Why should I become a registered user?
Registered users can participate in the discussion forums and give performers a star rating, indicating how good or bad they think they are. In the coming months further features will become available for registered users.

Do I have to register?
No. If you only want to view the site then you don't have to register. But if you want to contribute interactively (in the discussion area, or rating performers) you will need to register with us.

Will I receive spam email from you if I register?
No. We hate spam email as much as everybody else. However, if you publicise your email address (in the discussion area, for instance), we can't guarantee that another person or a harvester robot won't find that post and include your email address in a list somewhere.

If I log in, do I need to log out when I've finished?
No. If you don't log out, your computer will remember your userid for you. Next time you visit us, you won't need to enter your userid. You may be asked for your password if you try to do something which requires your identity to be confirmed (rating a performer, for instance).

What area do you cover?
At the moment Mr Gig covers the East Kent area. Our "patch" currently includes all of the CT postcode area plus some of the TN and ME postcode areas. We include Romney Marsh, Tenterden, Ashford, Maidstone and Medway. We currently don't extend to Gravesend, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Cranbrook or Rye.

How reliable are the star ratings?
The star ratings can never be totally reliable because there are some people who try to use various means to increase their own band's rating, or decrease the rating of another band. We have several mechanisms in place to minimise the effects of vote rigging, but we will never completely eliminate it. As a rough rule of thumb, the more votes a performer has, the more reliable the score is likely to be.

I'm a registered user but I don't get the option to rate a performer. Why?
If you have already rated that performer, this should be indicated by the words "Your rating", followed by either the number of stars you gave, or "Show me" if you haven't logged in. Once you rate a performer, you cannot change your rating for 28 days.

How can I change my rating for a performer?
If you have previously voted for a performer, you should see a "Change my rating" option below the stars. This option will not appear if you rated that performer (or changed your rating) within the last 28 days.

I've voted for a performer but they still don't have any stars against their rating. Why?
The stars are not shown for a performer until at least five votes have been received for them. We only include ratings from users who have visited our website at least once in the last nine months. This means that the ratings reflect the views of users who are using the site now, rather than users who were visiting last year, and also allows older "rigged votes" to be removed from the system.

When I search for gigs, what do the arrows in the right-hand column mean?
They are compass arrows, showing the direction of the venue relative to where you're searching from.