How votes are counted
The toplist is ranked by votes, and only by votes. Here is what that means, and what we do so that a server cannot climb it by cheating.
One vote, every 12 hours
You can vote for a server once every 12 hours. Vote for a different server and you have that vote for each of them. A vote counts towards the server's total for the current month, and the rankings start again on the 1st of every month (UTC).
Checks on every vote
Every vote starts with a short picture question, so a script cannot vote for you. After that we check the vote itself: whether it comes from a person on their own connection, whether the same visitor already voted, and whether it comes through a VPN or proxy. A vote that does not pass is not counted.
We do not publish the limits or say which check caught a vote. If we did, it would only teach people how to get around them. For the same reason a server owner sees who voted, but never whether a particular vote counted.
Rewards come from the server
Many servers thank their voters with something in the game. The server decides what and gives it out itself; RuneList only tells the server that you voted. If a server promises a reward and does not deliver, tell the server first, and use the report link on its page if it keeps happening.
Ranking cannot be bought
Advertising is sold in clearly labelled spots. A sponsored server still has exactly the votes and the rank it earned: paying for a spot does not add a single vote. Player reviews and star ratings are separate from votes too: they never add or remove a vote and never change a rank.
When a server cheats
We watch the toplist for servers whose votes do not look like real players, for example a jump that a server's real audience could not explain. When we find vote manipulation we can take the votes away, and reset the server's count for the month. A server whose votes were reset shows a short note on its page saying so. Serious or repeated cases are unlisted.
Players online
The player count on the list is an estimate worked out from a server's recent votes, unless the server reports its own live count. It says so when you hover over it. It is a guide to how busy a server is, not an exact number.
See something wrong?
Every server page has a Report this server link for signed-in members: scams, bought votes, copies of another server. Reports go to our team, and we do not tell the server who reported it. Server owners can also read how vote callbacks and signatures work to keep their own rewards safe.