Reputation systems scares you away from post

[Jay H 237]

Personally I don't follow the rep points too much. It is nice to read the ones you got and to realize you helped someone or some team and that you had made a difference. I also rarely give out reputation and when I do it's because I feel the person has significantly helped me, my team, and/or the entire CD community in general. To date I have never given out negative rep.

It's been said in previous posts and I'll say it again, no matter what you do not everyone will agree with you and you MUST respect that. The same goes for YOU not agreeing with everyone else.

[Pamela]

I think reputations points will allow new/inexperienced delphi users to find the information they need from good sources. They can see someone has a good reputation so obviously their opinion on fixing a problem is more valued, because they are known for good advice. On thing that should be changed is that if you give negative reputation points it should be required you leave a comment as to why you feel the person deserved it. That way the person recieving negative points can fix what the problem is in future posts. This will also discourage users from abusing the point system.

^just my 2 cents

[Matt Attallah]

Originally Posted by Pamela

I think reputations points will allow new/inexperienced delphi users to find the information they need from good sources. They can see someone has a good reputation so obviously their opinion on fixing a problem is more valued, because they are known for good advice. On thing that should be changed is that if you give negative reputation points it should be required you leave a comment as to why you feel the person deserved it. That way the person recieving negative points can fix what the problem is in future posts. This will also discourage users from abusing the point system.

^just my 2 cents

Good sources? I think just about everyone on here is a good source. If they don't know - than they probally won't post. If they do post something - i have only seen good.

I don't really care for the points. I guess they are more or less a quest for attention. I am pretty neutral about mine. Points are kinda pointless to me - i have been here since before vB - so i could see them go or stay...

[Yan Wang]

Personally, the rep system amuses me. I look at my list and say - "Lol! That person needs to chill." I deserve some of the negative rep I've gotten but some are just ludicrous (and thus highly amusing). I just sent an IM to Brandon to reinstate some rep because someone removed some points because I posted in a chit-chat thread (Dream Computer) that was a year old(Reason: "sorry..old thread..."). I've also GOTTEN points for posting in Word Association. I've also lost some because I posted my opinions in the "Music" thread (I don't care if you disagree with my tastes - DEAL WITH IT). Lol <-- All I can say.

[Koko Ed]

The reputation system is really not all that different than the spotlight. It's nice to be recognized for what you say but it shouldn't govern how you think around here. You got something on your mind? Say it. Whether or not it earns you positive or negative rep points, it's your mind. Don't compromise it for the sake of approval.

[Jon Anderson]

To me rep points are like cliques at school in the fact that, like others said, you don't need somebody elses opinion to know that you believe in what you said.

If you can't post your mind because you're scared of negative reps, then you really need to start taking this less seriously. You can't make everybody happy. (However, you can get close. )

[Steve Horn]

My thoughts on reputation points:
I do not think people should be able to give out negative reputation points, since this is not in the spirit of FIRST. FIRSTers should be giving out positive reputation or not give reputation to a post, not criticizing people for what they write/post in these fourms.

[Joe Ross]

I've had a few complaints (probably 5 or 6) about how I give out negatives reputations. I've also had one person who's thanked me for a negative reputation that I've given them. I've only had one comment about a positive reputation. I beleive that I give out about 2/3rds approve and 1/3 disapprove. I also leave comments on 90% of my comments, and 99.9% of my negatives

The way that I give out positive reputations is fairly nebulous, but the largest factor is how much reputatation you already have. I hold people with high reputations to a much higher standard if they want to get a positive reputation from me. The way I give out negative reputation is more defined.

• If something you post is wrong, and you provide no supporting information, you get a negative.
• If I have to think really hard to understand what you are saying, you get a negative (this mostly involves spelling and grammar).
• If you post with a negative attitude, you probably get a negative.
• If you post something in the blatantly wrong forum, or multi post a thread, you get a negative
• If post says nothing of value (and it's a technical type forum) you get a negative
• If you comment about a reputation you received publicly, you may get a negative (This thread is an exception, because it is designed to talk about reputation). Take it to PM or IM, and if something is really bad, let Brandon know, in private
• If you post a controversial topic, without it being the time or place to discuss it (or you being the correct person to post about it), then you probably get a negative.

Hopefully that clears up every negative I've given (and now I can point angry people to it, rather then explaining it to them when they are angry )

The most important thing to remember is that reputation levels out. There are many more people here who respect your opinion if it is well reasoned, then give out negative reputations if they disagree. If you all you see is a few random negative reputations, then don't worry about it. If you see a consistent trend, hopefully they left comments and you can think about what was said.

[Daniel Brim]

One thing that i think might increase the value of the reputation system is to value everybody's opinions equally. In other words, a negative rep from somebody with 5 reputation points should be worth just as much as a negative rep from somebody with 5000 reputation points. The way it is set up now, people who are new or have not been noticed yet have almost no say in reputation. In FIRST, everybody should have an equal opportunity to listen and critisize (constructively of course).

Also, I think it might be a good idea to make the comment mandatory for all approves or dissaproves. The comment can be very valuable in learning what somebody did wrong and how to fix it. Again, this is the idea of constructive critisism.

Overall, I do like the system, but these improvements along with the exclusion of certain forums should help to reform the system.

[golf_cart_john]

The reputation points also seem to punish you for making mistakes. I don't know about you guys, but I'm rather klutzy. It's not all that easy to accidentally post to the wrong thread, but I don't see why your reputation should be sullied for a mistake. Maybe it should be called something else, like "reliability score" or "klutz factor" "Reputation" makes it serious, almost like a miniature criminal record.

[Trashed20]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

To quickly address something in your post ..

I may see how hard it is to put a hack in vB3 to disallow reputation in certain forums. (game forum, chit chat(?), etc..) I'm not sure if this will solve anything, though .. any comments?

yeah, i think this should be inacted. I got a negative for my post here
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...20891#poststop

And after I've been using this system for a while, I don't like the reputation still. Its just a huge popularity contest. It isn't helping the boards in my oppinion.

[DanL]

Overall I like the rep system due to the fact that yes, it does show new members who are the people that really do know what they're talking about.

Then again, I feel it has been abused again me - specifically, it has been used as a tool to express the person's opinion rather than if they approve of the post. I feel like one person in particular (who is actually a moderator and should know better) uses the rep system repeatedly to express a grudge he has against me.


Use the boards to express your opinions, and use the rep system to reward or punish etiquette and intelligence.
Disagreeing with a person's views is no justification for damaging his reputation.