remove ranking criterion” under Current Rating & Ranking Criteria on the right side of the screen.
Q: How do I remove or add Ratings criteria after I have already submitted an item?
A: Click on “edit” under the item’s title to get to the edit item view. In the right column under “Writer Dashboard” click on “Add/Remove Rating & Ranking Criteria”.
Friends and Networking
Q: How do I find and add Friends on Urbis?
A: If you are looking for an Urbis member that you already know, you can search for them by their Urbis user name in the top, middle of the Dashboard, using the Search box. If you are seeking new friends, many members see other members they’d like to befriend either through items they have reviewed or by the reviews other members have left for them. You can also browse the gallery, but remember that if you read items from the Gallery, you will not be eligible to review them from Review queue. Once you find another member you like, go to their profile page and click on “Add as Friend”. This sends them a request and if they approve it, they will appear in your Friend’s list. You can check on your requests for friends or others’ request for you to be their friend by clicking on the “People” icon in your Dashboard, and looking at the “Requested” and “Pending” tabs.
Q: How do I review my friend’s items?
A: Instead of going to the Review queue, go to your friend’s profile page. You can select any of their items to review by clicking on the title. To begin the review, click on “Review” in the right column of the page. You can view which items of theirs you have already reviewed as well as which items of yours they have reviewed by going to the Friends view. Click on the “People” icon in your Dashboard, then click on “Reviews” under the friend you want to view.
Q: Why didn’t I get credits for reviewing my friend’s item?
A: You will receive the credits in your ledger after they unlock the review.
Q: What if I don’t want to be friends with a member anymore?
A: You can “unfriend” a member by clicking on the “People” icon in your Dashboard. This view will display all your friends with an option to “unfriend” each one under their avatar.
Q: How do I invite other people to Urbis?
A: There are several ways to invite other people to join Urbis, and you can get hundreds of credits for doing so! Start by clicking on the “Invite” link at the top of any page. On the invite page you can choose from four different formats for sending out invites:- Enter your URL anywhere and everywhere. When ANYONE clicks on it and signs up, you are marked as referring them!
- Log into your e-mail address book and choose anyone to invite. It takes less than a minute to invite all your friends.
- Import your off-line address book.
- Enter e-mail addresses manually.
Once your friends join Urbis, you can share your work with them, exchange critiques, and most importantly you’ll earn 5% of all the credits they earn!
Stats
Q: What is the Review Quality number?
A: Your review quality is based on how other Urbis members have rated your reviews of their items. After your review is revealed by the item’s creator, they are given the chance to rate if your review was helpful or not, based on the Review Guidelines, the reviewer’s notes and the creator’s perception of the review. The percentage is calculated by the ratio of helpful to unhelpful votes. If you have 9 helpful votes and 1 unhelpful vote, your Helpful Rating would be 90%. This rating is used by other members to gauge your ability to provide quality reviews since the review queue is anonymous and therefore most members are reviewing strangers.
Q: What is the Comment Follow-up number?
A: This number shows how often a member engages in the discussion of an item as a follow-up of their review. Once a member submits a review and the review is revealed, the creator and the reviewer can discuss the content, the review or other aspects of the item. This exchange is considered “workshopping” which adds to the value of creator-reviewer relationship in terms of improving the item and networking. Therefore Urbis tracks this rating so others can determine if another member is an active participant.
A member’s comment follow-up number only increases when they follow-up on items they have reviewed. Commenting on their own items does not affect this number.
Q: How does “average slant” work?
A: The average slant is a calculated rating based on each member’s individual record of what rating they give to their reviews, compared to others’ rating given to the item. If a member consistently rates items much lower or higher than the average, their average slant compensates for that. These ratings, called algoratings, are weighted to provide a true reflection of the community’s opinion of the item. Additionally the member can see for themselves if they are rating items higher or lower than others.
Other things you may want to know…
Q: Can I block another member from messaging or reviewing me?
A: Yes. From the member’s profile page, click on the “Block User” button. After you have blocked a member, they will no longer be able to message you, comment on or review your items, and their items will not appear in your review queue. If you later choose to unblock the member, simply go to their profile page and click “Un-block User”.
Q: How do I delete my Urbis account?
A: Click on “settings” and scroll down past your personal information. Here you’ll see the “Deactivate account” button. Once you click the button you will get one last prompt to confirm. If you confirm, your account will be permanently deactivated. Should you decide to return, please understand that the email address you used for the deactivated account is on file and will not be accepted for the new account—you’ll have to use another one. This helps keep people from creating multiple accounts.
Q: What if I want to get my account back and return to Urbis?
A: No problem, you just need to send a message to Steves_Sister and she can reactivate your account.
Frequently Asked Questions