Let's talk about reputation here...

[Michael Hill]

What is reputation even good for? Do you take criticisms from reputation seriously?

Also, how many times can someone get "neutral" reputation because someone tells them "Searching is fun!"

Yeah, searching is fun and all, but when your query yields 500+ topics, with none of which completely relevent, it's a little difficult.

For the record, I am not whining about any reputation I have received, I'm just wondering why it seems to be overused.

[JBotAlan]

I believe that the rep system works pretty well. Think about it.

If I was to create a new account here on CD, how would you know if I was trustworthy? I could set my stats up to look like my rookie year was 2003 or something, then I would stand out from the crowd. I then could post my opinion all I wanted, or I could post blatantly wrong info, and nobody would know any better (unless they did... ). Now, what CD has now to prevent this is our rep system. It's a quick way to see if someone is trustworthy. See a thread where X is posting bad information, hit -rep and send them a PM. However, for this to work, conversely we must push +rep for those who post good info.

I really believe that this system needs a face lift. Instead of little weights, put "Was this post helpful? yes/no" on every post, and make the scale much smaller (1 good rep doesn't push you up another bar like it did me). That way, rep doesn't count anywhere near as much, and people don't take it too seriously, and those that are really good stand out from the amateurs.

Reputation gives you an(other, hopefully) incentive to behave. Your account won't be deleted for posting a new thread "HELP! HOW TALL CAN OUR BOT BE?", but aside from making your team look bad there is no punishment for this except bad rep.

Just my 2 cents (well, more than that if you look at the length of the post...)
JBot

[Greg Needel]

Let's talk about reputation here...

The first rule of CD Reputation is that you do not talk about CD Reputation

[EddieMcD]

Well I for one don't use it. I have long-since adblocked the rep dots (and the hyperlink that gives rep), and closed the reputation list in my CP. So I have no clue if my rep is maxed out, or if I'm deep in the red. I have no clue if JBotAlan has tons of green dots or red dots, yet I read his post completely, and while it's not my opinion, it's still a post worth reading. So I read it. Just an example.

If you ask me, the rep system is a popularity contest, people give negative rep because their opinions differ (or positive rep for just agreeing without adding anything new), and CD was already well policed before VB3 added the Rep feature. A person could ask a question, and another person would kindly answer it (or put up a link to another similar topic). If that replyee (is that even a word?) supplied incorrect information to the subject at hand (which generally, wasn't malicious, just them being human and therefore mistaking), then other people would chime in, kindly giving correct information. If people got out of hand, the mods could delete posts or close a topic. AND IT WORKED! It's my opinion that the Rep system actually scares people from voicing their thoughts. But that's another debate entirely.

So, how 'bout them Red Sox?

[Bill_Hancoc]

i agree that is a popularity contest and is over-rated. I do use it tho. Since it is a popularity contest i try to give rep to new members who post good topics and ask good questions or are helpful. I have given neg rep on a few occasions to let people know they stepped over the line. I think it is a waste of time generally. I think its overused because a few people want to pos rep their friends and those are the people who generally get/give the most rep.
I think neg repping somebody because you dont agree with something they said (on a political basis, imagine) is wrong but it probably still goes on.

[efoote868]

I personally like the rep system. It quickly lets me see who's posted solid information... or generally has posted more than everyone else. However, I don't think that it is used as it should. A post that answers a question, or gives a good insight, or makes a valid point deserves a positive rep.

I'm not exactly sure what makes for a bad rep... when someone posts nonsense, i suppose. I certainly don't think that it should be taken seriously... they're just dots

[Cody Carey]

I don't necessarily think that the rep system is a popularity contest. Sure, there are people who get rep because of the fact that they are well known... But there are also people who earn it. I believe that while the rep system does discourage new people from posting a thought if it is contradictory to one of the "superpowers", It also encourages them to post helpful/thoughtful things about other matters.

Long ago, when I was new to these forums (which I still arguably am,) I was sort of afraid to post anything that was what I felt; but one day I thought "What the hey" and posted something which I thought that differed from the mainstream opinion anyway. To my surprise, very few people actually negative repped me... and those were only the ones with which I was directly disagreeing. I actually got a lot more positive rep for posting what I thought.

While there are some people who abuse the system, and enjoy giving negative rep for stupid things like not knowing to search because it is your first post, there are also those who give rep as a reward, or only give neg rep for something that is blatently offensive.

The rep system does have its corruptions, but so does anything that is made by man.

[Rohith Surampudi]

honestly, the rep system is a fun little toy that Brandon installed. remember they are just dots, when you think about it, rep should not serve as judgement to one's character or one's reliability, rep is a toy, im not saying use it in games, but it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Older members have told me there was a time when people would rep 30-40 people a night, and people used to have rep parties in which they would rep each other until they could rep no more, as far as i know thats died down, but remember dots should never be a mark of someones character...if you want to find out how reliable someone is, read their post and do some research on it, or wait for a second opinion, however to get back on topic, compared to before rep use has gone down a far as i know, however is it overused? yea maybe just a little bit, but they are just dots.


just my 2 cents

[Dylan Gramlich]

Originally Posted by Cody C

I don't necessarily think that the rep system is a popularity contest. Sure, there are people who get rep because of the fact that they are well known... But there are also people who earn it. I believe that while the rep system does discourage new people from posting a thought if it is contradictory to one of the "superpowers", It also encourages them to post helpful/thoughtful things about other matters.

Long ago, when I was new to these forums (which I still arguably am,) I was sort of afraid to post anything that was what I felt; but one day I thought "What the hey" and posted something which I thought that differed from the mainstream opinion anyway. To my surprise, very few people actually negative repped me... and those were only the ones with which I was directly disagreeing. I actually got a lot more positive rep for posting what I thought.

While there are some people who abuse the system, and enjoy giving negative rep for stupid things like not knowing to search because it is your first post, there are also those who give rep as a reward, or only give neg rep for something that is blatently offensive.

The rep system does have its corruptions, but so does anything that is made by man.

amen brother! well i would have to say that i enjoy and use the rep system, i read everyones posts not dependent on their rep, its actually something i dont look at much, but i just decide for myself depending on their post. i like the rep system because it is a discret way to tell something short and also a lil reward or warning.

[artdutra04]

Most of the time, the reputation system is not a popularity contest. Sometimes it can be, but more or less those who have high amounts of positive reputation have contributed a lot of thoughtful, helpful, and intelligent posts to this forum.

Whenever I post things to the forum, I don't care about post count. I could sit here and post every five seconds to a Chit-Chat or Game thread and quickly rack up 1,000 posts a month. But instead I care more about quality than quantity. If I have something productive, helpful, or intelligent to post, then I post it. Sometimes I post several posts in any given day. Other times I may post once in two weeks.

But in the end, it is possible to post your sincere thoughts and opinions and NEVER, ever receive negative rep. Trust me. Sometimes although you may think it's your opinions that may cause you to get negative rep, it may really be the tone of your post or the way in which you posted information. (Remember, you can't always use the same tone in which you speak with a person right next to you as you do in the Internet. When posting things here, people can't see your facial reactions or hear your tone of voice. The only thing they see is letters on a screen and an occasional smilie, so your choice of words is of paramount importance. )


Just to prove that, look at these following examples to see how choice of wording can affect the post. Here's a great example of two different ways to post the "same" thing, the first of which would probably merit negative rep while the latter might even merit positive rep.

Bad post: "These transmissions reelly suck! we kept popping chain an whoever designed them did a badd job becuz the gears didnt shift right and our robot never drive straight and we lost several matches because of this! Never use them!!!!11!"

Good post: "Last year, in the particular application in which we used these gearboxes they did not work for our team. Due to X factors, we often popped the chain on our drive train, and the robot would often be hard to control. However, after spending a lot of time looking over the gearbox design, we believe that if the output shaft was moved higher by about an inch, and if the second stage reduction could be changed to W:X instead of Y:Z, it would allow for teams to use a better range of sprocket sizes, to better adapt for a more versatile mechanism design."

[These are just examples of a possible scenario.]

Even though both of these posts convey the same information, the latter will probably ensure that you won't get negative rep - ever. Sometimes you have to act humble. Don't blame all the problems that your robot had on a particular robot component or Regional referee or game rule. Instead, just take responsibility yourself. Instead of blaming the gearbox design, review your mounting bracket designs to see if you could have did anything to improve it.

Act humble, avoid hubris, and post widely and thou shalt receivith postive rep.

[Cynette]

Just like many of the features on this forum, you get to choose whether the reputation system is valuble to you.

I know I was on CD for a year before I even learned what those little dots meant. Until then I though they were just random sayings that showed up when you rolled over them. And they were in these cool Christmas colors... Some were gray, some were red, some were green. Very cute. Then one day I clicked on my own dots - boy was I surprized! Here were these fun little comments telling me when I had been naughty and when I had been nice.

I love giving reputation - almost always good, because I believe in rewarding the good and pm-ing the not so good if I've been offended or strongly disagree with a point made. The only time I've used the negative rep was for a post that was sooo rude that it was actually removed a short time later by a moderator. That was also before I knew what moderators were there for. Ahh the life of a CD Forum newbie.

[Courtneyb1023]

I think for the most part reputation is given where deserved, in both the positive and negative sense. The only thing that i would change would to make discussion in technical or more subjective threads carry more weight towards your reputation then chit-chat threads. OR, maybe if instead of just bad, neutral, or good, you could have the choice of really bad, bad, neutral, good, and really good. But, thats might just over complicate a simple idea...Just some random thoughts on the topic.

court

[Jack Jones]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

The first rule of CD Reputation is that you do not talk about CD Reputation

I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection.

[Cody Carey]

OH yeah, well I am Jack's Colon.

[BlondeNerd]

I am still fairly new and feeling my way around the boards. I like the rep because it tells me, "Hey, someone felt this post positively added to the discussion." It's nice to know when you have done something good, or even wrong. It should not, however, be the basis for whether or not someone reads your post or takes it seriously. To me, it is a meter of rookie/veteran status, rather than credibility.