Reputations. Do they deserve more careful thought?

CD Forum Support
1

Alright this post gives me occasion to rant on something that has been building up for a long time now. I’ve been a member of these forums for quite a while now (almost since the begining) and I to am probably on a few people’s lists, although I’m proud to say it is by my own doing :-P. I watched as the “old forums” gave way to the “new forums.” I was here for, as some may remember the post count scandal. For those of you who don’t remember this first happened back when the post counts were first turned on and people discovered that if you posted a lot you got a cute little nick name like “Frequent Contributor” or “Bow before me FIRST community,” etc. this was proceeded by a period during which everyone was posting like mad with useless one word posts in order to try and jack up their post counts.

However I think that this idea of reputations is even more troubling. I think I understand how they are supposed to work but I think that the community has taken it way to seriously. I understand if it is in fun and all of that. However the idea of negative reps and people get pretty vindictive with these things, worse than that I think it encourages people to judge one another whether posatively or negatively when you see all those green bars you think “wow” and when you see a single gray dot you wonder what is up with that person. Is this the way in which we aim to change society? I understand that we’re trying to police ourselves and such but when it gets to the point that the moderators need a moderators forum perhaps things are pushing the threshold of just a little to far. To often I think people get to caught up in this and they fire off a bunch of negative reps, report a post, or perhaps even make a post like this one.

However I wonder if encouraging people to judge others is a road we really want to travel down.

-Justin

2

My only concern about the system is that people are mush more likely to receive a negative point then a positive one. Everyone makes great posts everyday. To get a positive rep point for a post, it has to glow, it has to be something that you can dedicate a novel to. Where as at least for myself, I’ve recived negative rep points for some pretty frivelous reasons.

I also feel that you’re more likely to receive a positive rep point from an internet friend. Not suprisingly, the “popular people” as indicated in the People I want to meet at nationals thread have a ton of rep points. Reading that thread made me relive some not so nice parts of high school :rolleyes:

3

Well, I don’t like the reputation thing, for one. Does this surprise anyone?

4

i think the repuatation system is perfect the way it is.

You can tell who knows what they are talking about and who doesnt by looking at their rep. I mean just look at posters like Andy Baker and Joe Johnson. They have really high amounts of rep, but that is to go along with their high amount of knowledge. These people are to be bowed down to.
The people with medium amounts of rep (3-5 boxes) are given respect by others also. I mean, when i see someone with a a few green boxes, i make sure to take the time to read their post thouroghly. Also, i believe it is right to give bad rep to those who abuse these forums, posting needless and disrespectful stuff. These forums are a highly helpful tool to everyone, so the rep system gives us a chance to protect this valuable asset, as well as recognize those who go above and beyond to help FIRST.

5

i think there should be a maximum number of bad reps you can receive for one post …

6

Thanks for picking on me. :slight_smile: I’m not that serious about the rep points. It was more just in fun that I said that.

That’s… special. :slight_smile:

True. As was pointed out by someone else, it is hard to earn positive points. Actually, I have noticed that, even if someone says thanks for your help, they often don’t add to your reputation.

For whatever reason, I don’t care if all they have is a grey dot. It doesn’t invalidate what they say. Same with the positives too. They could still say something really stupid. :slight_smile:

–EDIT–
I hope you get what I’m saying. I couldn’t figure out exactly what to say. :slight_smile:

7

Oh man ppl relax…it is a forum and people are always going to do silly things…

It is just a feature of the forum, but it is the people that interpret it that does something…if you do not care about reputation it won’t effect you…plz don’t take it so seriously we are not voting for a king of FIRST with these points…

8

At least you can afford it. Some of us down at the bottom don’t want to risk going to the ‘grey’ side. :slight_smile:

Does it ever get to red?

–EDIT–
Oh, yeah. And, once I recieved a rep point that was grey (not green or red). How’s that happen? There was no comment with it either. :confused:[/quote]

In case any of you saw this eariler post of mine, this too was all said in good fun. As the last guy said, most people don’t go, “Oh, look. He has a grey dot. What a loser. I’m not gonna read his post.” :slight_smile:

9

Stephen, I don’t mean to pick on you because many people tell others to relax. However, I hope to stop the madness… Nothing makes me more mad, than seeing someone post “relax” in the forum, followed by a post which hardly contributes to the discussion.

This is an Internet forum- if you want to relax, sit next to a pool and sun bathe. However, the rest of us will have a mature discussions and debates on the CD forums.

10

I dunno, overall the idea of reputation isn’t a bad one, but I know some of my fellow team members have certain people who seem to follow them around, marking them negative on everything they post (I’ve seen the screens :slight_smile: ). Flattering, in a way, but it seems like replacing any sort of moderation with plain abuse…

11

That’s what you think…

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pictures.php?&action=single&picid=7390

In seriousness, though, there is something of a valid point. I think the biggest problem is the discrepancy with how people view the point system. Some people will give postive rep for anything and everything, but I think someone else had a point when he/she (dont remember who it was) said that people are less likely to give out positive rep. You have to say something really good to get positive rep. Plus there are some people that will give negative rep for really silly reasons.

The point is, the way other people give rep may not match what you feel is deserving of rep (negative or positive). So the way I see it, we should all maybe look at people’s reputation, but take it with a grain of salt because they are being “judged” by people in a way that you yourself might not judge them.

…Erm. I hope that made sense.

Basically, form your own opinions. (See, I can be coherent…)

12

i agree that reputation is not taken seriously enough. though there are members of the chiefdelphi forum that have a high reputation that they have earned, there are too many points being awarded for silly things. i know even for myself, i have gotten positive reps from chit-chat posts, and i don’t think that’s fair. is there a way that can be disabled brandon? but honestly, i feel that too much of the reputation system is given out friend-to-friend on chiefdelphi.

13

Ok well you keep worrying about mature discussions and the “popular people” bud…lol I’m going back to sunbathe in sunny Tampa…ttyl :wink:

14

I’m new to these forums. I’ve only been here since late 2003. I think I actually joined almost right at the time this reputation system started with a switch to VB3. I’ll be the first to admit, the reputation system is interesting, and I’m not exactly sure what causes some people to throw some rep at you, and what doesn’t.

However, I think that everyone should be willing to admit that a reputation system, voted on by your peers, should be a system that’s infinitely better than looking at a sheer number of posts.

The truth of the matter is that green dots don’t determine your human worth or dignity. They’re dots! However, I’m somewhat of a green dot junkie. I get a little ego boost after posting something well thought out with a little research, and having give me rep, writing “Great post, thanks for answering my question.”

It’s encouraged me, personally, to either post something worthwhile, or not at all.

If you’re truly concerned about getting green dots next to your name, (which I plead you really don’t worry about) all you have to write informative, worthwhile, and proof-read posts. Reputation will come, either in the form of dots, or hopefully more importantly, in the form of actually respect by your peers.

I think the relationship is actually better correlated to forum join date, posting frequency, and respect (read: not reputation dots). I am a case in point example. I’m not on any of the lists, but happen to have a bunch of green dots. I’m not at all surprised about not being on the list - I’m a newbie!

Maybe you want to take some time to appreciate that you’ve outgrown the popularity contests of high school! :slight_smile:

However, let me plead again to everyone that you don’t base your self worth, or prejudge others’ by green dots or lack-thereof. There are more to people than reputation dots on a web forum!

They’re just dots!

Matt

15

I am with matt on this one THEY ARE DOTS! I try to not look in the upper right corner while i am in these forums as much now due to the whole rep point issue. I have seen some people on these forums get rep points just for being known, while i have seen others get ignored completly cause they have one box. I mean i wont bring up the thread but person a posted the same thing as person b did but about 3 hours prior. Later i went to check that thread again and saw that poster a was completly ignored with one green rep box, while poster b with at the time 6 green rep boxes was praised. I mean if you are going to judge someone by how many rep boxes they have then i am going to have to avoid you. This whole reputation scoring box deal is just a pain in my… yeah and i remember when the whole post scandel occured with repititious posts just to get their own post count up to get a personal title and now everyone gets them automatically, i think we may have been better with out the whole rep point system… Oh and if you want to know what im handing out at nationals, its Rep Point pins…(jk)

16

I’d have to agree on this. Ive gotten 3 negative points for one post. And it was because I had a small part of bad information. It’s not lik ei was intentionaly hurting someone. And hardly anyone recieves a good point for what they do. I got a few from sharing some files, but most things by people go unnoticed. I really think it is kind of a bad thing to have negative rep points really. All for the good ones tho. This is FIRST, we don’t put people down when they make mistakes, we help them realize what they have done and correct it.

17

Exactly. The reputation system is just there to *help *you form your own opinions, not form them for you.

18

Okay…
I’m not really sure how to respond to this thread.

I’ve got a whole pile or rep, and I’d like to believe that most of it was earned, and not (as accusations have implied) simply given to me by my online friends.

I’ve got a few questions to ask:

Do you really judge the worth of a person’s response by the number of dots next to their name?

I don’t. Not at all. I judge them based on the quality of their posts, and by the way that they “act” in these forums. Yes, I know you can’t really judge a person online, but I’d like to think these forums make for a good “first impression”.
Do you judge me by my dots?
I certainly hope not.

How do you decide where you give reputation?

I give it based on respect, and based on post quality. If I respect someone highly, I am more likely to give them rep, simply because of the large amount of respect I feel for them, I believe they should have a high reputation. I also give rep to someone when I see a “good” post. I give negative rep rarely, and only in instances when I feel the individual is out of line.

I receive negative rep, more frequently then you probably imagine. Usually for the same kind of posts I get lots of positive rep for. Yep, that’s right. I speak my mind, and I sometimes take the gloves off. Lot’s of mixed red/green dots for those posts…

Do you feel the reputation system is overall, working?

Yes… I do. Strongly.
I think the actual rep-list reflects my individual “rep list”.
With a few minor exceptions (people left off), the top of the “rep-list” is a veritable list of “people who JVN respect”. (If only a few people would move up, and that #2 person would drop down a few dozen spots, then all would be right with the world.) I’m always glad when I get the opportunity to throw some rep to a (great) guy like Paul Copioli who has taught me so much through his posts in these forums. I’m glad to see the top of the rep-list has many of my personal heroes on it. (Again… what is up with that #2? ;))

Do you genuinely feel the reputation system is causing harm?

No. I don’t.
I largely ignore rep when reading the boards. It doesn’t affect my respect of individuals, and it doesn’t cause me to ignore someone. If anything, I think it only serves as a benchmark for self improvement. My rep is high, so obviously I’m doing something right. If my rep was low, I’d work to change. This isn’t high school, no one is judging you by your dots (if it was HS, would the enginerds from Delphi, and NASA, be on top?).

Don’t sweat the rep you get.
Just try to give rep in as positive a manner as possible.
Think of it as a tool for self improvement, and constructive criticism of others.

I am not the “cool kid”.
John

19

So who else thought he was being funny and original by giving Justin plus rep on this post? I’ve noticed a new green dot next to his name, and there’s now a spectacular aura about it.

That is not to say that Justin didn’t deserve the rep - the post was well thought-out, with no obvious spelling or grammar errors (i.e. I could read it), and it sparked a thoughtful discussion. I just sort of chuckled to myself while clicking the button, amused at my own ironic gesture. You have to take amusement where it comes.

Feel free to spotlight that last sentence.

20

I fell the rep system is fine. My only problem is not with the system but with the fact that some people will abuse the system and put a lot of negative rep on one person. I am a member of a lot of forums and most of the time they have a goofy atmosphere, it works because I’m a goofy person. The problem is when you type a message you tend to lose your tone of voice, and even the smillies don’t always help :D. People tend to take me the wrong way a lot but I just don’t let it get to me.

I hope this makes any sense, because I don’t really think it does. :smiley: