[IraJason]

Well let's see, I'm going to share my view of what reputation is...

Reputation is how you present yourself to the world. If you act nice and are generally kind to others, you will have a good reputation, and people will look highly of you because of that. If you constantly bad mouth others and look down upon your peers, you will get a bad reputation, and people will be reluctant to work or associate with you.

As many people have said, it takes quite a bit of hard work to gain a good reputation, but only one mistake to give you a bad one. People are quick to judge, and just one slip, especially when people don't know you, can ruin people's perception of you. And while people may not think highly of you for a single comment, it is not the end of the world. Go out there, make yourself known, show that it was just a mistake and you truly are a good person. While one mistake can affect you for the near future, having a long running positive attitude towards yourself and others shows people your true nature for the long run.

Word about someone's reputation does get around, even if it was only a confrontation between two people. The bad does seem to spread faster then then good, but that is why someone should be as professional and courteous as possible to everyone that they meet. While you may not physically have a dot over your head that says whether you are a good or bad person, from what people hear about you, they will judge you for. By being a generally good person overall, you shouldn't have to worry about how people judge you, even if you do make one or two mistakes here and there.

As long as you continually show yourself to be a good person, whether it be on these forums or in real life, its ok to screw up once in a while. Just show the world who you really are and your reputation will reflect that.