You know, there's a couple of things I'd like to say about this...
- I can see where you're coming from. When I came back to the forums full-time, one of my early posts got negative criticism because they didn't like my style of writing. And I was pretty pissed...who are these people who never even knew me back then, and why are they allowed to say that my points aren't valid? I know a couple of older FIRSTers who graze the forums every now and then who have the same feelings towards reputation.
- People like to criticize more than they like to praise. We don't give eachother enough credit, and I wish it was different...but that's the way things are.
-I LOVE getting reps, especially from people I don't know and people with reps higher than my own. My face literally lights up
every single time dlavery gives me positive reps...because I know my opinion mattered enough for him to make the couple of clicks and think of something interesting to say to cheer me on.
So...maybe some solutions? I know! Mid-Season Resolutions!
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I resolve to give out more reputation. My favorite area of the reputation area is the comment area. If you've recieved a rep from me lately, I try to always put in a word or two either of praise or of ways to make it more palatable (lately it's been a LOT of words!).
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I also resolve to not give out negative feedback without a comment. This way we know what we're doing wrong, as opposed to knowing someone thinks we're wrong but didn't care enough to say why. It also makes us think before making those couple of clicks.
Dont be scared away from posting. Voicing our opinions is what makes us human, voicing our opinion frequently is what makes us FIRSTers.
And you definitely have valid points to make, so if we all resolve (or at least keep in mind) to show eachother that we appreciate one another, I think that we're well on our way.
Hope that helps!