Google Answers: Alternatives to IMDB's formula     IMDB uses this famous formula: weighted rank (WR) = (v (v+m)) R + (m (v+m)) C where: R = average for the movie (mean) = (Rating) v = number of votes for the movie = (votes) m = minimum votes required to be listed in the Top 250 (currently 1250) C = the mean vote across the whole report (currently 6.8) This formula is exceedingly useful, but I have beef with the "m" variable, because it's arbitrary. As far as I can tell, the other three variables should be enough to calculate what score a movie would have if it had a quadrillion votes. So why is this "m" nonsense thrown in, and is there any formula that avoids it?     http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/507508.html     tags: imdb rating starts votes