hi Caravan1
I'm not sure i understand your problem with the five stars..
Much like youtube or other sites with voting, you can vote someone between 1 and 5. For example I just gave you a '3' (neutral). I can change that to go higher or lower depending on how I feel at the moment.. it's fluid.
The whole point of 'ratings' and 'Points' is to add some accountability and reputation to us all.. if you act in a negative manner (based on the majority of members voting here), you'll likely get a lower rating, which will impact your points and ultimately the rank and functionality offered to you on these boards.
I agree that the Preview needs to be fixed up and I believe this has been forwarded to the Agoracom team.
Here's hoping this week will be a good one.