[LauraN]

Let me just talk about myself a little bit before I start this post. But I assure you, it's to make a point.

I know for a fact that there is going to be at least one person who is not going to be happy with what I have to say. I can make similar statements about a lot of things. But given the potentially controversial nature of this thread, this is even more true than usual.

I am fully expecting to receive negative rep for this post. But I'm writing it anyway, because I have something to say. And you should take the same attitude. </egotism>

Originally Posted by GregT

A person with lots of green dots next to their name is more likely to receive additional green dots.

I disagree. I honestly think the exact opposite is true- people with higher reputations are less likely to receive more reputation. Someone once said (I believe it was in an older post about reputation) that they'd be less likely to give rep to those with a long line of pretty green dots. Why not give it to the new guy with only one dot? And, if that person already has so much rep, then they need to really go above and beyond to get more, because you expect more from them. I'm also sure some people are intimidated by it. I might feel kind of silly giving rep to someone so much more "elite" than me. Do they really care what I think about their posts? (I'm sure they do, I'm just saying it's possible for that thought to cross your mind.) I'm not saying these ways of giving rep are the "right" way to do things (I don't think there is a "right" way to give rep), but they are things that cross people's minds. Also, as M. Krass said, I find it highly unlikely that there's some conspiracy run by John, Andy, Ken and Co to keep themselves at the top of the list.

Let's look at some examples. =)

Originally Posted by JVN

I have a negative rep-stalker... someone who I know has a personal grudge against me. It's actually kind of humorous to get -3 from them for a post, and then +20 from another person for the same post. Makes me smile.

Originally Posted by Matt Adams

I feel really humbled that people take the time via leaving some reputation points to let me know that I posted something worthwhile. I'm not in some exclusive circle of five people who exchange reputation points on a nightly basis. As a matter of fact, of the last 24 reputation comments I've received, they've come from 21 different members.

To further the point that this system isn't some sort of exclusive club, I only came on these boards 4 months ago and have met no more than 6 or 7 people outside of my team who post regularly on these boards. I don't have nearly the well founded history that the vast majority of people with high reputation do.

To add my own personal perspective: I'm almost a hybrid of John and Matt. (Tell me that's not cool). Like Matt, I haven't been around awhile. (A little over a month). Also like Matt, I don't know many CD users in "real life." (I think the count stands at about 1.) Like John, I feel that there's abuse of the reputation system from personal experience. But my reputation isn't suffering. Because, like Matt, I've gotten positive reputation from 4 or 5 different CD users (key word: different). And a lot of them are pretty high up there in terms of reputation. So the idea that they're only giving rep to each other is disproven.

I'm not telling you this to make anyone mad, or to brag about my reputation, or anything like that. I don't like making people mad and I don't necessarily think my rep is much to brag about. But I'm telling you this to give you another perspective. John's been around for a few years. Matt for a few months. I've been around for a month. And in each case, the reputation system seems to be working just fine.

The bottom line: The reputation system is a system designed to allow people to be encouraged and constructively criticized by their peers. No good deed goes unpunished; all democracies are corrupt. There will always be someone ready and willing to abuse the system, but these "someone"s represent a small enough portion of the population that they don't matter. As shown by the examples listed above, the good balances out the bad. John has an insane amount of reputation, despite the fact that someone is abusing the system against him. Matt also has lots of reputation, without the "advantage" of knowing the "elite" personally.

Why is that? It's because, regardless of whether there's someone giving negative rep to those they don't like or positive to those they do, John and Matt are smart guys who write great posts. And the majority of the CD community is intelligent enough to recognize that and responsible enough to reward them for it properly. If this weren't the case, if the majority of users were abusing the system, they would not have the kind of reputation they do. And I don't think there are many people who would argue that these 2 don't deserve the rep they have.

So take it all with a grain of salt, form your own opinions, lead by example, act responsibly, be graciously professional, and everything will be ok.

And that's true for anything, not just a silly system based on virtual green dots.