How Icon Listing rankings and moderation work
Understand player counts, votes, review scores, community highlights, sponsored placement, and listing corrections on Icon Listing.
What the default order measures
The current ranking score combines reported players (weight 1) and recorded server votes (weight 8). A review average strictly above 3.5 receives an additional score based on the average (weight 12) and up to 50 reviews. Ratings at or below 3.5 remain visible but do not add or subtract ranking points. A high position reflects these signals, not a staff test of the server or a guarantee of safety.
Advertising and community highlights
Sponsored servers receive a large placement boost and are labelled as sponsored. The winner of the previous weekly community poll receives a smaller community-highlight boost. These are separate from daily server votes. The leaderboard also offers ways to compare votes, players, and reviews without treating a promotional position as a review score.
A status check has limits
Online status, player count, and reported version come from Minecraft status checks. The last ping time is the best indication of how recent the displayed observation is. A proxy may report players across a network, and a sleeping host may answer differently from the playable world behind it. Counts are not an independent measurement of unique active people. If a result looks wrong, compare the listed host and port with a direct connection before reporting it.
Different counters answer different questions
Server votes record support for a listing. Monthly voter boards show votes in their displayed period and should not be read as an all-time traffic total. Website visits, listing views, and IP-copy activity are separate measurements. Unique-IP statistics can group people on a shared connection and can count a person again after their network address changes. They are not an exact audience count or a promise of new players.
What owners and players contribute
Server descriptions and external links are supplied by owners. They are not automatically endorsed by Icon Listing. Players can submit a star rating with a short comment, owners can reply, and admins can remove reviews. Automated word filters can catch some abuse, but cannot establish whether every claim is true. Report suspected copied content, misleading connection details, or abusive reviews through the contact page with the specific listing and reason.
Corrections and temporary suspension
Admins can edit listings and request changes. A suspended listing remains in its owner's dashboard but is excluded from the public directory. The owner must edit and resubmit it; an admin then approves or requests further corrections. Normal new listings that pass the automated checks publish without this manual queue. This distinction lets routine submissions appear promptly while reported listings receive closer attention.
How to interpret a recommendation
Use ranking as a starting point. Match your edition, read the rules, check when the status was observed, and look for concrete player feedback. No score can tell you whether a community fits your preferred play style. Contact us when the directory has incorrect information; include the listing URL and the correction you believe is needed.