what do the stars adjacent to post symbolise?

I have noticed many posts have these stars beside? Why do some have them and others not?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zilch

You can rate a thread from 1 to 5 star depending on how much you like it but in reality its a load of pony poo coz they are really rating the op.
Ya know the kind of peeps I'm talking about :)

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ok, thanks, I know what you mean.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zilch

Ps. Ya do know ya can rate ya own thread aswell . How feckin awesome is that hey.:rolleyes:

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ok I am beginning to explore the tabs here, I see the rating tab now. And they say power corrupts? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KevinACE

ok I am beginning to explore the tabs here, I see the rating tab now. And they say power corrupts? :)

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Power boils the kettle and keeps the lights on, greed corrupts:)

They symbolise all that is wrong with this forum.