Appropriate use of reputation points

CD Forum Support
1

I searched around a little, but didn’t see anything; forgive me if this is discussed extensively elsewhere. But, it seemed to me it would be a good time to have a discussion about the appropriate use of reputation points (whether they serve any good or not should be another discussion, if someone is so inclined).

The reason for this was sparked by a negative reputation I got while attempting a forage into the chit-chat forums. In specific, in regards to my post in the Draft thread (this one), I received negative points, with the explanation being (paraphrasing) along the lines that even Bush admitted Iraq has no connections to terrorists, and particularly to 9/11. First let me state that I really do not care at all about the rep points themselves, and I don’t intend to violate the privacy of the person who gave me that rep.

However, it did get me thinking. I was dissapointed, not because I got a negative rep, but because it seemed so blatanly to be because of my politics. Now, I don’t think anyone on the boards would agree that the reputation system should be used to punish or even encourage a particular ideology, – and I understand too that if you agree with something or disagree with something, you would tend to up vote it or down vote it, respectively. But I felt my post was reasonably well thought out and inclusive. And it seems too that at least the first claim (Iraq having no connections to terrorists) is patently false, and the second claim is open to wide speculation as to just exactly what “connections” means. (Though my post had nothing to do with the second claim in the reason for down voting.)

It seems to me that if this happened to me, others might potentially be abusing the reputation system, perhaps unwittingly. So are there any guidelines? Should a funny post be upvoted, or should it be reserved for serious and informative answers? What excactly should be the standard for downvoting, – simply a non-informative, non-useful post, or one that actually is offensive or otherwise inappropriate? Should the chit-chat section count towards rep, and if so should we try to at least informally limit it to FIRST or engineering-related topics, or otherwise very intelligible and insightful posts? I tend to stay away from giving out rep myself, but if I see something that I would like to encourage (e.g., someone giving their Woodie Flowers essay in that recent thread or volunteering for the programming conventions talked about some time ago), I do upvote it. I use it rarely so that it has a more pronounced effect, – I know this is opposite of how others use it, and I doubt there is any “preferred” method, … so I thought an informative discussion about it would be handy. I guess I just don’t understand if the rep system is just being tested out right now to see how it is, or if there’s an intended use for it besides it being there. Color me confused :confused:

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I’ve also noticed that people with FAR fewer posts than me have the same or higher rep than me? I’m not by any means complaining, it was just something I noticed. It may go back to the same thing of rep isn’t given where deserved and is given where not deserved.

3

Ha ha… lol

Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at your post or it’s meaning just at the whole rep system.

I have gotten good reps for everything from a good topic to bring to CD, to a random rep point from someone I was talking in a chatroom, to a rep point from someone I met and they just gave me a rep, to a good rep for a thought inspiring quote I made… (Oh wait… that last one wasn’t me) :rolleyes:

Anyways, just take the rep points with a grain of salt. They are cool to have, but not really meaningful IMHO.

Then again maybe I am in denial that they mean anything because I only have 3 or 4 bars) edit: 8 bars??? whoa. cool…

Anyways, The bad rep I got was for apparently “hijacking a thread” by adding in a thank you for something which was kind of related to the subject, to a negative rep I got for adding in a “be careful what you say here” quote about a certain topic dealing with a sensitive team subject. It was apparently redundant, and “I am not the FCC” - I liked that last quote…

Ok, I’m done ranting… But like I said, take it with a grain of salt. It’s all in good fun(?).

4

Are you sure you looked around? Searching ‘reputation’ yields many relevant results. More relevant is the huge section regarding reputation, how to use it, etc. in the FAQ, linked conveniently at the top of your screen. If you do have a personal problem with reputation abuse, PM Brandon Martus about it. I have on some occasions.

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The reputation points are alot of fun to have, and are very cool. But they are often abused. Ive received negative rep points from a friend of mine of 116 for quote “just cus your special”. But, hey, its not a big deal. You dont earn anything for having a high rep, other than, well, a good reputation.

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And a reputation is no big deal right???

Maybe we should rename this system of points…?

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Yeah, I was wondering about this too- a while back on the evening of a regional I made a post about Beatty’s robot- so many people were itching to see what it was. I posted a picture of R2D2, all in good fun, and got some positive posts afterwards. However, a rather prominent member of the CD community gave me negative reputation, and that kinda bothered me. it was just supposed to be funny…?

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Check this and this and this.
This will help heaps, there was a pretty heated disucssion on Reputation points.

To answer your question, if you feel you have been given a negative reputation point unfairly, then just let Brandon know pointing out to the post. If it is really unfair, he will look into it, if my memory serves me right.

The FAQ system explains very well the use of Reputation system. Ofcourse its not flawless, but it does serve its purpose. I use the reputation system extensively, and from what I do, I can say, give reputation points for good posts, and negative points for pointless posts(exclude chit-chat). Read the FAQ, it explains well. Also, the thread about Reputation System, I am pretty sure it will help you.

If you still have questions, I am sure one of the moderators or Brandon will be happy to answer your question.

-Bharat

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DOOD! I’m TOTALLY giving you negative reputation points for this thread! LIEK OMG!!!11

on second thought I’m too lazy… :stuck_out_tongue:

(j/k aboot the negative points)

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While I agree with some of your points, overall you can tell the reputation system is working.

Look at the top people. Andy Baker, John V Neun, Dave Lavery. All of these people are very highly respected people in the FIRST community.

Keep it how it is.

Cory

11

I have another example of strange things done with negative reputation:

Someone gave me some negative points for my post in this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showpost.php?p=274525&postcount=20 stating simply that i was “factually incorrect”. I have PMed and emailed the person since and he seems to just blatantly ignore my asking for clarification. It was a bit offending that he just simply stated I’m wrong and left it at that, but what is even worse is that the only thing anyone gained out of that encounter was maybe him having the satisfaction of feeling superior. If I was truly wrong, he should have posted an explanation in that thread so everyone could see.

Frustrating…

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So Cory, i have nothing against your point there but what about This Member while i have never met this member in person i guess this person may also be a pretty well respected person in FIRST for their high rep value as they have had it reset at least once to zero by a mod.

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I agree guys, there are many things which are unfair. I have gotten unfair reputation points but it doesn’t bother me. All I can say is if you are seriously offended or something, let Brandon know. He is a nice guy and he will sincerely look into it, even though he is a real busy man(as we can see).

Sometimes its best to let people have their five minutes. It happens to me everyday. I have to deal with people at my job, they argue at ridiculous things, and me the wise guys, smiles, gets my job done, without caring of the customers attitude. Let some people have their five minutes, and if you dont like it, let Brandon know, simple solution :slight_smile:

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Don’t talk about him, he is my best friend:mad:, dare not disrespect him:D

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In that case you need to just let common sense tell you “Hmm, I think that person doesnt even exist and some people just thought they were funny when they gave it a bunch of rep.”

Cory

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Yep.

As with most anything, some people will abuse the system … giving negative points just 'cause they don’t like you or what you’ve said. And that sucks, but it’s just something we have to deal with. I think the vast majority of rep is given fairly.

shrug

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Okay, there’s a lot of you out there who are upset about getting negative rep. That’s great. Instead of running right to Brandon everytime, maybe you should pause for a few seconds, and try and figure out why you received the negative rep. Most people are very hesitant to give out negative rep here, so there’s usually a serious reason behind it. If you can’t think of one, send a PM to the user who dished the dirt. Maybe you’ll be able to have some sort of positive discussion with them, and you’ll both become enlightened in some way. If people are giving you negative rep for dumb reasons, maybe you should just leave it as, “that was really immature, I’m going to be the bigger person, and move on with my life”.

You really shouldn’t have complain to the already overworked moderator of this board over negative rep. Unless some gives you rep along the lines of “you’re fat and ugly, so I want your rep to be lower”, it might be a nice idea if people try and work these issues out themselves.

After all, it’s just a reputation system for an online discussion forum. There’s no reason to get this uptight about it.

<Gets ready to whine to Brandon about the negative rep I’m sure to receive about this post…:wink: >

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I think that rep is over-rated although in my personal opinion reputation should only be given in technical forums and FIRST related conversation. When the reputation system first came out i thought this would be a way for people new to the community to recognize those members with reliable information and not who is most popular/posts the most. But as this is just an internet discussion forum the rating system doesn’t really mean anything

on a side note: one of the funniest things I heard are people not posting in topics because they were afraid of bad reputation…

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I admit, I have done that. I did not participate in the Collaboration debate because I was new and didn’t know what this reputation thing was, I thought if I got too much negative reputation I’d be kicked of CD or something. BUt yeah I was new then, now I’ve learnt, a few neg. reps wont do you too much harm, so take a chance and post :slight_smile:

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I’ve heard similar things; not on this board, but afraid of the moderators deleting their posts and warning them; maybe even suspending them. Sad thing is, their fears were justified :wink: