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Or using a backend weighting system for computing total score for a location.

Low weights: new users, numerous reviews (spamming), low rated reviews

High weights: older users, high rated reviews

Yelp actually does have an algorithm for computing the final star rating. It is not a simple average across all ratings. It takes contributor status on Yelp, age of review and other signals into account before the final score is published. You can, of course, dig into the rating distribution to see the spread between 1 and 5 but I doubt that most users go that far.

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