A system and method are provided for rating online electronic content. A compilation of information or other item of electronic content is presented to a user, along with comments. The comments may target discrete portions of the content item (e.g., a sentence, a statement, an assertion), the content as a whole, or another comment. A user is able to identify a specific portion of the content item as a target for a new comment, which will automatically be associated with that portion. Users may rate the content item, a portion of the item and/or other users' comments based on credibility and/or other traits (e.g., bias, accuracy, violence, enjoyability, prurience). Users' ratings are tallied to produce an overall rating for comments, commentators, portions of content item, entire content items, a program or series or other source of the content item, etc.