here is what i give positive reps for:
- good ideas
- helping me
- good jokes
- any other good, well thought-out posts that warrent attention
i give negative reps for:
- attacking or insulting other people without good reason
- use of bad language
- unnecessary complaining
- off-topic/pointless posts
i don't give bad reps often, i'd say 90% of the reps i've given have been positive
i do agree that the reputation system is not perfect, but it is way better than not having one. as long as everybody uses it somewhat responsibly, it will show who is nice and who bothers people. i find it very useful. when you see 10 squares, you know that person has to be pretty nice/smart/etc.
i'll talk to anybody and treat them with respect no matter what their reputation, even if they have red squares. because some people don't use the rep system correctly, some pretty unfair reps go out. and about treating people badly in person because of their rep on here, thats rediculous. somebody could post stupid stuff and get people mad on the forums, but really be nice in person, you just can't judge by this. it rates how well they use message boards, not how good of a person they are, at least not to the extant that you should ignore them or anythign like that.