Reputation system..

[Akash Rastogi]

I don't post many useful things and somehow I have full rep and am apparently on that first page of top reps.

It is clearly not always indicative of how much you know/how helpful you are. I think half my posts are from Fantasy FIRST drafts...

[Nate Laverdure]

Originally Posted by LeelandS

So if someone has a full bar of reps, I'll generally take that as a sign that they are a reliable and helpful person.

...or robot!

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Nate Laverdure

...or robot!

CD47-Bot (and his brother, archiver) look rather human to me...

[Basel A]

Right now, I have to say I don't find the rep system all too useful. Rep simply isn't something I notice often. Like others said, I'm more likely to notice if it's red, but it mostly doesn't factor into how seriously I'll consider a post.

However, I think that when I first started on the forum, it served as a pretty good indication of who is an experienced member of the forum. Over the past few years, I feel like I've gotten a pretty good sense of who people are, so it's declined in usefulness, but generally I think it's a decent resource for newer members of the forum.

[kjohnson]

Originally Posted by JVN

It is an interesting phenomenon:
Post something which you think is really cool, and helpful = almost no rep.
Post something where you call out an idiot for being an idiot = tons of rep.

This is completely true. I have received more positive rep for posting in controversial or otherwise popular threads than any other type of post.

I haven't seen this brought up yet, but would some type of yearly reset or deduction of rep points make the rep system more valuable? Lets say I have the maximum rep "dots." On January 1, give me a star in the row above or below rep dots, and reset me to 1 dot. Then as I post throughout the season, I can refill my rep dots. If I max out again (or some other reasonable level that says I have positively contributed) by the next January 1, give me another star and reset me again. Maybe hovering over my star would display lifetime rep points... Thoughts?

[smurfgirl]

I don't look at people's reputation points, pretty much ever. I don't really care and it's in a corner filled with stuff I don't pay attention to. I occasionally use the system to leave people comments about their posts. I also enjoy seeing people's thoughts on what I have to say. I like this aspect of the system and definitely wouldn't want it to go away. I'm fine with the system as it is, but I don't think I would be heartbroken if it changed, either.

[Sean Raia]

To me, the rep system is a general indication of community respect.
It is not accurate for measuring intelligence or social charm, because it is often an unbalanced combination of the two.

Sure its useful, and I award/deduct points as I see fit.
Next question?

*honestly, you can tell quite a bit from someones userbar and I always glance at it after reading a post. *

[androb4]

Hmm.. Okay, seems pretty reasonable..

• A low rep bar doesn't really mean that someone's post is inaccurate, or shouldn't be trusted.

• Now a red bar may be a different story.

• A high rep means that you may be Andy Baker..or JVN..or Karthik just kidding. But in all seriousness, that post would most likely be very helpful, or accurate etc.

Thanks to everybody who responded! I always like to see everybody contributing to a discussion.

One more question though.. What is the difference between the bright and dark green rep bars??

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by androb4

One more question though.. What is the difference between the bright and dark green rep bars??

I believe it is just the first five green dots are dark green and beyond that they are bright green, which I assume may have been made to catch peoples attention...just a guess

[Nemo]

Does it take longer for your submitted posts to show up if you're a new user with no reputation points? Do they have to get through a moderation filter or something? It has seemed like that to our team at times, but maybe that was just gremlins in the server.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by Nemo

Does it take longer for your submitted posts to show up if you're a new user with no reputation points? Do they have to get through a moderation filter or something? It has seemed like that to our team at times, but maybe that was just gremlins in the server.

I think that is somewhat correct. I don't know the specifics, but it seemed like that when I started. When I started my first thread, it told me it had to be checked first before it could be submitted.

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

I find it funny to me that (with the exception of the guy above me) everyone posting in this thread has like a gajillion bars.
To me, this whole thread is like: "No, I don't pay any attention to the rep system" says the guy who's maxed out the rep system.

I guess it's like money: everybody wants it, but once you have it, you realize it doesn't really matter.

[JohnBoucher]

I would suggest that they are active community members.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

I would suggest that they are active community members.

I would second this suggestion, as I recognize most of the people posting here

Another important note though... I never payed attention to the rep system, even when I first joined. Posting on here isn't about getting rep, it's about helping other people/teams, and being helped in return. Rep is just a side affect.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Rep is just a side affect.

^^ Well said. This precisely what we mean by "they're just dots."