Reputation in chit chat?

Right now the reputation system allows you to give reputation in chit chat. Honestly I don't see a reason for chit-chat reputation. 99.9999999999% of the posts in chit chat have nothing to do with FIRST or this website.

As much as I like seeing reputation/don't like seeing coming out of Chit Chat I don't think its really necessary. My biggest one I noticed was during election time and the election debates that some people received positive/negative rep for their political beliefs that were being discussed by some people that "abuse" the system

Maybe I'm just out of line with my suggestion, but thats what everyone else is for. Prove me wrong with what I think.

[Lisa Perez]

Wow, for once, I agree with you, DJ

The reputation points, in general, have been used toward not just political beliefs but opinions on sports, video games, etc. etc... Because many of the chit chat threads have to do with personal opinion, I don't think it's in any of our places to judge on what people think.

[aaronbr28040]

It looks like everyone is agreeing with DJ. I also dont think that reputation is needed in chit-chat. Rep points should be earned the hard way, by contributing thoughtful and helpful information or solutions to those in need, not for posting on some game thread.
-Aaron

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

I'm not sure what I think about this, really.

I definitly agree that a lot of the rep is pointless, but at the same time, I feel it is really important to recognize something for a really good comment they make, no matter what subject it is on. However, that is where pms come in.

I think DJ has a good idea here, because if rep wasn't allowed in chit chat threads, perhaps, there would be less aura of "shooting for rep" and more focus on what you're really saying.

[Elgin Clock]

I see where you are coming from DJ, but rep works both ways.

If the rep system, good or bad was taken away in the chit chat area, then it would become a free-for-all.

While bad rep is sometimes not deserved, sometimes it is.

I know what thread you are referring to, and as for me, I steered (store? ) clear of that topic altogether.

I let some news links speak for me.
I wasn't going to add to the fire, I just wanted to put some facts on the table.

Why does how much rep matter to a lot of people? Overall, the people who have the most good things to say have the most rep.

It's not a race to see how much rep a person has, it's basically a way of seeing who knows their stuff.

As I look at the people with the top 10 rep on CD, I notice common characteristics between all the people..

All know FIRST a lot better than I do, and are generally more freely to give information, or solve problems than the people on the bottom of the list, who may just have joined FIRST.

The rep system is flawed in some aspects, but just looking at the caliber of the people in the top 10, 20, or 50 people who have the most rep says that it is working.

Peace.

And no more sports or politics threads.. OK?
Just kidding.
But keep them civil, OK?

[Kyle Love]

I don't really care. I get some rep outta chit-chat but most is from regular posts.

[tkwetzel]

I don't believe that rep is necessary in chit-chat. When I saw this thread I went and looked at the rep given to me and a third of it is from chit-chat threads. A lot of it is not necessary at all, while some of it came from threads with substance. Not all of chit-chat is just games. Maybe just not allow it in the games/trivia subforum.

My $0.02.

[Arefin Bari]

I agree with DJ... most of the threads in the chit-chat has to do with something other than FIRST or the forum itself. its basically just topics to discuss about or games. Chit-chat is just there, that we can talk about something other than just technical stuff... probably i can relate the chit-chat to a thread i go into when i need to read something funny.

[greencactus3]

i dont think it reallly matters either. rep points arent a race or anything. some people get some for chitchat. some dont. but the ones who have the most have definitly earned them through good info and w/e. we know who they are. if people want to give people some points for chitchat, fine, let them. because even in chitchat, some topics are good. ithink im gonna blab on so ill stop now

[Koko Ed]

There are people who make relevant posts in chit chat. Just because it's not soley based in FIRST does it mean it's not worth saying.

I've seen some interesting discussion so far, mostly from people against reputation.

Im interested in hearing the reasoning of the people who voted for it

[jonathan lall]

ChiefDelphi, n. the only place we talk about rep more than we give it out. It's a little silly. Let me offer my view and then (hopefully) split.

More than 50% of Chit-Chat threads are good discussion to a large group of people. Rep exists to ensure a high quality of interaction takes place. It rewards those who are successful at this and penalizes those who are not. An analogy can be made to capitalism; those who are sucessful and work hard will in theory end up with more money (rep) and then a side effect of this would be that they can flaunt this wealth to others to show that they've done their duty (the little green dots appearing on every post that person makes). In both analogous examples, the more green you get, the better.

Ummm... yeah, anyway, it would seem the basis of an argument against rep in Chit-Chat is that rep is some kind of trophy or grand achievement on the forum and that since this a forum that consists chiefly of FIRST competitors, only technical FIRST issues should be rewarded rep. This view sees rep as some kind of indicator of one's technical credibility, when the purpose of rep is to raise the bar, so to speak, of the quality of discussion more than anything. Going back to my analogy, that's like saying... only hot dog vendors should become rich, because everyone else makes their dough in a "lesser" way.

By an extension of this logic it can be argued that rep should not be given out in the ChiefDelphi.com Website forum, because it has nothing to do with FIRST directly. If we want to be really picky, we can even call for outlawing rep in the Mentor forum because it doesn't present a level playing field for everyone. Boo hoo, I say. This is petty. Just because someone else got most of his or her rep in the openFIRST forum for example (which let's say you see as of lesser value than the Technical Discussion Forum), doesn't mean that they don't deserve that rep as compared to your technical posts.

So if rep exists to hold the qualiy of discussion at a high level, the Chit-Chat forum needs rep more than any other forum, and while it does contain a lot of garbage, most threads aren't the Birthday Thread (which I'm guessing is a huge rep-bait hub) or the Trivia section, so most people that get rep from fluffy posts alone won't surpass those who know what they're talking about.

For the record, the only negative rep point I got was due to a difference in opinion in the Chit-Chat forum. I don't really mind, because it's not like something as inconsequential as rep is going to ever bother me. This doesn't seem to be the case with many people. The fact that this misuse of rep has happened to me in Chit-Chat does not make Chit-Chat rep any less needed.

[Jaine Perotti]

I guess I can also see where many people are coming from when they say that it isn't necessary for reputation to be given in chit-chat threads.

However, I think that there are times when reputation should be given for non-FIRST related topics. If I think that someone has written a well-thought out, intelligent, and clearly written post, I think that person should deserve good reputation... even though it isn't related to FIRST. I think that one who writes well and contributes greatly to this forum deserves merit... whether it's chit-chat or not.

I think that no matter what, reputation (negative or positive) will be given when it is not appropriate. I am not sure if there will ever be a way to deal with this... so I think that the system should remain the same way that it is already. If a few people end up abusing the rep system, I think that the CD community will be able to deal with it... it's not the end of the world. Those who do not abuse the system outnumber those who do, and I think things are ok the way they are.

<edit> another thought -- maybe guidelines for appropriate use of reputation points should be given in the rules </edit>

[MissInformation]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

There are people who make relevant posts in chit chat. Just because it's not soley based in FIRST does it mean it's not worth saying.

Exactly! I know there are lots of silly threads in Chit Chat, and people probably do give out rep points for silly things said there, but truly, it's their points to give out. It is a shame people give negative rep points to people just for a difference of opinion, but that can happen in any section. Politics and religion are two topics that most people cannot discuss with emotional detachment, and opposing views are often seen as an attack, which is most likely why more neg rep went out in the election threads.

I guess my only other argument is why I give out rep points. I will admit, I'm pretty forgetful about giving out points, it often slips my mind. But when I do give out points, it's for a post I read that makes me happy I read the thread it was in. Sometimes it's because something clever and witty was said, other times it's because something that was said just resonated with me, like KarenH's post in the Chit Chat thread about Dave's almost assimilation by the What Not To Wear crew. I have never given out negative rep, because I personally see the rep system as hopefully encouraging good behavior through reward, and to me, that extends to behavior in the Chit Chat section.

Heidi

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by BurningQuestion

I think that there are times when reputation should be given for non-FIRST related topics.

I agree, sort of. Sometimes, there are good posts in chit-chat, but for the most part, chit chat is just that. Having a lot of rep doesn't make you any better than anyone else, but rep should be given for good, "quality" posts (see this thread, especially Ken Leung's response), not for everyone who posts in the "Person Above You"* "Addicting new game"* or "National Lawn Mower Day"* threads.

There are 34 other forums (66, counting all of the subforums) that you can post in and get rep - both good and bad - for. Use those.


*= No offense meant to those who started or posted in these threads. Chit chat is meant to be, and is, fun - that's what these threads are about. However, I feel that the majority of posts in these threads, and in threads like them, aren't quality posts. That's all.