# Review platform glossary: verified, gating, imported and more

*Updated 2026-11-13 · https://roovello.com/guides/review-terms-glossary*

These are the terms you will see on RooVello profiles and in most discussions of online reviews, defined the way the platform actually uses them. Where a term has a legal meaning in the United States, the FTC's 2024 review rule, that is noted.

## Labels on a review

- Collection method: how the review came to exist. Organic (the reviewer came on their own), Invited (the business sent a request), Imported (the business uploaded its own export from another platform).
- Verification status: Verified customer (tied to a real transaction), Unverified (no evidence either way), Verification pending (proof has been requested).
- Incentivized: the reviewer was offered something for writing a review, regardless of its content. Must be disclosed; counts at 0.8 weight.
- Insider: the reviewer works for or owns the business, detected here by an email on the business's own domain. Excluded from scores.
- Pending tag: a visible "verification pending" marker on a published review while we wait for proof of purchase.

## Scores

- Overall score: the Bayesian recency-weighted average of all counted reviews, 1.0 to 5.0.
- Verified-only score: the same formula using only verified reviews.
- Prior: the seven imaginary reviews at 3.5 that every business starts with, so a single review cannot define it.
- Half-life: the 90 days after which a review's weight halves.
- Provisional: a business with fewer than three counted reviews, listed without a rank.
- Label: the word attached to a score range, from Bad (1.0 to 1.7) to Excellent (4.3 to 5.0).

## Moderation

- Risk score: a 0 to 1 number from a rules engine and an automated text check that decides whether a new review publishes, publishes with a pending tag, is held for a moderator, or is not published.
- Flag (report): a reader's or business's request that a moderator look at a review, with a stated reason. A flagged review stays visible and stops counting until it is resolved.
- Reason code: the recorded, public reason for every removal: auto_risk, spam, conflict_of_interest, harassment, not_a_customer, duplicate, legal or other.
- Appeal: the one chance a reviewer has to ask a human moderator to reverse a removal.
- Soft delete: a removed review is hidden, not erased; its history stays in the record.
- Review version: every edit to a review creates a new version; the old text is kept.

## Practices

- Review gating: asking only customers you expect to be happy, or screening customers before sending them to a public review site. Prohibited here and under the FTC rule.
- Review bombing: a coordinated burst of reviews, usually negative, often unrelated to a customer experience. Triggers a seven-day hold from the score.
- Astroturfing: fake grassroots praise, including reviews written by the business, its staff or paid writers.
- Non-disparagement clause: contract language that penalizes a customer for leaving an honest negative review. Void in form contracts under the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016.
- Open platform: anyone can review any business. Closed platform: only invited customers can.

## Frequently asked

### What is the difference between an invited review and an incentivized review?

An invited review was requested by the business, with nothing offered in return; it is normal and labeled as invited. An incentivized review was rewarded (a discount, a gift card, an entry in a drawing) regardless of what it said. Incentives must be disclosed and the review counts at reduced weight.

### What does a reason code look like?

A short fixed label stored with the removal, for example auto_risk when automated checks rated a new review high-risk, or conflict_of_interest when the writer turned out to be a competitor or former employee. The code is shown to the reviewer and recorded in the audit log.

### Is "not recommended" on Yelp the same as removed?

No. Yelp's not-recommended reviews are still readable through a link on the listing but are not counted in the rating. A removed review is not public at all.

## Related

- https://roovello.com/guides/what-is-a-verified-review
- https://roovello.com/guides/how-review-scores-are-calculated
- https://roovello.com/guides/review-gating-explained
- https://roovello.com/trust