"RATE POST" HELP

[ImyManz]

Hi, I'm trying to get a "rate user post" function operating, I'm a noob so I have a long way to go still, lol. Anyways, right now on my forum, when you view somebody's post, I have a drop-list menu that allows you to choose a rating, and there is a submit button beside it. That's it so far.

So right now I am trying to understand the "programming logic" of what to do from here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's what I think I need to do:

1) Create a table in the database called "user rating", that will be included in each user record.

2) I have to implement some code when somebody clicks the "submit" button so that the user's rating in the data is changed.

3) I need to implement some code that logs the persons ISP address so that he doesn't rate a post twice, or rate his own post.

Am I right so far? Does anybody know any hacks about rating individual posts?

Thanks in advance!

-Imy Manz